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This months Builder Profile continues as
Musicians Hotline® is honored to feature
Zemaitis Guitars of Tokyo, Japan. The legacy
of one of histories most acclaimed luthiers
Tony Zemaitis is now proudly carried on by
son Tony Jr. Zemaitis, and master engraver
Danny O’Brien along side a highly accomplished
staff. The pioneers of the metal
front guitar, Zemaitis is synonymous with
cutting edge craftsmanship, exquisite detail
to art engraving and truly represents an
instrument that is often classified as “Art
with Strings”.
What an incredible story of a family legacy
that has carried on for nearly five decades.
Here is what Tony Zemaitis Jr. and staff
was kind enough to share with Musicians
Hotline in this months “Builder Profile”…
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Musicians Hotline®:
In the early 1950s Tony Zemaitis, a gifted
cabinet maker, made his first foray into
guitar making, mainly due to the frustration
of not being able to find a suitable
classical guitar. And that’s when the very
first Zemaitis acoustic guitars were built.
Can you provide us with a history of the
very first instruments and how Zemaitis
Guitars was officially born?
Zemaitis Guitars:
Tony became interested in playing the guitar
but didn’t have the money to spend
on one (they were very dear in 1950s
Britain), so he borrowed a “Tatay”
acoustic guitar and made a copy of it...
making some improvements along the
way. Tony’s five-year apprenticeship,
where he learned invaluable cabinet-making
skills, came into its own.
Tony made another guitar, then another,
each time developing his skills and working
on ways to improve playability and
tone. Of course, at this time there was little
information available on how to construct
guitars. Initially he built guitars for
friends for the cost of materials, and soon
guitar making became as much a hobby
for him as playing was.
MH:
Tony’s early models were sold by
word of mouth to friends and fellow
musicians in the UK. When and where did his passion for building become a
full-time opportunity, and what were
the very first models offered?
ZG:
Tony was a guitar player, so he knew what
he wanted to achieve in making guitars.
Also, playing was a good advert for his guitars.
He began his national service in 1957
and played in a few bands in the army.
Afterward he became an enthusiastic performer
in the London blues scene, sharing
the stage with people like Davey Graham
and Long John Baldry. In fact, Tony was an
accomplished 12-string player. (Eric
Clapton later told Tony that he remembered
seeing him play at a London club!)
In the 1960's 12-strings acoustics were
extremely rare in the UK, but they were
Tony's specialty as a player and builder.
Because of this, more and more Zemaitis
guitars were finding their way into the
hands of pro players like Ralph McTell and
Spencer Davis.
Tony also made six-strings of course.
These were often D-holes, as he liked both
the look and sound from a D-hole six.
His success continued, and by 1965 Tony
Zemaitis decided to become a full-time,
self-employed luthier.
MH:
The very early Tony Zemaitis models are
in the collections of legendary icons such
as Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Tell
us what you feel
made these rare
instruments such
viable investment
pieces?
ZG:
Tony worked from his
house in Balham,
London, which soon
became a center for
social gatherings with
musicians. So, maybe
as one inquired about
a guitar or simply
called in on the way
home from the studio,
you’d never know
who you might find
sitting there eating
home-made ice
cream (courtesy of
Tony’s wife Ann) or just jamming. The roll
call would make an interesting “super
group”: Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Marc Bolan, Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, etc.
The thing is that these stars bought the
guitars because they were good! They
were certainly different, as you just couldn’t
get custom-made guitars in those
days, but they certainly weren’t expensive.
So, at that time there was no hint
that one was buying a future investment.
Of course, the fact that Tony became so
famous (or maybe infamous); the fact
that he only made a handful of guitars
each year; and that rock’s A-list players
had Zemaitis guitars helped make them
as valuable as they are today.
MH:
Tony created the acclaimed “metal front”
guitar design, which is truly a Zemaitis
trademark as well as a tradition the company
carries on today. How did this
design originate, and what does it bring to
the tone of the instrument?
ZG:
In the “swinging ‘60s” Tony started making
electric guitars. Initially they were finished
in black lacquer, but pretty soon he
designed his famous “Metal Front.” His
original idea was to shield the guitar and
reduce the hum found in many mainstream
guitars.
Tony's first Metal Front guitar was made
for Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs
(which Tony McPhee still has), and the
idea was successful in more ways than
one. Not only did it reduce noise, but also
Metal Fronts became one of Tony's
famous models. They were the highly
decorative, individually hand-engraved
works of art so favored by rock's elite:
Ron Wood had the second Metal Front
guitar ever built, and Marc Bolan, Peter
Frampton and Greg Lake are other
famous owners.
The Metal Front does have a special resonance,
which you get from the front.
But really all Zemaitis guitars have a
unique tone, and also great sustain. This
is down to some other special design
features of Tony’s: The set-neck joints are
deeper than those of most manufacturers;
and the bridges and tailpieces are
custom-made of duralumin.
MH:
Master engraver Danny O’Brien, who was
an apprentice to Tony Zemaitis, is still today
the master engraver for the incredible
Metal Front designs. Tell us how Danny
got involved with Tony and how he’s creating
a new history for Zemaitis Guitars.
ZG:
Actually Danny was never an apprentice
to Tony. Danny was apprenticed to a
famous English shotgun firm as a gun
engraver. He met Tony in the very early
days, and they became firm friends.
Danny also has very early Zemaitis sixand
12-string guitars.
Tony was a great innovator, and was
always looking for ways to improve his
guitars. So, he asked Danny to engrave
headstock badges and truss-rod covers.
These were initially silver, but as that tarnished
too easily they switched to duralumin.
When Tony started making Metal
Fronts, he asked Danny to engrave the
fronts, which helped make them into the
famous pieces of art that they are now.
When we started to work on the rebirth
of Zemaitis, we felt that Danny’s involvement
would be critical in maintaining the
heritage of Zemaitis Guitars.
To meet demand for Zemaitis instruments,
we had to increase our production capability.
After all, it takes many weeks for Danny
to produce a single front. So, Danny now
creates the master design, then Japanese
engravers (who are in fact master gunengravers
just like Danny) replicate the
master designs by hand. Zemaitis guitars
still feature hand-engraving with Danny
O’Brien’s beautiful designs.
On the lower-cost GZ Series, we use a
special process on all metal work that
looks like engraving and still uses
Danny’s art but it is not same as the
custom-shop models.
MH:
The recent rebirth of Zemaitis Guitars is
nothing short of amazing. Tell us about
the incredible custom shop and the
instruments that are taking Tony’s original
designs to an entirely new level.
ZG:
The staff in our custom shop is comprised
of seven very experienced luthiers.
Before the launch, they took more than
two years studying original Zemaitis guitars.
They came to understand how they
were constructed and then made prototypes
that reproduced Tony’s work as
closely as possible.
We consulted
Tony’s son (Tony
Zemaitis Jr.) on
many technical
issues and set
out to use the
same handcrafting
techniques
that Tony Sr.
used. This was
all undertaken
without compromise
in
terms of cost or
time. A good
example of this
is hand-polishing:
Tony always hand-polished his guitars,
and we do the same, even though it
takes much longer that normal factory
processes. The end result is a finish that
feels and looks like a great vintage guitar.
Tony never made the same guitar twice,
so most of the documentation and drawings
about Zemaitis was unofficial.When
Tony sat down with a customer to design
a guitar, he would make drawings. But
these were only rough designs, not technical
diagrams. So, the only way to recreate
Tony’s work was to spend a lot of
time studying and searching for the correct
information.
Because these guitars are made just like
Tony Zemaitis made his guitars–meaning
they involve labor-intensive hand-construction
using the same high quality materials-
-these guitars are never going to be the
cheapest. But when you see and play the
new Zemaitis guitars, you can really appreciate
that these are the finest instruments.
For so long, many of Tony’s biggest fans
were from Japan, and many of Tony’s
original guitars belong to Japanese collectors.
Nowadays Japan is so famous for
producing the very best quality goods –
whether it’s guitars, cars or cameras. So,
we at Zemaitis International are very
proud to carry the Zemaitis torch and give
more people all over the world a chance
to own a piece of rock ‘n’ roll history.
MH:
How many current models are available,
and can you briefly describe each?
ZG:
Every Zemaitis guitar was unique, as
Tony never made two identical guitars.
This gives us such a rich history of
models to choose from. However, the
three most popular Zemaitis electrics
are the Metal Front, Pearl Front and
Disc Front. In addition we have the
Superior and Standard series.
Within each series there are many variations
to choose from. So, you get a wide
range of choices, just like Tony offered.
Soon we’ll be adding a Metal Front bass.
Also, the Zemaitis acoustic guitar project
is progressing well. Tony started his guitar-
building career with acoustics, so this
is special addition to the new Zemaitis
range. Tony’s wife Ann is looking forward to seeing these, as he was making them
when they first met! His famous acoustic
guitars had heart, star or D-shape sound
holes. You might remember seeing those
guitars being played by artists like Eric
Clapton and George Harrison.
MH:
Zemaitis guitars are in the hands of many
top-notch players and collectors. Tell us
about some of the incredible players who
are playing Zemaitis guitars.
ZG:
You’re right! Tony Zemaitis really did
become a legend in his own lifetime. His
guitars were played by all the stars: Jimi
Hendrix, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood,
George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan,
Paul McCartney -- the list goes on.
The amazing thing was that Tony Zemaitis
was the luthier who virtually created the
“boutique” guitar, but he never opened a
factory, never advertised and only made a
few guitars every year.
Ronnie Wood and Ronnie Lane were
some of the earliest rock stars to buy
Zemaitis electric guitars (when they were
in The Faces). They would tell their
friends about these “great guitars,” and
so other players would then get in touch
with Tony to place orders. Some players,
like George Harrison, would order them
as presents for friends.
Of course, Zemaitis became famous
because so many stars were playing the
guitars, and the whole thing snowballed.
We had a chance to meet up with Ronnie
Wood and Keith Richards while they were
on tour in Japan this April. They were very
excited about the rebirth of Zemaitis, and
they gave us many ideas and drawings for
their next Zemaitis guitars. It’s great that
Keith and Ronnie are helping to create the
new Zemaitis history, and that they’re still
fans of Zemaitis guitars.
MH:
What do you feel are the most unique
concepts of the Zemaitis-built instruments?
What makes the quality of these
instruments the finest in the industry?
ZG:
Tony was such a creative guitar builder.
He had so many new and unique ideas in
his career, but the bottom line was that
his guitars were so good to play, had fantastic
tone and sustain, looked so beautiful,
were so well made, and had the highest-
quality materials and components.
This was why major players would place
orders with Tony (he never gave away any
freebies) and wait for their guitar(s) to be
made. They’d come back for more, and
recommend Tony to all their friends!
We’re making new Zemaitis guitars to
these same high standards; without compromise.
This is why they really are some
of the industry’s very finest guitars.
MH:
Zemaitis guitars are now available through
select U.S. dealers. Tell us about your dealers
and how they are truly some of the
industry’s most knowledgeable retailers.
ZG:
To keep to Tony’s high quality standard, all
Zemaitis Custom Shop guitars are handcrafted
by a very small team of experienced
luthiers. Therefore, we have limited
production capacity.
Because we cannot make many guitars,
we seek only a small number of dealers
to represent our guitars worldwide. Many
of these dealers are boutique or specialized
dealers. But the key factor here isn’t
size, it’s their true love of Zemaitis guitars
and the history of Tony Zemaitis.
Some dealers are owners of original
Zemaitis guitars, and some trade in original
Zemaitis instruments. But all of them
appreciate how the new Zemaitis guitars
are truly among the finest guitars available
today. They love the quality, sound and
playability of Zemaitis guitars. And most of
all, they love that Zemaitis vibe!
As you know, the value of original
Zemaitis guitars has skyrocketed. You can
buy a new Zemaitis for substantially less
than one of Tony’s original creations, but
we all believe that the new Zemaitis guitars
will hold value in the long term.
Zemaitis dealers know this. But to represent
a premium brand like Zemaitis, we
need to have the very best dealers we
can find. It takes a dealer that can help a
guitarist make the right choice.
So, it is accurate to say that Zemaitis dealers
are amongst the elite of guitar dealers.
MH:
As the company continues to carry on
the original vision of Tony Zemaitis, tell us
what the future holds for Zemaitis guitars
and what you feel has attributed to your
remarkable success.
ZG:
Well, first there’s so much history within
Zemaitis guitars that it takes time to
ensure we get everything just right. An
example is the new Zemaitis Acoustic
Series. This has been a project now for
over two years, and we’ve just started to
show some prototypes. But with the help
of Tony Zemaitis Jr. and others we’re still
working on improvements before making
an official launch.
Secondly, Tony kept on challenging and
testing new ideas and concepts in guitar
building.We want to keep his spirit alive
and create the next stage in the history of
Zemaitis Guitars. Like Tony, we will continue
to work closely with guitar players
who care about instruments so that we
can create new, wonderful guitars.
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