|
||||||
|
||||||
Interview with Scott Lawrence-Founder of D'Lorenzo Guitars
Webmaster: Lets start with the name, D'Lorenzo. What's up with that? Scott: It actually goes back a long way. Back in my early muscian days, on non-union gigs, I would sometimes go by the name of Lorenzo Scott, to avoid getting in trouble with the union, Haha. Also, when I decided to start building guitars, there already was a Lawrence making pickups and designing guitars. Plus, Lawrence sounds kind of whitebread, and I wanted something more distinctive. Also, a friend jokingly suggested that a guitar with an Italian name could be sold for twice as much. Webmaster: Tell us about your background.
Scott: In terms of playing guitar, I started playing as a 12 year-old kid and have been playing both professionally or non-professionally since then. Like most 12 year-olds, I started out playing rock. I loved Hendrix, Clapton, and those guys. Then someone, I forget who, played a Wes Montgomery record and I have been doomed to poverty and obscurity ever since. Haha. So much for being a millionaire rock star. At about that time, I had the opportunity to study under the legendary jazz guitarist Cal Collins. Cal was very patient with me, and even managed to teach me a few things. To make a long story short, I gigged around the country for a few years, eventually settling in Seattle where I started a furniture restoration business and raised a son. My (Gibson) 175 started gathering dust at that point. I really didn't start playing regulary again until a few years ago. There's not a really big market for jazz in rural Oklahoma. So these days, I'll play anything. Webmaster: What about the luthier end of things? Scott: I was fortunate to have a grandfather who was an old style norwegian woodworker and showed me how to use traditional handworking tools. Chisels, planes, handsaws, etc. and more importantly, how to sharpen them. I feel these skills give me an advantage over someone without a traditional, woodworking background. While living in Cincinnatti, I did the guitar repairs for the local music store and learned a lot from an older fella who was working there. I forget his name but I remember that he worked at the Gretsch guitar factory. He showed me a lot about fret work and setups.A few years ago I started building custom guitars for local musicians, as well as prototypes for a line of handcrafted instruments that reflected improvements that were conceived over three decades of playing guitar, as well as many conversations with other guitarists regarding what they would like to see in a custom guitar. Most guitarists will tell you " I love my (Gibson/Fender or whatever) except for......" and then describe one or more shortcomings of that instrument. My guitars are all about eliminating those shortcomings, whether they be about tone, playability or aesthetics. I try to keep them reasonably priced by eliminating as much overhead as possible, minimizing unnecessary decorative elements and by direct marketing through guitar shows and the internet. |
||||||
|
