FROM THE TOP MICHAEL SCHEAR I AMATI’S FINE INSTRUMENTS
a $600 instrument. So, he ended up buying it and then came back the next day and bought two more. He now calls these his go-to guitars. DO YOU GET THE VIOLINS, UKULELES AND GUITARS ALL FROM THE SAME WORKSHOP IN CHINA? That’s a good question. No, they’re all from differ- ent suppliers. The workshops that make violins don’t make ukuleles and guitars. They’re very specialized, and that’s what makes our instruments so exceptional is that specialization. IN 2020, YOU ADDED STEEL TONGUE DRUMS
wonder, ‘How is this possible?’ It’s possible from taking a design and improving on it. WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE BAND OR MUSICIAN OF ALL TIME? My favorite band of all time is Fleetwood Mac, and the solo musician I like best is Maynard Ferguson. I’m a jazz drummer, so I listen to a lot of jazz. AS A JAZZ DRUMMER, DO YOU PLAY OUT A LOT? Well, I started playing jazz drums in eighth grade and have been playing ever since. I’ve played a lot of outdoor concerts and nice bars with live music. Us drum- mers, we do it for the love, because it’s a pain in the
TO YOUR PRODUCT PORTFOLIO. HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO ADD THESE? Basically, I was looking for new products to add, and steel tongue drums were in their “infancy.” The issue with making them in China is that, in China, they use high carbon steel, which is hard to weld.
butt to take your gear there and set it up and then tear it down and take it home. It’s truly an act of love. So, I did play out a lot until about a year ago when I broke my leg in 10 places. I have permanent nerve damage, but I’m trying to train my left foot to work the bass pedal. OH MAN. I BET THAT’S TRICKY . Yes, it is. So, I had a device built that makes my left foot operate the bass pedal. INTERESTING, DID YOU BUILD IT YOURSELF? HOW DOES IT WORK? I had a company build it, but I gave them the dimensions that I needed. Basically, you mount it against your
“I TRY TO HIRE PEOPLE WHO ARE SELF-DRIVEN ... I DON’T MICROMANAGE. I DON’T HAVE TIME TO MICROMANAGE.”
So, I had to figure out a way to use high carbon steel and remove the weld marks. After figuring that out and improving the design, it was a matter of how to tune the drums. First, we used magnets but the issue with that was, during shipping, the magnet can become dislodged or if it moves a little bit, it won’t be in tune. So, I figured out how to tune without magnets, and then as a result of not moving magnets, our costs dropped dramatically. INTERESTING. WHAT HAS REACTION BEEN LIKE? The 3-inch steel drums have become a major impulse pur- chase for customers while at a dealer’s checkstand. Several dealers have said they’re going through many pieces a week. They’re nicely packaged and can stack easily on the counter. THAT’S AMAZING. SHIFTING GEARS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE? I try to hire people who are self-driven, motivated and independent and who know their job and know how to do it and don’t need a ton of direction. Then, I let them do their job. I don’t micromanage. I don’t have time to micromanage. I find very intelligent individuals who can take a ball and run with it. WHAT’S YOUR SECRET SAUCE FOR SUCCESS? I look at an instrument and see how to make it better. I try to improve everything. If you can grab a guitar and think that it plays incredible and it’s only $250, you
hi-hat, you put your foot in this pedal, and it runs by ca- ble over to the bass drum pedal. When you push down the hi-hat, it pushes down the bass drum pedal. WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE AMATI’S FINE IN- STRUMENTS GO IN THE NEXT FIVE-TO-10 YEARS? I hope to see the company continue to grow and add new products. My daughter, Autumn, basically runs the company and my other daughter, Jackie, runs the com- puter systems and website. I told them if they’re travel- ing to China, they need learn Chinese. So, like I said, they both speak Chinese and they’re both tall, so when they get off plane I get calls from my contacts in China saying, “Your daughters are here.” My son, Gabriel, manages another side of the company. IF YOU WEREN’T WORKING IN THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT INDUSTRY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’D BE DOING FOR WORK? My whole life is music. I’d probably be consulting and helping people learn how to do business in China. MI
36 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2024
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