Meet Michael Bashkin of Bashkin Guitars in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Bashkin.

Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have played guitar for the last forty years, and my love of music has followed me everywhere from the grey walls of my childhood bedroom in New Jersey to the hands of my children in Colorado. I have always enjoyed working with my own hands, and when I entered graduate school at Colorado State University, I found I could merge those two interests. I took my very first “nice” guitar, my Gibson J-60, the only guitar that I now can say sounded like a true instrument, into a repair shop. I was immediately fascinated by this type of work as I watched passionate focus intertwine with artistic expression. I left with a sense of both excitement and uncertainty and I walked out of the shop, knowing that just hours before, I was not expecting the trajectory of my career about to change.

I started by repairing guitars in Fort Collins at a local music store, reading every book I could get my hands on about guitar building, and talking to anybody who was in the field and would be willing to talk to me. As the years progressed, I was able to open my own business. Opening a business did not mean I was an expert with all the right equipment; I began in garages, closets, any small space that I could cover in sawdust and learn more about this instrument. My business has since grown both in size and in sawdust emissions in the last 25 years. I’ve now landed in a spacious, industrial shop, learning more about this art everyday.

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?
Taking this career path has not been a smooth road. It has always been financially challenging: figuring out my own business model with little to no guidance, doing my own advertising and accounting, and finding enough time to complete all my work as it is a slow process where nothing is guaranteed to work the first time. Though I love my work and I am able to support my family, it has always been a challenge.

In addition, being an artisan in a hyper niche market and appealing to sell guitars across the globe has been a tall order. Doing my own advertising is one of the biggest aspects of my job and it has taken a while for my name to pass along to the ears of those interested in the music community across the world. There was also a big learning curve from when I first began building. I had to learn both wood-working and lutherie (the practice of building guitars) at the same time, largely self-taught. This caused me to work a lot more slowly and cautiously, which made it far more difficult to complete many orders at once. I had many frustrations as I learned lutherie and had to discover methods of building after trial and error to achieve the type of quality in my guitars that I continuously strive for.

Please tell us about Bashkin Guitars.
I build highly customized guitars with rare and precious woods from all over the world. As for the works themselves, they are known for their artistry, tone, and playability. However, I find that the experience of customizing an artisan guitar is one of the most distinct aspects of my business. Customer involvement is crucial to their experience as they can walk through the entire process alongside me, intimately involved in the process of watching their own musical art piece come to life from their imagination and creativity combined with my artistic expression and expertise. Oftentimes, it is the process of building the guitar that the customers find the most rewarding. They have a deeply ingrained experience with their instrument and can receive highly specific and specialized components to their guitars that give the customers license to be more creative in their music and makes playing the guitars all the more exciting and beautiful.

In starting my own business, I am most proud of making a living as an artisan and being able to support a family. I feel that I was able to set an example for my children that it is possible to create your own path in life that will lead to fulfillment and lifelong learning. The guitars I make are a reflection of 25 years of dedication to making the best guitars I can. They are a reflection of my personal artistic expression, both aesthetically and in the tone of my works. In my own expertise, I am able to meld both my artistic vision with that of the customer to make these high quality works.

Pricing:

• Bashkin Guitars start at $9000.

Contact Info:

• Address: Bashkin Guitars
  1400 East Olive Court. Unit G.
  Fort Collins, CO 80524
• Website: www.bashkinguitars.com
• Phone: 970-495-1011
• Email: michael@bashkinguitars.com
• Instagram: bashkin_guitars
• Facebook: Michael Bashkin

Image Credit:
Bare Bones Photography

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