2014 Holy Grail Guitar show – The best luthier show in the world

Let me say it upfront the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show was a great success. It is without doubt the best luthiers salon I've ever been to. Organized by the EGB (European Guitar Builders Association) with a core team of 8 volunteers composed of luthiers and luthiers women, this first edition was a masterstroke.

What's the Holy Grail Guitar show? 115 luthiers coming from 22 countries, with 4 guitars average per table, so around 500 guitars in a big hotel in Berlin for 2 days!

As a reference, here is a list of events dedicated partly or entirely to the guitar which I had the opportunity to go:

• Montreal Guitar salon in 2007 (which no longer exists)
• Festival Guitare Issoudun 2011, 2012, 2014
• Graines de Guitare 2013 and 2014
• Guitares au Beffroi 2013 and 2014

Reasons for success of the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show

• Phenomenal quality of luthiers
• Excellent concept of having only guitar builders
• Impeccable organization
• Quality of the conferences
• Testing rooms
• The lounge of the luthiers
• Mini-concert demo
• The luthiers dinner Friday night: a superb opportunity to make initial contact before the show. And very good food!

Photo album

My suggestions to further improve

Honestly the event was such a success, my list is really composed of small improvements. In fact, it was difficult to believe it was the first edition.

• Video shoot all conferences and broadcast them live. The one of Juha Ruokangas on Thermo Treated Wood was excellent.
• Provide all (exhibitors, visitors and media) WiFi access for communication during the event
• Increase the use of Twitter in the account @HolyGrailGuitar propose an official hashtag # HGGS2014?

The Guitar Channel takeway of the show

In a few key points:

• 21 interviews (see list below) with a selection of top guns of the domain
• 200 pictures (album available via the Backstage private community)
• Many discussions all day long with guitar enthusiasts
• The meeting with a few living legend luthiers (Ken Parker, Grit Laskin, etc.)
• The discovery of new luthiers
• Received congratulations and encouragement from Ulrich Teuffel or Juha Ruokangas (I can tell you that it's super cool!)

To finance these few days in Berlin was a real bet for The Guitar Channel. I think I can already say that it succeeds because it allowed me to generate high quality content (yes, I dare say that) that has already begun to attract additional new Backstage Pass owners.

Beyond my commercial approach to transform The Guitar Channel into a viable business, these days were also the opportunity to build very promising links with foreign luthiers we have very few opportunities to meet France.

Conclusion

This event should be a model for equivalent events in France: the EGB proved that it was possible. Striking demonstration. And let no one tell me that it would not be possible in France.  When we want to sell high-end products such as luthier guitars, you need a high-end event.

In short, I'm looking forward to the 2015 edition and congratulations to the organizers and all the volunteers who made this show such a success.

Pierre.

The video above is a teaser of the 21 interviews
Get the Backstage Pass to view the full videos

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List of people interviewed on The Guitar Channel

Day 1

1. Kaz Goto from Jersey Girl Homemade guitars - Japan
2. Michiro Matsuda - USA
3. Juha Ruokangas - Finland
4. Sylvan from Relish Guitars - Switzerland
5. Jens Ritter - Germany
6. Harry Häussel - Germany
7. Christophe Leduc - France
8. Philippe Clain - France
9. Sophie Dockx from Dorian Guitars - Germany

Day 2

1. Giulio Negrini - Italy
2. Ken Parker - USA
3. Lars Rasmussen - Sweden
4. Frank Hartung - Germany
5. Doug Kauer - USA
6. Kari Nieminen from Versoul - Finland
7. Simon from the Leonardo Guitar Research Project - Europe
8. Brian from the Leonardo Guitar Research Project - Europe
9. Claudio Pagelli - Italy
10. Frank Deimel - Germany
11. William Grit Laskin - Canada
12. Ulrich Teuffel - Germany