Some updates to my website

[jessupe]

Hi, I've done some small changes to my website, added some guitar pics {I used to only make bowed instruments} as well as a few changes to text and added some of my more notable clients also.

Perhaps one of the more important changes in the text is the removal of "prices start at $3500"

Some things about this; first that price was a starting base price for a violin, as the site was created long ago in 2007 when I was only offering violins and cellos.

As all my work is very custom and generally one of a kind, I really need to discuss details about any projects I opt to take on in order to come up with a proper price

There was a gentleman who contacted me recently having potential interest in a project, he described some details about the project, a 12 string with a lucky strike top,and then asked if the starting price stated on my site was correct.

And or I got the gist that he saw that suggested starting price and figured that the price for the instrument he was describing would be in that ball park, or something to that effect.

I replied in an email that was the starting price for one of my basic violins and that the project he was describing was more like x amount of dollars,considerably more than the stated starting price.

At any rate I never did hear form him after that,so I apologize for any misunderstanding to whom ever he may be as he did say he was from the forum.

Honestly I don't feel like I really use it for or get much business from my website as it's just kinda "there" like an electronic business card,but I thought I would notify people of the update

ps;to any admin, I was not sure if this post should go here in the general topic or the custom shop, so if it's in the wrong section, sorry, feel free to move it, thanks Jessupe Goldastini

http://jessupegoldastini.com/

[Looburst]

Well done site! To have Lili Haydn as a client is quite the stuff! Congrats

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Looburst

Well done site! To have Lili Haydn as a client is quite the stuff! Congrats

thanks, ya, she's pretty swell, in a, shucks golly, kinda way

[Kip Carter]

Hmmmm was going to go have a look see. Since you didn’t have a url in your post I went to your profile and the only one I saw there was under you signature and it doesn’t seem to work with safari for some reason.

[fnesnor]

Nice site jessupe.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by Kip Carter

Hmmmm was going to go have a look see. Since you didn’t have a url in your post I went to your profile and the only one I saw there was under you signature and it doesn’t seem to work with safari for some reason.

I also could not get it to come up on Safari.

[jessupe]

thanks for the info, i'm looking into it.....it may be because the "code" is very old, or it may be something with Aplus. It may be 'fixable" it might not.....but thanks again for the fyi.

[stringjunky]

Do your violin customers approach a build differently to guitar customers in terms of priorities?

[Kip Carter]

I was able to get it up finally... do you also build guitars as well? Your violins are amazing.

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by stringjunky2

Do your violin customers approach a build differently to guitar customers in terms of priorities?

Hi, interesting question. First, it seems that anyone who is interested in anything I do is because they want something unorthodox, I am known for building instruments that are "different" in their appearance as compared to "regular" instruments.

Now "regular" instruments are predominantly where the money is at in this business, but because of this, there are very few luthiers who venture off into the land of the unusual as there is no money in it.

But what this does is put me in the position of being the go to guy for the unusual , or simply if your an established rock violinist and you wanted a violin, you can find 100 super qualified violin makers to make you a violin and every one of those violins will be based on and look like a Strad, if for some reason you wanted a "cat/leopard" fiddle made from American Sycomore to mimic the spots AND actually have it sound good, well frankly, in the entire world, there really aren't many people who would know how to approach this as they have spent their time making traditional instruments.

In my life, musically, I was always a hard rock guitar gods kinda guy, and one of the things that really drew me to rock music, and then to classical/bluegress was the "look" the entire package of theguitar god playing his super cool unique guitar, the guitar that you saw and associated with that artist, like say Van Halen with his strpped Kramer, or Rhoads and his Jackson V....

As time progressed and I really got into classical music, I became sad, because what I saw was a great art form that was so steeped in tradition that in that tradition a certain type of conformity, which kills originality, individuality and imagination. had developed. It has developed to a point that unless your violin looks like a traditional Strad, the conductor will kick you off the stage for daring to bring a different instrument up, and too me this is a crime, a crime that has far reaching impacts into the growing and spreading of classical music. Basically by taking the originality out of it, young children who are being exposed to it will not get to have that "guitar god" wow factor related to seeing their favorite violinist with their super cool ax.

So I started making things that would have appealed to my younger self in the hope that "radical" "cool" looking violins may entice young kids into showing an interest in the instrument and I'm actually hopefully going to be working with Dr. Ellison at Bristol in England to scientifically prove that I am right about this in a controlled study/experiment I have proposed to him.

In a controlled classroom environment an experiment will be set up where several traditional violins will be placed on a viewing table next to two of mine. Younger people who express an interest in music but do not play the violin will be asked, "if you were to want to try to start playing the violin, which one of these instruments would you choose?."

Based on my experience all most 100% of the time younger people who are not players choose mine, I think the answer is simple in that everyone, particularly young people want to feel special and unique and that of given a choice, they choose the different one. Whereas people who are established players are already sucked into the conformity of classical music have a more skeptical opinion about the look, But I do feel this small overlooked, never talked about thing...all violins look the same has a MAJOR negative impact on the bringing of new younger people into it, I just want to give that young kid who wants to play violin that same thing we had when we were young in the rock world.

About guitars, well I'm always a "what if", kinda guy not really intentionally setting out to do anything differently but somehow end up reworking the entire thing to my liking somehow.

So with my journey into guitars it was " gee, I've really looked into this before, why has no one in guitar land ever built guitars just like violins?"

And thats how that kinda started, and after doing it I really surprised myself with just how good an arched top/back with a flattop bridge sounds, and there are many "tone" advantages and repair advantages with having a lip overhang on the edge like a violin too.

Anyways, somehow I got lucky and a pretty vip guy, Carlo, got wind of what I was making and had me make him one of my "violin like guitars" for him, and he really loved it so much that he said it was all he wanted to use for recording. He then contacted hi friend CJ and told him about the guitars I was making, so he got one too and said the same thing, and now its his main go to recording instrument when he works in his studio, I'm hoping U2 will write another album as they usually have Cj produce them, so that would be an opportunity for the Edge to record with it, fingers crossed.

Then Carlo and I sat down {over the computer} and concocted the harp guitar idea,it was basically a "star trek" describe the instrument and then "make it so", lol ,which was a lot more work designing something from the ground up than I thought, but am super stoked with the results and have made several since then.

So people I work with want something that sounds great and looks cool/different too, both violin and guitar, generally the people I work with give me some visual/material ideas and then turn me loose and tell me to do my thing.

This is not my main source of income and is more a labor of love at this time, as I stated people are not beating down the door for the different, however when I do take on a project I do pursue it with due diligence in a timely fashion and always stick to my contract.

related to my pricing I think it best to compare my labor rate to any high end contractor who would come and do work at your home, I would not expect you to build high end cabinets in your shop and charge me x amount of dollars for that skill and labor and then turn around and build a guitar {a small high end precise "cabinet"} and then expect to pay 75% less for that skill/ labor {which is more complex and precise} just because "factory guitars cost x amount

Custom guitar building is something that I think most do for love, if they can reach a level where they are doing it full time and making a living at it I think its a real accomplishment, someday perhaps I will get there, but keeping in mind that I do niche stuff in an already niche market, frankly I'm surprised I even have a "clients" header at all

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by Kip Carter

I was able to get it up finally... do you also build guitars as well? Your violins are amazing.

Wow, thanks so much, that means lots that you like them....

http://jessupegoldastini.com/products.html

above in the header it says "guitars click here" you can see some of them there hopefully.