|
December / January 2005
|
|
|
|
by Trent Salter
|
|
MH: Vince, give us a background on the history of New Orleans Guitars, and how you started the company? Vincent: My background is actually classical sculpture; figurative stone carving to be more exact. I had been doing a lot of commercial sculpting in the architectural and decorative fields and decided to try my hand at building a guitar for myself. The first one was functional, but definitely lacked the finesse of a great guitar. It was actually pretty funky looking, but it was a good start. I just kept refining the design and selling them to friends to pay for materials. After the bombing in New York, a lot of businesses took a knee jerk reaction hit, mine included, so I downsized the sculpture studio and decided to try my hand at building professionally while I still continued with the carving to pay the bills.
Vincent: The first guitars to hit the market through dealers only happened about two years ago. There were some bumps in the road at first, like any new venture, but I kept at it and I guess through sheer stubbornness, here we are. MH: The tone from the Deep South is the trademark of the company. Some real quality woods are available in your neck of the woods. Tell us about some of the exotic woods that are offered on your guitars. Vincent: I guess the most notable oddity in the woods that we use, are some of the top woods. As I started looking at what other builders were doing, I kept seeing the same maple/mahogany combos over and over, which is cool, I like that sound, but I wanted to see what I could offer that was uniquely Louisiana. I spend a lot of my free time hunting or fishing in the swamps and marshes surrounding New Orleans and always wondered what some of those woods would sound like. So in addition to the better known swamp ash, I started experimenting with cypress. Cypress is closely related to yew and spruce so I figured it was worth trying. Turns out that cypress produces one of the richest sounding guitars around. There are so many varieties in density that you can really tailor a guitar to a particular sound using it. The figure in cypress is also very different. There's a certain chaos to it unlike the perfect symmetry of other figured woods. It's very different altogether. So I've been harvesting a bunch of the old growth sinker cypress and swamp ash and drying it out slowly.
Vincent: Standard models that I offer include the Voodoo Custom, which is a no holds barred neck through chambered solid body, a Voodoo bolt on, and the JB14, which is a fat version of the Voodoo in a semi hollow design. I still will do custom instrument designs. At the moment I'm building a classical guitar for a customer, which has been a nice change from the norm and actually spurred me into doing some R&D for an acoustic line for the future.
Vincent: Although the design has changed over the last few years a good bit, the main objective has always been to produce an instrument for the playing musician. As someone who played in bands around New Orleans, I knew what I wanted in a guitar. First and foremost it had to be able to take a beating, be comfortable to play for three hours at a time, and be versatile in it's voicing. So naturally the neck was my main focus. I had seen so many designs that just didn't stand up long term. I figured that the most stable neck had to be a laminated neck through design with some extra meat behind the head/neck joint. The carved backs really do a good job in not only cutting down on weight but also present the fretboard to the player in a very comfortable position .The carved tops allow me to use a full 3/4'' of top wood in the design because of the neck angle. The wood that the bridge is mounted into has a lot to do with the overall sonic color range of an instrument so by having this kind of thickness in the top wood, I can nail down what the finished sound will be. But guitars won't sell unless they are really something to look at as well. So I try to exceed expectations by using all wood bindings and trim work like pickup rings and knobs as well as the best wood that I can get my hands on.
Vincent: I get guys from all playing styles and backgrounds. I recently built a guitar for Willie Nelson, but most of these players are just really talented guys looking for a great guitar that they can feel at home with. Naturally, the local players are either jazz or blues guys. Unfortunately, because of the work that goes into these instruments, they carry a price tag that reflects that. So, my customers tend to be the guys that have come to the realization that it's better to have one or two great instruments rather than twenty mediocre ones.
Vincent: Basses are custom order only at this time. MH: What do you feel are the most unique aspects of your guitars? Vincent: When you pick up one of these guitars, it doesn't take long to realize all of the little things that went into its design and construction. They might look fairly conventional at first glance, but you find out real quick that they are anything but ordinary. MH: New Orleans Guitars are not only beautiful cosmetically, but are truly designed from a "players" perspective. Tell us how you feel players relate to your designs.
MH: Are your guitars available direct, or specifically through dealers? Vincent: I really only have a couple of dealers at the moment, but they're the right dealers. I am looking to pick up a couple more of the right dealers at the moment.
Vincent: I'm looking forward to the growth of the company a little at a time as long as I can keep quality in check. I think that being a little creative in design and keeping high standards is the only way to get noticed in this business. There's a lot for the consumer to choose from these days. The more informed a customer is, the better choice he or she can make.
|
This
months Builder Profile features tone from down south. New Orleans
Guitar hales from the Southern bay yoo. Master Builder Vincent Guidroz
shares his unique style of luthiering in this months Musicians Hotline.
Nothing but the finest exotic woods are used by this incredible
luthier. Another great example of our one off, boutique, grass roots
builders, that make this such a wonderful time to be a guitar player.
God Bless our small builders! Here is what Vincent shared with us
regarding New Orleans Guitar...
MH:
When was the first New Orleans Guitar available to the general
public that bared the branding on the headstock?
MH:
Tell us about the different models that you offer and explain
each.
MH:
Vince, your guitars incorporate a couple of very unique features.
Your neck designs, as well as your incredible carved tops and backs.
Tell us a little more about these two areas and why you feel they
are so important to your design.
MH:
Who would you consider to be a typical customer, or player of
your guitars?
MH:
New Orleans Guitars also builds high-end basses. Tell us about
the models you offer.
Vincent:
You just know as a player when something feels right. Guys that
have been around the block really appreciate the ergonomics of these
guitars, the tonal versatility and the thought that went into the
design.
Information:
Return to:
