tl;dr:

Click. Vote. Share. Kthxbye.

Okay, i admit it… i’m a bit of a car nut. I go to the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto almost every year, just because i love cars and love seeing what’s new.

This year, i was excited to see a few of the new small crossover utility vehicles that were coming out. My current car (a 2005 smart fortwo cdi) has been a blast to drive for the last six years, but it’s got over 140,000 km on it, and it just isn’t well-suited to carrying lots of wood, tools, machinery and guitars.

I fell in love with the new Mazda CX-5. And as it turns out, Mazda Canada started a contest on Facebook, around their “Defy Convention” theme. Facebook users were invited to submit a story, photo or video describing how they defy convention to create works of creativity, achievement or impact on society… i thought the birth of Decibel Guitars and my approach to the design, construction and business aspects were all good reflections of the “defy convention” spirit.

I was successfully voted into the second round of the contest by family, friends and fans… I’m now up against 32 others for a shot at the 5 “finalist” slots which will be judged to determine the winner. Here’s where i need your help.

Check out this video i created as my semi-finalist entry:

Please click on this link to go to the Mazda Canada contest page on Facebook. (You need to have a Facebook account.) After clicking “Like” on the Mazda Canada page, you can click through and vote for my entry (under “Darren W.”).

Also please consider sharing it far and wide on Facebook, on Twitter, via email, carrier pigeon, whatever. I’m not picky. Competition is going to be fierce, and Decibel needs a new set of wheels!

Thanks for watching, and hopefully the Decibel logo will be plastered on a shiny new CX-5 in June!

I love Doug Campbell‘s work, and to be mentioned in the same sentence is truly an honour. And being “the best guitar i’m not afraid to take on the road,” is pretty high praise as well… I build guitars to be played, and i’m glad dB1 was getting road-tested instead of sitting at home in its case.

The guitar was holding up extremely well on the road, staying in tune and taking a beating each night. It’s got some “character lines” on it now, and the finish is getting a dark, rich patina to it, but it’s standing up to the rigors of touring quite nicely!

In just a few months, the wait list has gone from zero to over 100 names. This has exceeded my wildest expectations, and i’m truly honoured that so many of you are so interested in my instruments that you’ve signed up. Thank you!

In order to keep things manageable, and not have a perpetually discouraging number up on the Wait List page, i’ve decided to temporarily close the wait list for the time being. However…

The positive side of this is that i should be starting to work through the list in the next few weeks, and i hope to get a sense for how many of those waiting list slots will turn into real orders, and how quickly i can work through the builds. Once i think i’m on a manageable pace, i’ll open up the waiting list again.

So while you can’t currently add your name to the queue, this does mean that i’m getting close to clearing that backlog.

Thanks for your patience!


darren.

I’ve always promised to be as open and transparent as possible and to make sure everyone understands what’s going on with Decibel. In doing so, i’m trying to set an example as a new way of engaging customers in the 21st century. And that includes things like pricing.

Earlier this year, i published a rough pricing guide in response to quite a few inquiries that were coming in about what people could expect to pay for an instrument, even though i had not yet started taking orders or opened up the wait list. This allowed me to direct people to that page as a quick response, and as a result, those types of inquiries have been cut down quite a lot, allowing me to spend more time focused on design and build activities.

Typical pricing structures have always bugged me… List prices, MSRP, street prices, etc. have always struck me as antiquated and “old school” as far as the sales and marketing process goes. Obfuscating prices really helps no one. Being a one-person shop and selling direct to the customer as an Internet-enabled business, it just makes sense to me that things be totally straightforward and easy to understand. The price is the price.

So with that said, as development of a few more builds has progressed over the summer, it became clear that the initial prices i set were a little on the low side as far as base prices go. Wood is getting more expensive (and will likely continue to do so), i’m engaging more with outside suppliers for CNC work and machining of custom parts, and certain things are just more time consuming than i had initially estimated.

Also, a part of “fair pricing” means that i also have to make a fair wage, and Decibel needs to retain a portion of profits so the company can grow, buy new equipment, pay suppliers, maintain the shop, and so on. I hope everybody understands.

As a result of these factors, the base price is now CAD$2400, which i think is still very fair and not unreasonable when you consider the retail price of a high-end production guitar. I just want everyone to be aware of the reasoning behind this, so people don’t think they’ve been a victim of a “bait and switch”, being lured in with low prices and then seeing them jacked up when it comes time to place an order. There was always a disclaimer that the price list was preliminary and may change at any time, and that remains true as i get the business off the ground.

The pricing page will continue to be there mainly to give potential customers a ballpark figure so they know what they’re aiming for, while allowing me to spend more time in the shop and less time in front of my computer answering questions and giving price quotes.

And of course, when we start working together to spec out your instrument, there will be more detailed options available and you’ll be given an accurate quote as we start the collaboration process.

Also keep in mind that if at any time you wish to relinquish your spot on the wait list for any reason, i totally understand. But i’m hoping that by laying things out on the line for you in an open and honest fashion, i can continue to earn your trust and respect and that we can still work together.

Cheers,

darren.

Head on over and add your name to the list, and you’ll be notified when your build slot opens up!

Completed! (Almost… just a bit more fretwork to do after the neck has settled with tension on it for a couple of weeks.) Shot on location at Exotic Woods Inc. http://www.exotic-woods.com

After a mad rush to get the guitar completed for Misha Mansoor to play at Periphery’s Toronto show on March 29, 2011, the guitar was in playable form. I’m not sure who was more excited… me delivering it to Misha, or him opening the case and playing it for the first time!

During testing we found some odd wiring issues (not sure if it was the pickups or the switch or a combination of both) which required a quick on-the-fly re-soldering of the switch to give Misha usable sounds for the show. We also found a high fret or two around the 18th fret. The guitar had strings on it for less than 24 hours at that point, so the neck was still getting used to having tension on it and was changing by the hour. I’ll be hanging on to it for another couple of weeks to let the neck settle in under tension, and i’ll give it a final fret level and dress before shipping it off to Misha, who is a very happy customer.

Working with Misha has been a blast. He truly loves guitars and knows what he likes and needs. He was very particular on some specs, and was very open to new ideas and things to experiment with, so we went back and forth on a few other ideas we each had. The end result is a guitar that i’m very proud of as a builder and that Misha is ecstatic about playing.

Check out the specs and the whole build story at http://decibelguitars.com/dB1

I hesitate to publish a fixed price structure at this time, because my supply chain is not entirely established and prices are constantly fluctuating, particularly with woods, so each build can only really be quoted based on market prices and availability. Once i’m able to stockpile my own wood collection, i’ll be able to have better long-term control over costs, but i’m not there yet.

At this time, i’m not taking custom orders. For now, i’ll be building guitars at a pace i can manage and guitars will be priced as they approach completion. They’ll be sold on a first-come first-served basis for at least the first year or so. When i do eventually open a waiting list, i’ll provide estimates based on specs, but i don’t really have an “a la carte” price list at this time. I won’t start a waiting list for build-to-order instruments until i have more certainty with regard to my build times, so i can deliver guitars in a reasonable time frame.

Keep your eyes on this blog, the Facebook page and the Twitter feed for all the latest news.

This is a tough one for me to answer for a number of reasons, and i want to be completely honest and transparent about this, which is a cornerstone of how i want to do business and communicate with my customers and suppliers.

Everyone should be aware that although i have huge ambition and great hopes for Decibel to be successful, i have not yet been able to commit myself to building guitars full-time. At this stage, Decibel Guitars has next to no revenue, and i need to work a “day job” in order to keep paying myself a wage that allows me to keep pursuing Decibel in my spare time, in addition to paying the bills, keeping a roof over our heads, etc. If things really take off, that could change, but it will require a lot of business planning, and a fair amount of start-up capital. Not to mention a huge leap of faith.

In the mean time, every spare waking moment (and quite a few sleeping ones) has been spent on research and development, consulting with players, poring over drawings, revising specifications and getting supplier relationships set up.

My plan all along has been to nail down the design, get all the templates and tooling set up, and just start building at a manageable pace. Until i get my own shop completely set up, i don’t have a consistent build schedule. Once i settle into a shop, i’ll be doing self-directed builds and selling them when they’re complete (or nearly complete) in order to get my workflow down and figure out my build times.

Once i’m confident i can turn instruments around in a consistent and reasonable time frame, i’ll likely open up a first-come-first-served waiting list. When your number comes up, you pay your deposit, we nail down the specs, and the build starts.

Exactly when that might be, i can’t say at this point, but watch this space (in addition to the Facebook page and Twitter feed) for announcements.

I spent a few hours getting the guitar set up to Misha’s specs… heavier strings, tuned to drop-A flat, and tweaking the neck to get the action as low as possible but still playing clean. I showed up at the venue before the show and Misha took it for a quick whirl, and then played it for the first two songs of their set. (He would have had more time with it, but they arrived in town late and had almost no time to load in and set up.) Here are a couple of videos of his first playing impressions and then the opening of the show.

Enjoy!

I got a lot of positive feedback and constructive critique from Misha, which will help improve future instruments. Thanks again, Bulb and the rest of Periphery for such an awesome show.