Heiko Hoepfinger's got an eclectic background (German physicist; bassist; classical guitarist; worked on the Hermes' fuel cells; founded basslab.de). That of all the people he could have chosen to quote in his 1-page article he picked Lieber caught my eye:
“The following is from a recent conversation I [Heiko Hoepfinger] had with luthier Tom Lieber of Lieber Guitars, where he explains how he got into the business: “I began customizing and building guitars 51 years ago. During that time, there were no schools for electric guitar building. Luthiers were mostly old-world violin/acoustic guitar makers. Electric guitar manufacturers were really the only outlet for learning the trade, which was mostly an industry fueled by a labor force of mainly woman [sic], who had engaged in all types of manufacturing during World War II. In the 1950s and into the ‘60s, incredibly talented women made those amazing guitars of yours. Unfortunately for me, I lived nowhere near Kalamazoo or California where Gibson and Fender were located in the late 1960’s. So I dug in and taught myself through the reverse engineering of existing guitars. In late 1968 and into the 1970s, there was an explosion of guitar makers, and I was fortunately able to team up with and learn from Doug Irwin.
As builders, our only outlet for reaching the end customer was to literally show up at soundchecks and recording studios to present our wares. And hard-copy magazine ads were the only method for creating a customer base outreach to the end user.”
Heiko Hoepfinger, “Were the Good Ol’ Days Really That Good?,” Premier Guitar (March 2020) at 84
“The following is from a recent conversation I [Heiko Hoepfinger] had with luthier Tom Lieber of Lieber Guitars, where he explains how he got into the business: “I began customizing and building guitars 51 years ago. During that time, there were no schools for electric guitar building. Luthiers were mostly old-world violin/acoustic guitar makers. Electric guitar manufacturers were really the only outlet for learning the trade, which was mostly an industry fueled by a labor force of mainly woman [sic], who had engaged in all types of manufacturing during World War II. In the 1950s and into the ‘60s, incredibly talented women made those amazing guitars of yours. Unfortunately for me, I lived nowhere near Kalamazoo or California where Gibson and Fender were located in the late 1960’s. So I dug in and taught myself through the reverse engineering of existing guitars. In late 1968 and into the 1970s, there was an explosion of guitar makers, and I was fortunately able to team up with and learn from Doug Irwin.
As builders, our only outlet for reaching the end customer was to literally show up at soundchecks and recording studios to present our wares. And hard-copy magazine ads were the only method for creating a customer base outreach to the end user.”
Heiko Hoepfinger, “Were the Good Ol’ Days Really That Good?,” Premier Guitar (March 2020) at 84
My 1st album, Galvanic Samurai:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/galvanic-samurai
My 2nd album, Traffic in the Moonlight:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/traffi ... -moonlight
My 3rd album, So Glad I Came:
- coming Nov. 26, 2023 -
Jerry would be the first to tell us, "I never spent my life slavishly copying anyone."
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/galvanic-samurai
My 2nd album, Traffic in the Moonlight:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/traffi ... -moonlight
My 3rd album, So Glad I Came:
- coming Nov. 26, 2023 -
Jerry would be the first to tell us, "I never spent my life slavishly copying anyone."