By Niki Ritzinger
Local artist Rob Goldberg has been strumming a different tune of late.
The professional painter and serigrapher rekindled his passion for building custom
guitars.
Goldberg began building guitars when he was 17. A player in need of a
new instrument, and not having a lot of cash, he chose to build one instead of buying. He
bought the guitar neck and electronic components from legendary jazz guitar builder Sam
Koontz. Using the few tools he had at home in his parents’ basement and his high
school woodshop, Goldberg completed his first guitar.
"I had a feeling of amazement that I made something that I could
play and it actually worked. It’s a magical moment when you put on the strings and
play," said Goldberg.
Goldberg’s interest in guitar building carried over into college.
During his first year of school at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., he met Bill
Cumpiano – a well-known guitar maker who had just opened up shop. Goldberg asked to
work for him after showing off the guitar he had finished in high school. Cumpiano granted
Goldberg an apprenticeship.
After two years of learning from Cumpiano, Goldberg stretched out and
opened his own business. Between 1974 and 1980, he completed about 35 guitars. He sold
most of them to professional and semi-professional musicians. Just recently a studio
musician in Nashville contacted Goldberg via email to express his satisfaction with the
instrument.
"A professional musician Googled ‘Rob Goldberg’ and
emailed me that he had bought one of my guitars at a pawn shop. My name was on the label
inside. I made that guitar in 1976," said Goldberg.
But, in 1978 the lure of Alaska was strong and he began coming for the
summers. He postponed making guitars in favor of a more financially viable career as an
artist. "Guitar making is a very difficult way to make a living," said Goldberg.
"It’s great to start getting back into it."
The stacks of ebony, mahogany and East-Indian rosewood, enough to make
about 60 guitars, had been sitting for 30 years and Goldberg knew it was time to put them
to use. The renaissance came when Goldberg’s 15-year-old son, Aihan, wanted a new
guitar. After taking lessons the younger Goldberg decided to upgrade from the instrument
he was playing – one his dad made in 1978.
"I thought that since my dad makes them that maybe I could make my
own too," said Aihan.
"I’m interested in teaching my kids skills that they can use
for the rest of their life. If they can build a guitar, they can build a house or
furniture," said Goldberg.
The project began in the fall of 2006. The technical process takes
about 120 hours to complete, depending on the complexity of the design and artistry of the
inlays. Aihan’s mahogany and walnut electric guitar is in the finishing stages, with
sanding and inserting the electronic components to be completed in the next couple of
weeks. Father and son have put in about 80 hours of work thus far.
"It’s fun working with the shop tools. I like it. I think
this will make me a better player," said Aihan.
In addition to helping his son build a guitar, Goldberg took on family
friend Ben Feldman as apprentice.
"I was going to build a guitar from a kit in woodshop class to
increase my understanding of the instrument. When Rob said he’d teach me I
didn’t want to turn down his offer," said Feldman.
Feldman worked on his guitar during his last semester at Haines High
School. Taking features from different types of guitars, he came up with his own design.
The neck of the instrument is made from laminated curly maple and koa wood. The back was
constructed using local birch. He also designed the diamond-shaped inlays, which are made
of abalone. Working three to four days a week in class and up to six hours a day for the
past several weeks, Feldman and Goldberg completed the guitar.
"We finished it at two in the morning the night before I left
town," said Feldman from Juneau.
The experience has been a catalyst for shaping Feldman’s future.
While currently on a road trip of the West Coast, Feldman plans to visit the Roberto Venn
School of Luthiery in Phoenix. He would like to attend the school and take another
apprenticeship under a master lutherie. Enrolled in the program Feldman would build two
more guitars and also learn about repair.
"If it hadn’t been for this guitar project, I probably
wouldn’t be going in the direction I am," said Feldman.
Goldberg currently has two acoustic guitars commissioned. They range in
price from $3,000 to $5,000. He would like to continue teaching the process and would take
on other apprentices under the right circumstances.
"It’s really important to me to pass the craft on,"
Goldberg said.
