Luthiers Interviewed
M. Campellone Guitars,
www.campelloneguitars.com.
Petros Guitars, www.petrosguitars.com.
Threet Guitars, www.threetguitars.com.
Dake Traphagen, www.traphagenguitars.com.
Walker Guitars, www.walkerguitars.com.
Most guitarists dream of
owning an instrument with just the right combination of feel, looks,
and tone, one that fits their playing style and personal aesthetic like
a glove. For those who are willing to invest some money, collaborating
with a luthier who specializes in custom-made guitars can make that
dream a reality. When commissioning an instrument, you need to choose
the right builder, the specifications that match your needs, and the
woods and other materials that will make your dream guitar come to life.
If you make the right choices and approach the project with the necessary
knowledge and background, the experience can be as enjoyable as the
final result: a unique instrument that fits you perfectly.
To shed some light on the
client-luthier relationship and the process of ordering a custom-built
instrument, I spoke to five independent guitar makers and some of their
customers. We'll hear insights from Canada's Judy Threet, who is best
known for her pristine, small-bodied flattop guitars; Bruce Petros,
who builds steel-string, nylon-string, and 12-string guitars with his
son Matthew in their Wisconsin shop; top-notch archtop builder Mark
Campellone of Rhode Island; Bellingham, Washington's Dake Traphagen,
whose classical guitars are played by such notable performers as Pepe
Romero and Scott Tennant; and Connecticut's Kim Walker, whose designs
are inspired by classic Martins, Gibsons, and D'Angelicos.
Why Custom-Made?
Although reasons for buying
a custom-made instrument vary as much as the folks who order them, some
factors are almost universal. The vast majority of custom buyers are
experienced musicians who own or have owned several high-quality factory-made
guitars. They understand the individualistic nature of wooden instruments
and feel that a custom-made guitar can offer something they may not
be able to find in a factory model. Mark Stewart, who plays guitar with
Paul Simon, had Bruce Petros build him several guitars. "None of the
new guitars I've played really floated my boat," says Stewart, "but
Bruce's guitar just blew my mind." Fingerstyle jazz guitarist Ken Clark
ordered a Mark Campellone guitar because of "the attention to detail,
especially the setup and action. It was superb. I'm especially finicky
about the feel up the neck, and the Campellone is perfect; there's no
hump where the neck meets the body at the 14th fret. Mark even made
me a wider (113/16-inch) neck profile at no extra charge." Even though
most major manufacturers offer beautifully made "custom shop" instruments
and myriad models with a wide variety of features and options, independent
builders and their clients insist that those guitars are not the same
as custom-ordered instruments from small-production builders. Campellone
says that the difference lies in how much attention small-shop builders
are able to pay to all the details. "I have my eyes on every instrument
at every step of the way," he explains.
A custom-made instrument
can be designed specifically to suit a player's unique style and can
potentially deliver superior performance and playing ease over a factory-built
guitar. For example, Kim Walker builds a 000-size flattop guitar with
a slightly longer scale than a traditional instrument's. He says it's
ideally suited to players who use dropped D, D A D G A D, and other
alternate tunings. Judy Threet has satisfied some of her customers by
copying exactly the neck profile of their favorite guitar. Many custom
guitar owners say they can only get the subtle variations in neck width,
girth, and shape they want from an individual luthier.
The idea of a custom-made
instrument often conjures up images of baroquely ornate guitars encrusted
with pearl and abalone inlays. While many custom instruments do sport
fantastic cosmetic details, the majority of guitars produced by small
luthiers are no more ornate than factory-made instruments. The few decorative
elements they do include, however, can be unique and often hold special
meaning for the customer. Some luthiers, like Threet, offer individualized
inlay designs, and Campellone will make an archtop guitar in almost
any color sunburst you can imagine. Custom guitars aren't neccesarily
more expensive than factory instruments. Campellone customer Nick Jaton
bought his first Campellone guitar because it was actually less expensive
than a Gibson with similar appointments. He liked it so much, he immediately
turned around and ordered another.
Setting Your Priorities
With the many options available
in a custom instrument, how do you figure out what to order? All the
luthiers I spoke to agreed that the sort of instrument you commission
should fit your physical size, playing style, and personal aesthetics.
Threet spends a good deal of time making sure that her instruments are
right for her buyers. "The elements I'm most concerned with are scale
length and whether or not they want a cutaway," she says. "I want to
know what kind of music they intend to play on the instrument. I also
need to know if they have any other guitars and whether this one will
be played at home on the couch or be an onstage instrument. And I try
to put customers into a guitar whose size naturally puts their right
hand in the best tonal position."
As with most treasure hunts,
a successful search begins with a good map. Start with a solid idea
of what you like and don't like about your current instrument. Committing
your thoughts to paper is a huge help in figuring out the attributes
your dream guitar should have. Also think about where you intend to
use the instrument. Will it be a studio guitar or a road warrior? What
kind of environments will it be played in? The guitar that is ideal
for a small acoustic space might not be perfect for an outdoor venue.
Although Campellone's archtops are known for their fine acoustic properties,
he also installs floating magnetic pickups on most of them because they
will be used in situations that require amplification. Traphagen's classical
and nylon-string jazz guitars can be made with several different combinations
of wood, bracing patterns, and scale lengths depending on their primary
use and the customer's personal style. For example, a player with strong
right-hand technique who needs a guitar capable of producing maximum
volume would probably prefer a longer-scale instrument.
Determining what acoustic
properties matter the most to you will also play a part in determining
your guitar's physical specifications. Some players need an instrument
with strong bass fundamentals, while others require more midrange energy.
Flatpicked guitars have different dynamic requirements than fingerpicked
instruments. They need to be able to take a heavy attack without breaking
up or becoming dynamically compressed. Another factor is whether you
use bare fingers or picks. The answers to these questions determine
the subtleties of a guitar's physical bracing system, final top thickness,
and specific wood choices.
Many custom-made instruments
are based on tried-and-true designs. Most of Campellone's clients are
familiar with Gibson archtops, so he uses their specs as starting points
for his own instruments. Many of Walker's guitars begin with basic specs
from prewar Martin flattops, which he then refines to produce a modern
flattop guitar. Traphagen has spent many hours playing, measuring, and
carefully examining the instruments in classical star Pepe Romero's
extensive collection. This research has helped him further refine his
own designs.
Occasionally a prospective
buyer will ask for a combination of woods or design elements that may
not produce a good-sounding guitar. Since Campellone only builds archtop
jazz guitars with maple bodies and spruce tops, he rarely has to talk
anyone out of a sonically wacky combination. Petros, on the other hand,
sometimes needs to give clients a little extra guidance. "Customers
can have any wood combination they want," he says, "but usually I'm
the educator. I tell them, ÔHere is what this combination will do, and
here is what this other pairing will be like,' and they trust me to
do the right thing."Traphagen
often finds himself lobbying against certain wood couplings. "I usually
try to talk clients out of Indian rosewood combined with a European
spruce top," he explains, "because Indian rosewood does not have the
color palette that Brazilian or Honduran rosewood has. It doesn't help
create sustain at all, which the harder rosewoods do." All of the luthiers
I spoke to said that if a prospective customer is dead-set on a design
or combination of woods that would likely result in a substandard instrument,
they send them elsewhere.
Traphagen is the only luthier
in this group who thinks that Brazilian rosewood is worth the extra
money over Honduran or Indian rosewood. Petros and Walker will build
guitars with Brazilian rosewood bodies but do not strongly favor them
over rosewood from other countries. Threet (the only Canadian in the
group) has concerns about Brazilian rosewood because most of the so-called
"pre-embargo stock" she has seen lacks the proper papers to permit it
to be safely shipped across international borders without the possibility
of confiscation.
Choosing a Builder
Once you've determined what
specifications and attributes you are looking for in an acoustic guitar,
it's time to figure out who should build it. Web research can help you
narrow down your search. Most custom luthiers have websites with information
about the instruments they build, their prices, and special options.
Their sites also convey some sense of who they are and what they feel
is important in an instrument. Some sites even offer MP3 sound files
so you can hear what their guitars sound like, but no MP3 recording
can begin to capture the sound of an instrument in your own hands or
give you any sense of what the guitar will feel like. And in books like
Custom Guitars (String Letter Publishing) you can get a visual
sense of the differences between different luthiers' work. Because a
virtual showroom can only get you so far, some luthiers have a few select
dealers who carry their instruments. Walker, Campellone, Petros, and
Threet all sell part of their yearly production to dealers like Mandolin
Brothers, Gruhn Guitars, Cotten Music, Gryphon Stringed Instruments,
and Elderly Music, while Traphagen's instruments can often be found
at such stores as Hand Picked Guitars and Classic Guitars International.
"About half the instruments I've made have been sold to local individuals
in Calgary," says Threet, "while the other half have gone to stores
in the States." Another good place to sample custom guitars is at guitar
exhibitions like the Healdsburg Guitar Festival and the Classic American
Guitar Show or the guitar making conventions/exhibitions put on the
by the Guild of American Luthiers (GAL, www.luth.org)
and the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA, www.guitarmaker.org).
You might wonder why anyone
would prefer to buy a custom guitar through a dealer rather than directly
from the luthier. Well, those who hate to wait can sometimes find standard
models built by their favorite luthiers. Even if the dealer doesn't
have a particular guitar in stock, he or she might be receiving a new
shipment much sooner than you could get one directly from the luthier.
And dealers can offer suggestions and recommend instruments they have
found especially popular and successful. Kim Sherman of Cotten Music
in Nashville says, "We can discuss the differences between different
makers' instruments because we've had experience with more builders'
instruments than any individual luthier has."
Another way to see and hear
a custom luthier's guitars is to make an appointment to visit the workshop.
Most makers will arrange to have some samples in the shop for you to
examine. "I bring in some instruments that are owned locally," says
Threet. "If a customer isn't sure whether they want a C size or an E
size, I'll try to get two of those instruments in." Other luthiers,
such as Campellone, time prospective customers' visits so they can show
their latest batch of guitars before they are shipped. "I have a couple
of finished pieces I keep here in the shop," he says, "but just before
I send out a batch, I have the most instruments to look at." If you're
not able to visit the luthier's shop, they may be able to put you in
touch with players in your area who own their instruments. Some builders
may even be willing to ship you an instrument on a trial basis. Just
let the builder know you're interested in their instruments and they'll
likely be willing to find some way for you to play one.
While a few buyers never
do actually meet or even talk with the luthier building their instrument,
most customers spend at least some time on the phone or email discussing
details. You don't need to be familiar with "luthier speak" to get what
you want. It is far more important to explain what kind of music you
play, how you intend to use your instrument, and what feels right to
you. "I talk in straight-ahead English," says Walker. "It helps if the
buyer knows something about guitars, but I don't expect people to know
much about the technical details of guitar construction."
The Ordering Process
After you've decided on
the specifications and the luthier to build your guitar, you have to
arrange to pay for it. All luthiers require some money as a deposit.
Some ask for as little as $100 to hold your place in their order line,
while others request 25 percent down when you place your order. Campellone's
system is simple. "I get a 20 percent deposit up front, and the balance
is due when the guitar is finished," he says. Each luthier has their
own payment schedule for work in progress. Some request several payments
during the course of construction to cover materials and building expenses.
One aspect of everyone's payment system is universal: every luthier
interviewed insists on being paid in full before shipping the finished
instrument.
Some luthiers request a
complete set of specifications when you first place your order, while
others just add your name to their list and wait until you come to the
head of the queue to finalize your guitar's specs. With either method,
there are windows of time during which some specifications can be changed.
Of course, certain aspects of a guitar's design cannot be changed once
the guitar is in progress. If you've ordered a cutaway, for example,
you can't change your mind and ask for a noncutaway once work on the
body has started. Second-guessing your guitar's specifications halfway
through construction will only make you and your luthier crazy.
Good communication between
builder and customer is essential to creating a guitar the customer
wants. These days, much of the communication between builder and buyer
is done via email. Email creates a paper trail of exactly what has been
"said" and makes it easier for luthiers to give customers individual
attention on their own time, so they can devote the time they need to
building the instrument. Some luthiers will even photograph guitars
in progress and send the pictures to their future owners.
After the Wait
The most difficult part
of ordering a custom guitar is waiting for delivery. Waiting times range
from as little as six months to as much as several years. Well-established
builders are generally back-ordered the furthest. Some luthiers will
stop taking orders until their waiting list shortens to a manageable
length. Of the luthiers I spoke to, Petros, Traphagen, and Threet had
the shortest waiting times (between six and nine months) and Campellone
and Walker had the longest (between two and four years). Be realistic
about how long you're willing to wait for your guitar. If commissioning
your first-choice luthier means waiting for six years, maybe it's time
to check out the next maker on your list.
Even if they have been waiting
several years for their guitar to be built, most customers opt for next-day
or two-day shipping when it's time for the maker to send them the completed
instrument. Air shipping is a good idea, especially during the winter
months when many ground-shipped packages spend their nights in unheated
trucks or warehouses. Air shipping also reduces the possibility of damage,
since heavy boxes that could do the most harm are generally shipped
ground.
Despite the fact that only
one of the five luthiers I talked to ever had an instrument returned
because a customer was unhappy with it, it's good to know what recourse
you'll have if you are not satisfied. All luthiers have some kind of
satisfaction guarantee. Be clear on the luthier's warranty policy, and
get a copy in writing, before you order your instrument. Most will take
the guitar back if it doesn't suit you. If the guitar is in new condition,
most luthiers will give you a full refund, but you may have to wait
until the guitar has been resold to get your money back. Threet will
buy back any instrument, "unless it has custom features that no one
else in the world is going to want, like a headstock inlaid with your
girlfriend's name on it."
Buying a custom guitar seems
to be like eating a potato chip: it is hard to settle for just one.
Most custom guitar owners I talked to already had more than one guitar
made by a custom builder. "I've probably had about ten instruments made
for me," Mark Stewart admits, "two by Bruce Petros."
Paying in full for a guitar
you've never actually seen or played requires a leap of faith. But if
you do your homework and communicate your needs clearly, you can create
that special instrument, your longtime musical companion, your dream
guitar!
Excerpted from
Acoustic
Guitar magazine, March 2003,
No. 123.
