Interview | Adam Lee Of Bohemian Guitars

Bohemian Guitars is a custom guitar company that specializes in making great sounding electric guitars out of recycled materials and more specifically -oil cans. Because of the interesting materials used, BOHO Guitars not only have a unique look, but an amazing sound as well. JamBase sat down with co-founder Adam Lee to talk about the origins of the company and learn a little bit more about what BOHO Guitars are all about.

JamBase is giving away a BOHO Surf Wax Guitar w/ a hard case. Thats a $400+ value! Go to JamBase.com/contests or click here for your chance to enter.

JamBase: What was the original inspiration for BOHO Guitars?

Adam Lee: Street musicians in our home town of Johannesburg, South Africa have been making instruments from trash for decades. Their ingenuity and resourcefulness continues to inspire us and remains a driving factor behind what Bohemian Guitars is about.

JB: How many people started BOHO Guitars and did any of them have a background in instrument making or even the music industry before this idea took off?

AL: There were four of us that started experimenting from the beginning, two of our friends dropped out early to pursue other passions.

JB: Looking at the success of your Kickstarter campaign, it seems that there was pretty strong interest in BOHO Guitars since the beginning. Is this true or did it take a little while for the company to get off the ground?

AL: When we launched on Kickstarter it was really the first time the masses were introduced to our guitars. The interest in our brand today couldn’t be stronger. But looking back at the Kickstarter we would do things slightly differently, we’ve learned a lot in the last two years and we’d like another stab at Kickstarter in the future.

JB: Where do you get the materials to make your guitars?

AL: A combination of places. Obviously several of the components we use are new, but we source vintage cans from pawn shops to eBay. And the same goes for old instruments. We’ve started sourcing junk yards that contain large stores of scrap metals so we can melt them down and create our own bodies.

JB: It seems like you guys are pretty environmentally aware, what other steps do you take besides recycling materials to help keep your business low impact?

AL: We subsidize a lot of the materials we use by giving back to the environment. Specifically, this year we have planted over 5,000 trees in Africa through our partner Trees For The Future. Moving forward, we plan to plant one tree for every guitar we sell. As we grow the business we hope to get more involved and have some large initiatives in the works.

JB: I’m not sure what BOHO points are but I know I want them. What are they and how do I get them?!

AL: Hahaha, this is something we are still working on defining. Admittedly so we are a little behind schedule with getting this program rolled out. But at a high-level – customers, fans and ambassadors will have an opportunity to earn BOHO points through different social actions. These points can then be used to redeem rewards, discounts and rebates.

JB: Not only do your guitars look cool, they sound awesome too! Can you tell us a little about the specs?

AL: Our guitars are standard six-string guitars with traditional pickups and hardware, tweaked slightly for our guitar bodies. The electromagnetic properties of the pickup in a Bohemian Guitar interact with the hollow, metal body of the guitar and the metal strings. This is unlike the traditional wooden electric guitar in which the guitar pickup only interacts with the strings. This double interaction creates a unique, harmonically-rich tone only found in a Bohemian Guitar. The inner basswood skeleton in the body increases acoustic amplification and adds to the graceful union between the sound of a traditional guitar and the brightness of a Bohemian Guitar.

JB: We’ve seen G. Love perform with one of your guitars, what other famous musicians have used them?

AL: G.Love is the man, he has been a huge supporter of what we are doing at Bohemian Guitars. In addition to G. Love we’ve had several bands and musicians like fellow South Africans KONGOS to Valerie June to American Idol winner David Cook, just to name a few. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a respected musician using one of our guitars. It’s the ultimate validation.

JB: Is there any single musician out there that you would love to see playing one of your guitars?

AL: There are tons of musicians we dream but if I were to pick one right now it would be Jack White. I’d love to see him jamming on a Boho. I think our guitars are made for him.

JB: Do you sell your guitars anywhere besides on your website?

AL: We are primarily B2C focused but we have partnered with Urban Outfitters and you should be able to purchase our guitars through UO this holiday season.

JB: Whats the best day of the week to buy a BOHO guitar?

AL: Fridays. We currently have an initiative going on in which we donate one guitar to a US based music organization for every guitar we sell.

JB: What would you be doing if you weren’t making environmentally-friendly guitars out of oil cans?

AL: I don’t like to think about that. I wake up every day and get to build my dream business.

JB: Whats the next step for BOHO guitars, what do the next five years hold?

AL: I think right now we are flying under radar. But we are building a consumer brand unlike any the music instrument industry has ever seen. In five years, Bohemian Guitars is going to be a household name. You’ll probably be rocking one of our guitars, and your favorite t-shirt will be one of ours. We’re building a music brand that people can relate to on a personal level. It’s what the industry is missing, and it’s the problem we plan to solve.

Want your own? Go to JamBase.com/contests or click here for your chance to win a BOHO Surf Wax Guitar w/ a hard case.

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