BEN WEASEL 2021

 

BEN WEASEL 2021

JASON INGRODI

 

JASON INGRODI

My first exposure to your work was Ray's guitar that he received at the 2012 Insub Fest when TBR played. I didn't know who you were at that time but the guitar spoke to me and it seemed a wild concept that someone from the punk community was crafting custom guitars. How did you get started, and was that your first custom of note?

haha! man I hated that guitar. and I think ray did too. he seemed stoked at the time but it was such a terrible guitar. theres a super cool story behind it all that will answer most of this question. So my first guitar "of note" would have been Kodys first "Templecaster" a transparent black Tele. The Meeps had just started and Aj gave me music from TBR. He told me it was the guy from Lillingtons. I had met Kody on their DBT tour, I was the sound guy. I fell in love instantly with TBR. So I found Kody on facebook and friended him. I think one night I was drunk and decided to message him something crazy insulting and unprofessional like "why are you still playing that stupid epiphone? how about we do something about that?" and he just like "ok".  so he told me this story of trying to build a tele in high school woodshop and it didnt work out. so he asked me to build him that. so i did and he took it on tour with NOFX. the case to the guitar was ill fitting and forcing the neck into a back bow. so by mid tour Kody was taking it daily to NOFX tech for neck adjustments. Eventually  he snapped the truss rod. Kody told me that Miguel was kinda stoked on that guitar and was going to email me after tour. That email led to me building my first bass ever. So ffwd several months, Tbr is in the studio recording, and Kody texts me that Ray is having trouble finding the sound and cursing my name. I believe the quote was "thanks to Ingrodi I now have the worst sounding guitar in TBR.

I took that as a compliment as he was playing his LP jr. So  i decided to take it to rays facebook wall. I didnt know this guy and had never talked to him before. I posted "sorry about your guitar. maybe we should do something about that".

ray and I talked and decided to take features from that jr and his gpc weaselrite and make the Raygun. but it didnt turn out how either of us wanted. i didnt know at that time how to carve a top. and it was just big and clunky and awkward and weird. neither of us would admit it at the time. i redeemed myself on raygun 2. and its my best seller to date. ray bought 2 and sold the first one.

I started guitar repair in roughly 2000 because our area had noone and i saw an opening for a job that i had no experience for. so i went for it. taught myself along the way. i built my first guitar in 07 on a bet that i could/couldnt do it. it wasnt supposed to turn into what it has. 

Before we dive into your work a craftsman and luthier, let's first talk about your music. The Meeps! played awesome old school punk rock and to me remain an underrated band. How was that experience? I see the last release was 2015 - is there a chance of more recordings? 

anyone who calls me a craftsman has never seen me try to hang an interior door. those are the guys you should be interviewing. 

I dont know if the meeps will regroup to record. Aj and I have disgused some acoustic stuff. we regrouped for Brandon Carlisle benefit show. It was one of those things where you are ashamed it was your last show and want the chance for redemption and then you watch the youtube footage and your just glad you hung it up. I dont think Ive run out of songs yet tho..

A lot of my focus on this blog has been songwriting - were you a songwriter in The Meeps!? What's your experience been with songwriting and what's your approach to songcraft? Is it much like building a guitar?

yes,i did write and sing for the meeps, but I wasnt the only one. Aj would write and sing his songs as well. sometimes we wrote on our own and sometimes together.  its nothing like building a guitar for me. when i build its for the customer. when i write its for me and I just hope someone else likes it. i dont have a process. each song has been different. sometimes the riff comes first sometimes the lyrics do. 

Now back to guitar questions - how did you develop your skills and eventually make it into a brand? Is it something that brings in significant income, or is it more of an ongoing passion project?

as i said eariler it was never intended to be a brand. i was basically dared to try to build one. the branding happened after there were several out there and im watching people talk about them on facebook and theyre calling them their "ingrodis" and I thought "I need a t shirt". Ive always loved when bands have mascots. Like iron madens Eddie, or the queers felix, you know.. allroy, milo, skull and rockets. So I needed a mascot. I just used my dog. Thats my actual Dog you see on all the shirts. His name  is Duncan , named after my and my wifes favorite punk rock dive bar. so thats how i branded it, it seemed thats what the people were wanting, so I took a gamble. rather that trying to come up with all this marketing shit I just tried to have merch like a band would. from what ive gathered talking to other builders, im a pretty unique case. ive been very blessed to be able to support my family doiing what i do without additional income. especially during the past year when so many people, especially the ones i depend on are out of work.

You seem to have built every conceivable body type out there - are there any that you have yet to do that you'd be interested in doing? And how many neck-through's have you done? Mine is awesome by the way.

i think ive done 5 neck throughs so far including yours. but i have a guy who has ordered 6 of the same guitar and theyre all neck throughs so that number is about to change. its a different style of building for sure.

i havent built a jazz bass yet, but i dont care either. 

You've built a lot of guitars over the years - what are some of your favorites? Which were the biggest pain in the ass?

yeah we cleared 200 total about 2 yrs ago and then i lost count. I remember reading a fretboard journal article where a prominent luthier had passed away and they were celebrating his accomplishment of 80 guitars in his lifetime. at that time there were more than that on my shelf waiting. 

i hate building acoustics and hollowbodies. i can. i just dont like it. it takes too long.

Is it tricky to deal with customers? I imagine when there's money on the line it could bring out people's weird side. Are people generally cool or does it become more like a "job" in that respect?

most people are cool. ive had a few special ones as you can imagine. my least favorite are the ones that like if i post a pic of a finished guitar today theyre instantly in my inbox "what about mine?" and all the stoke of finishing that guitar is gone. 

i guess i could be more clear about my process too. but i really dont know what im doing and im just kind of figuring out what works as i go. I dont do any computer stuff or even have a clipboard or notebook. when someone orders, within a week i like to get their wood processed and on the shelf where i can see it and i know its there. i see it every day and i know i need to work on it. its not just notes in a book somewhere. 

the downside to that is people get pics of me processing wood and theyre like "aww shit hes started!!!" and im actually not even close to started at that point. 

What's your schedule as a luthier and how do you balance that with the rest of your life? Is it difficult to keep up with demand and make time for everything?

let me first say im very blessed to do what i do and pay the bills. one of my oldest clients runs his own drywall business and had always pushed me to quit my day job and do this full time. he told me "youll never have a day off when you work for yourself"

he wasnt wrong. days off are for ordering stock, returning calls and emails, taking inventory, returning repair work to the local stores. i try to spend evenings with my family. i rarely get to see them all at the same time. 

You seem to have many talents - among them design. Do you design all the logos and merch for Jason Ingrodi guitars? What other creative talents have you been hiding from us?

i dont have any talents. i can cut some wood. sometimes you get lucky and it plays in tune. Im not one of those weirdo tone-lord builders that say stupid shit like "I like to let the wood inspire me" to try to make people think im some sort of tone wizard or that i know more than the next builder. i dont. i probably know less.  I like to interact with my customers. they tell me their ideas and i tell them what will work and what wont. i dont get inspired by other builders or brands. i just like to stay in my lane and do my thing. because each guitar is a one off that the customers designs, i like to get inspired by each customers idea. 

the logos are really just ideas that will pop into my head and I will fwd that idea to Cameron, a graphic design friend from a great band called Yellowdog Union in the wva mountains. he instantly understands what im looking for and runs with it. 

Can you share the story of Dan Vapid's recent Les Paul-style guitar? That seems like a special one.

Oh man so Dan really told it best on his page the other day when he shared the pic. So this guy Arron DuPape from Wyo , he won a raffle drawing we did a few yrs ago and got like a hollow wyoming themed mosrite. (theres another memorible neck). messages me one night "i have this idea, lets build dan vapid a guitar. i want to buy him a guitar. like buying your friend a beer  except i want to buy him a guitar." so we go through the down payment talks and finally it comes down to "ok, message dan and see if he goes for it"

so i cold message dan and Im like "some guy just put a down payment in my paypal for me to build you a guitar. so what do you want me to build" 

dan thought it was a scam 100%. he straight up was like "this is a scam". 

Your guitars to me are kind of filling the niche that GPC guitars once occupied in the punk scene. Did you ever play any of those? What's your perspective on those being so collectible and pricey, especailly the coveted Weaselrite? 

ive never had the opportunity to play one. i think it makes sense that theyre collectible now. i wouldve loved to see the inside of Flavs workshop. thats the kind of stuff that gets me excited. seeing people making things by hand. diy style the way we all started. 

What is the perfect guitar/setup for punk rock in your opinion, and what do you prefer to play yourself? 

i personally prefer anything with a Wolfetone Meaner90 in the bridge. For me that would be a les paul. Close second would be a Wolfetone Marshallhead pickup. Either of those thru a single channel 50 watt jcm 800 or jmp. I was always partial to the 75 watt celestions. I couldnt dig the vintage 30s or 25 watt greenbacks. 

Here's my list of coolest guitars made by you in no particular order: Jay Prozac's newest one, my Jarlock of course, Kody's Explorer shape, Ray's 2nd version of your Mosrite-style guitar, and I have to throw in that weird ass double V that you built for Jason V of The Jasons. How does my list compare with your top picks?

my list would probably be for different reasons than yours. mine would be like most memorable (comfortable) necks or least amount of mistakes. least amount of corgi hairs in the paint. stuff like that. there was a sparkle top les paul i did recently. i didnt care for the paint job but man that neck.. ugh. it was so perfect. I will always love the raygun. seafoam sg I did recently was real nice too! too many. It would probably be easier to list the guitar i wish werent out there right now... 

You build basses too - is that process much different? Which do you prefer to work on and why?

I do. I build far less basses than guitars, but I do build them. I prefer to build guitars because its more fun to play when its finished and Im a guitar player at heart. But Ive built a bass or 2 that absolutely ruled!

How can someone get in contact with you and what's the typical process for starting a new guitar project for those who might be interested? What's the typical price range and what are some do's and don't's?

facebook. i dont have a website. ive tried several times to get a website built but apparently what i want in a site is witchcraft. seems like a simple idea to me but i cant find anyone who can build it yet. 

just message me. im approachable. price all depends on you- you design it. but a good ballpark is expect to spend at least $1200- $1500. donts would be dont message me asking me for updates when I said "ill let you know"

man. NOTHING kills vibe more than the ones who dont stop "whats the update". 

I love what I do. I love so much how excited people get when they see what Ive created for them. and that its meeting or exceeding their original design. I live for sending those updates. when i make progress i cant wait to send it. thats literally what i live for. sending those updates and hearing "omg that rules im so stoked". 

If i havent sent updates, that means i dont have any. let me work. youll get your guitar soon enough. its not an emergency.

What's it been like to create guitars for many of your punk rock friends and legendary dudes in our scene? Have any friendships developed this way?

this is probably the best question you couldve asked and one i dont know how to answer because its so impossible to put into words. its been surreal. everytime I think "well thats the coolest thing im ever going to do" I get a message from someone else who I thought I would ever even talk to. its so flattering. I dont take compliments well, and never have. So when someone whos music Ive been listening to for 20 yrs likes what Im doing enough to order from me, its just, Idk man. I must be doing something right. Im just one of those people who only sees my mistakes. But that keeps me motivated to get better.

Thanks for the interview man. Any final thoughts, shout-outs, etc.

my wife. my whole family really. im a mad scientist at times and an introvert. i have no formal training in what i do. 100% self taught by trial and error. so when i'm in figure out the error mode, i sort of withdraw and im lost in my thoughts for days until i figure it out. I cant imagine what they deal with. 

but my wife. without her believing I was capable of this, and letting me take risks, I think i would be working in a cabinet shop somewhere. or Walmart.