Pete Howlett
Well-known member
Not many of my contemporaries actively participate here; we've either said it all, have lost interest or are too busy. Unlike them, I am not circumspect when it comes to observation neither am I shy of controversy, poking the bear or stiring ther hornet's nest. However, everything I say is merely my opinion and it works for me and is not meant as a criticism of your values and ideas. One thing that keeps crafts alive is the constant challenging of tradition and received wisdom.
So, 'bout 5 years ago I was entrenched in the 'koa/mahogany only construction makes a real ukulele'. Bit narrow but I think I argued the position well. However because of CITES, the astronomical price of koa and the growing awareness of a whole new wave of players looking for a different sound something had to give! Eating my hat I tried the spruce top/hardwood back and sides combo and found it worked.
I don't design for disappointment which of course is my code for experiment or work with clients realising their ideas. I am not that brave - it is only 2 years ago that I started taking a regular salary doing what I have always done - small batch production of tried and tested designs. My focus has been paying down business debt and to do that you have to make payroll! If you called me then, as now I certainly would not entertain any unusual wood combinations, neck length or nut and saddle widths. - I find it very disruptive altering jigs and tools. And when I did try to satisfy a client's whims, usually out of financlial desperation, I often fell short of the client's expectations. I guess I am just not wired to do that type of work.
Working full time at this, trying to make a salary involves little risk taking. Up until very recently, innovation to me, equaled risk. In the last 2 years I had to focus on production because I had to pay my employees. However, they have gone, the debt is all but paid and now I can relax. Nevertheless, instead of going crazy I am still risk averse and will until the last instrument I ever build leaves my bench, design for certainty. All of you amateur luthiers out there keep going, keep experimenting, ignore what we say. You want to feed yourself with this business and not end up like the countless also-rans who thought they could do it, avoid the amateurs luxury of being able to design for disappointment Avoid risk... avoid the client 'who knows better than you what they want'. An established builder once said to my friends at SUS, "We don't ask the client what they want... we tell them what they want!". I'm with him
So, 'bout 5 years ago I was entrenched in the 'koa/mahogany only construction makes a real ukulele'. Bit narrow but I think I argued the position well. However because of CITES, the astronomical price of koa and the growing awareness of a whole new wave of players looking for a different sound something had to give! Eating my hat I tried the spruce top/hardwood back and sides combo and found it worked.
I don't design for disappointment which of course is my code for experiment or work with clients realising their ideas. I am not that brave - it is only 2 years ago that I started taking a regular salary doing what I have always done - small batch production of tried and tested designs. My focus has been paying down business debt and to do that you have to make payroll! If you called me then, as now I certainly would not entertain any unusual wood combinations, neck length or nut and saddle widths. - I find it very disruptive altering jigs and tools. And when I did try to satisfy a client's whims, usually out of financlial desperation, I often fell short of the client's expectations. I guess I am just not wired to do that type of work.
Working full time at this, trying to make a salary involves little risk taking. Up until very recently, innovation to me, equaled risk. In the last 2 years I had to focus on production because I had to pay my employees. However, they have gone, the debt is all but paid and now I can relax. Nevertheless, instead of going crazy I am still risk averse and will until the last instrument I ever build leaves my bench, design for certainty. All of you amateur luthiers out there keep going, keep experimenting, ignore what we say. You want to feed yourself with this business and not end up like the countless also-rans who thought they could do it, avoid the amateurs luxury of being able to design for disappointment Avoid risk... avoid the client 'who knows better than you what they want'. An established builder once said to my friends at SUS, "We don't ask the client what they want... we tell them what they want!". I'm with him
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