Trent Guitars

TTony

TrentGuitars said:

The non-refundable deposit and then let them decide whether they like it or not once they get it just isn't something I think is good for anybody. I see that as the same as Asda putting 'Love it or your money back' on their products, it works for food and low cost items but not sure so much on a guitar. It's worth noting if someone really wasn't happy with their guitar, if it was entirely not what they expected, I'd refund them.

Given how many people proudly proclaim that they ordered 5 guitars, only intending to keep 1, and return the other 4 under DSR (etc), then an explicit money-back offer would be too open to abuse, IMHO.

The better options - I think - are to make a couple and put them up here FS as-is.  When one sells, make another (etc).

If/when the shows get going again, then that's a good opportunity to meet a lot of people, and have a fair few of them pick up and play.  Maybe make a sale (maybe not), but it's more awareness building.  Of course, that incurs the overhead of cost of stand *and* time spent preparing, travelling and showing.

Maybe if Jason is going to get the GBGS running again next year, then a Trent Guitar or two would be a contender for space on the forum's stand there.  That'd give everyone (not just forum members) an opportunity to have a real good feel.

WezV

TrentGuitars said:

I'm at just over 10 Model 1's delivered and not had someone unhappy yet. 

10 in how long?

It doesn't feel very long  at all, if that's 10 in under a year it's pretty amazing.... you won't find many other guitar builders who managed that with a brand new design.

guitarcookie1

What about one of those Fretboard Tourbox ideas to get one in the hands of the masses?

Because of the cost to you, you might not want to ‘donate’ a guitar but interested people could pay £something to try one of your guitars for a week and then send it on to the next person - if you put it in a hard case and insist it’s shipped via Overland Express then it would be fully insured in transit. 

This might be a completely bad idea as a guitar it not as easy to move about the country as some pedals. Just an idea, that’s all.. 

TrentGuitars

WezV said:

TrentGuitars said:

I'm at just over 10 Model 1's delivered and not had someone unhappy yet. 

10 in how long?

It doesn't feel very long  at all, if that's 10 in under a year it's pretty amazing.... you won't find many other guitar builders who managed that with a brand new design.

3 months, half of those at a significant discount. I know it hasn't been long and I can't just spawn an instantly profitable business, I guess I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't putting all this time into something that isn't going to take off.

TDubs

I’ll chime in with a few thoughts…

It seems like you’re onto a really good thing here. On a message board that can be very acerbic, your designs and guitars have been very well received and those that have purchased seem very happy and glowing with praise. It seems patience maybe needed now. I started a business about 9 years ago and there were the projects I wanted to win and the projects I maybe didn’t want but could win. In the beginning, if I had only held out for the projects I wanted, my business either wouldn’t be here or it wouldn’t have grown like it has. We did the projects we maybe didn’t want to, learnt, grew some more, got some of the projects we wanted, learnt, adapted some things we did, did some more of the projects we didn’t want to do, learnt etc etc and now we can be in a position where we are more selective about what we do. That growing and developing stage has been so critical for us. If we had somehow managed to land the projects we wanted right at the start, our inexperience probably would have cost us. I’m not saying you’re inexperienced but use the time and headspace you have now, to work on things, develop and improve (unless you’ve reached perfection already) 

You’re fortunate you have another revenue stream (furniture) that is vaguely linked to what you want to do. Use this to underpin Trent Guitars and make sure it has a bright and strong future. I can understand you want to be solely focusing on the thing you love, but don’t kill it off by rushing.

I read with interest the tales of the luthiers on and off this board and how much a struggle it can be. It sounds like they all have another string to their bow (or should that be guitars) alongside their offering of building guitars so you’re not alone. It sounds like, from their experiences, you may be at the beginning of a long road.

There’s loads of stats about business’s failing in the first few years but it seems, in terms of the building guitar world, you are off to a flyer. Don’t be disheartened, build on what you have with the support of the furniture side abs grow steadily from there.

TTony

TrentGuitars said:

WezV said:

TrentGuitars said:

I'm at just over 10 Model 1's delivered and not had someone unhappy yet. 

10 in how long?

3 months, half of those at a significant discount. 

10, in 3 months, whatever the discount, from a standing start with a completely new design and name.

That would be viewed as an incredible success by most other guitar builders in a similar situation.

Congratulations Elliott.  

TrentGuitars

Honestly, thank you all so much for your encouragement and wisdom and for putting up with my grumbles!

You've all made excellent points and certainly reassured me that I'm onto something. You're all very generous with your time and wisdom and I've read every single reply carefully.

GoldenEraGuitars

TrentGuitars said:

WezV said:

TrentGuitars said:

I'm at just over 10 Model 1's delivered and not had someone unhappy yet. 

10 in how long?

It doesn't feel very long  at all, if that's 10 in under a year it's pretty amazing.... you won't find many other guitar builders who managed that with a brand new design.

3 months, half of those at a significant discount. I know it hasn't been long and I can't just spawn an instantly profitable business, I guess I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't putting all this time into something that isn't going to take off.

As I’ve already told you, I worked my full job while trying to get SC Relics off the ground. But due to stress of my main job in the wedding business I had to resign earlier than planned as I couldn’t take the mental onslaught of being responsible for someone else’s business go down the toilet while i was at the helm as the owner sat back and did nothing. I realised after 7-8 months that I was drawing enough money through SC Relics to leave my full time 9-5 (more like 6-6, 6 days a week!) and take a few quid from the business to pay my mortgage and get away from a job that was causing me a number of mental health issues.

As you’ve already shown, it takes time and dedication. A vision if you will. But you need to realise what you have achieved so far is no small feat and backing off now won’t do you any good. Riding the crest of the wave is important, especially for a start up. Take every opportunity you can to keep the momentum going and don’t feel bad for one moment about making a mistake along the way. If you haven’t made a mistake, you haven’t made anything.

My first endeavour into the world of guitars was, pardon me, a fucking disaster. I made the mistake of trying to sell something on one those shitty Facebook groups in 2016/17 and was mauled by a pack of loudmouth idiots who proceeded to messaging me about how crap I was at both guitar painting and as a human being. But that’s Facebook for you I suppose. 

It took a while to establish my name and brand, I briefly went through a stage of “we” before I realised that I am my brand, I am me and what I’m selling isn’t just my product.. I wanted people to address me in emails and messages by my name because I want them to know I’m the proud owner of my business. The fact that you MAKE a quality product that looks and (from what others have said) plays superbly means you have the basis for a long term future in the guitar world. And unless you’re actually Ian Elson trolling the shit out of us then I think you’ll be just fine.

It will take a while for you to find your feet properly and establish your final branding and ideas but that is something that comes with time. For god sake, look at SC Relics vs Golden Era. I never for once imagined I’d be in this position. 

For what it’s worth, I think some of the ideas mentioned here are worth exploring. But organic growth is something money can’t buy. If you have sold 10+ guitars in 3-6 months of your first year then that is an outstanding achievement and more so it means that 10+ guitars with your name on it are out there which is more than there was in 2020. 

Out of the suggestions mentioned here I would go with the guitar show one first and foremost. I’d personally disregard this “resale” stuff.. if you’re worried about such things don’t buy anything… ever again. You think your car will appreciate in value? Or your jeans? Of course they bloody won’t. There are a few things that helped me massively (ive already told you a few) but absolutely make sure that you stay on top of your website and social media. Whether we like to admit it or not Instagram and Facebook are massive players in the spreading the word. Sharing content is extremely easy and this will help to drive interest and sales. 

All I can leave you with (publicly) is that I built my business alongside a full time job, a young family (3 children under 8 at the time) and a mortgage to worry about and nothing else to fall back on. You can absolutely do this and there is plenty of help on offer from people who can actually help. 

WezV

TrentGuitars said:

WezV said:

TrentGuitars said:

I'm at just over 10 Model 1's delivered and not had someone unhappy yet. 

10 in how long?

It doesn't feel very long  at all, if that's 10 in under a year it's pretty amazing.... you won't find many other guitar builders who managed that with a brand new design.

3 months, half of those at a significant discount. I know it hasn't been long and I can't just spawn an instantly profitable business, I guess I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't putting all this time into something that isn't going to take off.

That is an amazing success,  you should take a lot of pride it.

No one can tell you if it will be a success, but having seen a lot of builders come and go it does seem you are on the right path.

TrentGuitars

Yeah, I am sorry if it’s coming across as moaning/complaining as I’m so grateful for the success I’ve had, I just wanted to try being open and seeing what you guys thought. There have been some excellent suggestions and some wonderful feedback so I am really grateful for that!

I’ve replied to @GoldenEraGuitars in our own chats and to the rest of you thank you again!

benga

First things first Elliot - don’t beat yourself up for not selling 100’s in the first few months. You’ve gone further than most people who want to follow their passions and start a new business! Your achievements so far are to be commended and celebrated. 

To echo lots of the other comments, as frustrating as it is, have patience  Someone mentioned that people might not feel comfortable with spending that much on a new brand - the only way to overcome that is to keep doing it. It may be slow to start with, but the longer you do it, the less that is an issue. I’ve worked with loads of businesses over the years (as a designer) and it’s not always a great experience for some of the people I’ve worked with/for when they expanded to quickly.

Some others mentioned adding an additional model and I noticed you’re making a short scale bass for someone. Could you make the most of the awesome design you have and explore a model 1 bass? Would the the body shape scale up to a full size bass? Hopefully not it’s not as much work as creating a completely new design, and it keeps the identity of your guitars. I obviously have no idea about designing or building a guitar so I may be well wide of the mark - nothing is ever simple. I love my Jag bass and I think it’s why I get on with offsets. A full size model 1b would be amazing.  

If you wanted to do some addital guitar related work have you considered finishing/re-finishing? I appreciate that you probably want to stay focused on building your brand (and tbh, it’s probably the best route), but the water based finishes you have you look great and it’s not something I’ve seen others offer.

I’m not likely to be in the market for another guitar/bass anytime soon, but when I am I hope you’ll still be building beautiful guitars so I can have a Trent. 

Sunburst

@TrentGuitars You've got a great design which you're executing to a very high standard, based on the reviews I've read to date. From a standing start, to be where you are is an incredible achievement!

I think you also need to keep in mind that many people take months to process their buying decision; time spent researching, justifying it to themselves or their other halves, or raising the necessary funds. I never make an impulsive guitar purchase and think my average buying decision takes twice as long as you've been building your gorgeous Model 1.

rpr

What about opening a Reverb shop and sticking a few up there? This forum is pretty small and you'll probably only sell a set amount to it's members. Actually I think the whole guitar business is pretty much a cottage industry and it's a bit overcrowded as it is

soma1975

I love the look of these and the story behind them. @TrentGuitars if you ever fancy producing a brand film showing the story/ethos of Trent Guitars plus a build and someone playing the thing send me a DM. 

I'm doing one for Rennsport at the moment on the build of a special Porsche for a special customer so can show you some bits and pieces of that plus other stuff I've done for reference. 

rlw

meltedbuzzbox said:

rlw said:

Resale value.  And there's not a lot you can do about that TBH.

If you buy a guitar with that in mind I think you should be re-evaluating why you are buying the guitar in the first place

I don’t but many people do.  How often do we hear the words “  buy secondhand “.
A new guitar will usually lose you money and a new guitar by an unknown maker will lose you lots of money.  

It’s a sad fact but pretty much undeniable.

TrentGuitars

Thanks again guys, just to say I'm not discouraged at all - this is what I want to be doing and it really is living the dream for me!

I think that's really why I'm being worrysome, my obsessive nature is great when it comes to the details in the craft but this has the side effect of getting impatient!

@soma1975 I think once I'm a little more down the line that could be really interesting, thank you!

soma1975

Cool no worries. Would be great to have a chat at some point. 

theimageofall

These look great and I’d be seriously considering a model 1 debut soon if it had humbuckers rather than p90’s.

More of a single cut fan, so I am hoping for a model 2 along those lines!

Well done so far, though. They really do look good.

rlw

Have to say that, despite my comments on resale value, I am very tempted to get on of these and sell the LP Special.

Teyeplayer

rlw said:

Have to say that, despite my comments on resale value, I am very tempted to get on of these and sell the LP Special.

Been thinking the same about my Ric 330. I don’t have any need for a model1, but I could see it very easily becoming my number 1.