Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi guys.
I have a goal: to do a local craft show (sounds small but it gets a LOT of traffic) in two-three years with some Guitars and possibly a brand launch. I know there are a lot f variables that go with doing things for a business, but I’m really not after that.
What I’m wondering is this:
What are your thoughts on your brand NAME? What about using YOUR name vs something else? For instance, my city is known for 3 rivers and 7 hills... plenty of ideas from that.

So... name vs something else.
Thoughts?


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When I see a brand name I don't recognize on a guitar vs. the luthier's name, I tend to give more value to the one with the luthier's name. There's something about putting your real name on it that appeals to me.

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Julie Moriarty
http://JulimorCreations.com

You could create a brand name and sign the ones you like.

Many of the better known Brands wear the name of the person who originally created them - Martin, Gibson, Washburn (middle name), Larrivee, Taylor, Epiphone (Epi Strathopoulo) to name a few. Some might use their Initials - PRS, and some just picked a name - Guild, Harmony, Stella, etc.
Do what seems right to you. If you build an outstanding product the "Brand" may not make much difference. Froggy Bottom is a bit weird for a guitar company, but it doesn't seem to hurt their sales.

There certainly is a predominance of brand names using or based on the name of the builder or founder of the company. I think for some people, a person's name as a brand may provide a perceived/imagined personal connection, but brand names that are not a person's name can work too. Froggy Bottom is great example. Also Guild, Tacoma, Rainsong, Ovation, National, Sigma, Seagull, Recording King, Halcyon, and others.

I chose not to use my family name because, outside the eastern Canadian provinces, few people in North America are able to pronounce my last name and I didn't want to deal with that problem. Some builders are fortunate in the family name they were born with. I use the name Mazama for my guitars because I grew up in Washington and Oregon and have done lots of backpacking and some mountain climbing in the Cascades. The word mazama, or something like it, means mountain goat in Native American languages of the region and it is attached to some of my favorite locations in the Cascades so it has some very good associations for me personally.

I think you should go with whatever name speaks to you personally, with the caveat of choosing a name that people don't have to struggle to pronounce or has similarity to words with unfortunate associations or connotations.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I live in the Swift Creek watershed. So, I call myself Swift Creek Guitars. The logo I chose for my headstock is reminiscent of my initials rather than a reference to Swift Creek Guitars...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Since I was building mandolins by the time I had to decide on a logo, I started with a large gothic B. Later switched to J.Brentrup as you can combine the J and B. My father always did that, just JB. I never wanted to call them "The Brentrup" a little to presumptuous, so with the J and B combined, it flew. When I started guitars again, I just went with a branding iron that had the logo and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I’m not branding my guitars because I’m just a hobbyist and I don’t expect that to change. But I did come up with a name. Partly for fun and partly to have something to put on the labels. Someday I hope to devise an inlay idea that fits and speaks to me (again, mostly for fun).

To me, my last name doesn’t sound good for a “brand name.” It is not obvious that it is a family name and sounds more like a cheesy stab at a brand name. I ended up using the street name I looked e on Muir Castle since my shop is in my home. I don’t only make guitars so I went with “Muir Castle Strings.” That just sounded right to me. Go with whatever speaks to you. Maybe come up with several names and reasons you like them and bounce them off people. You can even ask for impressions here.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

If my name was Johnson, Smith, etc. or worse Gibson, Martin, etc. I would have come up with a creative name for my guitars. There are probably other luthiers named Cochran, but it is an unusual enough name.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I went with my daughter’s name “Annabel”
We chose the spelling so it does not seem so hickishly southern.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

so i use my name. i don't do a headstock logo just a label on the inside. my name looks pretty awesome in gothic font on a classical guitar (if i do say so myself) -kinda like Italian/Dutch royalty. problem is it's lousy (imo) for a steel string. for that perplexing conundrum, i use a "sub-brand" -something more palatable and pronounceable and (imo) more "normal looking" for a steel string. still just a label though.

A couple of thoughts. There are a bunch of different ways to look at branding. It seems to me that you’re trying to become recognized or associated with something. You want to paint a picture with a name, or at the very least have it be memorable.

Your name - helps if you have a reputation already. It can be the basis of creating that rep and keeping it closely associated with you and your work. If you have a difficult name, maybe not the best choice

Based on locale - you mentioned that there are local features. This approach might suit your marketing channel -the local craft fair, local markets. You can be associated with the region your working in, may not be such a bad thing. A disadvantage, how likely are you to move? Will the name travel well?

Based on your “vision” - a little flaky maybe, but you can make the name a quality statement, or a feature that makes your product unique.

To me, I’d lean towards a company name/brand, based on one of these considerations and then you can still identify different models based on other things, features or characteristics. So like Benedetto is the company and they make Cremona, Bambino etc.

Finally, this might sound really simplistic. But try out some different names. You say them as if answering your phone. Get friends, wife, kids to say them and use them in different ways. Write them down, try them out as logos and on letterhead or invoices. Often these exercises will weed out the really poor choices.

There are a lot of good reasons for either using your name or making up another name. If you make up another name, you will probably have more work to get name recognition. Some of your customers are going to know you by your name (e.g. "Bob Snow made my guitar") but you'll also be publicizing your "brand" name (say, "Rainbow Guitars"). Using a name other than your surname will in a sense throw away any name recognition you get from your personal name.

Another consideration is that makers who sell their hand-made guitars at the price of factory guitars have a hard time making enough money. If you become recognized as a hand builder of exceptional guitars, you can charge more. Having your own name on the guitar can emphasize that it's a person who built this, not a factory.

Surnames can be a problem. You don't want to use your own name if you are Mister Mxyzptlk. My last name, Allen, is pretty generic and anyway there already is an Allen Guitars. If I were to use Tim Allen, it would suggest the comedian who adopted that name. (There was a bit of a problem with his real name: Tim Dick). I suppose if I was going to try to use a name to start a guitar business I would use some variant, like T. T. Allen Guitars. Fortunately for me, I'm building guitars for the love of it, so I don't sweat it. If you're starting a business, though, it's good to think long and hard before choosing a name.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

fwiw, last name or not, there are like one million guitars with "S" or "SS" on the headstock.

try names of coffee.

Goodman Guitars -They're good,man.....

Nice


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If only your first name was Saul. t's all good man.....

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Actually , my Grandfathers name was Saul(Solomon) Goodman

When I'm watching a performer, I'm always looking at the headstock branding. It can be shape or logo... Most of the time the instruments are from the big "mumble" manufacturers. Then again there are Collings, or Froggy bottom, or whatever on stage.

I wanted to have a logo that I could identify from a distance. I feel fortunate that I get to see my work on stage more and more!

My logo is basically my initials, MDC. You kinda have to squint to make out the D, but most folk get it. The label inside the guitar contains my full name, model, and has a watermark of the logo incorporated into the label design. My wife was a graffics designer in a previous life which is very useful.

The headstock logo.... I came up with on my own..

Best, M