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Monday, December 17, 2012

Feature Story: Knowing The Difference Between Buying A Custom vs Boutique Guitar ...

Local Music Gear Feature Story 
Written By:
Jac Harrison
Many people overuse the words custom and boutique when describing their guitar, and for the most part they have no idea what it means. Just because it says custom or boutique on the head stock doesn't mean that it is. For example, some guitar manufacturers will call an entire line boutique, or a standard model a "custom/custom shop" to attract a buyer without the hefty price tag that comes with a true custom or boutique guitar. This doesn't mean that they aren't great guitars -- just that they are not what they claim to be. It is the same concept that the word artisan is to the food industry. If you believe that there is a dude with a handlebar mustache singing songs from the old country in the back of your grocery store while making a special batch of bread just for you...can I sell you a bridge?

To fully understand the value in a custom or boutique guitar you must first understand the differences between them. A boutique guitar is made by a company that offers a highly specialized service and product by a master luthier and is normally an al la carte ordering process. It's like buying a Maybach -- you meet with the builder and get everything you want within your price range. A custom guitar is a standard model that you have either bought from or sent to a custom shop or have modified yourself. For example -- if you had a Mercedes Benz and wanted to add a few features to it making it personalized to fit your style -- you would get what you could from the dealer and then drop it off at a custom shop for the rest. This is the same concept, but with guitars. Because of the amount of personal attention that goes into a boutique build vs a custom there is a significant price difference between the two. Boutique is at the top of the food chain and is king, where custom is next in line to the throne -- but needs some work first.

To better explain I have chosen two guitars by two very different guitar manufacturers. Both are well made instruments and are excellent examples of the boutique and custom guitar categories. We will be looking at a boutique (4) string bass by master luthier Brian Jeppson out of East Brunswick NJ and a customized Gamma (4) string production model Beta bass from Holmdel NJ. Both are on the Jazz (J) bass platform with (2) passive (J) style pickups and (J) style controls.

Boutique
When shopping for a boutique guitar you really need to know where to go. Unlike buying a production model where you can just walk into any store or shop online -- it is all about finding a trusted luthier. There are a few ways you can find a luthier in your local area that makes quality instruments. First you can use the Local Music Gear directory and browse through, knowing that the the luthiers listed with us are of the highest caliber. Second--go to a guitar show. There are hundreds of guitar shows all over the country where luthiers have a booth to show off their latest and greatest. Last is by word of mouth -- ask the guys at your local music store if they know anyone that makes quality guitars. Never ever go to a form -- 11 out of 10 times you get someone who has a little knowledge about guitars giving a technical review of a company.

For our example of a boutique guitar I went to Bryan Jeppson -- a local lutiher in NJ. The ordering process is very different then buying an off-the-rack model. Now the guitar we where given for this was story was a duplicate of one that was made for a client, but if I was ordering for myself I would have received the full royal treatment.

When buying form Jeppson Guitars you make an appointment to meet with Bryan Jeppson for a fitting -- like buying a suit. You either talk via phone or you can stop by his workshop -- in his log cabin. The first step is deciding what you want from type of tone-woods to the electronics, hardware, inlay material/design, and body style and shape. Bryan makes 95% of the guitar by hand including the pickups and uses only the best hardware available including machine heads, bridges, saddles, and pots. Once you have commissioned Bryan to make your new love you then leave and come back when she is completed. The entire build process can take up to two months depending on the availability of the materials you have selected--but you are getting your dream guitar. Bryan is a true gentleman and one hell of a luthier -- so you are guaranteed to get a beautiful handcrafted guitar without any problems or runarounds.

This (4) sting Jeppson bass has a high gloss cherry air dried back with a high gloss walnut top leading into satin tapered walnut neck with a Bois de Rosa/Palisander fingerboard featuring sea snail box inlays and evo alloy frets (more durable than traditional nickel silver, but without the harsh tone of stainless steel) topped with a bone nut and gold hardware. At her heart she has a matching set of hand wound passive Jeppson (J) bass style pickups pushed through an Audere Audio Engineering bass guitar preamp that was specifically designed for Jeppson Guitars by Audere Audio Engineering.

Her street price is $2,100 USD with case + shipping (if you do not pick her up). Buy this guitar on special for $1,800 USD  -click here-

Custom
Shopping for a custom guitar is very different than shopping for a boutique guitar. The first step in the process is the same as shopping for any other guitar you have every bought before -- you go play it in a local store or shop online -- the custom part comes after the purchase.  This is also a great way to put new life into an old friend.

Now that you have your guitar and you are ready to make her special/custom there are a few places to shop for parts to customize your guitar. My favorite is WD Music Products for hardware and electronics, but depending on the build I sometimes like to use Seymour Duncan pickups -- as I have in this case.

For this example of a custom guitar I went with production model Beta bass from Gamma Bass Guitars based out of Holmdel NJ. Since this was a production model all I had to do was e-mail them and I had the bass in my hands a few days later. The reason why I decided to use a Gamma was that the quality of the guitar for the price was much better than other off-the-shelf guitars within the same price range. Since I went into this with the mindset that I was going to customize her, all I really cared about was how the guitar felt and the quality of the tone-woods. Other (J) style bass guitars I played within my price range where made from the wood that the manufacturer wouldn't put in their higher priced production models -- and that is not what I wanted.

After getting the guitar home and going through her to make sure she was built the way I was told -- I took her apart. The first thing I did was sand the shine off of her neck and head-stock to give he a satin finish. I put (1) coat of true oil on to protect the raw wood from the elements and lightly polished with steel wool after 48 hours of drying. Next I upgraded her heart with a matching set of Seymour Duncan passive Antiquity (J) bass pickups and pushed them through an Audere Audio Engineering JZ3 bass guitar preamp. Last I dressed her up with a new maple pickguard to offset her silver alder body from her maple neck to give her a sexy even balance between man-made and nature.

I took my time as I always do and from start to finish (excluding drying time) the whole process took me 4 hours /6 beers. If you do not know how to rewire or setup a guitar you should have a luthier from your local music store do the modifications. There will be an hourly charge + bench fee. The total investment will be well worth it.

What we did with total cost
Gamma Beta Bass - $750 
Seymour Duncan Pickups - $119
Audere Audio Engineering JZ3 Preamp - $149 
Tusq Nut - $14 
Maple Pickguard - $39 
Truoil - $5
Cotton Rags - $13 
Steel wool -$6 
Sandpaper-$7

Total doing it myself: $1,102

If you use a luthier:
Luthier fee $375

Total if I used a local luthier: $1,477

Her street price with these mods is $1,600 USD + shipping. Buy this guitar on special for $1,200 USD   -click here-

When buying a boutique or customizing a guitar you do so knowing that it becomes an extension of you. You never have to adjust it or break it in--it was made by you or for you, with no one else in mind. There are no marketing meetings by a large company to see if a cretin demographic will enjoy a particular color or if anyone will be offended by it for its nontraditional design. It is a guitar you will keep and love forever.

Both the Jeppson and the Gamma bass guitars in this article are wonderful and play better than any off-the-shelf bass I have ever played. If you would like to play or buy either guitar please contact us.  -click here-


Contact

Jeppson Guitars
EastBrunswick, NJ
bryan@jeppsonguitars.com 
jeppsonguitars.com 

Gamma Custom Bass Guitars
Holmdel, NJ 
gammabassguitars@rocketmail.com
facebook.com/GammaBassGuitars

Audere Audio
4909 S Coast Hwy, Suite 295
South Beach, Oregon 97366
(P) 541 867-6878 
audereaudio.com 

The Seymour Duncan Company 
5427 Hollister Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93111-2345, USA
P (805) 964-9610
F (805) 964-9749
seymourduncan.com
  
Posted 12/2012

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