Custom Shop

[bruce egnater]

Not sure if this is appropriate to post here? If not, tell me to delete please.

After all these years, I am considering starting up the custom build/modification shop again. Not repairs but a place where you can turn your ideas into a reality. Sounds like fun?
Thanks
Bruce
begnater@aol.com

[xtian]

In my town, Sierra Nevada Brewery has Beer Camp, a kind of custom shop for brewing your own recipe.

Are you talking about letting customers DIY, or just taking custom orders?

[bruce egnater]

At this time only custom orders and modifications. What is your DIY idea? You know we already do classes where you build an amp? We also have been doing other classes that are teaching only, no building. Much more in depth presentation all about amp circuits, etc.

[Paultergeist]

Well, it sounds like it might be fun, Bruce, and if you really want to do it, then I think you should......

I would point out, however, that most of the folks I see on this forum want to build/tweak their amps themselves. That being the case, I do not believe that the members of this forum are your primary target market. Your target market would seem to me to be people who want someone else (that being you) to mod their amp for them.

I would think that you might want to spread the word locally among guitar stores, guitar repair shops, etc. Othewr musician's forums might also be good. If you build a website, you might showcase a few "before and after" sound bytes of some amps you have modded, etc.

Good luck with your project.

[bruce egnater]

Thank You, and I agree. Just putting this out there for feedback from everywhere. Hopefully I can offer something more for the DIY guys also.

[bruce egnater]

I kind of feel like I haven't been dating for a long time and want to get back into the circuit.....ha. A little older a little wiser.

[ampfab]

sounds like one of those "dream jobs" or "dream business". could it be profitable?
does it need to be profitable?
i always wanted to to own a hot rod shop and make a living building hot rods, but seems like a business model that is challenging to make work.

[bruce egnater]

Can one make a living just doing that....I doubt it. I have lots of other stuff going on too, so it is a feasible thing to add more chaos to my life, but in a good way. Trying to add (bring back) something really fun to my existence.

[ampfab]

could be a good opportunity to learn what people want in an amp and keep up with trends.

[sliberty]

Bruce - just my two cents.

I think most non builders would love the idea of having a custom amp built to their specs (even some builders would love it). But there are two key factors in my mind.

1. Price - Custom Shop guitars are generally pricey enough to discourage many potential buyers. If Custom Shop amps are ~$5K, it will really only interest a small audience.

2. Tweakability - this is your strength anyway, but it's worth mentioning. A custom built amp is not likely to be totally satisfying after the first time it is fired up. The odds are that the amp will need to be tweaked in order to meat the buyers expectations. This is partly because it is hard for a player to articulate the sounds he hears in his head (or wants to). So, the boards should be done with this in mind. You may be making changes, small or significant, once the buyer hears the amp and realizes how to tell you what he DOESN'T like about it.

Hope this helps in some way.
Steve

[Bob S]

I agree with Steve.
It's difficult to find a player who knows what he wants & can put it into words that you both understand.
Finding the same guy with enough money to make it viable...
They are out there - just not so many.
Very cool idea Bruce - especially if you don't have to rely on it as a primary source of income.

[gui_tarzan]

What I've heard from players I hang around is they want it ready to go and to sound "vintage" but we know that's not the case with a brand new amp. Caps, speakers and tubes need to be "burned in" before they sound like they're going to for the long term. I think this is what turned me off from new amps years ago, the ones I tried never had "that sound". Partially from my lack of skill as a guitar player (I play bass mostly) but also because I didn't know what to expect from a new versus old amp.

Now that I know the differences I think the biggest hurdle will be getting people to understand that a new amp will take some breaking in before they will hear what it's really going to sound like. Tweaking a new amp to get that sound from the start should be easy for someone like you, Bruce, but then when it's fully broken in will it still have that same tone? Will they like it then or will it change too much? It's definitely going to be a challenge, especially since different guitars and styles will affect the tone as well.

If you're up to spending the time on that, I say go for it.

[EtherealWidow]

+1 on what Bob said.

[beasleybodyshop]

Mr. Egnater, sounds like a cool idea. As an observer to the musical instrument industry and not someone on the inside, it appears to me that amps, guitars, pedals, etc are sold with an emphasis on visual appeal than tone. What I guess im getting at is with a custom shop, you could have something that was purpose made "just for you" and that kind of stuff always sells to people with egos who want to look apart from the crowd (read: musicians ) Im guilty of this myself. I catch myself drooling over the custom covered/wood engraved mesa boogie amps all the time. Im sure plenty of people do. The whole "personal" aspect of owning something custom will always be attractive. I say go for it!