Introducing TEN32 Guitars...and features you've never seen before!

TEN32Guitars

AsterixTG said:

Watched all three vids and while I can be pretty sure I'm not the target market, I sincerely applaud your efforts here.

Thanks for watching all 3! They're admittedly a little dense. I thought 15 years of work summed up in 15 minutes of video was a perfectly reasonable ask, but it's already become clear I need a 60 second video focusing only on the most "potent" features, which I will be tackling soon. In addition, I plan to do another video where I swap out any and every part, string up, play, repeat. I will update this thread when those are ready, but of course you can always subscribe to the YouTube channel.

I'm hoping to price out most of the folks who might unleash their inner moron, but you make a valid point - I'm sure there will be some shenanigans, but I find dealing with "my people" (guitarists like you guys) to be a pretty pleasant experience....so far!

Honestly I should do more video where I TRY to break things. I think it would require a particularly strong and determined inner moron....I bet I could down enough pints to get it done 

AsterixTG

TEN32Guitars said:

AsterixTG said:

Watched all three vids and while I can be pretty sure I'm not the target market, I sincerely applaud your efforts here.

Thanks for watching all 3! They're admittedly a little dense. I thought 15 years of work summed up in 15 minutes of video was a perfectly reasonable ask, but it's already become clear I need a 60 second video focusing only on the most "potent" features, which I will be tackling soon. In addition, I plan to do another video where I swap out any and every part, string up, play, repeat. I will update this thread when those are ready, but of course you can always subscribe to the YouTube channel.

I'm hoping to price out most of the folks who might unleash their inner moron, but you make a valid point - I'm sure there will be some shenanigans, but I find dealing with "my people" (guitarists like you guys) to be a pretty pleasant experience....so far!

Honestly I should do more video where I TRY to break things. I think it would require a particularly strong and determined inner moron....I bet I could down enough pints to get it done 

Find your local Army/Marines base and tell them to play with it in the field for a bit, have them film the experience.

We, soldiers, could break most things without trying. Any that passed muster was deemed 'Squaddie Proof'. Very little is Squaddie Proof.

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

I'd highly recommend the other 2 videos in the series - they cover all of the assembly details, like for example the fact that I don't use destructive fasteners - all of the threaded receptacles in the neck and headstock are stainless steel, flanged, and hexagonally locked into the wood. Its overbuilt and designed to last in every way possible.

I *did* watch all 3 videos before commenting (honest!) but I’d missed the bit about everything using threaded receptacles.  

In which case I completely withdraw my concern!!

What’s the game plan - selling direct to customer via the website, or looking for distribution deals?  

(My guitars rarely travel out of my music room - and then only as far as my workshop - so I’m definitely not target market, but I still appreciate a great concept, design, and the commitment to make it all a physical reality).

flying_pie

Very cool design. I really like the modern aesthetic 

TEN32Guitars

We, soldiers, could break most things without trying. Any that passed muster was deemed 'Squaddie Proof'. Very little is Squaddie Proof.

I like that for a marketing angle...."TEN32 Guitars are certified Squaddie Proof" 

I'd love to have a proper lab style test rig to see how much weight it takes to kill a scarf joint vs a bolt-on headstock. I'd like to think I win that battle...if only I could program a CNC machine to do video production...

TEN32Guitars

(My guitars rarely travel out of my music room - and then only as far as my workshop - so I’m definitely not target market, but I still appreciate a great concept, design, and the commitment to make it all a physical reality).

No worries! Like I said, theyre a bit dense

Direct to consumer is the plan for now, but ultimately I think my best skills are wasted if I'm stuck in a wood shop 60 hours a week pumping out parts, so I have a few ideas in mind to avoid that, mainly licensing. I've always believed my best chance to really move the instrument forward requires far more production capacity than I could ever muster, so I'm hoping [insert big name here] comes along with an offer at some point. I have 5 figures invested in patents, so I'm trying to check all the boxes. I think proven demand is the only part I'm lacking.

This is an interesting marketing problem I'm running into - people seem to perceive it strictly as a travel guitar but of course it functions just as well fully assembled sitting in your studio as it does traversing the globe. My guess is that potential buyers think they're paying for portability that they may never use, but many of the features have nothing at all to do with portability - they're useful in any context.

There are hundreds of other guitars at a similar price point that don't offer any of the utility that I bring to the table, even if used strictly as a studio instrument.

AsterixTG

TEN32Guitars said:

We, soldiers, could break most things without trying. Any that passed muster was deemed 'Squaddie Proof'. Very little is Squaddie Proof.

I like that for a marketing angle...."TEN32 Guitars are certified Squaddie Proof" 

I'd love to have a proper lab style test rig to see how much weight it takes to kill a scarf joint vs a bolt-on headstock. I'd like to think I win that battle...if only I could program a CNC machine to do video production...

Also, remember, don't test stuff put together properly, test it using the wrong fasteners with the wrong tools in the wrong way. Just because it's in the case, doesn't mean it'll get used as you intended.

TEN32Guitars

Also, remember, don't test stuff put together properly, test it using the wrong fasteners with the wrong tools in the wrong way. Just because it's in the case, doesn't mean it'll get used as you intended.

I think I'm one step ahead of you on that one....I put a lot of thought into fastener selection. There are 5 flat head socket cap screws for connecting the neck to the body, but those are the only flat sockets, and there are 5 neck bolts holes so that becomes pretty obvious pretty quick. The 4 bolts used to connect the neck to the headstock are what I call semi-captive. They're not technically truly captive, as they can be removed but they don't ever have to be removed because the plate is slotted and the headstock bolt channel's length was specifically selected to prevent that bolt escaping.

The short version is, the only bolts that aren't stored where they're installed are those 5 body bolts. If someone damaged something by putting the wrong fastener in the wrong place, they'd also have to admit a serious lack of cognitive capacity!

AsterixTG

TEN32Guitars said:

Also, remember, don't test stuff put together properly, test it using the wrong fasteners with the wrong tools in the wrong way. Just because it's in the case, doesn't mean it'll get used as you intended.

I think I'm one step ahead of you on that one....I put a lot of thought into fastener selection. There are 5 flat head socket cap screws for connecting the neck to the body, but those are the only flat sockets, and there are 5 neck bolts holes so that becomes pretty obvious pretty quick. The 4 bolts used to connect the neck to the headstock are what I call semi-captive. They're not technically truly captive, as they can be removed but they don't ever have to be removed because the plate is slotted and the headstock bolt channel's length was specifically selected to prevent that bolt escaping.

The short version is, the only bolts that aren't stored where they're installed are those 5 body bolts. If someone damaged something by putting the wrong fastener in the wrong place, they'd also have to admit a serious lack of cognitive capacity!

Aha, the last bit is what they won't admit.

But awesome man, I'm just playing devil's avocado, really impressed. Will definitely keep tabs on your success.

You have a UK distributor sorted yet?

Offset

TEN32Guitars said:

We (ie the forum membership here) have helped some other businesses get off the ground, both through putting £ business their way, but also from generating the interest and comments on threads here, which Google loves....

I made sure to carefully read the rules. The only box I didn't check was the UK business part, so thanks for not kicking me out

I'm already seeing a link to this forum on page 2 of my google results, so I think you're probably right!

Shipping a case that fits under an airplane seat is much cheaper than a typical sized one, and it would take a pretty major spill to damage the guitar inside this case! Maybe that makes it a slightly easier decision for those who may be interested.

Exactly this.  Save money and less worry about your guitar being damaged.  For the Joe Doe gigging musician who needs to fly for gigs/tours (especially in the US) this is a seriously good idea.  Now... if you can make a 50 watt combo amp that can disassemble, pack into a fag packet and reassemble in 2 mins, you're made :-)

ThePrettyDamned

Even if you take away the obvious difference between most guitars, that's a handsome looking thing once assembled. 

TEN32Guitars

But awesome man, I'm just playing devil's avocado, really impressed. Will definitely keep tabs on your success.

You have a UK distributor sorted yet?

Totally get it - and appreciate it. These are the exact questions that I've been designing and solving for in anticipation of sharing all this with the world, and I'm really enjoying being put to the test! So far I haven't had a question I didn't have a good answer for, including a decent length thread over at TGP, if any of you are members there - https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/vendor-introducing-ten32-guitars.2391038/

I'm the UK distributor right now, but open to suggestions if you know people who may be interested!

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

I'm the UK distributor right now, but open to suggestions if you know people who may be interested!

@guitars4you - Mark, are you bored of semi-retirement yet?

TEN32Guitars

Exactly this.  Save money and less worry about your guitar being damaged.  For the Joe Doe gigging musician who needs to fly for gigs/tours (especially in the US) this is a seriously good idea.  Now... if you can make a 50 watt combo amp that can disassemble, pack into a fag packet and reassemble in 2 mins, you're made :-)

I've had several requests to integrate speakers into the case...it's a cool idea, especially with some of these great sounding miniature DSP units out there now. Maybe someday I'll get the time to take a crack at it.

I'm curious about your initial perception, for 2 reasons. 1) there's nothing stopping you from assembling it, leaving it assembled, and treating like any other guitar in your collection and 2) I also offer conventional necks, so you don't even have to consider the portable aspect.

I'm worried the perception of "travel guitar" might be blinding potential customers to those things. Thoughts?

TEN32Guitars

ThePrettyDamned said:

Even if you take away the obvious difference between most guitars, that's a handsome looking thing once assembled. 

Thank you sir...the last thing I wanted to be was the "all features and no looks" guy...this is one of my biggest fears. I'd consider myself much more an engineer than designer, but feedback like puts a big smile on my face 

flying_pie

TEN32Guitars said:

I'm worried the perception of "travel guitar" might be blinding potential customers to those things. Thoughts?

Some photos of conventional neck guitars in regular cases alongside the compact travel ones should help with that

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

I'm worried the perception of "travel guitar" might be blinding potential customers to those things. Thoughts?

Probably - your USP is the ease of disassembly/re-assembly which lends itself immediately to ease of travel.

How to travel (easily and safely) with a guitar is the problem that your design solves.

(OK, there are "travel guitars" too, but those are typically compromised in terms of design/playability).

If you try to market it as another $2k guitar (albeit with some clever design elements), you're up against some tough competition with their own USPs.  Your edge is the portability.  

Sassafras

TEN32Guitars said:

Sassafras said:

Interesting to see not just another Gibson or Fender clone.

I did my best to differentiate the designs while keeping a familiar feel. I really wanted them to be a sexier version of what we're all used to, but with a plethora of real usability hidden under the surface. The guitars themselves wouldn't necessarily stand out in a lineup with other electrics, but the case would most certainly stand out, and of course all the features lurking under the hood are meant to be standouts.

I quite agree but I also think they would stand out in a lineup of other electrics.
They're quite distinctive.

TEN32Guitars

Some photos of conventional neck guitars in regular cases alongside the compact travel ones should help with that

Indeed. And I suppose <60 second tiktok style video swapping between bolt-on and conventional necks is probably what the people really want to see. I keep thinking attention spans cant get any shorter....

TEN32Guitars

(OK, there are "travel guitars" too, but those are typically compromised in terms of design/playability).

I think this will be my main hurdle. A google search for "travel guitar" or "portable guitar" produces a bunch of kids toys, compromised to the point where they no longer qualify as a "real" guitar, IMO. I've lost a lot of sleep wondering how to overcome that "portable guitars are crap" stigma. I'm hoping the attention to detail and build quality will go a long way in this department, but I'm not convinced.

Just wanna say - its so damn cool talking to you guys a half a world away about this monster I've been feeding the last 15 years. Quite a surreal experience, and the overwhelmingly positive feedback really makes the hours feel like they're starting to pay off.

Really appreciate your time and attention fellas!