<p>Mark Eshenbaugh was born in College Station, Texas and moved to South Carolina
in 1980. Mark grew up in the Greenville, SC area, and like many young boys,
developed a proficiency at working with his hands to build things. In addition
to building models and RC cars, Mark experimented with painting pewter miniatures,
whittling, and woodcarving. Some of his first carvings were of knives and medieval
swords, but he later tried his hand at building a guitar as an early teen. “I
tried making a guitar in middle school that kinda' looked like an Explorer for
a friend of mine who wanted one, but couldn’t afford one, so I made the
body out of pine 2X6s with a cherry top, and got the parts off of an old Lotus.
We found a picture of one of James Hetfield’s guitars in Guitar World
magazine, and I followed that picture to build the guitar.” Mark continued
to experiment with building guitars and basses until he left home to attend
Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. He married and eventually moved
back to South Carolina with his wife in 1998 and started building basses once
again.</p>
<p><strong>JL: How long have you been building basses?</strong><br>
ME: I made my first bass in high school, about 13 years ago. I saw a picture
of Les Claypool’s maple 6 string in a Guitar World article and I really
wanted a bass like that for myself, but knew I couldn’t afford it…so
I made it. But I didn’t make the neck. First I used a Washburn neck and
then a Carvin. The first bass I made in its entirety was in 1995, 8 years ago.
</p>
<p><strong>JL: How and when did you become serious about building basses, and
did you have a mentor? </strong><br>
ME: In 1995 I was rooming with a guitar repair man in Kingston, NJ when I built
my first bass from start to finish. Then, in 1996 I went out and bought a bunch
of tools and moved to Demarest, NJ. I had already met Carl (Thompson) a few
times and had visited his Brooklyn workshop. Later that year I started working
for Carl more regularly. Our
relationship continued on until I moved to the Greenville, SC area in 1998.
I don’t want to call my time with Carl an apprenticeship because we never
had it arranged on those terms. Secondly, if you asked Carl today he would never
call it that. Sanding is pretty much all I did for him while I was there, but
I got to watch everything he and Mike Browne (Carl's assistant and owner of
Browne Basses) did, and we would talk a lot about building. Today, we still
have a good relationship. In fact, I’ve ordered a 6 string bass from Carl
that I am waiting on patiently.<img src="http://www.eshenbaughguitars.com/marksand.jpg"></p>
<p><strong>JL: In your opinion, what is the most important factor in determining
the tone of a bass?</strong><br>
ME: The player and his fingers. No lie. I swear…if Victor Wooten played
a cheap offshore dime store bass, he could still get a decent tone. I think
your ear as a musician searches for the tone that’s already in your head.
I’ve discovered that most basses have more sound in them than people give
them credit for. If they can’t play well and the instrument hinders them
further, then it’s a lose/lose combination, but it’s almost always
the bass’ fault. But if you want to talk tone woods and brass vs. aluminum
and pickups and all that, sure…all those things affect the tone. But so
far, I have not seen a scientific research project that defines and codifies
the percentages of material and their effect on the tone. I have my own theories,
I know what a bubinga fingerboard sounds like, but I’m not going to say
it’s brighter or darker or warmer or sweeter. When I make two identical
basses that have only one thing different about them, I’ll go to the P.R.O.
Sound Technologies sound lab and measure and capture frequency response and
spectrally analyze the basses and I’ll publish the report in the Guild
of American Luthiery Journal for all the world to see. I’ll let you know.
The hard thing for me will be making two identical basses.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What has the least impact on the tone of a bass?</strong><br>
ME: The color.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What is the one factor or element that defines you as a builder
of high-end bass guitars? </strong><br>
ME: Price, and offering something to back up that price. Anyone can throw a
piece of coffee table wood on the top and cut a curly-cue, but to quote Carl,
“If the strings aren’t in the right place...” it won’t
really matter how good people think the bass looks.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What is your "signature"? </strong><br>
ME: I think it’s kind of curly but kind of illegible. No…really,
it is becoming the Big Talon/Bottle opener headstock. At least that’s
what people notice right off. I like to think it’s the methodical detail
stuff. I pay a lot of attention to things that I think many other people would
just let slide.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What are you known best for and what would you like to become known
for? </strong><br>
ME: I think among people who have never played one of my basses, the headstock
gets talked about a lot, and the cleanness/detail stuff. I don’t do anything
so radical or unorthodox. The people who have played them talk a lot about the
playability and the “craftsmanship”, however they define that. I
think people like my wood combinations and joints and things. Stripes, lots
of players like stripes. I would like to be known for the kind of person I am,
really. Unfortunately, the nature of my relationship with most players hinders
that. Bass building is not who I am, it’s something I do, one of many
somethings.</p>
<p><strong>JL: Do your basses have a signature sound, and if so, how are your
basses different from the others? </strong><br>
ME: Every bass, not just mine, has a sound all its own, but the more I make,
the more and more I think they start to sound more like each other. I don’t
really like to comment on other people’s basses, unless I have something
nice to say (grin). But I can say this; mine are the only ones with my name
on it. That’s a difference.</p>
<p><strong>JL: Do you have a best-selling model? If so, what is it? What kind
of bass/design do you have the most requests for? </strong><br>
ME: I think its neck-and-neck between the 5-string Brado and J-5. I do get a
lot of requests for custom string spacing and little things like that, but of
course, that also means changing the neck. Some of that stuff I advise against
and some of it is cool, it just depends on what it is. Like the guy who wanted
a buckeye burl neck…not a good idea at all.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What led you to your current designs and how did you arrive at
the various models of basses you build today? </strong><br>
ME: Carl’s influence on me is most directly responsible for the original
Black Forest design. The current Black Forest design has evolved quite a bit.
The Brado came about as more of a compact entry into the high-end bass market.
Rob Geisler is almost entirely responsible for me building the J series. He
thought that I needed to put out “my take” on the Jazz Bass.</p>
<p><strong>JL: Are you planning on introducing new models, or do you anticipate
changing the designs you currently have in the near future?</strong><br>
ME: Everything that I don’t build for stock, meaning customer ordered
instruments, ends up changing the model just a little bit. But whether I standardize
the changes depends on how much I like them as they come out. I am thinking
about introducing something closer to the original Black Forest, and a more
compact J body style, but that is it for the moment. I want to do the Brado
and J’s as more "standard" models, if you can call it that,
and try bringing the prices down. But the original Black Forest and the original
Brado (which few have seen) will always be custom pieces.</p>
<p><strong>JL: Are you working full-time as a builder? </strong><br>
ME: If by full time you mean spending 50 to 70 hours a week building basses
and talking to people about building basses… then, yes.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What is currently the biggest challenge you face as a luthier,
and how do you think this will change (if at all) as you continue to grow? </strong><br>
ME: Time Management. I do many more things than just build basses. I have a
wife and 2 ½ awesome children and I demand a great deal of their time.
I also work for and play drums, bass, and guitar for my church. I’m in
a band. Answering phones and emails... it’s hard to juggle it all sometimes.
There is a break-even point where I have the resources to make them fast enough
to lower the prices, that’s my long-range challenge; faster with no compromises.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What is the single largest misconception that people seem to have
about you and the job of a high-end, small production luthier? </strong><br>
ME: I don’t think most people realize they’re calling my house and
talking to my wife. I think people think I have all this extra time, a secretary,
or 3 guys out in the shop cranking them out so that I can just drop everything
and talk on the phone for 3 hours. It’s hard ‘cause I actually like
talking on the phone. It’s just that it can make a day really unproductive.
</p>
<p><strong>JL: Of all the instruments you’ve built over your career, which
one was your favorite and why? </strong><br>
ME: My favorite one is any one that’s not finished yet, whatever I’m
working on right now. Of course, that’s also the one I absolutely hate
sometimes. I don’t know…I have instruments in my head that I like
much more than anything I’ve done so far. I just need extra time to make
them. The sad thing is, I could make a bass that blows me away, but few will
appreciate why. Carl’s making me a 38" six string. 38 inches! That’s
awesome! I might make myself something crazy one day that absolutely no one
else would/could play.</p>
<p><strong>JL: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? What do you enjoy
the most about building basses? </strong><br>
ME: I enjoy playing the basses I build, I enjoy seeing them come together, and
I love the way wood looks with oil on it. I think the bass community for the
most part is an awesome, friendly community. I enjoy talking to other players,
but most of all I love finding those people I can connect with on a real level.
Sometimes it starts with building, sometimes with playing, but it oftentimes
quickly digresses to life.</p>