rupe
Active member
I've been getting a bunch of questions lately (probably as a result of a Rand popping up on ebay) so I thought that I'd share what I know. A few years back when Rand Havener started building again we began chatting about his return to the business. I took the content of our conversations and posted it in interview form on a few forums but never shared it here until now. For anybody interested in these guitars, here you go:
1. So, what have you been doing since the first incarnation of the Rand Guitar Company?
Oh, doing cnc & automated control stuff, Architectural Design, alot of other fairly diverse and unrelated pursuits
2. How did you get your start building guitars?
I got my start because there was nothing out there that i was really happy with. The beginning of it all is a somewhat involved story, but basically I played with some designs in L.A. but actually started building the first prototypes in NY I returned to California after that to open my shop.
3. Your guitars were very cutting edge for their time, being one of the first to incorporate things such as recessed trems, scalloped cutaways, and 27 fret necks. How did you come up with these things that were fairly revolutionary at that time?
It was really just integrating all of the things i wanted in a guitar.
4. Where did you get the inspiration for those wild paint jobs?!
At the time I was looking to do something that was not specifically graphics oriented (sculls, flames, horns, ect.) but also not a copy of some other paint jobs that were out there. I had tried some crazy paint on a couple of my more conventional Strat shaped prototypes. I showed one of them to Vivian Campbell and when he ordered his, he just pointed at it and said "I want that paint job but with yellow, blue and red". After that nobody was interested in any single colors. I did those paint jobs on every guitar I sold except the last run, which were to be solid black. At that time i only finished 2 of them, one went to a buddy of mine and one was for me.
5. What was the theory behind your choice of woods and electronics for your instruments?
I was using a Floyd Rose bridge so I now needed to do whatever I could to fatten up the sound. I tried a bunch of different woods. I found out that I needed a nice, medium density mahogany. It balances out the tone of the Floyd Rose. I chose a maple neck for stability and to keep some of the attack in the guitar. As far as fretboards are concerned,I didn't like the open grain of rosewood and the only redeeming quality of ebony is that its black. It's great for furniture though. Pau Ferro has good tonal characteristics and a tight, even grain. The bridge position humbuckers were custom wound to create a little more gain but still not be super aggressive. Neck position single coils were a custom low profile pickup wound to pair with the humbucker. They were wired humbucking with the rear coil of the bridge pickup, to give you that desirable "notch" position configuration that caused the invention of the 5 way switch. The selector switch selected between this and a straight humbucker. This is a simplification of my original three switch design.
FYI, the three switch version has hum/off/split for the humbucker, on/off for the single coil, and Tom Anderson's blower circuit for the 3rd switch.
6. Were there any other builders who you looked up to or were inspired by? Any designs?
No, but i have a lot of respect for Dave Schecter and Tom Anderson.
7. What types of music were you listening to back then? How about now?
I have always had a habit of trying to listen to something as different as possible from the last I listened to.
8. How long was the Rand Guitar Company in business and how many guitars did you ultimately build during your first run?
The shop was in actual production existence for maybe a year and a half. I think, during the first run, I produced about 80 guitars.
9. Vivian Campbell was most likely the highest profile player of your instruments. Talk a little bit about that relationship.
I met him through a friend. He liked the playability and the paint of the prototype and he was the first person I showed the pencil sketch to for what would ultimately be my standard model. He ordered it right off the paper . What was great about Vivian was that he had the balls to order a guitar from me based on a drawing and pay in full, without a current gig. (He had just left Dio).
10. How did the relationship with the Misfits materialize?
I met Doyle through a friend when I went to the east coast to build. I ended up building the prototypes at Doyle's with his help.
11. What led you to walk away from the business back then?
My demand so far exceeded my capacity to make them, it created a situation where a month at a time would go by before I could actually sit down and play a guitar. I think a week at a time would go by before I even went home. Bottom line, that is not why I got into building.
12. Are there any builders to day who's work you like?
See question 6
13. What led to the comeback?
The ideas were piling up on me and I felt motivated to do it again. I am changing my approach to it this time around so things don't get so overwhelming.
14. Tell us a little bit about the NOS guitars.
It felt like the best place to pick back up was where I left off. They are the balance of the last run from the original shop which was the "black run" of which only 2 got finished at that time. 2 have been finished since then (one is on my website) and the rest are the NOS.
15. Will you be doing any instruments with the old style finishes?
Sure if there is a demand.
16. Do you have anything new on the horizon?
Yes. New models of guitars of course and a bass coming.
17. Do you plan to continue selling direct or eventually going with retailers?
It's direct for now but if stores want guitars, I'll sell them guitars.
18. What does a person need to do to get a new Rand Guitar?
Feel free to contact us: http://www.randguitarcompany.com
19. What would you like to see for yourself and your guitars moving forward?
Quality for everybody, on both sides of the equation.
20. Anything else you would like to say?
Thanks to all you guys for collecting my stuff and the continued interest in Rand guitars. I am really looking forward to getting the new stuff out there
Here is one of his NOS guitars built from 80's leftover body/neck blanks:
A few old ones of mine:
The one with the chrome hardware I bought new in '88 and has been my main hard rock/metal guitar ever since. It just has that extra something special that can't really be described...it will go to the grave with me. The other one is essentially its NOS twin...an '88 production model in near mint condition. It sounds massive but doesn't get much play time due to its immaculate condition.
The pink one was used in a Diet Coke commercial with Jerry Hall. It's a great player and weighs next to nothing.
The Yellow one is one of the best players and the second lightest of the bunch, but unfortunately had its stock electronics swapped out for an EMG SA/81 setup...still sounds great though. Some folks think this is the guitar from Whitesnake's Still of the Night video but Rand doesn't recall. The video's resolution on Youtube combined with the stage lighting isn't clear enough to tell one way or the other. Vivian didn't own this guitar...he used it for the video shoot and returned it to Rand.
This is the earliest known prototype. It is very similar to a Soloist but shows a few signs of what later became the production model in '87.
Prototype that shows an evolution closer to what became the final production model. It has slightly different contours, neck-thru construction (production was set-neck with an extremely long tenon), and a top mount Floyd (Production was recessed). Vivian Campbell played this guitar in Whitesnake's "Is This Love" video and used it on tour up until his Kramer endorsement.
This is the heaviest of the bunch and a great player. Changed electronics and a lot of player wear but still a great guitar.
Some group shots:
If you ever get the chance to play one, do it...my door is always open. I have never found a better guitar for hard rock/classic metal and I've tried almost everything out there. Somehow he managed to essentially eliminate the tone/low-end nuetering effect of a floating Floyd Rose trem. Of all the guitars ever made, these are my favorites
1. So, what have you been doing since the first incarnation of the Rand Guitar Company?
Oh, doing cnc & automated control stuff, Architectural Design, alot of other fairly diverse and unrelated pursuits
2. How did you get your start building guitars?
I got my start because there was nothing out there that i was really happy with. The beginning of it all is a somewhat involved story, but basically I played with some designs in L.A. but actually started building the first prototypes in NY I returned to California after that to open my shop.
3. Your guitars were very cutting edge for their time, being one of the first to incorporate things such as recessed trems, scalloped cutaways, and 27 fret necks. How did you come up with these things that were fairly revolutionary at that time?
It was really just integrating all of the things i wanted in a guitar.
4. Where did you get the inspiration for those wild paint jobs?!
At the time I was looking to do something that was not specifically graphics oriented (sculls, flames, horns, ect.) but also not a copy of some other paint jobs that were out there. I had tried some crazy paint on a couple of my more conventional Strat shaped prototypes. I showed one of them to Vivian Campbell and when he ordered his, he just pointed at it and said "I want that paint job but with yellow, blue and red". After that nobody was interested in any single colors. I did those paint jobs on every guitar I sold except the last run, which were to be solid black. At that time i only finished 2 of them, one went to a buddy of mine and one was for me.
5. What was the theory behind your choice of woods and electronics for your instruments?
I was using a Floyd Rose bridge so I now needed to do whatever I could to fatten up the sound. I tried a bunch of different woods. I found out that I needed a nice, medium density mahogany. It balances out the tone of the Floyd Rose. I chose a maple neck for stability and to keep some of the attack in the guitar. As far as fretboards are concerned,I didn't like the open grain of rosewood and the only redeeming quality of ebony is that its black. It's great for furniture though. Pau Ferro has good tonal characteristics and a tight, even grain. The bridge position humbuckers were custom wound to create a little more gain but still not be super aggressive. Neck position single coils were a custom low profile pickup wound to pair with the humbucker. They were wired humbucking with the rear coil of the bridge pickup, to give you that desirable "notch" position configuration that caused the invention of the 5 way switch. The selector switch selected between this and a straight humbucker. This is a simplification of my original three switch design.
FYI, the three switch version has hum/off/split for the humbucker, on/off for the single coil, and Tom Anderson's blower circuit for the 3rd switch.
6. Were there any other builders who you looked up to or were inspired by? Any designs?
No, but i have a lot of respect for Dave Schecter and Tom Anderson.
7. What types of music were you listening to back then? How about now?
I have always had a habit of trying to listen to something as different as possible from the last I listened to.
8. How long was the Rand Guitar Company in business and how many guitars did you ultimately build during your first run?
The shop was in actual production existence for maybe a year and a half. I think, during the first run, I produced about 80 guitars.
9. Vivian Campbell was most likely the highest profile player of your instruments. Talk a little bit about that relationship.
I met him through a friend. He liked the playability and the paint of the prototype and he was the first person I showed the pencil sketch to for what would ultimately be my standard model. He ordered it right off the paper . What was great about Vivian was that he had the balls to order a guitar from me based on a drawing and pay in full, without a current gig. (He had just left Dio).
10. How did the relationship with the Misfits materialize?
I met Doyle through a friend when I went to the east coast to build. I ended up building the prototypes at Doyle's with his help.
11. What led you to walk away from the business back then?
My demand so far exceeded my capacity to make them, it created a situation where a month at a time would go by before I could actually sit down and play a guitar. I think a week at a time would go by before I even went home. Bottom line, that is not why I got into building.
12. Are there any builders to day who's work you like?
See question 6
13. What led to the comeback?
The ideas were piling up on me and I felt motivated to do it again. I am changing my approach to it this time around so things don't get so overwhelming.
14. Tell us a little bit about the NOS guitars.
It felt like the best place to pick back up was where I left off. They are the balance of the last run from the original shop which was the "black run" of which only 2 got finished at that time. 2 have been finished since then (one is on my website) and the rest are the NOS.
15. Will you be doing any instruments with the old style finishes?
Sure if there is a demand.
16. Do you have anything new on the horizon?
Yes. New models of guitars of course and a bass coming.
17. Do you plan to continue selling direct or eventually going with retailers?
It's direct for now but if stores want guitars, I'll sell them guitars.
18. What does a person need to do to get a new Rand Guitar?
Feel free to contact us: http://www.randguitarcompany.com
19. What would you like to see for yourself and your guitars moving forward?
Quality for everybody, on both sides of the equation.
20. Anything else you would like to say?
Thanks to all you guys for collecting my stuff and the continued interest in Rand guitars. I am really looking forward to getting the new stuff out there
Here is one of his NOS guitars built from 80's leftover body/neck blanks:
A few old ones of mine:
The one with the chrome hardware I bought new in '88 and has been my main hard rock/metal guitar ever since. It just has that extra something special that can't really be described...it will go to the grave with me. The other one is essentially its NOS twin...an '88 production model in near mint condition. It sounds massive but doesn't get much play time due to its immaculate condition.
The pink one was used in a Diet Coke commercial with Jerry Hall. It's a great player and weighs next to nothing.
The Yellow one is one of the best players and the second lightest of the bunch, but unfortunately had its stock electronics swapped out for an EMG SA/81 setup...still sounds great though. Some folks think this is the guitar from Whitesnake's Still of the Night video but Rand doesn't recall. The video's resolution on Youtube combined with the stage lighting isn't clear enough to tell one way or the other. Vivian didn't own this guitar...he used it for the video shoot and returned it to Rand.
This is the earliest known prototype. It is very similar to a Soloist but shows a few signs of what later became the production model in '87.
Prototype that shows an evolution closer to what became the final production model. It has slightly different contours, neck-thru construction (production was set-neck with an extremely long tenon), and a top mount Floyd (Production was recessed). Vivian Campbell played this guitar in Whitesnake's "Is This Love" video and used it on tour up until his Kramer endorsement.
This is the heaviest of the bunch and a great player. Changed electronics and a lot of player wear but still a great guitar.
Some group shots:
If you ever get the chance to play one, do it...my door is always open. I have never found a better guitar for hard rock/classic metal and I've tried almost everything out there. Somehow he managed to essentially eliminate the tone/low-end nuetering effect of a floating Floyd Rose trem. Of all the guitars ever made, these are my favorites
