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Sultan of strings

Dreaming big David Raj plans to start a shop to sell his handmade guitars

Ever wanted to know what it feels like to play Megadeth vocalist Dave Mustaine’s stark white ‘King V’ guitar? Or Metallica’s James Hetfield’s Black Diamond Plate Explorer? If you thought these dreams were outside the pos sible depths of your pocket, you probably still haven’t heard of David Raj and the work he does.

David designs, produces and sells custom hand-made guitars. Electric, acoustic or classical, whatever the demand may be, David can do it for his customers. And his customers agree that David’s guitars are of far better quality than the ones you get on the market. David puts it all down to years of trial and error finally paying off.

David’s interest in guitar production did not blossom overnight. “As a child, I would always watch in wonder while something was being made. Carpentry had always been a passion,” he says. And there being no lack of musicians in the family, his two primary interests were on a dead collision course. By the time he was around 13 he was already drawing sketches of the guitars he saw.

This fascination would eventually precipitate in a need to learn the instrument.

“It was during my pre-degree years that I started learning how to play. And as luck would have it, I went to one of the best tutors ever.” Wilfred George (Willy Pulimukhathu) was the one who taught David the basics. Although he attended only a few classes, those basics inspired David to become a Western classical guitarist later on in life.

Meanwhile, at home, David started experimenting with guitar manufacturing. His older brother providing him with the electronics that were needed for the construction. Soon, David was churning out one guitar after another. As there were no courses he could take to hone his skills, he resorted to ordering books from abroad to furnish him with all the necessary inputs.

As he soon found out, every little step in the manufacturing process made a huge difference in the sound quality of the guitars.

“The wood used, the shape of the neck, even the glue used to stick it all together makes a huge difference. The guitars available in the market, that mostly come out of assembly lines, have the finish and subscribe to the standard norms, but the sound quality is almost never good,” says David.

While most manufacturers use plywood, David uses spruce or mahogany as the principal raw material. If that wasn’t enough trouble, he also has to order the glue and other required inputs from abroad.

But David says the principal focus is on customer satisfaction.

Hence, even though his constructions take time and are more expensive than the regular guitars available on the market, there is no shortage of potential patrons.

When he is not making guitars at his workshop in Mannamoola, David teaches at the Kalagramam School of Music or plays with his classical Western band ‘Stringline’ at local hotels. He is also perfecting his skills as a solo classical guitar player meanwhile.

As for the future, David has big plans.

He is planning to open a shop near his home at Injakkal as well as attempting to improve more on quality.

“When I was starting out, I never even dreamt that this would be a successful career. But hard work and well spent time have been rewarded eventually.”

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