Meet Ian Blakey of Bel Sonique Guitars

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Blakey.

Ian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I built my first guitar in 2014, but I have been in the music industry for over 20 years. I went to music school in Hollywood, California and worked for studios throughout Los Angeles and through the years began to understand how the music industry works, how to mix and produce music while working with artists to create a great sound for their projects.

I owned a high end vintage guitar, and while it played well and looked great, I wondered how many tries it would take me to replicate or duplicate the build. I figured it would take around 10 tries and I was surprised to find that it only took a couple of try’s before I made a comparable perhaps even better model than the one I owned. This was the moment I realized I could create hand-tooled, vintage-inspired guitars that are one of a kind versus factory made.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As any small business owner will admit, there have been bumps along the way. I have dealt with issues with finding suppliers, perfecting processes and of course finding my target audience in a such a specific niche.

It took me two or three extra steps in order to get a solid process down. There is always the issue, two of making a mistake and having to start over from scratch. I do everything by hand, so there is very little room for error.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with bel.Sonique Guitars – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
bel.Sonique is a full-service, vintage-inspired guitar custom shop. I am the owner and luthier, meaning I design and create guitars and bass guitars from the hand-tool techniques from the Golden Age of the electric guitar specifically making guitars from the early 1950’s to the mid-1960’s.

Using traditional colors and hand-tooled techniques from the Golden Age, I create one of a kind guitars and bass guitars that have a crisp, clear sound while also looking unique and one of a kind.

I am most proud of starting this company even when I had a full-time job. I still find it fascinating that after taking two rough sawn pieces of wood, shaping them together with electronics, paint, set-up and electronics that the guitar always seems to play like it was the first time, every time.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I would like to have a brick and mortar guitar shop where I invite the public in to see the process of guitars being made while touring a shop.

I am looking forward to selling 100 guitars a year to start off with and watch my little shop turn into a worldwide go-to shop for all musicians.

Pricing:

• Standard series guitar starts at $1650
• Basses start at $1750
• Custom shop starts at $1650 and increases with electronic upgrades, aesthetics and color

Contact Info:

• Website: www.belsonique.com
• Email: ian@belsonique.com
• Instagram: @bel.soniqueguitars
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/bel.Sonique

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