Welcome to StrumSchool.com’s first ever streaming audio blog post! We are happy to share an interview that we conducted with Paul Brzozowski from Tsunami Guitars with you. Paul is a luthier who has been making custom guitars for roughly three years. His work on Tsunami Guitars is absolutely beautiful (see above) and reasonably priced ($475-715). We were able to spend a few minutes picking Paul’s brain to get the dirt about how custom guitars are made. Here is the recording of our conversation with Paul:
StrumSchool: Can you tell us about how Tsunami Guitars got started?
Tsunami Guitar: Well, Tsunami Guitar started on an idea in September 2009 when a co-worker asked me, since I had forty years of woodworking experience and am a master woodworker that was learning how to play the guitar, would I considered building guitars. So, I went home with my engineering background and took a look at what I would change out of my own collection and about eight weeks later, Tsunami 001 came out of the shop in late October 2009. I still owned that guitar.
Then I went through a long sales and marketing training period of about ten months to learned how to sell guitars to people who want them custom-built. Sales finally took off in October 2010. Now I have number 42 on the bench!
StrumSchool: What are the steps you go through when you’re making a guitar?
Tsunami Guitar: Well, since I’m a custom builder, I build to the customer’s requirements.
1. Guitar Style: People come to me with an idea. They may want a Telecaster style or a Les Paul style or one gentleman designed his own body. Well that actually happened two or three times.
2. Setup & Electronics: From there we talk about how it’s going to feel, the scale length, the pickups that they are going to want, where they are going to be located, what kind of selection switch they are going to want for the pickup, how many tone pots and so on.
3. Wood Type: Then we get into the body woods. What kind of wood they want.
4. Color: All of my guitars are natural color except for one or two that I have made with sunburst. And I think I painted one in a silverburst. But usually it is natural wood so I use a lot of exotic woods.
5. Finishing Touches: And then we go to some final things such as weight. I use all microcellular lacquer finishes. We talk about maybe tuners and some other things that they may be concerned about – what kind of bridge they want.
6. Price & Payment: From there, we finally can decide on the final guitar. I quote them, they send me a deposit. They get put in-line to be built and then when the time comes, I build the guitar. They try it out when it is built and final payment is made – and that is how it works.
StrumSchool: So how long does it take you to make each individual guitar?
Tsunami Guitar: Well there is about 16 – 20 hours of shop-work and then, after that, there is about three hours of set-up time. But that shop-work is spread out over two to three weeks since there is a lot of “wait”time. You have to wait for the layers of lacquer to dry so each one can be polished. The wiring takes certain amount of time. The pickguard is made at a different point in the process finish, so I can do the wiring the pickguard while I am spraying the body over a few days. The neck has to be set-up and the fret has to be checked and so on and so forth. There is a lot that goes into it. It really is a world of really small measurements. But all that, in about three weeks, I can get one out.
StrumSchool: How many guitars do you work on at any given time?
Tsunami Guitar: I try to work on one at a time. I have done two at a time, a couple of times but I’ve got to be honest – it doesn’t make them come out of the shop any faster. Each one still requires the same amount of work and I actually prefer working on them one at a time. It just helps a lot to be able to give one guitar your full attention and make sure that things go correctly. Over all, I have tried as many as three but it is too much for my shop. I am a one-man operation like a lot of private luthiers. So, preferably, one at a time.
StrumSchool: What do you think beginner guitar players should look for when they are buying their first guitar?
Tsunami Guitar: I tell you this, most people go out for price. But for me, what you need, really need to look for is how the guitar strings feel in relation to the guitar body. If you buy a guitar where the strings are just too far-off the guitar, it is not going to be easy to play. If you can’t get that corrected for a very reasonable sum or if it just cannot be corrected because the guitar was so poorly made, it just really puts the big damper on beginner players. They need a real easy guitar to play.
Also, you have got to a guitar that fits your body. Most people start by sitting down – almost everybody begins sitting down. How does the guitar sit on your lap? How does your right arm come over the guitar if you are right-handed, how does your left arm wrap around the neck if you are right-handed? Those items are very important. Sound is kind of secondary on electric guitars because the amplifiers can make so many different sounds. On an acoustic guitar, it becomes a personal touch to your own ear. So you have to try out a few. I think the best thing to do is make sure that you pick up a few guitars and sit down with them even if you cannot play anything but a single note and try them out.
StrumSchool: If I were a beginner guitar player and somebody handed me a guitar, what would you suggest I look for first to tell if it is a good one?
Tsunami Guitar:
All Guitars: Well, I will tell you the first thing to do is to check the relationship of the strings to the guitar. If it is in tune, you would want to run up and down the fret board one fret at a time – even if you only pluck one string at a time. Make sure that the sound is true going up and down the fret board – that the strings are not going to buzz and make funny noises as you play.
Electric: Beyond that, if it is an electric, make sure it gets plugged in to an amplifier, sounds good and clean. Does it make all of the different sounds that the selector switch offers? Does the volume and tone work correctly?
Acoustic: You want to make sure that there isn’t any funny buzzing or that the body is not making any weird noises, rattles – a lot of times that can happen. It is more looking for ease of play and a fierce sound that appeals to your ear. The other thing of course is how it fits your body.
StrumSchool: Any last thoughts on what beginners should know how guitars are made?
Tsunami Guitar: Well, the big thing I think in my mind is, do not be afraid to buy a guitar that is made overseas. A lot of them are becoming as good as what is made in the U.S. I myself lived in Shanghai, China for sixteen months as a Manufacturing V.P. I can tell you that the Chinese are making some products that are ever bit as good. As long as they have the correct instructions and quality control, most of the major companies put out quality beginner guitars. So don’t be afraid to bet.
The other thing is, you might want to take a look at options on used guitars a lot of people give up for crazy reasons that make no sense and the instruments are still like new. And you can save a lot of money in that way. So that is another option to look on to.
StrumSchool: How can someone interested in a Tsunami Guitar they get in-touch with you?
Tsunami Guitar: I can be reached on TsunamiGuitars.com. I am also available on Facebook.com. Either one of those two is a good way to get hold of me.
StrumSchool: Great! Thanks so much Paul and everyone else that’s listening. All you beginner guitar players…
Keep rockin’!!!
