DO WHAT YOU LOVE (THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW) BY JOL DANTZIG
This truly is the golden age of guitar. If you need an
instrument, you’ve got more
choices than you could ever sort
through. Alternately, you could
tap into a myriad of DIY sources and build your own guitar
or bass. Every option, feature,
and aesthetic is only a hyperlink
away—it’s a great time to be a
player. All said, I’m not so sure
it’s a good time to be in the
business of making guitars for
a living.
I’d be the last person to
talk you out of your dreams
if building guitars is in your
plans. Centuries ago, when I
told friends I wanted to make
guitar-building my career,
many reacted with looks of horror. They told me it was a crazy
idea and I would surely fail (I
guess the jury is still out on
that). Still, when I receive an
inquiry about how to go about
getting into “the business,” or
if I’m approached about an
internship, I have to dig to find
the motivation.
“Dude, it would be so cool
to do that for a living,” is
something I’ve heard more than
a few times. Another claim I
often hear is that “no one is
making guitars that guitarists
really want,” implying that the
budding luthier has the inside
knowledge to correct this. Both
conclusions are up for debate,
but they do show imagination.
What does it take and what are
the qualities needed to build
instruments as an occupation?
I decided to ask a few of my
guitar-making friends for the
attributes they believe are essential for entering and succeeding
in the trade.
The first person I approached
was Jason Lollar of Lollar Guitars,
who stressed organization and
the ability to listen. “It’s a lifetime
thing,” he says. “I started in furniture refinishing—it took years,
but I learned a lot about lacquers.”
Showing my apprentice Jim how to carve a neck.
Lollar believes the average
individual doesn’t possess the
patience required to master
all facets of building guitars.
Perhaps that’s why so many
shops subcontract portions of
their work. Though Lollar graduated from a guitar-building
school, he quickly found that
there was much more to learn
after completing the program.
“I got out and thought, what
the hell happened?” says Lollar.
“I realized I didn’t know how
to make a guitar.” A burning
desire is how he sums up what’s
needed to stay in the game
long enough to succeed. Lollar
should know—his guitars and
pickups are recognized as some
of the best.
It’s not hard to believe that
Dennis Fano rates “imagina-
tion and individuality” as two
key things he looks for. “While
knowledge, skill, and experience
are the building blocks,” says
Fano, “creativity, experimenta-
tion, and an open mind will set
your work apart.” I’d have to
agree with this because looking at
his instruments, it’s certainly evi-
dent that Fano prizes creativity.
JOL DANTZIG is a noted
designer, builder, and player
who co-founded Hamer
Guitars, one of the first
boutique guitar brands, in
1973. Today, as the director
of Dantzig Guitar Design,
he continues to help define the art of custom
guitar. To learn more, visit guitardesigner.com.
