The Guitar Hero Series: Ron Hamm

Written by Ava

The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right. Perhaps you'll see in these upcoming entries the next Jimi Hendrix, Melissa Etheridge, or Duane Allman. Or perhaps they'll become household names by doing what they do best--ripping a mean riff!

As we've told you countless times before, a Guitar Hero is just someone who plays guitar live or teaches it to others. A true Guitar Hero is someone who is doing something unique in the guitar world. Take Ron Hamm, for instance. As he tells it, the guitar buff always had a passion for handmade, customized boutique guitars from a young age, but when he began surfing for them online--there wasn't much out there in the Internet world.

So he came up with a great idea! Why not start a resource for guitarists looking for more information on these customized creations. Boutique Guitar Resource was born, and with that Ron also became an accidental guitar dealer--gaining recognition in the eyes of boutique guitar collectors all over who wanted his site to feature their collections.

Here at Jemsite, we love when someone goes against the grain and does something new for the music world. Ron has certainly proven he is a pioneer and we adore him for it.

Tell me about your guitar background and how you got involved in the Boutique guitar business?

I started playing guitar when I was around 10. I grew up in the 80's so there was guitar oriented music everywhere. Some of my favorite guitar players were Randy Rhoads, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Vinnie Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, etc. Back then I loved bands like Queensryche, Fates Warning, and Dream Theater. So I guess that is where I kind of started musically. I still listen to music like that, but these days I listen to a lot of different stuff.

My first guitar was this guitar and amp special you could buy at Sears (at least I think that was where my parents bought it). I played that for a while and then moved onto a Mako. The Mako was red and looked similar to a Jackson Kelly. After that, I bought a Charvel and played it for a long time. I then went through a 7 string phase and my first 7 string was an Ibanez. I played that for quite some time and then went through several American made and import Schecters. After that I bought an Epiphone Elite Les Paul, which I sold to buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard. I then started looking at the Gibson Les Paul Historics and played a lot of them. I started noticing that for the price of those guitars, I could have a guitar built just the way I wanted it. This is what led me to my first boutique guitar. I started researching different companies and really liked what McNaught Guitars was doing. I found a local place that had a couple of McNaughts in stock so I went to play them.

I also checked out some PRS guitars, but really fell in love with the McNaughts. I immediately sold my Gibson Les Paul and put the money toward my first hand built guitar. I bought a McNaught VSC which I still own. So I guess since I was always searching for a guitar that I really loved and just couldn't find it, that is what led me to the boutique guitar world. I have kind of been an addict ever since!

Boutique Guitar Resource just came about from my love of boutique guitars. I was always surfing the web and checking out different builders and learning about guitars. I didn't really see any websites dedicated to just boutique guitars so I decided to start a resource from all the information I had gathered. It has been growing ever since!

For all the guitar beginners in our readership, what is a Boutique guitar?

When people talk about boutique guitars, they are referring to guitars that are hand built by an individual luthier that runs a small operation.

Why should everyone have a handmade guitar? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

I don't necessarily think that everyone should have a handmade guitar. We all have different taste and all like to spend our hard earned money the way we want. I know plenty of people that love import guitars and could never imagine spending the money on a handmade guitar. I completely understand that. I never could really find what I was looking for in other guitars and that got me into the boutique guitar world, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. What it all comes down to is what you like and what you want out of a guitar. A hand built, boutique guitar is not going to make a bad player sound good and a $100.00 dollar Strat copy won't make a great player sound bad. They are all tools and we should all use what we feel comfortable with and what we like.

Once you start getting into higher dollar guitars, I think boutique guitars start having a real edge on the competition. When you order a handmade guitar, you get to pick everything. You build the guitar exactly like you want it. Of course, some builders work differently than others, but in general you pick everything. You pick the kind of wood used and the pieces you want, you can pick the scale length, the tuners, the neck carve, the type and size of the fret wire, the pickups and electronics configuration, you can design your own inlays for the guitar, etc. The sky is really the limit with many guitar builders. They make you exactly what you want. This is a huge advantage. It takes a lot of research to figure everything out and you also need to know what you like in a guitar, but it is a very fun process. Spec'ing out the guitar is my favorite part and then of course watching it come together. The builder will usually send you progress pictures as your guitar is being built and that really makes the process a lot of fun. The big disadvantage is that it takes some patience as it takes a while to get the guitar built. They are also expensive and you don't get to play the guitar before you buy it.

What are some of your favorites? Recommendations for companies, styles, creators?

Frank Hartung is one of my favorite builders and is building some really beautiful guitars. He recently finished up my guitar and I am definitely anxious to get it here. I ordered an Embrace model with a Redwood top. It turned out to be a beautiful guitar.

If your readers want to see the guitar he built for me, the gallery for my guitar on his site can be seen here.

I am also a huge fan of William Jeffrey Jones Guitars. I am really wanting to get him to build a guitar for me in the near future. He just does amazing work and is a brilliant sculptor as well.

Make sure to check out the Syrena guitar. That guitar is beyond beautiful!

Howard Robinson of Lindsay Wilson Guitars is another favorite of mine. He is a fantastic builder and does some amazing inlay work!

I also really love the guitars made by Scott Walker Guitars. He is another fantastic builder.

Jason and Elizabeth Schroeder of Jason Z Schroeder Guitars would be another company I would recommend. They are great people and Jason is an excellent builder. He actually has a tour guitar that goes around the country from player to player so guitarist can try one of his guitars out in their home. I participated and did a review of the guitar for the BGR website.

David Thomas McNaught of McNaught Guitars is another amazing builder. McNaught Guitars is a two man operation with David Thomas McNaught building the guitars and then the guitars are finished by Dave Mansel. They are great guys to work with and I highly recommend them!

The most important part about the builders above is that they are not only great guitar builders, but they are great people.

Why do you choose to be a guitar dealer for only a certain amount of companies? (You listed 5 in your About section.)

I actually became a dealer by accident. I didn't start the website with being a guitar dealer in mind. I just happened to be emailing back and forth with Frank Hartung from Frank Hartung Guitars and he brought it up. He was looking for someone in the USA for his guitars and after I thought about it for a while, I decided to go for it. I slowly developed relationships with a few other builders and we mutually decided to work together. I would like to expand the guitar builders I work with in the future, but honestly I haven't really been actively working at it. A lot of builders sell directly and I actually think that is a great way to go.

I just like working on the site and providing a resource and exposure for the guitar builders on the site. I am always looking for new boutique guitar makers and add new builders on a regular basis. The best part is getting emails from builders thanking me for the exposure that BGR provided them with because it helped them with this or that. It is also nice when people take the time to contact me and tell me they really like the site. When those things happen, it makes me feel like people are getting some use out of the site!

Why would one builder suit one and not the other? Give some examples. How does the Boutique Guitar Resource help along the process of choosing the right guitar for the right person.

Well, not all boutique builders are building the same things. Some players might be wanting a Strat or Tele guitar and if that is the case then they would want to work with a builder that does that kind of thing. Some players like more of a Les Paul style guitar and those players should pick a builder that has some guitar styles similar to what they are looking for. Then you have builders that are pretty much doing their own thing and if you are looking for something unique and different, then those are the types of builders that are going to appeal to you. The Boutique Guitar Resource website provides a comprehensive resource of builders to the visitors of the site. Everything is in one place so you can check out the site and find builders that appeal to you. I think it makes it nice that you have a resource with a lot of builders in one place instead of having to spend a ton of time on the internet trying to find all these builders. Of course, there are a ton of guitar builders out there and I am always looking for new builders to add to the site.

Generally, if someone is interested in having a guitar built by one of the guitar builders that I am a dealer for, they usually have a pretty good idea of what they want. They already know the particular model they want. I am there to help guide them through the ordering process. I do help players spec out guitars. For example, if a customer is wanting a guitar similar to a Les Paul, then I can help them with the technical specifications to get them closer to what they are wanting.

Can you name some famous guitarists/musicians who play Boutique guitars?

I know of quite a few guitarist that are playing McNaughts. John 5, Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, Neal Schon of Journey, Tim Sult and Neil Fallon of the band Clutch, and Tony Rombola of Godsmack. All those guys have McNaught guitars.

There are some great guitarist playing Suhr Guitars such as Doug Aldrich, Reb Beach, and Guthrie Govan.

Neale Heywood of Fleetwood Mac plays Schroeder Guitars.

I know Frank Hartung built a guitar for Steve Stevens.

There is a few that I can think of.

Tell me about the Boutique Guitar Resource site.

I started Boutique Guitar Resource in September of 2009. The site features many different guitar builders that are building hand built, boutique guitars . You will find information about the guitars and the luthiers, tons of pictures , and interviews with various guitar builders.

How do you hope to expand the company in the future?

I will continue to add new builders on a regular basis and continue to add more interviews to the site so readers can get a chance to know the builders a little better. I would also like to start doing more reviews for the site if I can get some of the builders to send me one of their guitars. Other than that, I just want to keep adding more content to help viewers learn more about boutique guitar builders. These guitar builders put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work and I hope to provide them with some well deserved exposure!