Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Razo.
Jonathan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
During my high school days, my best friend started learning how to play guitar. Up until that point in my life I had never really cared much for playing of guitar in general. I remember going over to his place and he would show off the newest chords or newest songs he had practiced.
I remember thinking that I need to learn how to play immediately, not because I wanted to take the guitar seriously but because I just wanted to impress girls at school and church. So I purchased a beginner guitar and started learning. It started out as something to just impress people, but soon playing guitar turned into an obsession. Not an obsession to be the greatest guitar player to ever live, but an obsession to own the nicest guitars there were!
It escalated quickly, from the first guitar that cost me $150 to the second one that went up to $650, and then on to $3k, until I ended up spending $9k on a single guitar. Trust me, I was not a skilled enough player to grant a $9k guitar. I found that I started enjoying more talking about the guitar as an item, rather than a musical tool. Soon an idea came to, “what if I try building a guitar?”. I remember clearly how far-fetched the idea seemed. I ran it by my family and friends at the time, and it was like they had heard the craziest idea pitch in the history of the world.
My family thought I should wait to finish school and then think about going into the family business, my “friends” laughed when I would go home early to work on design ideas. One of the only few people that supported me was my then girlfriend, and now wife. She told me just to do it, do not think twice or doubt what the outcome would, but to just dive in and at least try. My family showed their support as soon as they saw that I was determined to take the plunge and dive head first into building guitars. In a matter of months, I sold off all my guitar collection to fund the tools needed to start building guitars.
I remember building my very first guitar in my room at my parent’s house. My mom was fed up with the house being covered in dust almost every day, and nearly kicked me out a handful of times. The first guitar was the hardest one, not only did I have to teach myself how to build a guitar, but I also had to learn how to woodwork in general. When I finally completed the guitar and strung it up for the first time, I was hooked! The fact that I created something with my own hands that were going to serve a greater purpose was a surreal feeling!
I gifted my first guitar to my dad, and it’s funny looking back because he was so proud of it, he was showing it off to the whole world, even though it was not the best looking or playing guitar. I went on to build my second and third guitar which consequently I listed for sale locally on craigslist. Word got out from the first customer that purchased the guitars from me and thankfully to this day, I’ve been blessed to have a steady list of clients year in and year out.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think starting a business is never easy, the first obstacle you have to overcome is yourself and your own doubt. I think that was my greatest struggle when this journey began. After finishing up my first guitar, I knew I was not going to sell that one publicly because I wanted to gift it to my dad and also because craftsmanship wise it left a lot to be desired.
Once I finished my second and third guitar, I think that’s when things started to get real and doubt started to creep into my head. Those two guitars didn’t sell immediately, as optimistic as I was trying to be there was a part of me that would question if this venture would even bear fruit. I remember trying to sell them at all cost, meeting up with people so they could get their hands on them.
Demoing them and comparing them to other guitars, and it seems like nothing was working. Sometimes you just need to find that ONE person to believe in what your doing, that’s all it takes ONE person to get the ball rolling. The other obstacles along the way we’re making a quality product that exceeds peoples expectations! In my line of work, there are a couple of well-recognized guitar companies that have been producing quality guitars for decades and even a century!
Designing something that was physically appealing is one thing, the hard part was creating a sound that is distinct and different to what those companies offer, that was the real task! As a one-man shop that has to support his family with his business, I don’t have the money and time to spend on research and development like I’d probably wish I could, I had to modify on the go. Every guitar was my own R&D project, I had to try something different in hopes of improving on the previous guitar.
The struggle was real, I had to produce a quality guitar to paying customer and hope to not completely mess it up with the tweaks here and there. Looking back, I am thankful for the journey, but I sure wish that I could have honed my skills and found my voice prior to selling the guitars publicly, but I don’t regret it because I wouldn’t have learned as quickly as I did otherwise!
Razo Guitars – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I make handcrafted custom guitars, and my specialty is steel string flat top acoustic guitars! My guitars are noted for being ultra responsive and lively; it’s something that I’ve had to work hard to achieve, but am thankful that people have found interest in my work. I think that’s what sets me apart from others, the moment you pick up one of my guitars you immediately feel and notice how the notes just gush out.
There are a lot of guitar makers that I admire, both amateur and professional. The one thing my clients specifically notice immediately about my guitars as compared to others is the BASS response. Think that’s my signature sound, a full bass response built on a lightly constructed guitar that just rumbles in your hands!
The proudest moments as the maker are the calls I get immediately once the clients receive their guitars! I’ve had a couple of instances where customers are in awe of the sound, the woods, etc. That’s the greatest feeling you can feel when the culmination of your hard work ends up being a client’s more prized possession!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Just before shipping out the guitars to clients, the guitars stay with me for a couple of days to settle in and so I can do final adjustments. This is going to sound cheesy, but my proudest moments have to be when my kids and wife sit there and admire daddy’s new guitars. That to me makes it all worth it. Validation from my clients is great, and I feel honored when I get it, but my wife and kids validation mean everything to me!
Though if you want a more un-cheesy moment that I am really proud of, it would have to be when I was invited to showcase my guitars at a guitar show in Berlin, Germany. It’s a highly regarded show, where only the best of the best are invited to come out and take part of the showcase. I was fortunate enough to have been invited this year!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.razoguitars.com
- Phone: 469-642-5122
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razoguitars/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RazoGuitars/
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