Interview by Trent Salter

MH: Terry, we first interviewed you in June of 1999. Re-cap briefly a history of McInturff Guitars since conception and how you got into this business?
TCM: I read an article in Guitar Player about a luthier, which inspire me to become one. As a result guitars have paid my bills since late 1977. Terry C. McInturff Guitars, Inc. started up in August of 1996 and we have forged ahead-grown and prospered-despite tornadoes, hurricanes and innumerable business hurdles along the way. It's been a wild ride!

MH: Obviously a lot has changed in two years. What do you feel is the most positive change you've made since June of 1999?
TCM: We've assembled an incredible team of craftsmen here in the past two years. The finessing of the team is definitely the most positive change I've made since we last spoke. I think we have managed to do the near-impossible; to assemble a crack team that shares the same desire for excellence and something approaching a family feeling as well. I'm immensely proud of the people that I work with, in particular my wife Tracy. We simply would not be here without her. "Behind every good man is a great woman" is certainly true in my case.

MH: What technological or equipment updates have you made in the past two years?
TCM: We really have not made any radical equipment changes in the past two years; rather, we have focused on perfecting the techniques that were already in place in '99. We still do not use any CNC gear-TCM is a 100% analog shop. I've decided to invest in people instead of in machines and software. In my case this has paid off. There is a certain magic instilled in a guitar that has so much handwork involved in it's manufacture. It's almost a spiritual thing-something that I, or western science in general cannot readily explain. But it's there.

MH: What has been the greatest challenge for your company to overcome in the past two years?
TCM: Assembling this fabulous team has been the single greatest challenge. It's bragging, I know, but I'll put my team of seven up against any similar team in the business. We regularly out-produce (on a units per person level) many larger manufacturers who are equipped with the very latest CNC tooling. I'll let the product quality speak for itself.

MH: You have had some phenomenal growth in the past two years, how have you managed your growth?
TCM: We definitely have made great strides since ’99. Managing the growth is, of course, an ongoing challenge. Producing greater numbers while actually improving product quality has been interesting. It all boils down to the actual methods that we use to build the guitars. A majority of our methods are proprietary, even though we use the same analog tools that have been used for almost a century.

MH: What do you attribute your growth to over the past two years?
TCM: TCM's growth over the past two years is a testament to the power of word-of-mouth advertising. We've done absolutely no print ads to speak of in the past two years, yet the demand has more than doubled. One great thing is the TCM forum that was set up by fans (www.tcmforum.org). That has been a tremendous amount of fun. I post there regularly. Our dealers have done a great job as well. I'm very proud of our dealers and consider them to be my partners.

MH: Tell us about your new Single Cut Trem model?
TCM: I've always LOVED good Les Pauls! I've owned 12 and have worked on over 5,000 of them. The guitar that you refer to is the new trem version of my Taurus Standard model. The Taurus Standard is, basically, the Les Paul that I've always wanted. It's really more than just a simple update of the same old design. It's hard to talk about the Taurus without sounding like self-promoting hype-folks will just have to try one! It will produce the whole range from fat Allman tones to snappy Ritchie Blackmore. The new Taurus Standard T features a great sounding vibe bridge that you can really work the heck out of and it WILL stay in tune yet the tones are more along the lines of the tune-o-matic version. I don't think that this has been done before on a guitar of this type. But you all be the judge!

MH: What's in the R & D Department at McInturff Guitars and any special premiers for the summer NAMM Show?
TCM: I won't say what I'm developing and I've got new stuff underway, but we'll be showing the new Taurus Marathon at the show. It's an all mahogany, chambered version of the Taurus Standard that retails for $2,695.

MH: What's in the future for McInturff Guitars and how do you see the guitar market evolving in the next few years?
TCM: Obviously, no one can predict the future in this line of work. I will venture to say that the guitar market will continue along the current line for the next several years. There are not many more opportunities open in the market place for new guitar companies. That is for sure, I believe.

Very special thanks to Terry and Tracy McInturff and all the cool cats at McInturff Guitars. Congratulations and best of luck from Musicians Hotline.

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