De Neve becoming a professional guitarmaker

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): The young Gilles E.D. de Neve liked music very much and dreamed of becoming a world-class guitarist. Being left- handed was no barrier for him to sharpen his skills but it was not always easy to find a guitar that suited him.

He played his guitar upside down and it was not always convenient. He would roam the streets of Bandung, the city where he grew up and now lives, to find a guitar that was designed for left-handed players, but he always went home empty-handed.

"I started thinking, then, why not make it myself?" he told The Jakarta Post. And that was how his business began. During its early stages, he fixed friends' guitars. As his reputation soared, more and more people went to him to have their guitars repaired or ask for his own design.

Today, his business continues growing and his products have found their way to top musicians. Dewa Bujana, guitarist for Gigi music group, Fathur of Java Jive and Thomas, Gigi's bass player, have gone to him to have their guitars repaired or modified.

"Usually they come to me for perfection. Professional guitarists have their own taste and want their instrument be more personalized. An instrument that can fully express the player's self. That is what music instruments are all about," he said.

Born on Bangka island 45 years ago in a Dutch family, de Neve has become a professional guitarmaker as well as a guitarist. According to his customers, he knows about guitars down to the smallest detail.

One of de Neve's regular clients, Nicky Ukur, said, "Just a strum of your guitar and he can tell you what condition it's in."

With five employees, good equipment and an adequate investment, he and Eni Listianingsih, a Sundanese woman he married a few years ago, run the business from his home in Bandung. He has also set up a special room for a guitar course.

"I have five students and they are all promising," he said.

Living in a blessed environment rich with natural resources, de Neve is concerned with poor production of good musical instruments. He said Indonesia has everything it takes to be a world-class music instrument producer, particularly the guitar.

"We have top-quality timbers like mahogany and teakwood. We have also reliable technology to make other parts. We can produce good-quality guitars at competitive prices," he said.

De Neve's guitar prices are rather expensive because some parts have to be imported from the U.S., Japan and South Korea. Still, they are inexpensive compared to foreign-made ones. One guitar of middle quality costs between Rp 3 million and Rp 5 million. As he puts it, guitar parts require simple technology but need perfection and high precision -- two things that local makers are commonly lacking.

But at least Indonesia has the basic materials to produce good-quality instruments. He has established a cooperation with Ministry of Forestry to utilize fallen trees.

By any standard, de Neve is an idealistic artist. He will not compromise when it comes to his own standard of quality. Some brand-minded youths have asked him to make a Fender, a popular guitar brand, and put the Fender logo on it. He refuses such orders.

"I can reproduce a Fender exactly and it's easy to put the Fender logo on it. But that's a total breach of my own principle. I am only willing to put my signature on it," he said.

He is also idealistic as a musician. He is only willing to perform a certain kind of music. He performs underground music with his "gurus": Jimmy Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore. But he initially learned to play the guitar from his teacher at home: Indonesia's jazz maestro Eddy Karamoy.

"What Om (uncle) Eddy taught me still sticks strongly to my fingers," he said.

His advice to young musicians, arrangers and composers is for them to focus on a branch of music that is in line with their talents and desires.

"Actually, we have a great deal of talented musicians, but their potentials have been compromised by the market. They create something they do not really want. They do it because of the market demand," he said.

"Musicians are not supposed to think the way producers do. Professional musicians should only focus on improving their skills, knowledge and creativity. Let the producers think about the market," he added.

De Neve continues his search for perfection. "Someday I will produce guitars under my own brand. I will become one of the world-market players in this field. And I hope that won't be too long."

Meanwhile, his enterprise still comprises 60 percent repairs, 20 percent modifications and 20 percent production. Later, it will be all production.