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

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

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.

Maybe yours isn't a "travel guitar".

It's a proper guitar that's been designed for guitarists who travel. 

TEN32Guitars

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

They're quite distinctive.

Wow...I expected good feedback on the craftsmanship but never the design aspects. Very much appreciated.

I have 5 contour options per model broken down here if you want more on that front - https://ten32guitars.com/pages/purchasing

My goal was that they'd all hold together as a group, as in when you see one of mine, you immediately know its a TEN32.

TEN32Guitars

Maybe yours isn't a "travel guitar".

It's a proper guitar that's been designed for guitarists who travel. 

Well stated sir. That's a great line right there. I need to ponder and expand on this message. You can expect to see/hear it in the condensed 60 second video I plan to produce soon!

AsterixTG

Oh yeah, daft question perhaps - whassit sound like?

TEN32Guitars

AsterixTG said:

Oh yeah, daft question perhaps - whassit sound like?

I'm glad you asked! I've got a few dozen properly recorded clips across 4 models here in the blog - https://ten32guitars.com/blogs/news/audio

The playing is hacky, but I think the tones are worthy. I also have some impromptu video I'm willing to share - they're not "proper" videos (audio is just the mic in my pixel phone), and again the guy playing them is a hack, but here are a few. You can thank "Stranger Things" for some of the song selection. My nieces and nephews demanded it 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/N1AQ4ASHA6bLMVcR9

 

Alterlifeson

Really cool design, there is definitely a demographic that would take to the look and feel for sure, think Ormsby or those other smaller metal/progressive focus brands. I think the previous comments about the USP being the portability are right, but I would see that as an added bonus. I don't think many guitar players would specifically buy a guitar because it breaks down easily for travelling. I could be totally wrong of course but there are already ways around this issue. Specialist hard shell cases, airlines having exceptions for musical instruments etc. 

I noticed Rabea Masaad is traveling around Europe with conventional guitars on economy flights and seems to be doing OK. Does mean to say that your product wouldn't make things easier however.

Really cool idea though and when put together look really smart without the extra features.

sev112

How fabulous @TEN32Guitars - most unique guitar-based innovation I have seen in a long long time and it all looks good too. Good luck 

flying_pie

TEN32Guitars said:

Maybe yours isn't a "travel guitar".

It's a proper guitar that's been designed for guitarists who travel. 

Well stated sir. That's a great line right there. I need to ponder and expand on this message. You can expect to see/hear it in the condensed 60 second video I plan to produce soon!

An ambitious plan would be to arrange to travel to an influential YouTube guitarist to do a video where you assemble it and then get them to play it and demo that it's definitely a proper guitar

TTBZ

I'm not a huge fan of the body shape (it's a bit too modern for me), but love the concept. Looks really well thought out with the case etc. 

TEN32Guitars

sev112 said:

How fabulous @TEN32Guitars - most unique guitar-based innovation I have seen in a long long time and it all looks good too. Good luck 

Thank you! Quite the compliment, much appreciated!

TEN32Guitars

TTBZ said:

I'm not a huge fan of the body shape (it's a bit too modern for me), but love the concept. Looks really well thought out with the case etc. 

Whoa, shots fired! I was wondering when the trolls would come out to play!

Kidding of course   

Might I suggest an HT series model?



I also have the more traditional version of the EN series here, but haven't produced one just yet - https://ten32guitars.com/pages/cg-series

TEN32Guitars

There is definitely a demographic that would take to the look and feel for sure, think Ormsby or those other smaller metal/progressive focus brands. 

Really cool idea though and when put together look really smart without the extra features.

Thanks! I've got 5 contour packages across the 5 models from clean and classic to modern and aggressive. Wish I had a real example of all 25 permutations but not there yet. I do have renderings of all the options though - https://ten32guitars.com/pages/purchasing

TEN32Guitars

An ambitious plan would be to arrange to travel to an influential YouTube guitarist to do a video where you assemble it and then get them to play it and demo that it's definitely a proper guitar

Considering a bunch of options along these lines. Honestly I'm a little worried if I tap into one of these guys with a massive subscriber count I might end up with more business than I know what to do with. I'm a one man show operating out of a garage and a basement. My sales goals are very modest. This is more about making money doing something that doesn't drive me to jump out a window, for now anyway...

Philly_Q

I've watched the three videos and even tried configuring a guitar on your website.  Well done, you've put a hell of a lot of thought into these designs.

TEN32Guitars

Philly_Q said:

I've watched the three videos and even tried configuring a guitar on your website.  Well done, you've put a hell of a lot of thought into these designs.

Thanks for your time and kind words! The blog gets even geekier if you want more - https://ten32guitars.com/blogs/news

Any feedback on the config form? I don't love that solution, but I'm also not sure how to offer and capture such a wide variety of options in another way. I've been told I should also offer some standard models for those who don't wish to entre the configuration rabbit hole.

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

Philly_Q said:

I've watched the three videos and even tried configuring a guitar on your website.  Well done, you've put a hell of a lot of thought into these designs.

Thanks for your time and kind words! The blog gets even geekier if you want more - https://ten32guitars.com/blogs/news

Any feedback on the config form? I don't love that solution, but I'm also not sure how to offer and capture such a wide variety of options in another way. I've been told I should also offer some standard models for those who don't wish to entre the configuration rabbit hole.

you might find that potential buyers want to engage directly with you rather than via a form anyway.

The form is great for getting an idea of options/prices, but before committing cash, I'd always want to talk to the builder (OK, that's not always an option - Mr P R Smith never takes my calls) and talk through what I was thinking - if only to make sure that the builder really did exist and that my design choices weren't completely daft.

Philly_Q

TEN32Guitars said:

Philly_Q said:

I've watched the three videos and even tried configuring a guitar on your website.  Well done, you've put a hell of a lot of thought into these designs.

Thanks for your time and kind words! The blog gets even geekier if you want more - https://ten32guitars.com/blogs/news

Any feedback on the config form? I don't love that solution, but I'm also not sure how to offer and capture such a wide variety of options in another way. I've been told I should also offer some standard models for those who don't wish to entre the configuration rabbit hole.

I'm sure you'll fine-tune the process over time anyway, but from a purely personal viewpoint I'd have liked to see a bit more choice over things like neck profiles, fretboard radius etc. 

Maybe you could have some standard models with customisable features, rather than having to choose every feature from the ground up.  Or offer both approaches!

TEN32Guitars

you might find that potential buyers want to engage directly with you rather than via a form anyway.

The form is great for getting an idea of options/prices, but before committing cash, I'd always want to talk to the builder (OK, that's not always an option - Mr P R Smith never takes my calls) and talk through what I was thinking - if only to make sure that the builder really did exist and that my design choices weren't completely daft.

I've found not using some type of logic based approach results in massively time consuming email threads, endless questions about this option or that, and ultimately a whole bunch of confusion about what's actually going to be built, which of course results in cries of "this isn't what I wanted" followed by me wasting more time reviewing the email thread to point out what they had in fact requested.

That said, there's too much gray area to not have some type of email/phone discussion to shore up the details. Its a tricky problem, to be sure.

TTony

TEN32Guitars said:

you might find that potential buyers want to engage directly with you rather than via a form anyway.

The form is great for getting an idea of options/prices, but before committing cash, I'd always want to talk to the builder (OK, that's not always an option - Mr P R Smith never takes my calls) and talk through what I was thinking - if only to make sure that the builder really did exist and that my design choices weren't completely daft.

I've found not using some type of logic based approach results in massively time consuming email threads, endless questions about this option or that, and ultimately a whole bunch of confusion about what's actually going to be built, which of course results in cries of "this isn't what I wanted" followed by me wasting more time reviewing the email thread to point out what they had in fact requested.

That said, there's too much gray area to not have some type of email/phone discussion to shore up the details. Its a tricky problem, to be sure.

That is all true.

Designing & making the guitars is the easy bit. Dealing with the customers ... that's the tough bit!

TEN32Guitars

I'm sure you'll fine-tune the process over time anyway, but from a purely personal viewpoint I'd have liked to see a bit more choice over things like neck profiles, fretboard radius etc. 

Maybe you could have some standard models with customisable features, rather than having to choose every feature from the ground up.  Or offer both approaches!

Those two particular things are pretty easy to modify, and since I custom machine nuts to match your preferred string gauges, I can match any FB radius easily as well. Bridge selection can be tricky, but its easy enough to find the red flags there with a bit of diligence.

Anything else missing that you'd like to see in the form?