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March 17, 2005
Westender
Local Guitar Makers Play for Keeps
Michael White
At this very moment, dozens, if not hundreds, of suburban teenage boys - and, more so than ever, an encouraging number of suburban teenage girls - are imagining themselves to be Kurt Cobain or Pete Townshend or some less iconic but nonetheless privately idolized guitarist. And some of them might be visualizing themselves onstage, at the climax of a triumphant performance, holding a meticulously crafted instrument above their head, ready to bring it down sharply onto the floor, violently splintering it into the elemental pieces of forest growth that it once was. |
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Barry Ewart, the Vancouver custom-guitar maker who founded Ewart Guitars 14 years ago, once harboured similar fantasies in the early '80s, when he was a teenage player in a succession of "minor bar bands... heavy metal, more or less." But today he might be more inclined to rush the stage and wrench the guitar from the grip of its would-be assassin - or maybe rub his hands together in gleeful anticipation of an imminent repair job. Whatever. Ewart has made the creation and preservation of guitars his life, and Vancouver and its surrounding area are home to a surprisingly large number of artisans who answered a similar calling.
"I wanted to see what made them tick," Ewart says of his six-
(and four- and 12-) stringed saviours. "And once I learned what made
them tick, I decided, 'Let's build some!' The love for the wood, the love
for the instrument, definitely wanted me to further understand building
and what makes a good tone."
Although Ewart Guitars (1040 Parker, 604 255-5155) also offers repairs
and modifications, Ewart and his staff have built the bulk of their reputation
from their custom creations; usually no more than two instruments are
being crafted at a time, to a client's strict - and occasionally baffling
- specifications.
"I've been doing this for a living for over 20 years and I still
don't know everything. You're still learning all the time, which is great,"
says Ewart. "One of the instruments I've restored was built in the
1890s, and I realized that the work was too well done, it didn't look
right. So I went back and did it by hand, and all the little impurities
from hand work made it look perfect." He pauses briefly before adding,
unselfconsciously: "Maybe I'm just crazy."
David Iannone, of acoustic-guitar specialists Morgan Guitars (604 929-0292,
morgan-guitars.com), oversees a much more prolific operation, but works
to no-less-stringent standards. Morgan sells its guitars wholesale to
dealers worldwide, which means it produces dozens to every one or two
made by Ewart.
"I find I need to build lots of guitars because I get way more satisfaction,
and there's more of a buzz that happens," Iannone explains. A self-described
"closet" guitar player and former woodworker, he founded Morgan
in 1986 following "an opportunity to apprentice with a world-famous
guitar manufacturer, and the reason I did that is I wanted to be a better
woodworker, and I saw guitar building as very high-end woodworking construction.
"You're not just building, say, a box; you're building a box that's
got about 200 pounds of tension [from the guitar strings] trying to pull
it apart. So not only are you trying to build an instrument that sounds
incredible, but it has to be strong enough to last and it has to be visually
appealing. That's probably why I've never lost my interest in guitar building,
because it's so damn challenging."
Another, perhaps greater, gratification for Iannone is the uniquely personal
relationship that guitar makers have with their clients. Although musicians
as noteworthy as Sarah McLachlan and Nickelback's Ryan Peake are satisfied
customers, the notes of thanks from comparatively anonymous, far-flung
players are what fills his voice with a quiet but detectable pride.
"I don't know too many people that make things, or manufacturers,
where the customers - when they get it at the other end - no matter where
they are, they've got to get on the phone or send you an e-mail and tell
you how wonderful it is that they bought your guitar. It's not like buying
a refrigerator; you're not going to phone Kenmore."
Equalling Iannone's enthusiasm, Ewart recalls the thrill of having assisted
members of Aerosmith, AC/DC and Motley Crüe when they were
recording albums in Vancouver - a dream come true for the former headbanger.
Remarking about the instrument that graces this story, he adds: "That's
a hand-painted guitar by James Picard, who's a world-renowned artist.
That's something that I was approached to do with him and I thought, 'That's
different.' It's basically art you can play - it's two different aspects
of art coming together, which I think is very exciting."
(Special thanks to veteran guitar maker Michael Dunn, michaeldunnguitars.com)