Handmade Sound - Building Guitars Into Business - video Dailymotion

The Luthier Bench Knowledge Base

For Jason Armstrong, building guitars started as a creative outlet and became a small business. Each instrument from American Exotic Guitars is handcrafted to suit the desires of the owner.  GREATER CHATTANOOGA is a short documentary film series created by WTCI-PBS that explores the people and the ideas that make us more aware, happier, & stronger as a community.

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00:00Support for Greater Chattanooga is provided by EPB Fiber Optics and UNUM.

00:31This kind of work though, for me really, is like therapy.

00:37I guess the exciting part of building instruments for me initially and continues to this day

00:59is kind of creating a palette for others to use, a musical palette so to speak.

01:07And with building instruments for clients, they take what I make and take it in totally

01:13different directions sometimes and expand on it and it gives them a platform to express

01:18themselves creatively as well through music and through the instrument that we make.

01:24In the middle of 2014, I decided to make my hobby and passion kind of officially into

01:32a small business. I had been building and repairing and working on instruments for 15,

01:3816 years at the time, but wanted to sort of create my own brand and label.

01:45Part of the American exotic guitars, the exotic comes from the fact that one of the things

01:49that excites me about instrument building is trying to incorporate some of the native

01:54hardwoods that we have that have very similar sonic qualities and structural qualities as

02:00some of the imported and more traditional tonewoods. You think of instruments, you think

02:05of mahogany and ebony and those things. And I do incorporate those into some instruments,

02:10but there's also many native hardwoods that rival or even surpass sometimes those qualities

02:15of those woods and they're much more readily available, sustainable, and there's not many

02:20manufacturers that incorporate them.

02:24I try to use local suppliers such as Chattanooga Hardwoods. Some of the particulars that I'm

02:29looking for in the lumber that I select are the grain orientation, the density of the

02:36wood, so the weight, the coloration. All of those things combined together in instrument

02:45building to affect the tone, the playability, the sustain. You know, when I'm working on

02:51instruments, I'm really not worried about anything else. And for me personally, that's

02:55just, it's very relaxing, very enjoyable. And at the same time, it produces something

02:59very tangible that others can enjoy.

03:25It gives it just a nice little...

03:55friendly round over.

03:57One of the things that separate me from many of the mass manufacturers, besides just being

04:02smaller numbers and handmade instruments, is the multi-scale fretboard and building

04:08multi-scale instruments. This is one of the multi-scale models, so that you can see the

04:14frets are splayed out, which gives it a more ergonomic feel, better tension on the low

04:20end. Most folks that try them end up loving it, the way it feels, the way it sounds.

04:26A lot of times, you know, a player will have a particular look that they want, or woods

04:31to use, or a color scheme, and so we can accommodate that throughout the build process, you know,

04:37to get exactly the instrument they want, even shaped to the size of their hand, you know,

04:41how it feels and fits them.

04:43It's mine. There's nothing else like it, which is probably the coolest thing. I mean, imagine

04:49you're building your favorite muscle car and you're following it down the assembly line

04:52over the guy's shoulder and, you know, having input directly into what's going to come out

04:56on the other end, and there won't be another one exactly like it. It was a great experience.

05:01For me, building instruments isn't so much about numbers, you know, and building many

05:07of them. I pour my heart and soul into each piece that I make. I try and keep the numbers

05:12small in terms of what I tackle per year in production, and for me, it's that personal

05:17connection making an instrument for someone.

05:22One of my biggest challenges is just getting the word out that I'm here and trying to find

05:26folks that are looking for something different and unique and can appreciate the handmade

05:31qualities and kind of the heart and soul that go into these. You know, I'm not interested

05:35in mass producing, you know, cookie cutter instruments. My heart's in building instruments

05:41for people, for players. I certainly hope that playing one of my instruments frees them

05:50up to create, that it just helps them produce, you know, the best, most enjoyable music that

05:56they can. I would say to someone thinking about starting a small business, you know,

06:01to not make it about money. I mean, yes, money's a factor, but, you know, find something you

06:06love, find something you're passionate about, and when you can combine those things, you

06:10know, the money will come. I think when you enjoy what you're doing and you're passionate

06:14about doing it, you know, that comes through in the finished product, and people can see

06:18that, people appreciate that, and people are attracted to that.

06:22If you're a fan of Greater Chattanooga, support it. Becoming a sustaining member of WTCI is

06:40easy and affordable, and it makes a big difference. Visit greaterchattanooga.org slash donate.

06:45Thanks.

Handmade Sound - Building Guitars Into Business

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