Behind Bespoke: Kostal Guitars

[ScottTNAG]

Even if you've never played a Kostal, you may already be able to spot one on first glance thanks to Jason's instantly recognizable colorful "stained glass" rosettes and his guitars' modern, Somogyi-influenced body shapes. In addition to his apprenticeship with Ervin, Jason spent several years teaching at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery before launching his own shop. Just as importantly, though, he brings a wealth of knowledge and inspiration gleaned through a lifetime of playing and collecting. He comes to lutherie with a clear vision and focus, and he's just as incredible at articulating the guitar-making process and his unique build philosophies. Read on for our in-depth chat with Jason about his thoughts on the Bespoke process!

Jason, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us! First things first: how do you define Bespoke, and what does it mean to you?
Bespoke, for many, is representative of a luxury good that focuses on a brand or price point that sets it apart from most of the others in a similar category. For me, the word bespoke is about an experience or feeling derived from purchasing something that is made entirely for one person. It is about commissioning something, or selecting something, that is unique and one-of-a-kind, and meets specific needs, wants and desires for the person ordering it. Bespoke conjures up images of not only the creation process but being a part of that process for the purchaser, so that every time you look at, experience or enjoy the bespoke good, you are reminded of the part that you played in its creation, and your connection to the artist that created it as well as the item itself.

We might have to steal that for the official definition—very well said! When it comes to guitars in particular, what does bespoke give a player, that buying a guitar in shop, either factory made or just not custom made, can't offer?
Buying a bespoke instrument means having a discussion, either with the luthier themselves or their representative, and walking through each of the details of the guitar, and selecting the woods, features and accents that speak to you and allow you to make the guitar all your own. This is a different approach to a spec or stock guitar in that these instruments are already made or configured and the buyer is merely accepting it as it is, or as it has been specified. This works for many people, and still yields a great guitar. Buying a bespoke instrument is about picking out the wood, designing inlays and determining the unique features that make it stand apart in the same way one would choose the color of stitching or type of leather used in an automobile.

Bespoke incorporates aesthetic, playability/ergonomics as well as specific tonal considerations. Do you find the customers tend to focus upon a specific area within this?
The areas that seem to get the most attention, and rightly so, are the areas that make the most difference: the back and side material, neck profile, action height and any desired inlays and materials. Typically, tops are not hand-selected by the client as we all agree that straight grain devoid of imperfections work best, but the builder is the one that can hear and feel the attributes of the wood, and recognize the ways in which they can manipulate things to achieve a particular sound or nuance. The main areas that allow for client input are the areas that pertain to playability and functionality as well as the visual aesthetics of the instrument itself.

How do you interpret what a customer asks for? And how do you put all of these elements together?
Part of understanding what the client wants and needs is based on experience, and the ability to have multiple conversations with references that both can agree upon. Describing tonality is difficult to do, and at times even silly. Using words like fluffy, magical, symphonic, and such can create very different images in both people’s minds. I have found that the best way to discuss future builds is to talk about the instruments that they play, and what they like and don’t like about them, as well as the styles of music and musicians that they like and want to emulate. Having someone reference a few songs that they enjoy helps me understand the sound that they are working to achieve, and then allows me a firm reference that I can go back to when working to create the instrument itself.

Read the full interview over on our blog now!