February Birthdays 
Interview With Bob Shade of Hallmark Guitars by Noel
Noel: Hallmark Guitars have built quite a reputation for building high-quality Mosrite-style guitars and some well known musicians in Country Music use them. There are also some very dedicated surf guitarists that use Hallmarks almost exclusively. How would you respond to that statement?
Bob: Well first let me start by thanking you Noel and Surf Guitar 101 for being so kind to want to get to know more about me and Hallmark Guitars!
In the beginning in the 60's Hallmark Guitars was a very small operation of 4 people plus two silent partners. The company was founded by Joe Hall and Bob Bogel from the great instrumental band The Ventures. At that time Bob was searching for a builder that could create guitars to compliment the Encore amplifier line that Bob had funded to put into production. Bob had a guitar design in mind that was very similar to the Swept-Wing but more symmetrical. Joe expanded upon the design and Bob liked what he saw. The Encore Company immediately went bankrupt due to the plant manager running off with all the funds from pre orders for the Encore amplifiers. Bob gave Joe his blessing to go on and continue with the Swept-Wing design and said, just make sure you never put the Ventures name on it.
Enter Andy Moseley. Andy helped as a silent partner to Joe Hall to get the Swept-Wing off of the ground and was working as VP for Mosrite at the time. Andy had distribution connections and was able to help in getting financing for startup capital as well. The Swept-Wing was born. Artists from The Doors to the Mama's and the Papa's were endorsing the Hallmark Swept-Wing guitars.
By the time I came into the fold about 12 years ago, I was building the handmade Swept-Wings and I hired Bill Gruggett to build the Stradette models. I had no idea who I was building these guitars for. I simply wanted to re-issue these guitars and see where the audience came from. Almost immediately Deke Dickerson, a well known rockabilly artist caught wind of the company building guitars again and had to have one. The first model Deke ordered was a Swept-Wing doubleneck in gold sparkle finish with a special built in light show that lights up his name in the fingerboard in 5 different patterns. What a project that turned out to be. I enjoyed the challenge.
Once we got our feet wet, we got the attention of more and more players. Yes country players are into our guitars as well as surf, and general rock and hard rock players. Most of our guitars have found their way to instrumental guitarists, but we have also gotten orders from players in Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks Band, Brad Paisley, Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, and more. We also have expanded our models and have models named after Deke Dickerson, Johnny Ramone, and George Barris the car designer.
I think our guitars have naturally taken on a life of their own, and I am very proud of what we have accomplished in the last 12 years.
So as I said, I had no idea where these guitars would go in the beginning, as I never had a pre conceived notion about the type of music that should be played on Hallmark guitars. I simply wanted to offer true to form Hallmark designs that are of the highest quality and playable tone monsters possible, that are affordable to everyone, including a regular guy. That was the goal.
Noel: Can you explain your manufacturing process enough to provide an idea of how you go about making your guitars? And, are there any differences in how you make the Hallmark 59, 60, and II and the guitars like the George Barris, Batman, and Stradette?
Bob: Well, the 59's 60's and just about all of our solid body guitars are made with pin routers and a lot of hand work goes into every guitar. We do not use CNC routers at this time.
The Wing Bat for example which has been endorsed by George Barris has a highly sculpted top. This is done also with a pin router with a mold of the top of the guitar on the side with the pin. The router mirrors what the pin does and sculpts the top very accurately.
Noel: No trade secrets asked for or expected, but I know there's a lot of curiosity about your pickups and what else contributes to the unique sounds of your guitars.
Bob: Well a lot of attributes go into our guitars. First I have to point out, I never set out to make exact copies of the hardware and electronics and woods of the guitars that were offered previously. My mission at Hallmark has always been this: take the great designs of our heritage and make them perform and sound better, at a price that even the average musician can afford.
How did we accomplish this? First our pickups are made to our custom specs and employ only the best wire and magnets from here in the US. We have stabilized the pickup by mounting it on a brass plate. The vintage models were mounted on a piece of foam which was cost effective but it lent itself to vibration which lent itself to unwanted feedback and squeal. Not the desirable kind of feedback either. The sweet feedback was not able to be achieved on the vintage models because the guitar would squeal before you even get to the good stuff.
Also, we use alder as a tonal wood rather than basswood. Basswood was used at Mosrite because it was cheap and easy to carve. But it was really just a glorified balsa wood that unfortunately does not lend itself to sustain and a quality tone. Plug in a vintage Mosrite and a new Hallmark and you will hear, see, and feel the difference.
Next I redesigned the bridge. The old bridge on Mosrite, and Hallmark guitars featured a folded piece of sheet metal with rollers that would get loose and rattle. That was also a tone and sustain issue. Our new Hallmark bridge is milled out of a solid heavy piece of block brass. Then I re thought the bridge saddles. The vintage saddles are hollow and have a roller that does not fit each string. The rollers on those were very deep and when you bent a string it would mute this string slightly, especially the high e because it had the deepest roller. I changed the design to a solid saddle that you can lock with an allen wrench on the locking pin onto the solid brass bridge from the bottom which locks the two pieces together and enhances the sustain and tone. We also made the rollers on the new bridge fit the strings so they perform better for bends and overall performance. It is engineering like this that make our guitars sound and play the way they do.
Noel: Speaking of sound, Hallmarks don't sound exactly like any of the other Mosrite-style guitars on the market. Is this intentional and what have you done to achieve the tone so many people say is the reason they play Hallmark guitars?
Bob: A lot of guys say our Hallmarks sound like Mosrite but better, and some feel our have an excellent sound all their own. My opinion is, we use the finest materials possible. We have kept the vintage vibe, but seamlessly strive to perfect the playability and sound. If you like it great! If you would like to tweak things like hand wound pickups or different magnets to achieve a different tone, we are here for every customer and can work with them. From what we hear from our customers, we have achieved our goals. But don't worry, we will not rest, we have more ideas in process for 2013!
Noel: Just for a little change of pace, and maybe to help everyone get to know you better, would you mind telling us a little about yourself? Could you give us just a short bio of your life before Hallmark Guitars?
Bob: I was born in 1958, when cars had big fins and Gibson designed some radical guitars like the Flying V. I grew up in a middle class neighborhood Hyattsville Maryland, and considered myself lucky to have a good family and to be involved with all the regular things most kids want to do. I played ball, was in the scouts and typical 60's boy activities.
My Mom was a singer and studied at Peabody Conservatory for 2 years. There was always music in the house. I remember seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and it ran through me like electricity! I could not believe how good it sounded! I begged my parents to buy some Beatle records but it took quite some time before it happened. My first 45 was Paperback Writer and my first LP was Rubber Soul. It was the Mod period and it had a profound effect on me.
The way I remember it is more or less, entertainment was hard to come by, so listening to records and thinking about becoming a musician was a great escape from the ho hum school, chores, and other activities I did not have much interest in.
In 5th grade, I took up drums in school because it was the only instrument offered that had to do with the Beatles. I wanted to play guitar, but that was not an option at my school. So I fell right in on the drums and had a natural ability for it. I was concert lead in one year.
My first kit was a Leedy set with Zildjian cymbals. I was off to the races. When I was 14, I was invited to my best friend’s sister’s place where her boyfriend had a real band. They were in their early 20's and were already established. They asked me if I would like to sit in for a couple of songs and I jumped at the chance. Next thing you know, they called me later that week and asked me if I would like to join the band!! I was on top of the world. They dismissed their other drummer and I was in. We were a trio called The American Cheese band. We played everything from Beatles to Hendrix. It was a great experience for a 14 year old kid who was playing with these older guys and that lasted 3+1/2 years. I was black and blue from pinching myself just to see if I was dreaming.
I played in several bands since then and ultimately was gigging with professional bands and playing clubs and stadiums. My biggest thrill was playing the Capital Center which was the biggest stadium in our area to perform. We opened for ELP.
I met who is now my wife Mimi in 1998 and we married and started a family.
About this time I got a severe case of Tinnitus and could no longer play in a live band. How depressing. I started a video store for income and also started studying acoustic guitar building. I picked up guitar over the years as there was always one around and was getting where I could really play. My first guitar was a Strat and my second a 65 Mosrite Ventures.
I worked with Bill Loveless who was a local acoustic guitar builder, and he taught me intense guitar building. I had always been restoring Mosrites (and still do) already but really wanted to build my own. So after 3 years with Bill, he was in his mid 80's and had to quit working due to his hands shaking so badly after a surgery he had. I had a decision to make.
I decided to sell my video operation and go into guitars full time. I was already friends will Bill Gruggett and Joe Hall and re-started Hallmark Guitars brand. Bill handmade the Stradettes and I hand built the Swept-Wings. This was in the year 2000.
Thankfully, Hallmark has been going exceedingly well. I really enjoy talking directly to customers and helping guys with their one of a kind custom orders. I also love working on and designing more models. I feel this is what I was really meant to do.
Hallmark Guitars have found their way all over the world. I am very thankful and hopeful for a bright future.
Noel: Do you remember the first record you bought and do you still have it?
Bob: Well my first records like I mentioned were Paperback Writer as a 45 and Rubber Soul as an LP. Yes I still have both! You would have to pry them from my cold dead hands. I also got into The Animals, Byrds, Monkees and soul 45's too.
Noel: You've talked about how you got started building guitars. Would you do anything different now that you've learned so much about the guitar business?
Bob: Um, actually I am really happy the way things worked out. I was lucky to find a real deal acoustic builder that taught me a lot about wood in general, glues, and finishing. That 3 years I was in training under him was the best experience. Acoustic building is really an intense process and I think it served me well. Building a solid body or hollow body I hate to say is similar for me in comparison. Also learning what makes an acoustic guitar ring and sustain was a very good learning experience that I continually draw from when I build solid or semi hollow guitars.
Noel: I hope you don't mind if I ask you a question about a characteristic of Mosrite guitars that you've been pretty faithful to, and that keeps some people from buying or keeping Hallmark guitars. The neck is narrow, flat and thin, as they are on most of the originals. Would you ever consider offering an optional neck for people who find the original necks too cramped?
Bob: Actually Hallmark necks are a bit wider than a Mosrite. I did this so players would be able to use the Hallmark in just about any situation. I still like the feel of a fast neck, but it has to be playable. So our guitar necks are a cross between the vintage and traditional. Most guys really love the feel of our necks so why change?
Noel: Would you ever consider building a guitar based on your own original design? I, for one, would be very interested in what you might offer if you were to design a Shade guitar. Shade Guitars. Cool name, don't you think?
Bob: Thank you for saying so Noel. I do think about that from time to time. I did design the Wing-Bat and that was very successful. Right now Hallmark is keeping me very busy. Maybe one day I will make a couple of new designs that I come up with again. The trick is to make something that I like and everyone else does too. I have a flamboyant style as you may suppose.
Noel: If you receive this while you still have time, while you're at Deke's Festival, would you mind looking up Donna Loren and asking her for an autographed picture for me? 
Bob: Will do my best!
Noel: Speaking of celebrities, I mentioned earlier that many celebrities play your guitars. But more than that, you get to work with people like George Barris, Deke Dickersen and Larry Collins to create very unique guitars. Is there an interesting story about that you
can repeat for us here?
Bob: What is cool is all the names you just mentioned all worked together for a CD release called "Hallmark Guitars Presents" THE KUSTOM KINGS. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think these legendary guys would come together and make cool original music with my guitars for a CD release! It is available through CD BABY and other on line outlets. It comes with a full 8 page color pull out book showing the custom guitars and Barris Cars that the songs are all about. Then Sundazed Records liked it so much they released it with a gatefold cover in limited edition gold vinyl. These are things I never would have dreamed would happen and I am very thankful to all involved.
Noel: Can you tell us what's next for Hallmark Guitars? Are there any exciting plans we'd all like to know about?
Bob: Well we are working on some new stuff in the same vein as we have been. We are releasing the new 60 Customs with 3 ply body bindings and new colors for this year too!
We are also re-issuing the NU-FUZZ which is being made here in the USA and completely hand wired by Ed Sanner the inventor of both the Mosrite Fuzzrite circuit and the NU-FUZZ. The NU-FUZZ is the same circuit basically but with a tone control which is extremely useful for dialing in the tone which you could not do with the Fuzzrite. This allows you to dial the cream in. The first run of 100 comes with a certificate signed by Ed and myself and they come in 4 candy colors just like the ultra rare originals.
Noel: Are there any questions you wish I'd asked? Feel free to ask yourself whatever you like and give us the answers. I'm really very curious to read them.
Bob: Can't think of anything Noel, you have been very thorough!
Noel: In closing, do you want to say anything to the members of Surf Guitar 101 and the fans of The Ventures?
Bob: I am glad there are a lot of other guys out there who like the same music and guitars that I do. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know a lot of you and I hope to meet more of you guys in the future!
Best reverbs!
Noel: I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting you at the 2011 Ventures East Coast Fan Fest and then seeing you again at the 2012 event. I deeply appreciate your taking the time to spend with someone who is clearly in over his head among all those really great musicians. Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview and taking the time to write such great answers. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I wish you continued success.
Bob: Thank you Noel!!
Hallmark Guitars Website
http://www.hallmarkguitars.com/
Hallmark Guitars Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Hallmark-Guitars/332357076842763?fref=ts
HALLMARK: NEW BEGINNINGS BEYOND BAKERSFIELD by Willie G. Moseley
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hallmark-Guitars/332357076842763?sk=info
Bob Shade on SG101
Noel: Bob, are you on SG101 and what’s your member name?
Bob: Hey Noel, no I do not have an ID. I guess I should sign up.
—This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
Last edited: Feb 07, 2014 07:14:31
