Guitar maker seeks to stay tuned

Santa Monica musician Shawn Gray was surprised last month when the manufacturer of his Speedster electric travel guitar offered to fix loose wiring for free -- three years after he had bought the lightweight instrument and carted it all over the country.

He was amazed when he got it back two days later from Redlands-based Traveler Guitar. Not only was the wiring fixed, but nicks were repainted, fresh strings were put on and the $350 instrument was in a new case.

At first, Gray thought owner J. Corey Oliver had sent him a new guitar. “I didn’t recognize my own guitar -- I was blown away,� said Gray, 37, who plays and writes songs for his rock band, Six in Six, when he’s not flying planes for American Airlines.

“I own thousands of dollars’ worth of guitar equipment, and you would never get that same kind of service� from other manufacturers, he said.

Oliver, 37, can’t play the guitar but his 16-year-old company is striking the right chord with customers.

Staying on top of their needs, and those of his dealers, is a mission for Oliver and his staff of five. It’s also a major force behind the 31% jump in the number of guitars the small business has shipped in the first five months of this year, rising to 2,100 from 1,600 in the same period last year.

The demand for the eight travel models has grown even as the economy stumbles and guitar sales languish. The company’s models include the bestselling candy-apple red Speedster, the $400 African mahogany bass and the $500 Escape EG-1 designed by internationally recognized guitar builder John Carruthers.

“He’ll do anything to make those customers happy, and that’s why his sales continue to grow so well,� said Phil Rich, guitar merchandising director for Guitar Center Inc., a national retailer based in Westlake Village. The chain is Traveler’s biggest customer.

By the end of the year, Oliver expects sales to total as much as $1.8 million, a 44% increase over last year’s $1.25 million. In 2004, sales were $450,000.

“Our customer service is so important. We think it might be the only thing that helps us this year� to weather the slowing economy, Oliver said.

Top-notch service means more than responding quickly to buyer concerns. For Oliver, it’s the driver behind decisions in every area of the business. He bought a Prius this spring so his salesman, Matt Heynen, could cover twice as much distance as last year -- and seal more deals -- for the same cost, despite higher gas prices.

“Consumers are going to be less likely to let go of their money, so we need to make sure our guitars are on the walls and salespeople know how to sell our product, and you can’t do that over the phone,� Oliver said.

On Tuesday, the two will stuff the Prius with 15 guitars and exhibit materials and head to Nashville for a trade show put on by NAMM, an international music products association. Although the company always is represented at NAMM’s big gathering in January, it’s the first time in four years that the business has hit the smaller summer show.

“We’re really looking for dealer feedback,� Oliver said. “I’ve never felt the pressure like I’m feeling this year.�

Lots of guitar companies sell travel guitars. Almost all are small versions that don’t quite sound like full-size models.

Traveler Guitar has carved out a niche by creating guitars with full-size necks. The bodies and electronics are small and lightweight with connections for headphones or amplifiers and a unique arrangement of the tuning controls in body cutouts rather than on the guitars’ necks.

The idea is the brainchild of Leon Cox, a retired Air Force pilot and engineer who sold his stake in the business 18 months ago.

His Pro Series, a paddle-shaped guitar with a stethoscope-like listening device, was launched in 1992 and is still sold by the company. Pro Series guitars have traveled to Mt. Everest -- twice.

After Oliver bought the company with five partners in 1995, he struggled to keep it going. He blew through his roughly $100,000 in start-up money in seven months as the company expensively built guitars by hand.

After a chance meeting with executives of Fender Musical Instruments Corp., the maker of the legendary Stratocaster took up Traveler Guitar’s manufacturing and distribution.

Traveler still wasn’t making money, and Oliver slept on a friend’s couch, sold his car and sold used telecom equipment to make ends meet. After three years, Fender handed the manufacturing to a factory in China, and the steady stream of instruments helped Oliver persuade more dealers to carry the guitars.

Oliver still has to educate guitar sellers about his high-end instruments. Another challenge: The small size of the guitars means they don’t show up well on the walls of crowded guitar shops, Guitar Center’s Rich said.

And rising costs could mean higher prices industrywide in the next 18 months, Oliver said.

“If I have to personally drive 200,000 miles and go to 30 Guitar Centers to conduct personal training, I’m all over it,� Oliver said.

Last year he abandoned his independent sales reps because he felt his niche company wasn’t a priority with them.

Oliver hired Heynen to better serve dealers and customers. The owner said he might walk across the room to alert Heynen to sales specials. An e-mail blast and some phone calls later and the shipping department is sending the specials out the door.

This year, Oliver contracted for weekly consultations with a former manager from Van Nuys-based Daisy Rock Guitars named Jeff Garvin, who has shown him new ways to work with dealers. Before, Oliver scanned his weekly sales reports from Guitar Center, focusing on the good-news numbers. Garvin taught him to look closer at lower sales for certain models and to ask the merchandising department how to improve.

The discussion led to an idea for a free-standing display to better showcase Traveler’s instruments. Responding to customer demand, Traveler also expects to introduce a left-handed version of some of its guitars next year.

Leaving nothing to economic chance, Oliver also hired a shipping manager to ensure that most orders are shipped the same day.

“Your customer service better be rocking,� Oliver said, “and your product better be stellar and your relationships better be fantastic.�

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