Meet Hunter Van Houten of Van Houten Guitars in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hunter Van Houten.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was 15 years old, I discovered the guitar for the first time. Music always got me through a lot growing up, it was my therapy. Over the years I got more into the sounds tonal qualities of different types of instruments. I had always been attracted to woodworking and crafting things with my hands, but hadn’t really had the opportunity to learn carpentry.

While I was in college I started working for a framing company during the summers, this was my first exposure to woodworking. Around this time, I also wanted a certain Fender custom shop telecaster guitar that ran around $4,300. Obviously, being a college kid on a very tight budget, it would take me years to save for something like that! So I decided to try and build my dream guitar with the remaining $600 I had left in college grant money. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started, but I figured that I would give it a shot.

So I started to research every little detail about guitar building. I resourced books, videos, forums, anything I could get my hands on. This opened up a whole other world of music for me. After spending a whole summer through trial and error I ended up crafting my first electric guitar! Surprisingly I felt like it turned out pretty good.

I never started building guitars with the intention of making it my livelihood, but knew that it was something I really loved to do and was an awesome hobby. After 5 years of working professionally within the music industry in Nashville, TN, I decided it was time for a change of scenery. So I literally packed everything I could fit in my car and drove out west to Los Angeles, CA. Being a musician and lucky enough to be a part of many music circles, people started to take notice of what I was doing. I started to get referrals and calls from musicians asking me to build them custom electric guitars. I thought, oh that sounds like a fun way to make a little extra money!

But was also super nervous in my ability to deliver a product that was of high enough quality. Also, I didn’t really have the luxury of not doing it. I had just made a huge life move and needed the money. I started out with easier, less complex builds because I was still in serious learning mode. Luckily by this point, there were so many resources out there for craftsmen or anyone looking to build things. So I relied heavily on these things to learn. After that period in life, I thought, hey, there could be something to this and maybe I should start my own business and see where it goes?

Up until this last year, I was only doing custom commissioned builds, which means that I get paid half of the cost up front. This takes care of the materials cost. This was the only way I could afford to build guitars without having capital. Starting a business means developing my own product line and not waiting on custom orders to come in. This last year I decided to start making my own lines of guitars. Releasing 4 models types and a fifth original model type set to release this next spring. I’m also in a very exploratory frame of mind right now trying to figure out different and unique ways to rethink the electric guitar. My designs still tend to fall into the late 1950’s, early 60’s vibe, because that’s where I draw a lot of inspiration from. Especially cars and car colors from that time period.

It’s so exciting to me that not only do I get to create music as a musician, but I also get the opportunity to craft the tools that allow other people to create. It’s extremely fulfilling when I turn a blank piece of wood into something that resonates within someone spiritually. I know that may sound a little hokey-pokey but I know we’ve all felt that deep connection to music at some point in life, and it’s that connection with music that keeps me wanting to create.

Has it been a smooth road?
Haha no, it’s definitely not been a smooth road. There are ups and downs along the way. These ups and downs can be great learning experiences though. They can also be quite humbling. There is one specific thing that comes to mind when thinking of challenges/obstacles.

It was right after I moved to LA and had no job or money left. I had just used the last of my savings to pay rent while I was looking for a job. During this time I was asked to build a custom guitar for the lead singer of a pretty decently established, well known, mid-level band. They paid me the 50% upfront for the deposit to cover build materials. I had to put some of that deposit toward my living costs, which left me with less than enough money to finish the guitar build for them. One of my close friends knew I was struggling financially and gave me a call. She ended up lending me the money I needed to finish the guitar build. This saved me! I was able to finish the guitar build, and as soon as I got paid for the build, I, of course, paid her back.

This is just one example of an obstacle I’ve had to overcome. But what helps is being surrounded by people who genuinely believe in what you’re doing and who want to see you succeed. That’s been so important.

Another being designing a unique brand. It’s difficult in the guitar world to come up with designs that are not too far away from the main brands. They’ve been so ingrained in everyone’s head that if you get too far away from that, it can turn people off. So finding a balance there has been difficult. But I feel that I’m starting to make some good headway in prototyping new original designs that I feel comfortable and proud to release!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Van Houten Guitars story. Tell us more about the business.
I own and operate a custom electric guitar building business. I specialize in custom guitar work, but have recently released 4 models/styles of guitars and am releasing a fifth this next spring.

I build everything, just short of the hardware, by hand. I take a lot of my inspiration from the late 1950’s and early 60’s. Especially the cars and colors of this time period. I’m also inspired by Fender, one of the pioneers in the electric guitar world. This is most definitely seen in my current work. It’s been harder, until recently, to find guitars with those characteristics without paying a small fortune for one. So I try to create guitars with that certain vibe and sound, but with a modern feel. I also stick to using as many vintage correct parts from that time period. This gives the instrument a quality that a lot of newer instruments do not have.

I’m really proud that I get to create instruments which musicians want to play!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Yes! There are huge industry shifts happening right now. Up until the last 8 years, there have only been 3 huge guitar brands that run the industry. Those big brands haven’t really had to be forward thinking in quite a long time when it comes to marketing and design. Their original creators and the musicians that cemented them into history did the marketing for them. Now with platforms like Instagram, musicians are able to find brands that are completely unique to their specific style. Something they most likely would not have heard about otherwise. Without this, it would be extremely difficult to get a guitar brand out there to compete with the major brands that have had a stranglehold on the market for the last 60 years.

It’s a really special time for boutique builders right now. But one can’t help but wonder if the market is or will become oversaturated with gear. When will we hit a supply/demand wall, so to speak because we now have more builders out there than ever each year and less and less guitar players as the musical landscape continue to shift more into the electronic realm.

I think that there will always be guitar players, but that the number of kids wanting to learn to play will become smaller and smaller. That is unless the musical landscape changes and comes back to feature more guitar heavy bands in the mainstream. Something that I don’t know if we’ll see happens again.

Contact Info:

• Website: vanhoutenguitars.com/
• Phone: 205.965.9564
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/vanhoutenguitars/
• Facebook: facebook.com/vanhoutenguitars/

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