Rock N Roll Relics interview with customguitarboutique.com

Billy Rowe of Rock n Roll Relics is not your most traditional Luthier. For starters he is quite an accomplished musician.

A founding member of the 80's band Rock band JETBOY, (who have since reunited with a new release out March 2nd), have done countless worldwide and US tours and sold over 300,000 records. He also had a run with his 90's band American Heartbreak on a more punk rock level.

Billy still manages to output some of the most gorgeous Relic and period pieces that are to die for.

That being said Billy was kind enough to answer our 10 Luthier Questions.

CGB: Let’s start from the beginning how did you generate interest in the guitar?

Billy: My Introduction to guitar was seeing Ace Frehley of KISS with his Tabacco burst Les Paul slung down low !! from that day on It was all about Guitars and Rock N' Roll.

CGB: What inspired you to become a luthier?

Billy: I was always Into working with with hands since I was a kid from car model kits to tinkering on my guitars. In high school I built my first electric solid body guitar. Through the years I put together guitars which lead to me having a business building Relics.

CGB: When did you finally realize you could earn a living building guitars?

Billy: I restored an old 1966 Telecaster and decided to build a clone version for myself which I ended up selling. After surfing the Internet I saw there was a growing love for beat up relic guitars so I started Rock N' Roll Relics and It's been growing more for me each year.

CGB: Since day one of becoming a luthier, after all the experience through the years what is the fundamental thing you still do today that you did in the beginning?

Billy: I'd say a little bit of everything still, from emailing customers to building the guitars and taking photos of them. The one thing I don't do now Is my website.

CGB: What is your luthier or guitar building horror story?

Billy: Hmmm, luckily nothing to be, maybe over aging some parts ?? but that happens when your doing more than one thing at a time.

CGB: How different are things today as far as luthery and the industry goes from when you first started building, any significant changes?

Billy: Not to much ? there's definitely more of a want for what I do out there now which means more people trying to build good looking relics.

CGB: Have you ever had to deal with a customer who knew for sure they wanted a guitar from you, and then when you asked them what they were looking for, had the slightest clue about why they wanted one of your guitars?

Billy: Never really experienced this, they pretty much know exactly what they want, or leave it up to me from seeing my work.

CGB: Do you have any favorite woods as far as sound and ease of use? For example I know cocobolo is very dense and can be a challenge to carve by hand.

Billy: Well, since my main thing Is Tele and Strat clones It's mainly Ash and Alder I work with.

CGB: What would you say to up and coming builders who are just starting out?

Billy: Pay attention to detail, It goes a long ways.

CGB: In your opinion who is the most influential Luthier?

Billy: I don't really have a favorite or a main Influence when It comes to this, I think those who are good at what they do stand their own ground, I'v seen work by many great builders and I salute them all.

Rock n Roll Relics guitars may be purchased via: customguitarboutique.com Come pay us a visit.

Customguitarboutique.com is currently awaiting the arrival of a period piece to be sold exclusively via Customguitarboutique.com. If you are in the NYC Area and would like to test drive it please contact us to schedule an appointment.

Marco Sfogli talks to custom guitar boutique about his Rash

This month we are changing things up a bit. We pursued Marco Sfogli who is one of Rash Guitars artists and see if he would take the time to talk to us about his Guitar.

Marco was very generous with his time and gladly agreed to talk about live performance, gear and his Signature MT Monster by Rash.

Italian Virtuoso Marco Sfogli has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with in the Guitar World.

Marco is most known for his guitar work on the James Labrie Album Elements of Persuasion and has shared the stage with the likes of Jordan Rudess and Alex Argento just to name a few; and his Album "There's Hope" takes us through a very diverse repertoire of Marco's extraordinary technique and songwriting abilities.

CGB: Let’s start from the beginning how did you generate interest in the guitar
Marco Sfogli: I always had guitars around here, my parents are both musicians. My father in particular is a classical guitarist and that eventually influenced me on choosing the main instrument. Before that I switched a lot of instruments, I was an undecided!!! Percussions first, drums next and even keyboards for a short amount of time. I wasn't forced to play tho, they've been always supportive letting me to decide whether becoming a professional musician or not.


CGB: How did your endorsement with Rash Guitars come about?
Marco Sfogli: It happened soon after the Elements of Persuasion tour, back in 2005. I was a Music Man guy, played the whole record and the following tour with Petrucci guitars and felt it was the right time to have something different, something more personal.

I contacted several other companies, some of them very big in the biz but didn't get any reply so I came across a sort of video footage of a showcase held in Italy and there were these beautiful guitars at some point. Dropped an email to Ruggero at Rash and he was kind enough to send me a prototype which was awesome. It just felt mine from the first time, the quality of the neck and the body shape, everything was just perfect. With some tweakings we came out with the signature model which is exactly what I'm using right now since.

CGB: Tell us a little bit about your signature guitar with rash that we don’t already know
Marco Sfogli: Hmmm, probably that it sound better than any other guitar I've owned and tried so far? Hahaha, there's not much to know than what is known already, we experimented a lot with different pickups, different bridges and so on and in the end it sound great anyway. Also the standard version is superlight which is very good if you have to play every night and he mount stainless frets which are very very hard to wear.


CGB: When did you finally realize you could earn a living Playing professionally?
Marco Sfogli: Soon after I finished the high school. I knew I was ready and tried to get some notoriety in my area playing gigs with cover bands and with my parent’s band at the same time, doing some sessions for recording studios and of course private lessons. Once I got the spot on Alex Argento's "EGO" I felt I was ready.


CGB: Be honest! What part of the world do you prefer to play the most and why?
Marco Sfogli: Most US players find Europe or Japan being their favorite places to perform. I think because this sort of "magic" that an US name brings with it. For an European guy I think it's quite different, I didn't get the same response in Europe like I had in the US, probably 'cause I'm European, I don't know but it's the exact opposite. Never been in Japan though, but would love to play there so in the end the best place I've played so far is the States. The reaction I got there was absolutely amazing and totally unexpected! Too bad it were just three shows.


CGB: I noticed on your website you are selling some of your gear, are you upgrading to some new gear?, what’s in the new marco guitar setup these days?
Marco Sfogli: Sold some stuff that didn't really used anymore. Some rack gears for example, I had a Triaxis since the James LaBrie tour and I felt it was time to change. These days I'm using a mix of real tube amps, mostly a Mesa Boogie Lonestar and Studio Preamp for leads and cleans and this unit called Axe FX from Fractal Audio for all the rhythms and weird effects. I think I found my holy grail in terms of tone!

CGB: So we know you have the chops to hold your own with the Petrucci’s and Gilbert’s of the world, what other style of guitar playing would you like to pursue in the future if any?
Marco Sfogli: I actually like the way I play right now. Even if I've been labeled as a Petrucci clone since the beginning, and that's a hard label to deal with, I think I have my own voice on the instrument. Of course there's still a lot of ground to work on but I feel comfortable now technically and melodically speaking, I would like to be able to write better songs.


CGB: What doesn’t the guitar world know about Marco Sfogli, the Italian guitar virtuoso?
Marco Sfogli: That I play also typical folk instruments like Mandolin, Mandocello and Mandola for example. Or maybe that I'm about to become a father...that I'm lazy almost like the Dude from Big Lebowsky and that I still play Playstation 3 in my spare time. And this is just the tip of the ice, there are so many things that people don't know about me.

CGB: What can your American fans expect to see in 2010 from you?
A load of things, I got involved in so many projects recently but can't say more. Probably even a new solo record when I'll be able to find the time.

CGB: What advice would you give to up and coming guitar players that want a career in music?
Marco Sfogli: The advice I can give to up and coming guitar players is to listen as much music as possible, don't stick to one genre and keep an open mind. If you want to be a pro you gotta be well trained to any musical situation!

CGB: In your opinion who is the most influential Guitar Player of all time?
Marco Sfogli: Both Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen had the same impact on the guitar scene back in the day. So I guess these two, with all the respect for the rest!

Rash guitars may be purchased via: customguitarboutique.com Come pay us a visit.

Customguitarboutique.com currently has one of Rash' guitars to help our customers decide if they would like to purchase one. If you are in the NYC Area and would like to test drive it please contact us to schedule an appointment.

Davide Garbujo Chats with Custom Guitar Boutique

Italian Artisan Davide Garbujo has it all. Excellent work ethic, flawless woodworking technique, his own proprietary pickups and the largest guitar building workshop in all of Italy.

Yet with all of his great accomplishments he is the nicest, most modest Luthier we've come into contact with.

At a recent viewing of his guitars in NYC, Jazz sensation Mike Moreno said: ...wow, I wish I had a guitar like this when I was playing with Joshua Redman, I can't believe how effortlessly the sound comes out of these pickups without even trying.

NYC Jazz Composer/Vocalist Guitarist Joe Giglio told me: It's really nice to play in the upper registers, your hand fits right in....btw, can I buy some of davide's pickups? These things are Warm as.....(I"m sure you know what he meant.)

There is so much happening for 2010, Davide will unveil a few new project's he's working on that will surely blow us all away, the fuse we currently have can go from, archtop like Jazz tones, to stratty like round tones, to hot rodded shred tones. We are so happy to be working with davide and are greatful he took the time to chat with us.

CGB: Let’s start from the beginning how did you generate interest in the guitar?

Davide: I started playing the piano as a child. I made it into the conservatory and then after 10 years I moved on to keyboards.

Like all teenagers I was a rebel. I absolutely wanted to be a rockstar. One day making room in the garage to play with some friends, I found an old electric guitar that had only 3 strings; I had never played a guitar up to that moment so three strings was plenty for me..

I remained literally bewitched by that Instrument, that’s how it all started.

CGB: What inspired you to become a luthier?

Davide: As a child I saw my father and my grandfather work with wood, this was always and still is a fascinating thing for me.

After a few years of studying the guitar I began to buy guitars of every type, even if my dream was a LP and a strat that naturally I could not afford. I started experimenting with guitars of every type, until one day decided that it was the moment to build the guitar of my dreams with my hands.

I began to harshly work using the tools of my father and the wood tables that I had found thrown on the side of the garage. Since that moment I developed an interest in guitar making, and all the famous luthiers.

One day fate put me in touch with a famous Italian luthier. I began to study and practice in a school laboratory with hopes to open mine.

CGB: When did you finally realize you could earn a living building guitars?

Davide: I decided to risk everything and try to earn my living doing this full time, it’s very beautiful to immerse yourself in what you love . In the beginning it is indeed hard, but now i'm here!

CGB: Since day one of becoming a luthier, after all the experience through the years what is the fundamental thing you still do today that you did in the beginning?

Davide: A lot of things have changed since the beginning. I mainly worked in a garage doing repairs for friends and acquaintances, then the voice of reason finally arrived pushing me to get organized and open my own workshop.

I don't work with numerical control machinery, mine is a completely manual job and to build a guitar introduces a different list of problems, in Italy they say that the art of an artisan is that to know him to get by and to always find a solution to the problems.

Today I can count on a woodshop that is organized in an efficient way that allows me to work in a clean and orderly fashion which gives me an advantage for a “high quality product”.

CGB: What is your luthier or guitar building horror story?

Davide: In July I participated as an exhibitor in the Montreal guitar show. I sent the guitars well in advance, to have the certainty that they would have arrived with punctuality.

Me and Igor (Mazzone); the guitarist that shows my guitars, had arrived in Canada but in the hotel they told us that they had not seen any guitar...

I look for the consignment through the website of the company of consignments but the guitars were still in Paris and there were only two days to the beginning of the show.

At the moment I became frozen with anxiety and then panic overcomes me! Naturally i spend the following night without closing eyes thinking to a possible solution. The following morning the organizers of the Show contacted me and they tell me that the guitars are found in customs but they don't know if and when they will be released...what an anguish!

In the afternoon, I was contacted a few times by a customs agent who told me that he will deliver the guitars himself.

The following morning we went to the venue; all the other luthiers had already prepared their instruments and the show was about to open to the public, and I still don't have the guitars.

At exactly a quarter before the beginning it sprouts from the void Fernando, a boy of the customs that tells me with the smile: "...are you Garbujo? Perhaps these are your guitars!"

The only thing that I have been able to say : ".... I love you!"

CGB: How different are things today as far as luthery and the industry goes from when you first started building, any significant changes?

Davide: I believe that the industry and the luthery cannot be compared. The numbers of the industry are gigantic, a luthier is an artist, is able to a relatively low number of instruments, to advantage of the quality', surely.

Today's industry offers products of Asian mass production with advantageous prices, giving the opportunity to everybody to have an instrument.

For the one who looks for something unique and personalized, a instrument without time, created completely by hand in small numbers, an instrument to be collected and hardly built with the best materials the luthier will be' always the figure of reference.

A guitar of luthery is like a painting, a piece of art to jealously preserve and to taste with the soul, as a glass of good wine of year is tasted!

CGB: Have you ever had to deal with a customer who knew for sure they wanted a guitar from you, and then when you asked them what they were looking for, had the slightest clue about why they wanted one of your guitars? How did you deal with it?

Davide: Over that for the finishes, details, design and the aesthetics my clients love the dynamics of my sound, the warmth, the expression.

I try to create a personal sound, that doesn't imitate other guitars, but how tipsy of proper light.

I always succeed in understanding what a client wants, for me clients are special and I absolutely have to satisfy them.

When a client orders a guitar from me they know they will receive exactly the guitar they had in mind when they initially walked into my shop. This is the reputation I have acquired after years of working closely with my customers.

CGB: Do you have any favorite woods as far as sound and ease of use? For example I know cocobolo is very dense and can be a challenge to carve by hand.

Davide: I primarily use mahogany and ash for the bodies and maple for top and necks.

the maple quilted is the wood that I prefer for my tops, expect to see the range in 2010, it will be very rich.

CGB: What would you say to up and coming builders who are just starting out?

Davide: My suggestion would be to get a good teacher to learn from immediately so you can make things in the correct way.

Experimenting alone is a waist of a lot of precious time and money, if there is someone that makes you see the things in the correct way you’ll learn allot beforehand!

CGB: In your opinion who is the most influential Luthier?

Davide: There are so many the luthiers that I esteem, a name doesn't come particularly to mind but If I had to recommend someone from Europe, I would say without a doubt Frank Hartung and Nik Huber and my teacher, Mr.Frudua.

Garbujo guitars may be purchased via: customguitarboutique.com Come pay us a visit.

Customguitarboutique.com currently has one of Davide's Fuse guitars to help our customers decide if they would like to purchase one. If you are in the NYC Area and would like to test drive it please contact us to schedule an appointment.

UK Builder Stuart Mewburn interview with Custom Guitar Boutique

Stuart Mewburn has been refining his craft as a luthier since 1972. This UK based luthier has made copies of some of the most influential builders of the modern guitar.

Stuart has had his fair share in researching the likes of Robert Bouchet, Santos Hernandez, Hernandez & Aguado, and Ignacio Fleta to name a few.

Stuart's guitars are the next step! Improving upon what these master luthiers accomplished, stuart has added his own innovations to his guitars giving the player, better projection while preserving the aesthetic charm of the modern guitar.

CGB: Let’s start from the beginning how did you generate interest in the guitar?

Stuart: When I was a kid I discovered a record player in the attic and a pile of 78s beside it. One of those records was Hank Williams singing "Cigarettes and whisky and wild, wild women, they'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane." I was hooked. I nagged my Dad until he got me some guitar lessons.
What inspired you to become a luthier - I saw a TV programme about a guy who lived in a trailer on Georgian Bay and made guitars in it. Some how he got his guitar into the hands of Segovia. Segovia was asked by the presenter what he thought. Segovia thought for a moment then said, "It is nice, but it doesn't quite have...". Here he put his finger tips together, pushed and then relaxed them. "...this" he said. I had no idea what he was talking about but the guy obviously loved what he was doing and wasn't put off by the opacity of the remark. It stuck in my mind as an interesting thing to do.

CGB: What inspired you to become a luthier?

Stuart: I saw a TV programme about a guy who lived in a trailer on Georgian Bay and made guitars in it. Some how he got his guitar into the hands of Segovia. Segovia was asked by the presenter what he thought. Segovia thought for a moment then said, "It is nice, but it doesn't quite have...". Here he put his finger tips together, pushed and then relaxed them. "...this" he said. I had no idea what he was talking about but the guy obviously loved what he was doing and wasn't put off by the opacity of the remark. It stuck in my mind as an interesting thing to do.

CGB: When did you finally realize you could earn a living building guitars?

Stuart: About 25 years after I built my first guitar.

CGB: Since day one of becoming a luthier, after all the experience through the years what is the fundamental thing you still do today that you did in the beginning?

Stuart: On a solera, the spanish way. Neck first, top next, then sides and back.

CGB: What is your luthier or guitar building horror story?

Stuart: A client from the US ordered a classical guitar. I was just finishing it and sent him some pictures. He said he'd changed his mind and wanted a flamenco guitar instead built with the same wood. I explained that the wood (very old Brazilian Rosewood) was now part of a classical guitar and I wasn't about to take it apart.. Arguments went on for a month and finally he agreed to have the flamenco built in another set of rosewood.

When it was finished he complained about two filled worm holes in the new back which I thought added character. I told him that I was not going to send the guitar, that I did not want a client who was unhappy with my work and that we were finished doing business.

Then I got emails demanding I send the guitar, that, really, he liked it. In the end he sent the money and I sent him the guitar. Then he complained about the action being too high (it was under 3 mm at the 12th). So I sent him a list of luthiers in his area who could play with it. I never heard from him again. Interestingly, the first guitar I made for him was eventually bought by the head of all musical instruments and furniture at one of Britain's great museums.

CGB: How different are things today as far as luthery and the industry goes from when you first started building, any significant changes?

Stuart: There has been a lot of experimentation that has led to better made guitars. But it's pretty hard to beat the sound of some of the earlier makers like Arias, Simplicio, and Santos Hernandez even if they aren't as loud as modern guitars.

CGB: Have you ever had to deal with a customer who knew for sure they wanted a guitar from you, and then when you asked them what they were looking for, had the slightest clue about why they wanted one of your guitars?
Stuart: Usually I have a conversation with players before I start about what they want and when they ask for something that I don't think is achievable I let them know my limitations as a builder. Almost always when it's explained about how a guitar makes sound and what control you have over that sound they begin to see their requests in a realistic context.

CGB: Do you have any favorite woods as far as sound and ease of use? For example I know cocobolo is very dense and can be a challenge to carve by hand.

Stuart: I'm with Torres on this. Only the top really matters and I buy them for sound, not looks. For flamenco back and sides I really like Yew (Taxus Bacccata). It's about the same weight as walnut but because it's so stiff it helps in the projection of the sound.

CGB: What would you say to up and coming builders who are just starting out?

Stuart: Go for it, but don't expect to get rich.

CGB: In your opinion who is the most influential Luthier?

Stuart: Joseph Pages of Cadiz who was experimenting with fan bracing half a century before Torres.

Stuart Mewburn guitars may be purchased via: customguitarboutique.com Come pay us a visit.

Customguitarboutique.com currently has one of Stuart's guitars to help our customers decide if they would like to purchase one. If you are in the NYC Area and would like to test drive it please contact us to schedule an appointment.