![]() ![]() And although Hoover’s interview occurred a few days later, the conversation dovetailed almost seamlessly with his colleagues. ![]() I caught up with all three luthiers via Zoom, with Taylor and Bourgeois on the same call. Rough terrain for the major manufacturers proved to be fertile ground for young builders like Bourgeois, Taylor (founded 1974), and Hoover (who started the Santa Cruz Guitar Company in 1976), among others. Playing techniques were evolving too, fueling a demand for instruments with faster necks, better intonation, and onboard electronics. Based largely on American classics, imports had been improving in both quality and reputation while remaining more affordable than domestic brands. Many players considered the instruments coming from the established factories to be inferior to those they made decades before. But by the following decade, major American makers were struggling. The 1960s had made the guitar into a pop-culture phenomenon. What there was in abundance, however, was demand. “There was no internet, no guitar schools, no decent how-to books, no luthier schools, and no local luthier organizations.” ![]() “It was the 1970s,” recalls the Maine-based Bourgeois, who started with his father’s tools long before co-founding Schoenberg Guitars in 1986 and opening his eponymous shop in 1992. The world was a very different place when Bob Taylor, Richard Hoover, and Dana Bourgeois began building guitars. ![]()
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