Official Luthiers Forum!

I know the topic of marketing comes up every once in awhile on this board. I just wanted to recommend an article I just read on the huge explosion of microbrewies in the last 15 years. There are a ton of parallels between the beer/microbrew industry, and guitar building industry, especially for the small handmade builder. The article gives some really good insight into how/why microbrews exploded in an industry dominated by a few huge brewers. There are some good ideas the small 1-2 man shop could capitalize on from the microbrew explosion. After all, we all know there are some great guitars being built around here. It's the marketing that most of us need help with. Here's the reference:

Why the Microbrew Movement? Organizational Dynamics of Resource Partitioning in the U.S. Brewing Industry (Carroll & Swaminathan, 2000, American Journal of Sociology).

Cheers!

John

    

John,
That sounds interesting to me, I've always thought that hademade guitars could be marketed like the small vintners do. However they do that
I'm just a guitar making engineer and really need help figuring out the marketing thing.
I'll look this up as we have an excellent library at work that would probably have the journal. Is it on-line also?
ThanksJim_W39035.0080787037

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Hmmm Beer, is there anything it can't do

Good point John, I think it has a lot to do with presenting an image of being able to deliver something that the big boys cannot.

In the main, the ability to take the time to care for you small but elite out put, this is what needs to be made very clear right down to the handcrafted label. A signature in real ink from a pen for example rather than the convenience of ink jet perfection.

People just like that kind of touch.

Cheers

Kim

[QUOTE=larkim] In the main, the ability to take the time to care for you small but elite out put, this is what needs to be made very clear right down to the handcrafted label. A signature in real ink from a pen for example rather than the convenience of ink jet perfection.[/QUOTE]

That is certainly true. Some might go for that, but it isn't the ONLY way to sell a small "crafted" product. What works for beer certainly will not work for high fashion - another industry with lots of parallels.

In the end (provided you can build a good guitar of course) this all comes down to branding. Without brand you have nothing (as far as your marketing goes.)

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

As an ex-homebrewer I like the comparison between the two industries. However, I see one major difference. Beer is a consumable and guitars are built to last for life.

_________________
Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page

[QUOTE=muthrs] As an ex-homebrewer I like the comparison between the two industries. However, I see one major difference. Beer is a consumable and guitars are built to last for life.[/QUOTE]

Thats funny you should say that cause I have come across home brew beer that tasted was more like it was made to last rather than consume, but when you look at John How's latest effort, now that guitar looks good enough to eat.

Cheers

Kim

Couldn't agree more, wise master. I'd say brand IS your marketing.
Method is just how you get people to see it.

[QUOTE=James Orr] Couldn't agree more, wise master. I'd say brand IS your marketing.
Method is just how you get people to see it.[/QUOTE]

I hate to be obtuse... but it is not just seeing it, it is smelling it, hearing it, feeling it. Brand is EVERYTHING you are, and EVERYTHING you want to be known for. In our world it is easy to simply call this "reputation" but it is more than that.

Just think of Disney, Nike, Nordstroms... you just KNOW who they are and what they are about.

We need that as guitar makers.

I absolutely think that finding a market niche and becoming "known" for servicing that niche is the right path for small luthiers. Let Martin have Guitar Center, find a niche no one else has much of a presence in and firmly plant a flag in it and call it your own.

It is surprisingly easy to do this. Simply say I cater to the ______ market.

My favorite person to "pick on" in these examples is Peter (cornerstone). He has chosen the worship market (I might suggest that he widen it to all faiths and not just christian... but that is splitting hairs.) I recently saw him draw some fire for this on another board. Basically they were challenging the idea that his guitars were no more well suited for the worship market than any other brand. (Duh!!!). The difference is however, that PETER is more well suited to serve this market -- more sensitve to his customers needs, can anticipate the challenges, be three steps ahead on knowing how to really win over buyers in this market, and MOST importantly he has put his flag in something his customers feel passionate about (a faith based personal philosophy).

I think it is the perfect small niche. I think that effort is brilliant and I am sure if he sticks with it for the long haul it will pay off better than if he just goes after the general guitar player market.

We should all define our market and our value as well as Peter.Brock Poling39036.8971643519

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Brock,

I have been thinking about your comment "without branding, you have nothing". And, please correct me if I am wrong, but I understand, you among all of us would be most qualified to comment on this topic being that marketing is indeed your profession.

So tell us Brock, in your opinion, what are the steps one would take firstly to establish a brand and secondly to popularise that brand to generate sales.

I think the majority of builders know little of your craft other than the obvious paths of building well and doing those little things I mentioned earlier to show attention to detail in the hope you will attract word of mouth sales. And maybe hosting a web page and plug the heck out of it when ever the opportunity arises (even if you do need to get creative in your propagation of those opportunities ) and doing the fair ground, craft show and symposium circuits etc.

So the question again, what are the other grass root paths that could help the little guy establish a brand?

Cheers

Kim

I gotta stop half typing a post, getting up to do something, coming back, finishing the post, and posting it with the expectation that the topic is right where I left it

Cheers

Kim larkim39036.9002199074

These are great questions.

I think the VERY first thing to do is figure out what makes you unique and special, find your special market and special niche and explore whether you are well suited to serve this market, if it is possible for you to "own" this market, and whether it is large enough to sustain you once you have it.   This is a really gut wrenching process that requires much soul searching. Invariably it drives you to think "yeah, but why not take all the work I can get?" This is a perfectly natural reaction, but the problem is if you do that you won't be "special" any more and you will just be one of the pack.

... and I am not talking about the quality of your instruments. You may build a VERY good instrument, but it will be hard to get noticed without a clear and definable target market and value proposition.

So... once you know what your niche and value are you have the seed that can become a brand. And to begin you need to jam your flag in the ground and say:

"I build guitars catering to people who are rediscovering the guitar at a later stage of life. People who played in their younger years, got caught up in family, work, life... and now find themselves with leisure time and the passion to rediscover the instrument they loved so much in their youth." Then go on to tell how you have tailored your services and products to meet the special needs of this group.


After that, you need to start living it. Start telling everyone you know. Build your web site to reflect this brand statement. Use photography with aging boomers having a great time playing your guitars and feeling "young" again, pitch a story to AARP about this (not about you, but about the trend for boomers to pick up the guitar after a long hiatus), compile a list of testimonials and audio testimonials at your site of people whose lives have been changed by this renewed passion and how your instruments have contributed. Find some online forums for boomers and participate and encourage your customers to participate.

.... all of this and not one single dollar has been spent yet on print advertising.

The truth is that brands are built by PR. You cannot build a brand on advertising. Nobody "believes" advertisements. We are all conditioned to know they are biased. But PR, word of mouth, and "buzz" have a ton of credibility. This is what you have to go for.

Advertising (in our world) should simply be there to help bolster name recognition. I am not AGAINST advertising, but I don't think it will ever yeild much ROI for you... and I know that is why most people invest in it... they think it will lead to sales. It won't.

Advertising will NEVER... EVER... be a salesman for us. Nobody will ever buy a guitar based on an ad they see. Maybe they will look at a web site, or ask around about a guitar they see in an ad, but nobody will call up and place an order. Ads should simply remind the world what your brand position and value are.

The allure of advertising as a substitute for sales comes from our reluctance to run the risk of being rejected, insulted, or the ever present fear of asking strangers for money.

Again, in our world, I think that most of what we do should be focused on innovation and clever strategies and less on spending money on formal ad campaigns.Brock Poling39036.9130787037

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=larkim] I gotta stop half typing a post, getting up to do something, coming back, finishing the post, and posting it with the expectation that the topic is right where I left it

Cheers

Kim [/QUOTE]

I hear ya... happens to me all the time too....

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Excellent reply Brock, a crack of light enters the darkened room of the unknowing, very valuable stuff that has been stowed away with all the other treasured OLF jewelry.

Thanks

Kim

Hi Brock, while I agree with what you said, I am taking it as a given that people have established their own brand (I know many haven't, but the article won't apply nearly as much to those who haven't established a brand). The article is not just another marketing 101 basic rehash. At 48 pages long, there is some real depth in the material. I meant it quite literally that the microbrew and guitar industry are very similar--I don't mean to use it as a parallel, but rather you can take many things from the microbrew field and plug it right into handmade guitars.

It is more than just brand. Anheiser/Busch, Miller Brewing Company, etc. have all tried to brand their own microbrew, and have failed miserably. I'm sure people are familiar with Plank Road Brewery. Miller spent a ton of money developing this brand but it still failed initially. They concentrated on the brand and not the market. People in the guitar business need to focus much more on the market (assuming they have already establised their brand).   


[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
But PR, word of mouth, and "buzz" have a ton of credibility. This is what you have to go for.
[/QUOTE]

Actually the research doesn't totally support this. What they did find was that the source of brand information was much more important. It's been found that word-of-mouth and "buzz" had almost no affect unless it came from specific sources. Also, don't discount advertising too much. Advertising is very effective when people don't have any direct experience with a brand. Advertising provides specific information about attributes of the builder relevant to the players/buyers decisions, and is one of the first ways they develop an attitude toward the brand. Also, research has proven that exposure to multiple sources of advertising provide a positive signal of the presence of brand attributes.

Brock, I'm not disagreeing with you, I just think you shouldn't put all your eggs into one basket. It really is a combined effort. Also, branding is most effective in a crowded marketplace. The microbrew article demonstrates quite clearly how their industry (and the guitar buyers market) is becoming less crowded. For example, as the big boys (Taylor, Martin, etc) expand and get bigger, they actually get more generic in their product and create more space for specialized builders. I think I could argue quite convincingly that this is the case in the guitar market right now. I bet over the last 10 years there have been more handmade guitars sold than at any other time in our history.

Here are some things to consider as you build brand and advertising, and how to understand your market. 1. People seem to put great faith in the capability of smaller organizations to produce high quality products. Whether it’s substantiated or not, people seem to have negative feelings toward large bureaucratic organizations (think Walmart, healthcare, Martin, etc). 2. Choosing products made by traditional methods seems to resonate in the microbrew (and guitar) industry and with consumers. Guitar building is the same. Consumers might be reacting against mass society, its production techniques, and bureaucratic organization. There’s always a debate about the use of CNC in luthiery. I don’t mind either way if it’s being used, but for those who are using cnc, you might not want to highlight that aspect. 3. People are enacting a form of self-expression by purchasing from very small specialty builders. The anti-mass production mentality is a key item hand-builders should focus on. 4. Finally, consumers may be using handmade guitars as a way to boost status generation. The handmade guitar market caters to this need and can help invoke an overall image of sophistication and refinement. ***These ideas come from the article cited above, but as I mentioned before think they are very applicable to the guitar market.

Sorry, didn't mean to ramble. But it's a lot more than build a brand and they will come.

Cheers!

John   John Elshaw39037.0316203704

Brock
If you are being "Obtuse" please don't stop!
Some guys (me) take longer to understand what is
being said. I see the light. Thanks for sharing
your knowledge. I guess I need to hear somethings
ten times before I get it. Must be the old dog thing.

Tom

_________________
http://www.moriciguitar.com

[QUOTE=John Elshaw] It is more than just brand. Anheiser/Busch, Miller Brewing Company, etc. have all tried to brand their own microbrew, and have failed miserably. I'm sure people are familiar with Plank Road Brewery. Miller spent a ton of money developing this brand but it still failed initially. They concentrated on the brand and not the market. People in the guitar business need to focus much more on the market (assuming they have already establised their brand).   [/QUOTE]


No. This ** IS ** a BRANDING problem. Everybody knows that Miller is NOT a microbrewery. So despite all the money in the world thrown at marketing, promotions, PR, etc. for this new brand you are never going to believe it is a micro. Not ever.   It isn't that Miller is incapable of actually producing a micro - they are incapable of making you BELIEVE that they can produce a high quality micro. At the end of the day consumers think that this is "just a marketing stunt" and the whole thing is destined to fail miserably.

They are not being true to their brand by even associating the micro with the Miller brand.

I love what Taylor has done on the production side of things, but I think the R. Taylor brand is making a similar mistake. It is clear that Bob is not building these himself... so how is that different (in the mind of the consumer) than the high end "production"
models.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
But PR, word of mouth, and "buzz" have a ton of credibility. This is what you have to go for.
[/QUOTE]

Actually the research doesn't totally support this. What they did find was that the source of brand information was much more important. It's been found that word-of-mouth and "buzz" had almost no affect unless it came from specific sources.[/quote]

Actually the research does support it. I am not sure what you are reading, but brands are BUILT with PR (in the broadest definition of the word - including not just media, but events, promotions, etc.) And they are MAINTAINED with advertising.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]

Also, don't discount advertising too much. Advertising is very effective when people don't have any direct experience with a brand. Advertising provides specific information about attributes of the builder relevant to the players/buyers decisions, and is one of the first ways they develop an attitude toward the brand. Also, research has proven that exposure to multiple sources of advertising provide a positive signal of the presence of brand attributes.
[/quote]

I am not AGAINST advertising. I simply said that you can't build your brand with it, and it isn't a salesman.

I think it is worth doing, but I don't think that is the way to "market" your guitars (at least not initially). Before you are ready for print ads etc. I think you want to develop a significant program in some of these other areas first.

Advertising and sponsoring some user groups may be wise, but only for "getting your name out there".


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Brock, I'm not disagreeing with you, I just think you shouldn't put all your eggs into one basket. It really is a combined effort.[/quote]

I am not really disagreeing with you either (even though it seems like I am. I know you *get this*. I am simply arguing the minutia.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Also, branding is most effective in a crowded marketplace.[/quote]

That is simply not true. Branding is just as critical to those who invent a category (and are essentially alone in it) as it is to those in a hyper-crowded space.

YouTube
eBay
Razor
iTunes
... and about a zillion others.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
The microbrew article demonstrates quite clearly how their industry (and the guitar buyers market) is becoming less crowded. For example, as the big boys (Taylor, Martin, etc) expand and get bigger, they actually get more generic in their product and create more space for specialized builders. I think I could argue quite convincingly that this is the case in the guitar market right now. I bet over the last 10 years there have been more handmade guitars sold than at any other time in our history. [/quote]

Yeah. I agree. Martin, Gibson, Taylor, etc. are no (serious) threat to us. The people buying those guitars might as well be buying cheeseburgers as far as we are concerned.

I think if you jam a flag in the earth and claim some market as your own, develop your products and services to cater to that market you will do fine.

And I agree, the more hand builts are sold (by all builders) the more the market realizes that this is a viable alternative.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Here are some things to consider as you build brand and advertising, and how to understand your market. 1. People seem to put great faith in the capability of smaller organizations to produce high quality products. Whether it’s substantiated or not, people seem to have negative feelings toward large bureaucratic organizations (think Walmart, healthcare, Martin, etc). 2. Choosing products made by traditional methods seems to resonate in the microbrew (and guitar) industry and with consumers. Guitar building is the same. Consumers might be reacting against mass society, its production techniques, and bureaucratic organization. There’s always a debate about the use of CNC in luthiery. I don’t mind either way if it’s being used, but for those who are using cnc, you might not want to highlight that aspect. 3. People are enacting a form of self-expression by purchasing from very small specialty builders. The anti-mass production mentality is a key item hand-builders should focus on. 4. Finally, consumers may be using handmade guitars as a way to boost status generation. The handmade guitar market caters to this need and can help invoke an overall image of sophistication and refinement. ***These ideas come from the article cited above, but as I mentioned before think they are very applicable to the guitar market.[/quote]


For sure... We are definitely selling ROMANCE. Sure, the product needs to be great, but the real product we are selling is the romance of the process of working with an individual craftsman.




Good post John. I love to talk about this stuff.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=terken] Hey Brock,
I've read a lot of the stuff you have been writing about marketing in forums,
and Guitar Maker mag. Quite interesting.
How have you applied these concepts to your own building career and how
are they working?
Terry Kennedy[/QUOTE]


I do this stuff every day. Not for guitars, but for clients etc. So I have had ample experience in tinkering with this stuff to see what works and what doesn't.

Most of my personal branding has been locally, and nearly all of it has been through "buzz" PR. I have purposefully kept a low profile in "getting out there" on a bigger stage to make sure my product quality was as good as I think it needs to be (perfect) before launching myself on a bigger stage. Afterall you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Right now I am selling everything I can build and then some, but I am retooling my marketing / branding for the image I want to build nationally. The local image is simply what happened by getting my guitars into the hands of some influential players.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
But PR, word of mouth, and "buzz" have a ton of credibility. This is what you have to go for.
[/QUOTE]

Actually the research doesn't totally support this. What they did find was that the source of brand information was much more important. It's been found that word-of-mouth and "buzz" had almost no affect unless it came from specific sources.[/quote]

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
Actually the research does support it. I am not sure what you are reading, but brands are BUILT with PR (in the broadest definition of the word - including not just media, but events, promotions, etc.) And they are MAINTAINED with advertising.
[/quote]

The research I'm reading is all current empiricle work in the Ph.D. program I'm in here at Purdue. I don't think you'd disagree that the source is important. For example, you could have a review article on one of your guitars written in a guitar magazine by 1.) yourself, 2.) magazine editor, 3.) Doyle Dykes, 4.) family member, or 5.)magazine reader. All may create buzz, but there will surely be a difference in the amount of "buzz" according to the source. It's been empirically proven that buzz for the sake of buzz does almost nothing toward building brand identity without considering the source of the information. I'm just saying since we all have limited resources, the focus on the source of the buzz is extremely important.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Also, branding is most effective in a crowded marketplace.[/quote]

That is simply not true. Branding is just as critical to those who invent a category (and are essentially alone in it) as it is to those in a hyper-crowded space.

YouTube
eBay
Razor
iTunes
... and about a zillion others.
[/QUOTE]

Actually, you strengthen my point here. I'm not saying developing a brand isn't important for the first people in a new segment. I'm saying it's most important in a crowded market, especially among inexperienced consumers. This situation makes it difficult for consumers to compare products based on key attributes. Instead they use their perceptions of brand image to evaluate choices and make their decision from that. If I have 20 different options to choose from, then branding becomes much more important. If you're the only game in town, it's not nearly as important because people will go to you because you're the only game in town. When E-bay, YouTube, etc. first started, people weren't really aware of other choices, so they went to those sites. It really didn't matter what the brand was. Now that there are way more auction sites up (yahoo, google, etc.), branding becomes much more important. The inexperienced consumer (ie, many guitar buyers) choose Martin, Taylor, etc. because there are so many choices, so they go with brands they trust. Once they become expert purchasers, many will turn to handmade guitars--and we all know how many of us are out there building guitars now, so with a crowded market, they will turn to the brands they trust, ie. Poling, Woolson, Kragenbrink, How, etc...      

These are the types of things that are fun to discuss live. Too bad we don't have a yearly OLF convention--this would be a great seminar.

John

[QUOTE=Brock Poling] [QUOTE=John Elshaw] It is more than just brand. Anheiser/Busch, Miller Brewing Company, etc. have all tried to brand their own microbrew, and have failed miserably. I'm sure people are familiar with Plank Road Brewery. Miller spent a ton of money developing this brand but it still failed initially. They concentrated on the brand and not the market. People in the guitar business need to focus much more on the market (assuming they have already establised their brand).   [/QUOTE]


No. This ** IS ** a BRANDING problem. Everybody knows that Miller is NOT a microbrewery. So despite all the money in the world thrown at marketing, promotions, PR, etc. for this new brand you are never going to believe it is a micro. Not ever.   It isn't that Miller is incapable of actually producing a micro - they are incapable of making you BELIEVE that they can produce a high quality micro. At the end of the day consumers think that this is "just a marketing stunt" and the whole thing is destined to fail miserably.
[/QUOTE]

Your right Brock it isn't a branding problem, The beer actually does suck!!!

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
The research I'm reading is all current empiricle work in the Ph.D. program I'm in here at Purdue. I don't think you'd disagree that the source is important. For example, you could have a review article on one of your guitars written in a guitar magazine by 1.) yourself, 2.) magazine editor, 3.) Doyle Dykes, 4.) family member, or 5.)magazine reader. All may create buzz, but there will surely be a difference in the amount of "buzz" according to the source. It's been empirically proven that buzz for the sake of buzz does almost nothing toward building brand identity without considering the source of the information. I'm just saying since we all have limited resources, the focus on the source of the buzz is extremely important.
[/quote]

Ok. I must have misunderstood the emphasis of your message. I thought you were saying that you disagreed that brands are primarily built through PR.   I understand your point now. Yes, I agree not all "buzz" has equal impact.

(BTW, I am totally enthralled with the rise of social network marketing. This has enormous marketing possibilities.)

[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Actually, you strengthen my point here. I'm not saying developing a brand isn't important for the first people in a new segment. I'm saying it's most important in a crowded market, especially among inexperienced consumers. This situation makes it difficult for consumers to compare products based on key attributes. Instead they use their perceptions of brand image to evaluate choices and make their decision from that. If I have 20 different options to choose from, then branding becomes much more important. If you're the only game in town, it's not nearly as important because people will go to you because you're the only game in town. When E-bay, YouTube, etc. first started, people weren't really aware of other choices, so they went to those sites. It really didn't matter what the brand was. Now that there are way more auction sites up (yahoo, google, etc.), branding becomes much more important. [/quote]

I don't really agree with this. I think if you "invent" the category you have to have hyper paranoia about maintaining your edge and branding is at LEAST important as in a crowded marketplace. But... I understand your reasoning too.

I guess the bottom line is we both are saying it is important... the only difference is HOW important is it.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
Once they become expert purchasers, many will turn to handmade guitars--and we all know how many of us are out there building guitars now, so with a crowded market, they will turn to the brands they trust, ie. Poling, Woolson, Kragenbrink, How, etc...    [/quote]

This is partially driving to the point I was talking about earlier. If you "invent" your own category then you will be operating in a very sparse competitive environment and it should be much easier to stand out.

I really don't see the production brands as competitors. Sure, the end product of both is a guitar, but the customer is buying something totally different from each of us.


[QUOTE=John Elshaw]
These are the types of things that are fun to discuss live. Too bad we don't have a yearly OLF convention--this would be a great seminar.[/quote]

I hear ya... I love talking / thinking about this stuff.



This is a good thread. Brock Poling39037.7584027778

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

     I have to agree fully with Brock's comments on having a focused
direction fr marketing your guitars toward a specific and even narow
niche in the guitar marketplace.

     Someonw told me once while we were discussing this very topic. "A
spear can penetrate more deeply if there's a sharp point on it and it's
accurately aimed." Marketing a product is no different so we need to
point and sharpen our efforts as small or solo builders.

    Without the huge marketing budgets that Martin and Taylor have, we
can't possibly ever hope to hit as broad of a market slice as they do.

    Let them have Guitar Center, Sam Ash and Musicians Friend and lets go
for a group of players who appreciate what it is each of us bring to the
table. Most players don't even know what they need let alone what they
want.....and what they're getting is even more of a mystery to most of
them.

     I've repaired thousands of guitars for thousands of players....many of
them pros who are regularly touring.....and, for the most part, they have
very little knowledge of their instruments. As long as they make the right
noise through the mains when they plug them in.....It's all good!

     With the rise in popularity of custom guitars, there is a subsequent
rise in the number of players who really do understand the woods and
can actually hear and describe the differences in tone from one guitar to
another. With this comes an apreciation for the subtle....and sometimes
not so subtle differences in the tone and response of theguitar we all
build.

    That's precisely what makes it possible for me to have deep backlog of
patiently waiting customers and for any number of other builders to enjoy
the same. They come looking for what they wantm but if we don;t let
them know we're here with it, they 'll just pass us by and look elsewhere.

    As soon as I'm back up and moving and have chipped a bit of my
backlog down, i'll be taking some very directed steps to promote my
guitars. I've never advertised or maintained a formal brochure, but all of
the design work is done to change that early next year. We're just ready
to change gears here and make some different stuff happen. New
machinery, new tooling and a whole lot of change.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars