Almost a year ago now, I started a project that involved the interviewing of several different luthiers with whom I was acquainted, the intention being to develop these into articles for inclusion in this webzine. I began by firing off an email full of questions to my friend, Kevin Brubaker, who I had become a fairly good customer of and an acquaintance of via my purchases and my visits to the NAMM show in Nashville where he regularly exhibits his instruments, among other places.
Unfortunately, around the time Kevin received my email full of questions, his shop burned to the ground. The fire was blamed, I believe, on a faulty AC strip. Kevin lost everything in that fire including the computer containing my email and the questions, which I think he said had been reduced to an unrecognizable blob of molten plastic.
Trooper that he is, Kevin got the business up and running again in a new location and once he was somewhat recovered from the ordeal and somewhat caught up, we resumed our interview.
John: How did you get into the luthier business?
Kevin I got into the business of instrument making solely because I was not satisfied by
anything that was on the market. At first, I focused on the aesthetic appeal, but as I got deeper into it, I started paying more attention to the other parts of making a good
quality instrument. I eventually sold some and I wanted to make more.
John: Where or how did you acquire the necessary skills?
Kevin I think it goes back about 20 years to doing paint jobs in my parents' basement, but the first instrument I sold was in 1989. I am completely self- taught, having acquired all the skills by trial and error over many years. A good understanding of tools, woods,
and gigging in bands helped bring it all together.
John: What's your musical background?
Kevin Both of my parents are piano players and teachers, so that is where it started with the piano in 2nd grade. Later, I took up the trumpet and played in the junior high band, jazz band, and marching band. Then rock and roll came into the picture and I started to get interested in the bass. It was "all downhill" for my parents from that point on!
John: What things do you enjoy most about your work? Least?
Kevin I enjoy making the product and thinking up new ways to do things as well as making innovations on the instruments. I also enjoy the business side of it and I like seeing customer's reactions to the final product.
John: Do players generally make good builders, or what, if anything is the connection between building and playing?
Kevin Absolutely! I know that for me it has helped to develop an all around good quality instrument, one that plays and feels good and has a lot of versatility tonally. I am very tough on my personal instruments! I expose them to a variety of conditions on purpose just to see how they fare. I leave them in the truck after a gig in extremely hot weather and extremely cold weather. I have even done some pretty wicked demos where I have thrown the instruments to the ground and then put all my weight in a standing position on the necks (this is not recommended by the manufacturer, however!). Knowing about all the things players go through on the job definitely helps me make a better instrument.
John: How many people are employed at Brubaker Guitars?
Kevin I have two employees currently.
John: What are their backgrounds and/or areas of expertise? What types of people with what skills would you want hire?
Kevin They both are very talented and have great mechanical and woodworking abilities.
John: What all goes into the design of an instrument such as your Lexa Series instruments in terms of steps along the way to a finished design?
Kevin A lot of sketches/drawings and reshaping prototypes goes into the design. I feel you have to continually look at the instruments to see what might look odd or out of proportion, how everything fits together and last, how much it is going to cost us, and the end user. It also needs to have a fit or fill a need in the marketplace.
John: Do you get much feedback from customers and how does that affect future instruments?
Kevin I frequently listen and absorb as much information as possible from customers. I have learned a great deal from many players. There have been actual models that have come to life because a customer wanted to try something new.
John: Anything else that I've missed touching on here?
Kevin You are asking all the right questions.
John: I believe that the majority of the instruments that come out of your shop are custom orders. What are some of the strangest requests you've had from custom order customers? Has there ever been anything you've had refuse to do to an instrument?
Kevin I am a custom builder who is trying to build a brand name as well. We will cater to the customers' wants and needs from choices of woods, neck profiles, nut width, fretwire, pickups, etc. The one thing that I don't like to mess with is the overall shape of the body, headstock and the Neck -Thru- Bolt- On tm joint, as I feel these distinguish the instruments and set them apart from the rest. I have refused on occasion to build other's designs. To me it is like repair work in a sense, something that takes away from the main focus of becoming a recognized name in the marketplace.
We are particularly fortunate these days to be able to select hand made instruments from a very large and varied number of fine luthiers, of which Kevin Brubaker is most certainly one. Be sure to check out the Brubaker Guitars website at http://www.brubakerguitars.com/ and be sure to look for more luthier feature articles here in the future.
John Reid
Editor
