Lessons Learned - Future Builds

So I just finished "The Redeemer" guitar right before Christmas. It was a particularly stressful build that made me question whether or not I would continue to offer personalized guitars or just create guitars completely of my own design and put them up for sale as custom one-offs.  I don't think I'm ready to throw in the towel just yet. I learned that communication is the key. I also learned that it is not manageable for me to work with hard deadlines when I'm trying to be creative. With the crunch of the holidays approaching and some major changes having to be done on the Redeemer, my stress level was through the roof. I basically would lose sleep worrying about it every night. On about 4-5 hours sleep I would get up at 4:45 am for my normal 40+ hour job. Pull 8-10 hrs. there, pick up my kids from school. After that I would head straight into my little 9x12 workshop and work on this guitar until I either ran out of parts or had to wait for paint and clear-coat to dry. The Redeemer delivered on Christmas Eve morning. At that point I had not once stepped foot into a store to do any holiday shopping for anyone. I kind of feel like I blew the whole build-up to Christmas with my own family because I was trying make deadlines. Even after all that, I think I can still offer up some sweet personalized guitars. I just have to be realistic about deadlines and what the customer can expect.
   
When ever possible it is best to actually sit down with the customer to explain my processes and what it takes to build one of these guitars. Ask every question possible about every step involved to insure that they will get the guitar they want. I am a little torn though. I mean, I am Scratch Guitars, right?!? At some point there has to be some degree of "My" creative expression as well. Otherwise why wouldn't I just go get a job at Guitar Center if I wanted to sell someone elses idea of what a guitar should be. At least then I wouldn't be slaving over a cluttered workbench stressing about the outcome. The pay would suck but then I don't really make any money to speak of building and selling my own once you take into consideration how many hours go into one of these. I worked on the "Gritty Detroit" guitar off and on for at least 3 months. A little here, a little there. Never the less, it took some time. Once you figure that half of the money you earned from the build pays for the parts, there's not much left over.

The money isn't why I build guitars. I think it is the therapeutic side of it. I get the same sense of calm when I am building that I get when I am fishing. Thinking about nothing and everything all at the same time. It's hitting that roadblock in your build and you just have to pull up a stool, crack a beer and stare at it. You know that there's an answer for the roadblock, you just have to wait. It will eventually come to me and then I go back to work on it. It's like figuring out a puzzle or a riddle. Then there's the nervous build up right when you are putting the strings on. Not know what it is going to play like or if it will sound great or be a pile of fancy firewood. Ultimately the biggest payoff is seeing the reaction when the new owner takes it in there hands and they like it as much as I do.

So.... I have at least two more customers lined up right now. My plan is to sit down with both of them and get a clear understanding of what they would like their guitars to consist of. We will look at other guitars online, throw some ideas around based on what I am capable of doing. Once all the design phase is finished I will start ordering parts and getting more sawdust on the floor. My next two builds will not be rushed. I expect them to be some of my best works. I am really looking to hone in on my strengths and make some magic in the shop. Here's to 2016!

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