Well, it's been quite a while since I posted anything!  Number 50 Tsunami has come and gone, (see it at www.tsunamiguitars.com, plus I've started into jewelry boxes and a few specialty tables, which can also be seen on the website.

I have found that Tru-Oil makes a much better, harder finish for my guitars, so I switched away from nitro lacquer.  The benefits were immediate; harder finish, no spraying, better control of thicknesses, and a mirror finish! 

Tsunami is also working a little bit with Timbre Tone pickups from Illinois.  A small startup, their difference is the exotic wood bobbins they put on their pickups, giving them a "woody" look.  They sound pretty super, but not everybody likes a wooden pickup.  I plan on building a guitar in the near future with these pickups installed, and hopefully posting an audio on my website.  They can be found on Facebook, but yet to have a website.

One last thing...Robert Sampson, a noted blues player, will be competing in Memphis at the end of January in the annual Memphis Blues Festival.  He plans on using his custom Tsunami, "The Blues Legend", designed by him.  He plays a modified Hendrix style, using a right handed neck while playing left handed.  So I built him a custom with a right handed neck, but with a left handed body so for the first time in his career, he has his controls in the right spot.  It is a wonderful Tele model with binding and some other goodies.  I wish him the best and WIN already, Robert!!

Other than that, just getting older, wiser, and making the guitars!
I want to thank everyone who has supported and bought Tsunami's, they are truly the customs for the rest of us!
Thanks so much, and here's to a good future for all!!

Tsunami

Some good things, some not so good. June 28,2012

Well, we're dead in the heat of summer, even though it is only late June.  I continue to build guitars, but with this horrible economy and the remains of the gas crisis, orders have tapered off a little.  As a sidenote, my daytime employer just asked me to go to four day weeks, so I will have full days in my shop to pursue some of the projects I've mentioned here, and others.
I approached a gallery on my "framed guitar as art" idea.  They focus on local artists, and to be honest, the gallery was stuffed with unsold paintings and sculptures.  Discretionary spending is at an all-time low as we make our way through this recession. I'm awaiting a reply.  They scanned my website yesterday.
The Cigar Box Guitar idea is dead.  No money in those, and it turns out they are rather time consuming to build. 
So I reached waaayyyyy back into my woodworking past, and took another look at freeform bandsaw jewelry boxes, with a focus on exotic shapes, but also stringed instrument shapes, such as a violin, guitar, bass and other instruments as jewelry boxes.  If you take a look on the Internet for bandsaw jewelry boxes, you will find a lot of people doing these, but the really difficult ones, such as Tony Ward in Australia produces are very rare.  I am practicing now, bringing back the old talent, and have ordered a new bandsaw to allow me to do larger ones.  I've probably made over two dozen of these in my time, but like anything, once you quit it takes a while to bring back the real perfection.  I have one store already that is willing to sell them on consignment, and if all goes well, possibly some galleries and furniture stores will pick them up as well.  They have to be perfect, as people will put their valuables in them, but as I build guitars for my customers, I think I can also do perfect jewelry boxes.  So when one door closes a little, another often opens a crack.  The extra day I will not work my day job will be spent producing salable items in my shop.  It almost never is one door shut, one door open...you have to see the little slivers of light around you to really take advantage of the opportunities.  But they are there, if you know where to look...
In the woodworking world, there are more people than ever building things, especially in this economy.  Lots of people reclaiming pallets and other reclaimed wood, trying to maximize their profits on all kinds of wooden projects.  But for me, exotics are still my main, although my last two guitars were made of 140+ year old oak! 
So maybe if you're in SE Tennessee sometime, you might just run into one of my boxes, should they start to take off!  And of course, I keep right on building guitars!  Numbers 45 and 46 are spoken for.  I'm wondering when I will hit number 50?  That will most certainly have to be special!!

Tsunami

Finally, some new projects and products 5-10-2012

After just about 22 months straight of having backlogs, I finally got caught up and now am free to pursue a couple of projects I've been wanting to go after for my business.

I am currently building my first Cigar Box Guitar, and have been duly warned that these things are addictive.  Well, the first one I picked out will have twin bow, or round rod necks.  One has a fretboard on top of it, and the other will gain three bass strings.  Obviously, I needed some sort of headstock to house nine tuners, so I made one out of purpleheart.  The rods, which are 1 1/4" thick oak, will go right on through the cigar box, and be fitted into a solid block of purpleheart on the back end to stabilize things a bit. 
I'm to the point where I am starting to look into how the pickups will be mounted into the cigar box, and the very few controls I plan on.  It's all a geometry challenge since a cigar box, even a wooden one like this one, is fairly weak.  Obviously you have to do a bit of "strengthening". 
This one I plan on being strictly a slide, but it might be close enough so the six-string fretted side will be frettable.  That would make this a pretty neat unit, with those three pluckable bass strings on top.
We'll see how it all comes out.  Either I end up with a piece of junk, or a really neat guitar for not much money!

Other projects I have in mind are the Interactive Art project I still have to finish.  I have the guitar, I just need to design a great looking frame so possibly an art gallery would want to sell this, instead of a music store.  Remove the guitar, play it at will, put it back up in the frame for art in your home.

The last item is my heel reduction project for bolt on guitars.  I have the body, and a neck, I am currently looking into how much wood I can remove and still maintain integrity in the build.  So far, it looks like a lot of wood will hit the floor!

By the way, check me out on www.strumschool.com, under their first Audio Blog post.  I am working with these fine folk in a series of interviews for beginning guitarists who want to learn how to purchase and play a guitar.  We cover a number of items so we kind of do the work for you to make sure your purchase and experience are a good one.

Tsunami

Social Media and Tsunami Guitars 4-7-2012

Yesterday, while it was beautiful and sunny outside, and the Masters was on TV, I was cooped up in my studio here at Tsunami Guitars, trying to figure out why my new HD camera was auto changing things I didn't want it to change.  I finally got it figured out, and after about four takes, I got what I thought was a pretty realistic video of me and the new Tsunami SUT Ultra Guitar.  At eight minutes, you don't realize how much a person can just prattle on!  But I showed what this guitar can really do, using just a simple Fender Frontman 100 Watt equipped with twin 12" speakers, no reverb or effects of any type. 
You can see the video by simply clicking on the picture at the top of this blog!  I am beginning to like this Social Media thing. 

In my prior life, I used to be a Continuous Improvement Specialist.  For those who don't know, that's a person who is permanently hired by a company to improve the company.  My last CI gig ended in March 2010, when I got laid off.  This has happened to me a couple times, when the company decides that they have had enough improvements.  Well, from my standpoint a company can never improve enough!  So lately I have been very active on LinkedIn, joining some continuous improvement groups, and posting replies to people's questions.  My followers are growing again!  Some of my Tsunami followers have even found me on LinkedIn, like Hillbilly Sims.  We're now connected.  It's a small world, even in cyberspace...
And, I met a great guy who owns a continuous improvement consulting group in Chattanooga, and we've had talks about me doing some possible training work in the future for him.  See, I trained managers for over 25 years in CI.  I've always loved training, and public speaking.  A lot of people don't know I used to compete in public speaking, but those who do know me, know that I am chatty!

So Social Media is my new thing!  I still have the guitar heel less design on the table, and I also still want to put one of my guitars in a beautiful frame and market it as "interactive art". (New name - sounds better than "playable art".)
So, hope to see you around the ole' blogasphere!!!
Oh, and please CLICK on the photo - take a look at the latest in the ever improving Tsunami Guitar lineup!!
And thanks so much for your support.
Tsunami

Marketing Your Guitars 3-26-2012

Lately, I've been thinking of multiple ways to increase my business.  Oh, I know the economy is in the tank, less people working now than in the last 20 years, and so on.  But to be honest, the guitar industry is not that weak.  Along with the many "big boys" in the industry, there are dozens, if not hundreds of people like me all trying for a tiny slice of the market share.  In other words, everybody wants to sell you a guitar, and from the looks of it, you all are responding!

As a builder, after you find your niche, and try to distinguish your brand, then comes the really hard part.  Marketing...
It is every bit as hard as people think, if not harder.  Traditional ways of marketing have changed greatly.  Word of mouth is still very strong, but more and more savvy buyers turn to the Internet for some kind of help.  If you think about it, when was the last time you were watching something on television, and a commercial came on that you actually acted on?  I'd bet it's been a long, long time.  You might buy a six-pack of beer after seeing a dozen or so commercials for the latest lite beer, but it may not be THAT beer.  It's a tough old world out there, and we all have to compete in it.

With all that in mind, I bought a few books on the subject, mainly on Internet marketing ideas.  It seems that at least in today's day and age, a lot of people are really tuned into the Net.  When my oldest brother and his wife recently visited, (they are retired), not only were they carrying laptops, they had pads, a Kindle, and the first thing my brother wanted to know was the ID number on my 2Wire Internet modem so he could set up all the items they had wireless.  It all took about 15 minutes, and for the rest of their visit I would see them walking around, pad in hand, maybe laptop, just surfing and having a ball with friends and family. 

So obviously, if I intend to take my business to the next level, it stands to reason I have to also "network on the Net!"  This blog is a good example.  My website, www.tsunamiguitars.com, is up to about 400+ hits a month.  Obviously my Facebook page is nice and active, although I always want more "likes".  But I'm looking for additional ways, and last weekend I took the first step.  I bought a new, latest wave digital HD camera.  Obviously, YouTube ready.

What will I do with this?  Why, make videos that I will post around various sites to help people find me! (I hope...)  After looking on YouTube for a couple hours last weekend, I noticed there are a large amount of builders with videos, and although some of them I could only stand to watch for 20-30 seconds, it was obvious from the hit numbers that this is a viable way to advertise, almost totally free.  I realize I had to absorb the cost of the camera, but I already have the Internet and laptop, so basically all I need is a place to record, (have it in my little studio or in my shop), a topic, (one of my latest guitars which I hope to make a somewhat standard model), and fairly good lighting and sound.  It sounds so easy...
But making and posting a video are not the same as people wanting to watch it.  You have to make it something they WANT to watch.  So some humor, something they don't know about Tsunami Guitars, something that will make them want to contact me has to be in these videos.  And of course, I have to post them all over the place. 

We'll see...  
I have the equipment, I have a couple of topics.  If I can just get my hair to look OK and suck that belly in.....

Tsunami

Music, Art, and the beauty of a guitar. 02/25/2012

I was strolling on the North Shore of Chattanooga, Tennessee today with my wonderful wife.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, but a bit brisk due to the windy conditions.  Still, many people were out and we stopped at a number of shops.  One shop we stopped at was an art supply store, Art Creations, located on Cherokee Drive on the North Shore. This is a wonderful store, stocked with absolutely everything a budding artist would possibly need. They also have a small gallery of paintings, although the mainstay of the store is supplies and all the neat things that people who work with almost any medium would need.

I got to thinking while looking for ideas in the store.  How do I make my guitars more unique?  Am I building guitars, or am I building art? 
I thought it a fair question, so I asked my wife.  She said, in her practical manner, that she thought each guitar I built had art in it, and certainly as time has gone by, they are more and more artistic.

So the question begs itself.  Could I build a guitar as a piece of framed art?  A unit that would be framed, hang on a wall, but be allowed to be detached from its frame when you wanted to play it, and then become a piece of art in a frame when done?  A centerpiece in a home of music, and yet a piece of art to describe the owner, to project them as musicians?  Why not?

The question is not so far out there, if you have looked into my gallery of creations on the www.tsunamiguitars.com website.  To put some of those guitars in frames would be almost natural, an extension of the artistic talent, so to speak.  Originally, when I started, I wanted pieces of art, instruments that people would be proud to hold and play, while others looked on and admired the woodworking and colors of the exotic woods I use.  Really, such a small step to frame them for hanging in a proper place in a home.

I think this deserves more attention.  I think that Tsunami Guitars, as a piece of art, like a lot of luthier's works, is not much different than an actual piece of art designed to hang on a wall.  The major difference is my work would actually play when the owner found the need.  So in the future, you may see a Tsunami Guitar hanging in a gallery somewhere in Tennessee.  I intend to pursue this, as I do believe I build art!  So many have told me...What a piece of art!  Maybe they are right, and the thing to do is design a way to mount a Tsunami Guitar into a frame, with the capability to pull it down when you want to play, then put it back up for your friends and family to admire when done.  Certainly the bracket systems are already readily available to mount a guitar at a suggestive angle inside a frame.  I cannot imagine a better calling for a guitar.  Dual purpose - music and art, which go so well together.  Stay tuned to Tsunami Guitars on Facebook and my website.  You just may see my guitars hanging somewhere, framed, for sale as working art...I think it's an idea whose time may be near.

Tsunami

Some new things, some exciting things! 02/17/2012

I finished the first Tsunami Floyd Rose guitar a few days ago.  It featured a Zebrawood front, Black Limba back, Old Growth Tennessee Dark Walnut pickguard, and maple neck with rosewood fretboard.  The pickups were Seymour Duncan style, humbuckers, salt/pepper, four wire, rated at 10Kohms at the neck, and 14K0hms at the bridge.  The Floyd was black, along with the nut and tuners.  It floated wonderfully, holding tune nicely.  I strung it up with Dunlop .010's, and three springs in the back cavity.  The cover for the back cavity was made of the same Dark Walnut as the pickguard.  Overall, it was just a beautiful guitar, and the owner loved it. The nitro lacquer hand rubbed to a nice, mirror shine.

The day before, Vintage Guitar Price Guide asked me if I would like to have an inclusion into the 2013 Vintage Guitar Price Guide.  They asked a lot of questions, and also for pictures.  I was happy to send all this along!  Although my guitars can hardly be called "vintage", just getting asked to be in the publication is a wonderful thing, and more growth for Tsunami Guitars.  You don't get breaks like that everyday.

Sometimes I am just amazed at the way this has taken off.  We'll be erecting a formal company this quarter, as sales demand that I now have to become a Sole Proprietor or LLC.  Under the laws of my state, I no longer can do this as additional income, it has to become a free standing business, even though I am still part-time.  Meet with the lawyer in a couple days.  But that is a good thing, since now I will be able to open even more doors and gain access to more of the industry.  It's amazing how it all works.  When you have a product that people want, you will do well, as long as you keep the Voice of the Customer in mind.  So important to listen to your customers.  I sometimes run across people who think they know better than their customers.  Maybe my doctors, but it probably stops there!  I also have watched more than a few of these folks suffer and even go under.  The Customer is everything!

People, (customers), have constantly pushed me further and further into making more and more difficult guitars as time has gone by.  I look at Number One, which hangs in my basement studio, and I am glad that I kept it because it is number one, and glad I kept it because I am so much better now.  I would have to completely rebuild that guitar should I ever sell it.  That will not happen, but the quality of that unit is limited to the wonderful sound and sustain, and the cosmetics and quality are not too hot. Boy, have things changed...noise shielding systems, inlaid pickguards, neck chrome bolt washers vs. plates, higher quality wire, capacitors, details down the the thousandths of an inch.  It all adds up to better quality, easier to play, and overall, just a better looking instrument. 

In this world of beautiful instruments and wonderful sound, you must provide the whole package. 
So I listen to what my customers want...and if I cannot provide it, I offer some options, but if they are not willing, I don't push it.  You cannot please everybody.  That is why there are so many choices out there.  We all want to be number one in providing what people want, but that can never happen.  There are also many minds, different thoughts, beliefs, and wishes, and no one product or instrument company can satisfy all.

Well, it's about time to go down and work in the shop.  I have two on the bench now.  Trying to make up the backlog a little.  Twenty-one months straight with some kind of backlog.  It boggles me.
Thanks so much to everyone........

Tsunami