Bespoke

Introducing our new series: Behind Bespoke

06/10/2021

In our new series, Behind Bespoke, we're taking a virtual road-trip around the world to speak to our luthiers about what the Bespoke process means to them.

I'm Annie, and I manage the bespoke process here at The North American Guitar. I work with both customers and luthiers to help facilitate bespoke orders and help create your dream guitar. Custom Guitars are at the heart of what we do here at TNAG, and are incredibly close to my own heart. Having trained in lutherie and having the pleasure of working with Rory Dowling at Taran Guitars, I got to experience first-hand of the joy and passion that goes into hand-crafting each element of a bespoke guitar, and the equally joyous occasion of experiencing the first time a customer 'meets' their dream instrument. There's nothing quite like it and it's an experience I wish I could share with you, so in this series, I will try my best.

Each new article will be available every Wednesday right here on the TNAG Blog. This series will bring you closer than ever before to our luthiers and show you what really goes on behind the process of bespoke building.

Working in detail with a client from start to finish is an absolute delight. Going through wood selection, tonal requirements, string spacing, nut widths, top choice and all the other finer details that come with the bespoke process helps us to understand you as a player and in turn helps you reach your goals as a musician. And that’s exactly why we do this.  
Our goal has always been to provide the very best service to all our customers, whether they are buying a capo online, are in our showroom buying a dream instrument, or buying completely bespoke, we want to provide our customers with the very best service at all times and satisfy their requirements.

The Bespoke world marries together aesthetic, ergonomics/playability and tonal requirements, and it takes a high level of skill and knowledge to be able to both understand and execute this. I wanted to speak to each of our incredible luthiers to dive into what it takes to fulfil customer requirements, interpreting and carrying out tonal preferences and ultimately, why they love doing what they do.

First stop on our road-trip will be with a small workshop very close to my own heart, as we catch up with the incredible Rory Dowling of Taran Guitars, based in Pittenweem, Scotland. Rory is building some of the most sought after, sensational guitars on the market today, so who better to start this journey with.

In the meantime, watch our video below as our Managing Partner Kim and her team of experts open up about the bespoke process and why it's so important to us and so many of our customers.

We want to make commissioning your dream guitar as accessible as possible. We offer guidance, assistance and help all along the way, as well as finance options such as trading and Layaway against your bespoke build to make your dream build a reality. We've currently got a variety of slots available with our luthiers, check these out below...