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When we talked with you four years ago, you were making two guitars per month and thinking about opening a workshop outside your home. How have things changed in this time? Have you hired anyone to help your work?
Later this year will mark my 10th anniversary building guitars and I am really proud of that. I read a quote once that went like, “most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” That made sense to me, so I have always tried to work hard for my customers. We’re still a very “mom and pop” type of organization, and I prefer to keep the operation small. My goals are to make profound guitars and sometimes you just can’t program a machine to do that.
I do have a couple of guys that help me out on a part-time basis. Mike and Chad help me a lot in between their other jobs. My wife Melinda really helps me out crunching the numbers and other paper work. Plans are definitely in the works to build a new workshop, we’ve been building up to that for quite some time now, and are finally about ready to take the plunge. If everything goes as planned, I will be moving into a nice building later this year.
I noticed that you have started making a standard model. What led to this decision, and do you think it has any affect on the custom business?
The heart of our business is still, and always will be, the hand-made custom business. We still build the finest handmade instruments on the planet, however, not everybody is in the market for a high dollar, hand-made boutique guitar. Over the years, we’ve built a solid reputation for using the highest quality materials and construction techniques, and have decided to create a branch of our business that focuses on building lower cost instruments with fewer options, while maintaining our high standards for our customers.
These Standard models use a combination of modern machinery and hand finishing to get consistency in the neck and to control the overall quality of the guitar. This keeps our costs lower, and allows us to pass those savings on to our customers. By doing this, we’re able to build the highest quality Standard guitars at a fair and competitive price.
Additionally, we believe that the customers who are buying these Standard models will return later and buy higher end custom instruments from us. So far we have seen only positive effects from this new market.
Tell us a little about the other new models that you have. Some new and exciting models are our Presentation Elect Guitars and the 10th Anniversary guitar coming out later this year. What is a Presentation Elect Guitar? I would explain it like this: a Custom Abyss Guitar would be a guitar built using your ideas. You know what you want, you place the order and the guitar is built according to your specs.
A Presentation Elect would be a guitar made using my ideas by means of the same exact quality of materials that are used on the Customs. These are inlay ideas and concepts that I have come up with over the years using the guitar as a springboard for my art. They are very collectable and playable. My customers, and boutique buyers, understand up front that my handmade guitars are extravagant and expensive. It is what I am able to give the customer that makes my value credible and it all comes from the same pool of Master Grade materials that I use to build the Abyss Custom Guitars. These guitars will speak for themselves.
The 10th Anniversary guitar I can’t say a whole lot about, other than as of now, there will only be ten made. They will be signed, numbered and a certificate of authenticity will accompany them. They will feature some of the most incredible inlay work, woods, and finishes that we’ve ever done. They are going to blow people’s minds with number one and two going into production soon after this article hits. Keep checking back at abyssguitars.com for the details.
What is your favorite guitar that you have made? Is there a certain model that you prefer making?
My personal favorites are the Presentation Archtops and the Presentation Acoustics. There is a lot more going on there than your solidbody electric guitar and I have more creative freedom with my Presentation Elect series and my Customs. I also traveled to Canada this past fall and worked with an acoustic Master Builder for a few days. I am going to use the same approach with handcrafting acoustics – making them one-of-a-kind art pieces. I learned a lot and he told me before I left that, “I was a master craftsman and that he knew I was going to make great acoustics.” Have you had any notable customers? Where do find most of your customers coming from?
One of the most rewarding aspects of having such a grass-roots business is the relationship we build with all of our customers. It’s amazing how diverse our customer base has been, from all different parts of the world and different backgrounds. We currently have customers on five continents in dozens of countries, including Japan, U.K., Sweden, Germany and Norway. This is the beauty of the Internet; you don’t have to be on Fifth Avenue or Sunset Boulevard to reach people. All my customers are notable and important to me.
Your inlays are among the most complex and detailed we’ve ever seen. Walk us through the process of completing something like this.
Thanks for that compliment. First, I start with the idea and get it to a piece of paper. Then I select a material that will best represent what it is that I am trying to replicate. Next I would start cutting all these pieces out and assembling them similar to a puzzle, only I am making the pieces of this puzzle. In the latter stage you have to transfer the pattern/piece onto the fretboard and rout them in. Once the piece fits, you have to epoxy it in. After the epoxy is dry, you sand it flush and re-slot any frets positions that need it.
When did you start doing inlay service? What prompted this decision and how has the response been?
I started doing that to expand my business and promote my art. That service just went up so it is too early to tell what will happen in the long run. My intention is to work that stuff in as it comes across the table. I would be happy to give quotes to anyone who has an idea for their guitar. This is just an inlay service only; you will have to find someone else to put the frets in, like your guitar tech. I would also be willing to do inlay work for other builders, companies or bigger production companies, as my schedule would allow.
I see that you pride yourself on your wood choices. As some of the “elite” woods like Koa and Brazilian rosewood become harder to get, how does this affect your wood selection? Do you see this affecting your customers?
It is the law of supply and demand. These woods are harder to get, so if someone is willing to pay for it, I have no problem using it. Koa is exclusive to Hawaii and to my knowledge, they can only cut what has already fallen. Brazilian rosewood is on a treaty ban and they have similar restrictions. All in all, I just think it makes the guitar even more valuable, so I don’t see it affecting my customers if they want that wood and are willing to pay the cost.
Do you offer all of your guitars in 6 or 7-string models? What do you like about a 7-string guitar that prompted you to start making them?
Yes, you can get six or seven string guitars in any of the models. At the time I started making guitars, seven string guitars were having this resurgence. That is when and where I named the guitars “Abyss”. The lower seven-string note took you to sonic depths I thought that sounded like the “Abyss” and that is how the name came to be.
I see that you are working on a new limited edition, “The Revelation,” can you tell us anything about that one?
It is going to be another fantastic guitar in a collectable line that I want everybody to check out on my site. I plan ten of each and quite a few are already sold. They include, The Crucifixion LE, The Ascension LE, The Last Supper LE and now The Revelation LE. The Revelation will be unveiled in the near future, probably this fall.
You been at this for some time – any final thoughts about the business of boutique instruments and where you’re headed?
In life, just like in the guitar industry, there are path makers and path takers. I intend to be a leader for the boutique and highend custom guitar market and pursue my own ideas and concepts. My goal is to continue to lead the way with unique guitars and inlays that very few others can do.
The greatest thing you can do is to blaze your own trail. That would be a path maker. I want to thank my family for the support, my customers for their backing and the Lord God Almighty for in Him all things are made possible.
Peace and God bless.
ABYSS GUITARS
641-582-3718
abyssguitars.com
| Even if you don’t know them by name, Buckcherry is a band you’ve most likely caught yourself tapping a foot to – the rockers from L.A. have spent close to an entire decade on the charts with singles like, “Lit Up” and “Check Your Head”, and served as a refreshing, Les Paul-driven kick in the gut after emerging from the ashes of the late-‘90s pop music scene. When their third album, 15, dropped in April 2006, the hardest working band around earned comparisons to some of hard rock’s legends (read: AC/DC). The album’s first single, “Crazy Bitch,” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, and that just hints at the raw, to-the-roots style of rock that Buckcherry cultivates on a daily basis. We caught up with guitarists Keith Nelson and Stevie D in the middle of their tour to talk about their unique sound and the gear that makes it happen. |
Your debut album came out in 1999. What was the musical environment like when you got the band together?
Keith: We really came up in the middle of rap rock and Lillith Fair. Swing music was also kind of happening at the time. Guys that slung Les Pauls low, and actually played them – that wasn’t really happening.
Was that discouraging at all for you guys?
Keith: When [lead singer] Josh and I got together, we talked about making just a straight-up rock band. I don’t think it was discouraging, but almost inspiring that we weren’t going to sound like everyone else.
In your reviews, it seems that an AC/DC reference is always dropped. How do you feel about that? Is that a big shadow to work under? Stevie: For me, it’s a huge compliment. I’m a huge fan of the Young brothers and the blues that they touch on with their records, so anytime there’s a reference drawn like that, I’m really happy.
Keith: I always enjoy a comparison to a band that doesn’t suck. There’s a lot of nuance to that AC/DC reference that I don’t think a lot of people like. I’m a huge fan, and I have been since I was old enough to hoist a vinyl record on the turntable. They’re one of the few bands that can make the same record over and over and totally get away with it.
So were they one of the first bands that got you on your way to rock stardom?
Keith: Absolutely. I can remember one of my earliest experiences as a kid that loved music, and always being into music, as listening to Back in Black out of an old wooden stereo in my parent’s living room. I remember thinking to myself, “that just sounds evil and dark.” And they didn’t need “666” all over the record cover – the sound of Back in Black is just heavy, without being tuned down to C. It was life changing, for sure.
I just listened to your latest album, 15, for the second time and I’m hearing all kinds of influences, from rock to blues to country. Where do you guys pull those sounds from?
Stevie: Well, we’re all big blues fans – Jimmy [Ashhurst, bass] is well-versed in country and he’s our onboard rock n’ roll historian. I’ve learned a lot from each guy in this band, as far as the history of rock. For me, guys like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters are tucked away in there. Keith has a lot of the chicken pickin’ and slide thing going on in his background. We try to cover a lot of that music, we’re trying to keep that going, and hopefully that’s what sets us apart from the other bands out there. Keith: I think we have so many things flying around the room, in terms of influences, in terms of country to funk and punk. If you listened to our iPods on the bus, you’ll hear all kinds of stuff. We’re really just fans of great music – for me, sounding bluesy isn’t a problem, the challenge is making it sound like it belongs in today’s music.
Stevie, you came on board a bit later in the band’s history. Do you have a role when you sit down to create songs?
Stevie: For me, it’s about creating space. It’s about not stepping on each other’s toes, and I think Keith feels the same way. Somebody will come into the room with a musical idea, and what we do is kind of let it play out. It’s like putting a skeleton in the room, and the job for the rest of us is to give that skeleton shape. A personality.
Do you feel like you guys are still evolving in your sound?
Keith: I think so. I think our first record was made so quickly, and the fact that we did it ourselves, and so I think our next records should be a bit deeper. Maybe we’ll spend three weeks in the studio instead of two.
I really dig the guitar tones coming off the album. How’d you get those sounds together?
Stevie: Keith has an arsenal of vintage amps, as well as our co-producer, Mike Plotnikoff. But what we used mostly on the record were Keith’s amps – for me, it was mostly a JTM45, but there were Plexis, Park amps … every vintage rock amp from the ‘60s and ‘70s was at our disposal.
Live, I’ve been using a Budda Superdrive 80. Open, loud and raw. It’s also got a great middle. In smaller rooms, I use the Superdrive 45 – they’re great. The Twinmaster is also a great combo amp, and it kicks the shit out of most other amps I’ve heard. I think they only made a limited number, and I managed to get my hands on one.
Keith: I have a pretty extensive gear collection, and I’ve been at it for a while. I usually try to go for the older stuff – I pretty much have every vintage Marshall, every vintage Vox you’ll need. But on 15, you’re hearing a lot of Super Lead 100s, a ‘66 JTM45, an old AC30 Top Boost and an armload of vintage guitars.
What guitars should we be listening for on your latest album?
Stevie: For me, I really connected with the JTM45. It was punchy, spanky and had a great bottom end. I coupled that with a ‘62 SG Junior. It’s been reworked with humbuckers, Gibson PAFs. I did leads with that same configuration and a Tube Screamer thrown in, or the Red Rooster pedal, for that wooly quality. I really like that wooly, ‘60s lead tone, like Hendrix. The clear ryhthms, on like a song like “Sorry,” I used a ‘62 reissue Strat.
Keith: On the album, I have an old Gretsch 6120 that I do a lot of the rhythm tracks with. I also have a ‘51 Esquire that’s on there a lot. Right before the record started, I went through a bit of a Strat phase, and picked up a ‘71 Strat that’s great. There’s also a lot of Les Paul Junior on the record.
So do you guys toy around with pedals or effects much? Or do you try to keep your signal clean? Stevie: Not so much – in the studio, there’s not a lot of pedal effects for my side – I’m on the right side with the rhythms, Keith is on the left side [in the stereo spectrum], so you won’t hear a lot of effects on me. Live, I use a Tube Screamer and a wah pedal. Just recently, I switched to Budda, because they’re making such great pedals. br>
I try to keep it simple like that, because I feel like I’m jumping around so much, I can get confused if I have to hit a couple pedals at one time. Less is more for me anymore. I had some more pedals in the chain, but I just kind of found that it was too much. br>
Keith: I’m not a real big pedal guy. The guys at Keeley make these true bypass loopers, and I’ve been using that because I don’t really want anything in the way. And we still use cables, we’re not wireless.
Is there a reason you haven’t gone wireless?
Keith: It sounds better. I toyed with wireless a few years back, and every time I’d have a problem with the wireless, I’d plug the cable back in and just say, “damn, that sounds great!” Mogami cable is really solid.
Wrapping up, you guys kind of represent a younger generation of guys playing true rock and roll. Is there any advice you’ve picked up for people listening and trying to get into it?
Stevie: A lot of the bands we play with at festivals, they’re not learning to play their instruments like they used to. There’s very little emphasis placed on songwriting. So if you want to stand out, really learn your instrument, and learn about tone. Try out different things, and listen to a lot of records. Listen, listen, listen.
Keith: There are really two sides to it. On one side, we see these guys playing with tracks behind them. Really concentrate on being great players and performers, so you don’t have to rely on tracks behind you to pull it all off.
The other side is that this is all a business, so you need to educate yourself on how all the parts work together, otherwise it will be a long road.
| Stevie’s Gearbox When Stevie plugs in to rock out, here’s what he’s grabbing.
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Most of us have been to a guitar show or two; look through the local papers, and odds are you’ll be able to find a swap show down at the local Marriott. You’ll find guitar shows all across the country – all across the world, to be more accurate, with more than 2,000 guitar shows and festivals staged each year. Some are one-day events, designed to help dealers trade their valuable guitars, while some are multi-day festivals, celebrating all aspects of the instrument. And while these guitar shows are fun, educational and great way to spend a Saturday afternoon looking at vintage Les Paul Bursts, there are a few shows which remain in a league of their own. The Dallas International Guitar Festival, scheduled this year for the weekend of April 20th, is arguably the biggest players in the industry, and has been breaking its own records for years. With the approach of this year’s show, it’s clear that 2007 will certainly be no different.
THE ROOTS
In true Texas fashion, this show’s roots are much more humble. Charley Wirz, a Dallas guitar shop owner, had the bright idea of organizing a vintage guitar show, in the same vein as the collectible and trade shows that visited the area regularly. With the help of partners John Brinkmann and Danny Thorpe, he would promote the shows, sign up dealers and collectors and lease display space. He would encourage like-minded guitar nuts to attend, and the result was the Greater Southwest Vintage Guitar Show.
The first year of its existence, 1978, found the Bee Gees and Paul McCartney atop the charts, while a small group of diehard guitar fanatics gathered in a small hotel meeting room in Dallas. Trading guitars and stories, there wasn’t the glitz and glam of modern shows – just nice instruments and a few willing buyers.
The first shows were admittedly undistinguished – with only a few exhibitors leasing space to sell their axes. However, Charley’s idea to take the guitar culture from a small, inclusive club to a public stage was arguably ahead of its time. The vintage show would attract more dealers and collectors each year, and would open the door for the rapid rise of interest – from both players and collectors – in vintage guitars.
In 1985, Charley passed away suddenly, and the show ended up in the hands of his close friend and lifelong guitarist, Mark Pollock. Under Mark’s ownership, the show continued to grow and he instituted some key changes that would dramatically increase the show’s visibility. In 1989, Mark would bring Jimmy Wallace – one of the original exhibitors from the 1978 show – on board to assist in the planning and vision of the festival.
THE CHANGES
As the years have progressed, the show has increased in size and popularity. More and more people are coming to learn about guitars, whether it is experienced players, young children picking up their first guitar or savvy investors coming to the market. The show has grown at an incredible rate, and can now claim to be the world’s foremost celebration of the guitar.
One of the biggest changes to the festival since its inception has been the inclusion of live music. When Mark took ownership of the festival, he realized that music was an integral part of the guitar, and should be part of the show. In 1985, he started the Saturday Night Jam – a small party at a local nightclub featuring “really good players,” according to Mark. It has since featured accomplished musicians like Rick Derringer, Andy Timmons and James Burton – all playing together, for a once-ina- lifetime experience.
Building upon the appeal of the Saturday Night Jam, 1997 saw the inclusion of Musicfest into the show, bringing even more of the public into the guitar world. Spanning multiple indoor and outdoor stages, Musicfest featured the best local, regional and national acts throughout the weekend. “The Musicfest is starting to rival the guitars,” Mark has said. “People want to hear the music as much as they want to see the guitars.” This year’s acts will include Paul Reed Smith, Junior Brown, Phil Keaggy and George Lynch, just to name a select few.
Along with the addition of live music, the Dallas Guitar Festival has moved venues several times in its journey to becoming the world’s oldest and largest guitar show. In 1985, to support increasing crowds, Mark made the decision to move to a much larger venue. His first thought was to move into Dallas Market Hall, the site of Dallas’ largest shows and the world’s largest privately owned exhibition hall. “When Charley Wirz died in February of 1985, the first place I went to was Dallas Market Hall … I was told the months of February to May were booked for virtually 20 years.”
In 2004, after stints at the Dallas Convention Center and Fair Park, Mark was finally able to move into the Dallas Market Hall. This has provided various benefits for both vendors and attendees, including free parking and close accommodations, and has added to the Dallas show’s reputation as the world’s premier guitar show.
THE 2007 SHOW
As the 2007 Dallas International Guitar Festival opens, the promoters will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary, with over 800 booths, exhibitions and clinics. Attendees can expect a variety of great music and thousands of cool guitars. This year’s show will feature the neverbefore- seen Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition, sponsored by PRS Guitars. The museumquality offering will showcase Eric Clapton’s “Blackie,” a custom Fender Stratocaster, played by Clapton and auctioned at Christie’s in 2004 for $959,500 – making it the most expensive guitar of its kind to ever be auctioned. It will be displayed with his 1956 Fender Stratocaster “Brownie,” as well as the 1964 Gibson ES-335 that he played extensively with Cream. Also included in the exhibit will be guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, as well as some of Leo Fender’s original designs and the first Marshall amplifiers ever produced.
With more than 18,000 attendees and more than $3 million of instruments and memorabilia trading hands in 2006, it’s safe to say that attendees of the original Greater Southwest Vintage Guitar Show might have never dreamed the show would reach such heights. With this year’s additions, and the continued strength of the vintage market, the 2007 show will surely be the best yet. We’ll see you there.
Dallas Intrntl Guitar Festival 30th Anniversary
» Visitwww.guitarshow.com
