Employment

[mahrous]

I hope this thread is in the right place. I can't think of any other forum to post this on.

Ok, i have started making basses and guitars around 2 years ago. I am located in Egypt and the market is very poor and uneducated. Also the market is quite small and full of metal heads who are not really my cup of tea but fill my bank account.

My question:
Have any of you have any experience with employment with big companies or luthiery custom shops?
I am not satisfied with the Egyptian market and wish to seek a bigger career preferably working with a respected name and company.

How do I go about this? Do they usually hire people or is it very rare for custom shops to offer employment opportunities?
my second choice is companies such as Musicman, G&L, Spector and Carvin. Companies that are not major corporations and still care about their quality products more than their income. How difficult is it for a Canadian living in Egypt to get a job at one of those places?

[Greg Johnsen]

hmm, it never hurts to ask the specific company if you may work with them. However, usually to do this, you have to move where the company is located...

Another option is to move where there is a better market, such as the US, or most of europe (most likely western, but I could be wrong).

If moving is not an option, then I don't know what you can do besides making yourself international, and more well known to the world so you can get business outside of egypt.

good luck
Greg

[mahrous]

Ah, i am definitely moving to wherever the company is located. sorry for missing that piece of information in the original post.

I have a canadian citizenship which allow me to work and live easily in the US/Canada

[Greg Johnsen]

oh, ok. Now that I know that, what I really think you should do, is start your own company up here, instead of working through someone else.

To get well known, an idea would be to send a bass around to certain people, who would review it. When people read the reviews, they will start to like your basses, and will purchase one, then they will talk about their bass, and will make others want one, and so on.

A good place to start would be a good website that shows your basses, prices, info about you and etc. As people get to know you and your basses, you'll get more well known, and your company can grow,

again, good luck
Greg

[Hambone]

Mahrous,

As I recall, you were prototyping instruments for production in Egypt correct?

Well, this is a small world now with the internet and the global market is at your doorstep. Why do feel the need to move your production operation somewhere when all of us (including the paying clients) are simply a click away? OK, Egypt isn't a great market but I bet there are many countries in the mediterranean region that would be good for business like Spain, Italy, and Greece. Also, on your own continent there's South Africa and Morocco - both havens for western style entertainment. It's all in the marketing man - folks won't care where it originated from if it's a good product.

[wilser]

I agree with Hambone. The one thing is that people tend to buy instruments because of other's opinions. So apart from Hambone's advice you should also find a way to get your instruments into the market you're trying to go. You can, for example ask someone for whom you've built an instrument to join talkbass.com and post a review. Build a website and post lots of pics, etc. Still, it's a slow process and making a name for yourself can sometime take years. So, patience and exposure are key.

Best of luck!

[andvari7]

Originally Posted by Hambone

It's all in the marketing man - folks won't care where it originated from if it's a good product.

Say, now that you mention it, wouldn't it be a bit of a boon for markets such as South Africa and Morocco to have instruments made in Africa? Gives it that quasi-hometown feel. Like, "Hey! Buy African. In addition to being the mother of civilization, we're the mother of BASS." Something like that.

[Bachbass]

Ive spoken with quite a few luthiers who have made the transition from hobbyist to professional. The term marketing is a very broad term especialy in the music world. But one thing remains a constant. If you want to get your self out there....There are 3 major trade shows in the world: the 2 NAMM shows in America and the Frankfurter Musik Messe. If you want to get business get 6 to 10 prototypes together and display them at these shows. The Whole world is there to look.
About seven years ago I did a Luthery semenar program in northern California. A very well known Bass builder who I will not name was there
lecturing on electronics. Being quite naive at the time I asked him what one must do to get his name out there. His advice was to start small selling to your friends and to local music stores and work you way up.
He also advised me to try to pedal my instruments to bands playing in my area.
These are some of the stupidest, most rookie things you can do as a fledgling luthier.
I asked him about the trade shows and I was met with a sharp response
that it wasnt worth it and that I shouldnt even try.
This Particular Luthier has been around for along time. His business is alright but he gave the impression that that he should be alot more successful than he actuly was..... and was a little bitter about it .
I came to the conclusion after the introduction of Nordstrand ,Benavente
Elrick , Marleaux and many others in the last seven to ten years that this luthiers advice was more like a' below the belt' sabotage to keep competion down. All of the above mentioned luthiers have done tremendous business at NAMM.
The fact of the matter is if you have a good product.....you go to the tradeshow. There you make connections , take orders and sell your wares.
One year Marleaux basses found themselves booked out for 13 monthes
after one Frankfurter Music messe.
I wasted 4 years of my life following this Idiot Luthiers advice. I eventualy gave up in frustration and went back to europe to continue my Education. If I could have done it all over again I would have made 10 of my finest instruments and gone to NAMM ....and then made desicions from there.
I hope this opens some eyes to the possibilities out there. The guys on this forum are really talented and I feel deserve the recognition of the market.....but its up to you guys to make the right steps in that direction.

[mahrous]

thanks for the smart words.

i think i know who you were refering to in California. i have a fair bit of knowledge of the california market, visited GCA in Hollywood and met couple of LA based luthiers. i believe the guy you talked to is one of them