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The whole show in Miami was a real learning experience for me. Here are a few things that I noticed that perhaps some of the other guys may have noticed also. By no means do I mean for this to be a absolute review of how to market guitars, but just an observation of some strange things I noticed in Miami.

1. there were about 20 guitars all lined up in a row in the section of tables where my table was. of those 20, there was one guitar that had a finish on it that was tinted amber. This amber was a deep color, much like the color that a well aged guitar would have. People would come to the top of the stairs and immediately go directly to THAT guitar, much like a moth being attracted to a light. That guitar was one of the first that I saw sold during the show. This makes me wonder if people want darker colored (tinted) tops on their guitars?

2. Paul Woolson had the only 12 string that I saw at the show. There may have been other 12's there, but it was the only one I saw. People were attracted to this guitar more so than the other sea of 6 strings that surrounded it...even his other 6 strings. It makes me wonder if 12 string guitars are what people want?

3. There was one company who had spent a TON of money in advertising on a whole page of the show guide, they had three 8' long tables and a huge background board to hang their instruments on. People seemed drawn to that booth even though they had several fully painted guitars (a flag, racing stripes, a "metal" looking paint job, ect) which I tend to look down on. They also had several natural finish guitars to show. Every one of the guitars they had to show had an obvious ripple in the top with the bracing telegraphing through the top wood. I didnt play one, but My friend who is an accomplished player spent quite a bit of time over there playing them and said they sounded good. BY NO MEANS DO I LOOK DOWN ON THIS COMPANY OR ITS GUITARS, but This makes me wonder how educated people are on construction and are they willing to overlook obvious problems if the company spends a ton of money and appears to be well funded?

4. There was a braz/spruce parlour guitar sitting right next to me all weekend. This is another guitar that by sight people were drawn to. It was a perfectly constructed guitar and sounded fantastic, but the thing that got to me was that people would bypass every other guitar and go straight for that one apon seeing it. Most people never picked it up or played it or heard it, but were somehow just drawn to that guitar out of all of the others that were in line with it. It makes me wonder if the eons of braz guitars have people seeking out these kinds of guitars just because they are braz?

5. I tend to look at people and imagine what kind of music they play. Boy was this WRONG! people who look like they would play a mean classical style music would be the strummer types, only playing a few chords. People you think only play bluegrass would play some of the finest fingerpicking jazz styles and other people who you would think are the rocker style guys would be the hard core classical players. I am going to have to give my preconcieved notions of how people play guitars more thought. Somehow I doubt that I ever will nail this one down

Anybody else noticed these kind of things at other shows or at this show that you want to share?

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Reguards,

Ken H

Mayer begs to differ with those who say all that matters about a guitar
is how it sounds. "I believe that guitar players and creators, we're all too
scared of sounding superficial, but the bottom line is that when
something looks good, it brings things out of you. And so I'd say half of
the guitar's qualities are sonic or physical and the other half are cosmetic.
All those things factor into the level of inspiration when you pick
something up."

- John Mayer, Acoustic Guitar, March 2004, No. 135

The guitars need to sound great, but if you're one of the builders who realizes how strongly our senses interplay and influence each other, you'll be doing well. This is my opinion at least. One builder who's guitars go in the +$20k range did tell me the client is buying a picture.

I think the reflecting you've been doing is keen and really makes the most of your show.

The common thread in what you have commented on is that people are drawn to something different. Its one thing to make the best sounding guitar out there, its something completely different to sell it. There needs to be something that catches peoples eye whether it’s a amber tint, 12 strings, uncommon shape or the name on the HS. I wasn’t at the show, but I assume there was a sea of rosewood d***ds and OMs out there. They may sound great, but they all will blend together in a crowd.

Ken, are you talking about this guitar..

If so, thats Tom Ribbeckes stuff. His guitars would draw attention if they had NO finish on them! He is an amazing guitar maker!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

On the other stuff you mentioned, I don't think seeing braces through a top is necessarily a bad thing.
Some would argue that its a good thing. I'm not sure I would question someone's knowledge of building based on that either.

It is true that marketing and branding is very important, and having the funding to do so would certainly help anyone. But you have to back it up with the goods! And in my opinion "he" does.
I looked his guitars over quite well and they looked phenomenal to me. Fit and finish were top shelf. I did not play them, but from a "show" perspective, he had his bases covered and looked darn good doing it too! A very impressive booth for sure. I also thought those custom painted guitars were fantastic! Not my
cup of tea, but SHOW STOPPERS for sure!

Personally I didn't see to many dreadnoughts. I know I had one and so did Brock.
Different will always catch someone's eye, something that sticks out. That is why you see folks putting there guitars in the stands backwards, the "highly figured" woods stand out over a sea of
spruce tops.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Good observations Ken

I think there is a difference though in what people are drawn to at a show to look at vs. what they will actually buy. People are attracted to something that looks different than what their eye is used to seeing.

I have found that any guitar I have built that is different than a dreadnought or an OM style gets the most attention, irregardless of how it sounds. Everyone knows what a 6 string looks like, but not everyone has seen other shapes and their curiosity is aroused. It used to really bother me when people would ignore what I considered to be my best to ogle over what was different - another lesson in marketing.

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John Ressler

Hey Lance, or anyone at the show
Do you have any photos, or the name of the builder who did the "painted" guitars? As Ken suggested, he sparked my curiousity.

davido

Schenk Guitars





HOT!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Keep in mind that in no way do I look down on this builder. He is obviously quite successful and aparently has quite a bit of money backing him up in order to advertise as he does. The painted guitars were pretty, but not something that I would want. I'm sure there is a market for most anything though. This guy obviously has some heavy hitters for endorsees and his guitars are selling for top dollars. I am actually wondering why he was in the hand builders section and not down stairs with the factory builders.

Here is the site. if you scroll down to the bottom you will see the painted guitars.

http://www.schenkguitars.com/photogallery.html The flamed guitars were some of the prettiest flame jobs I have seen.


Lance,
That wasnt the dark guitar that I was talking about although the one you posted is awesome looking! My booth was down at the end of the hall, so I had a limited view of everything that was going on. The amber topped guitar that drew so much attention was made by Bob Rigaud, http://www.rgmusic.com. I got to know Bob and his wife Ruthie really well over the 4 days and am looking forward to seeing them again soon.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

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

maybe because he is a custom builder, not a guitar factory owner?

Ken is Rod a Factory? I thought he -was- a hand builder.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

My experience at Miami was similar. After Healdsburg last year, and what I perceived as a lukewarm reception to my "Freestyle" model, I introduced a couple of "conventional" instruments to my line up. All of them were well received at Miami, but the 2 sales I had were the asymmetrical bodied guitars. Putting the Quilted Maple one with its back facing out certainly had the desired effect of getting people to stop and ooh and aah. It also probably resulted in it's sale.
Demographics certainly plays a part in marketing too. I found the Miami crowd less traditionally oriented than say Healdsburg. I'll venture a guess that having a greater presence of electrics (in the downstairs room) helped not only bring in greater numbers, but a more diverse crowd as well.
I'll be interested to hear from those of you showing in Montreal if the rumors I've heard are true (more interest in Jazz and Gypsy guitars).
I didn't play a Schenk guitar, but if Michael Chapdelain swears by them, well what can I say. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to play several instruments that looked very interesting to me. I hope there's a next year so I'll have a chance to make the rounds.
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

It appeared that they were a small facotry shop. They had quite a number of "representatives" at the show manning the booth which leads me to this conclusion. I also noticed that they were well represented at the NAMM show this year. You dont usually see one man shops doing hand building at a show of that magnitude.

Perhaps it is just my conception of a "hand crafted" guitar being built by one person, or possibly one builder and an assistant. Perhaps it is just the look of a well funded advertising scheme and promotional outlooks that give this impression?

If I am wrong, it wouldnt be the first time

As I said, his guitars are selling for top money and the paint on the painted guitars are second to none. If he is a one or two man shop producing the number of guitars that he does, he must be a very VERY busy man. In NO WAY do I look down on what they are doing or the guitars they are building. This isnt meant to be a "builder bashing" thread and I want no part of such. What I have posted are simply observations of what I noticed as a first timer at the show in Miami. I am a long time people watcher and I enjoy going to the mall and sitting on the bench and watching people and how they react to advertising and gimmics and merchanising. My curosity has me wondering how one would fare at a different show if all they brought was a painted guitar, a 12 string, and a spruce topped guitar with a dark amber tint. If you blew your entire years budget on advertising and endorsements, would this help too? so many questions...

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Ken, I thinks its good that you cleared that up.
Its one of the pitfalls of an online forum, sometime words don't
translate to the original thoughts that were intended.

Your questions are interesting though,

"a painted guitar"
"a 12 string,"
"a spruce topped guitar with a dark amber tint."
"If you blew your entire years budget on advertising and endorsements"

What I find awesome about these shows is that you can answer some of these questions by going and being a part of it all.
That said, what works for one person, may not work for another.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I took a look at the painted guitars. I am just glad that they are well done. (I will also politely offer that the Patriot model wouldn't be as well received in Montreal, its just not the right crowd...) Stuff like this, while interesting as a creative outlet, easily runs the risk of being poorly done. The world already has enough of that.

As for going to shows, its a hit and miss kind of thing about what catches peoples interest. No matter what you try and do, no matter what you decide to bring, you can never really guess it right. Always be true to yourself and bring the work that you believe in. It will find the right people. And as you also noticed, you can never predict which ones they will be! I particularly appreciated your observation of the grunge guys playing classical repertoire.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Some people are drawn to "eye candy", but IMO a real player is drawn to tone. As someone mentioned, a lot of it is demographics, in my area those painted guitars might get a lot of attention because they are so different, but clean lines, tasteful appointments, great tone, and very little bling is what would sell. As with many things, simple is better.

As was mentioned .. you never know who will show up and stop at your table, or what exactly will sell ... depends on the day.

Without a doubt, different usually is good to catch someones attention, and turning a guitar around to show off some kooky wood cant hurt. I had my personal guitar at the Montreal show last year (and I will take it again this year) ... why .. because a multiscale with a killer bearclaw top, armrest, take your eye out cutaway and dragonfly inlay gets peoples attention, or at least it did last year. 5 times more people stopped to ask what it was (the multiscale), how much, or to take its picture, or ask if they could play it than the other 2 guitars I had with. Super fit and finish will attract some buyers, but not all .. especially if you have 2 OMs and seem to be surrounded by other tables of nice OMs !!!! Like was said, many folks want a guitar that feels, plays and sounds good .. good looks are a bonus that hopefully they can afford if they are buying.

That said, there was a builder with a rather wierd but functional take on acoustic and electric body shape and design, whose fit and finish certainly werent up to the standards of many builders on this forum. Yet because he had these off the wall ideas on his guitars, I would say he had 3-4 times as many people stop and play his guitars vs mine or any of the 3-4 tables around me. He was in a corner, out of the main thruway somewhat as well, and on one small table and around it had at least a dozen guitars crammed in... you just never know.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"