from Kenny Hill

RE: ACOUSTIC GUITAR FORUM POSTING

BACK to NEWS

Dear Readers,

Recently I was curious to read the Acoustic Guitar Magazine news group thread on my various models of guitars, with both fact and opinion presented in a thoughtful and nuanced discussion. The strength of the theme for me is that these are the things I deal with and ponder every day. Each of us has our job to do, and each of us affects our world in some unique way. My own career has had a number of surprises, for me more than anybody. Over the years I've gone from working as a lonely artisan in a 100 square foot workshop with toddlers at my feet, to working in several workshops in several countries. This has enabled my efforts to reach a lot of people, and often affect individual's musical lives for the better. I am grateful for this.

My guitar related activities have multiplied and evolved over the years, but one thing has not changed-my absolute fascination with the sound, look and feel of the guitar. It has been vehicle for a lifetime of discovery, and it continues to be, now as much as ever.

I've written this in order to demystify the structure of my business and product lines, and also to open up some of the underlying values we ascribe to our daily work. I hope this helps.

The core of Hill Guitar Co. Inc, is the workshop near my home, where I have lived, worked and raised my kids over the last 25 years. Instruments labeled Hill Guitar, whether Signature or Master Series are made in my shop here in the town of Ben Lomond, in the coastal mountains near Santa Cruz California. These days my job is in design, R&D, supervising every aspect of guitar making and business. I do still get to make a few guitars every year, usually the new models, or experiments, or very unique custom orders.

The Signature Series is entirely my design, and subject to change as my own tastes and concepts evolve. They are often custom made, although I do produce some on pure speculation. The 2007 Signature generally features a double top combining spruce and cedar with nomex, it has an elevated fingerboard, acoustic ports in the shoulders, sides laminated with rosewood and cypress, and some other more subtle features. It is my best, and most expensive (thought still reasonable) guitar.

The Master Series is a set of copies of iconic instruments by such notable masters as Hauser I, Fleta, Torres, Reyes, Panormo, Ruck, and Rodriguez. I try to produce these as accurately as possible in structure, appearance and sound.

Both the Signature Series and the Master Series are fully hand made in my small workshop, with the labor divided between instrument building, French polish and set up. At this time there are only four people in production, in addition to myself and my 19 year old son, Simon. We are not oriented so much toward jigs and tooling, but more toward hand skills. Although we do have the normal power tools and some special jigs in the workshop, 90% of the work is done standing at a workbench with knives, chisels, planes and scrapers. We work in a style that is more 19th century artisan than 21st century industrial. We are very fortunate - it is very satisfying work.

The more illusive question is: What are the real differences between an $800.00 factory guitar and an $8,000.00 Signature Model concert guitar? Also, what is the range of my influence between a concert guitar that I personally make with my own hands, eyes and ears, and a guitar made 6000 miles away with my consultation and my unseen hand hovering over foreign craftsmen and women? And, what about a guitar that is made here in my own workshop under my direct supervision, by another craftsman?

On my own I bring almost four decades of experience as a musician, a guitar maker, a teacher and a businessman to every guitar that I make. But I'm restless, and I'm always experimenting with things. This means that I'm almost always working with designs, materials or processes that I don't fully understand. Once I arrive at an understanding, I usually pass it on to my trusted assistants, who are best able to fully concentrate on the craftsmanship and on consistent results. In making multiple instruments of any particular design, we find out how to maximize the results, and this is where more hands working really comes into play. In our production now we are at a sweet spot with an excellent, highly skilled and amiable team. This is a wonderful system and a wonderful relationship that has worked out for everyone involved, most of all for my clients, who get some amazing guitars that would not otherwise be available.

The Signature Series costs more because the materials are more expensive, the processes more complicated, and the R&D in my own design has been years of trial and error. And the results are grand; it's definitely worth it. I have played many of the best and most famous guitars in the world, from old to new, and from regular prices to outrageous prices, and I honestly feel that my Signature Guitars stand proudly among the very best. I am honored to feel that way, and if I find a way to make them better, I will.

The Master Series is made with the same general techniques and similar materials, but they are to the designs of others, our famous ancestors. In this case the R&D on my part consists of discovering how to accurately replicate the work done by my predecessors. It has been a profound learning experience for me to attempt to walk their paths, in their shoes, but the genius of their designs belongs to them.

Any guitar is only as good as it sounds and plays. There is always the guy who brags about the guitar he got at the flea market for thirty bucks, and "it sounds great, man." And there is always the guy who will put down a ten thousand dollar instrument because "this C sharp note just doesn't have the sustain as my old guitar I sold in 1979". I can be on top of Mt. Everest with one of my Signature Models, and then pick up a Torres model with the most delicious sound and think, " Why would anyone want anything more?" I can play an $800.00 New World Estudio Model and think "This is darn nice, not as nice as the Signature, but the Signature costs ten times more. Does it really sound ten times better?" The answers are completely subjective, but in general the higher you go the more subtle and rarified the differences. A person can only stay tuned to his or her own needs and desires, and understand that not every person requires the same things.

When working first in Mexico and then in China as a teacher, designer and consultant I take with me the same standards, hopes and expectations that I wake up with here at home. Over there I have to adjust to technical and cost decisions, and methods of working adapted to mass production. I work with some crafts people that learn the same techniques as I use at home, and I also work with factories that already know how to make guitars, and I just work on refinements. For a long time I refused to involve myself with lower priced instruments, but I realize that not everyone can spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on a guitar. Inexpensive guitars play an essential role in the development of new players. Someone will produce these more commercial guitars, and maybe I can help do it better. I don't want this to become my whole life, but there is a lot of good to be done there.

I'm well aware that to some this is called "selling out" but to me it is all about expanding horizons. I have found that those individuals most critical of this kind of activity are usually pitifully lacking in facts. I have also found that as I have changed direction throughout my career, with each change I lose someone, but I have gained many more. All of the work that I have done has gone toward improving the end results. When I work in a factory, I learn things that apply to the entire range of instruments. When I work on a high-end custom guitar, I am pushing limits and sharpening sensibilities in ways that carry over into every other thing I do.

This is a labor of love. I trust that it brings some of the same satisfaction to my customers as it does to me.

Sincerely,

Kenny Hill
February 2007