Mid-year 2009, Joe left the company to start his own venture. While Joe can see himself designing instruments for other brands in the future as well, he is currently focusing on his own project, which will be launched under the brand name ‘Knaggs Guitars’ at the Messe in Frankfurt 2010.

Joe shall be supported by Brandwolf Consulting, run by PRS' former Director of Global Sales & Marketing, Peter Wolf who will be handling all aspects of Sales & Marketing and brand development. Peter has been involved in the Musical Instruments Industry for almost 35 years (Prosound & PRS-Germany in Koblenz and later directly at PRS Guitars-USA) and is an experienced partner for Joe Knaggs when it comes to brand building and creating global distribution channels.

Musikmesse: What kind of "model policy" can we expect from Knaggs Guitars in the next few years?

Peter Wolf: To answer that I'll have to take a few steps back. In my opinion, two manufacturers have more or less dominated the classic electric guitar market in the past 70 years: Fender and Gibson. Neither of them has, however, really managed to "win over" guitarists from the other camp or to offer designs that were able to compete or to appeal to guitarists of the ‘opposite pole’. Try to imagine the world of guitar players as a group of "monogamous" individuals. If you are an LP man, you may try other brands, but your preference is somehow set. You like set necks, Mahogany bodies with maple tops and humbucking sounds. If you want the 'Twang' sound, you will (also) play a Fender – at some point. If your preference is the F-camp as I like to call it (long scale, 6-on-a-side head stocks, single coils, flat bodies, bolt-on necks) you may try Suhr or Tyler or other makers along the way ... but you'll always return to Fender even if it’s only to see what they are doing. If you find a new maker/model/brand, which is capable to provide what you are looking for or is offering instruments you may even like better - you'll certainly try it, though. Our plan is to offer alternatives to established brands at a very high level.

I believe Joe is one of the few designers/luthiers right now who’s capable of designing and building instruments that cater to both major guitar loving/playing camps. I also believe that his creations may be called‘classic designs’ one day, which makes working with him a lot more interesting on many levels. I can also imagine him designing for other brands in the future although our focus is on Knaggs Guitars for the time being.

As far as myself and Brandwolf is concerned: I have ‘found’ and promoted a number of brands on a global level in the past 30 years ... Hamer, Rocktron, PRS, Soldano ... to name just a few. I’ll continue to doing this with Joe and Knaggs Guitars now and other brands that fit. This time I am part of it from the beginning, which should be sufficient motivation to do as good of a job as possible. The relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to build on a global level should help to get it going – at least so I hope. Furthermore, it's fun to be involved in something new and to create new connections and structures. As they say: It’s the journey, not the destination.

Musikmesse:

How must we imagine the work of Joe Knaggs as a guitar designer? What’s first: Sound or looks? For instance, do guitars with a rounder, softer shape sound softer or warmer? Or does a more angular shaped guitar sound harder?

Peter Wolf:

The starting point is always the shape. All current guitar shapes go back to designs that emerged in the 16th / 17th and 18th centuries. Take a Martin D-18 (the guitar that Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull has been playing all along). Imagine it flat, with a carved top, pick-ups and knobs and it looks very close to a Les Paul. Or how about the Fender head stock shape … take a look at the original Bigsby guitar and you’ll see where it came from. Basically everybody "borrows" from the past. Amongst companies and makers who ‘borrow ideas (because guitar players are, deep down, very conservative people, at least as far as shapes are concerned - and the shapes the Italians came up with long time ago work well) there are some who spend most of their time copying others, and there are some who try to establish their own designs based on successful shapes. In my opinion, brands can only establish themselves long-term as classic brands, if they do their own thing. Adapting shapes, designs and ideas from the past are OK but in order to move forward in terms of looks, playability and functionality, there has to be something unique and special, otherwise it may become part of the long list of copy cats. If you have as much experience as Joe does it is, of course, easier to separate the wheat from the chaff, which makes the process and progress quicker. As far as a specific sound or 'vibe' is concerned, the best way is always to try things out. You really only know what it sounds like after you put strings on.

Musikmesse:

You will be supporting Joe Knaggs with your company Brandwolf Consulting in marketing and building the brand. Do you already have concrete plans and targets for 2010?

Peter Wolf:

There are no shortcuts, if you want to build really good guitars and develop something new. I shall promote Knaggs Guitars as best I can and try to introduce our products to the right people on a global level. That applies to dealers, distributors, media, well-known players/Artists, but it is also about communicating with the people that are most important – the end users. People who rather buy a guitar than a new car and people who spend a large portion of their income for musical instruments and making music. We are not planning on re-inventing the wheel or becoming as big as Gibson or Fender. We probably won’t live long enough to get there anyway (laughs). We just want to build really good instruments, see our ideas take shape and work with people we like. We also want to continue to be part of this industry, one of the most interesting industries there is, in my opinion.

Musikmesse:

You've been travelling around the World in the guitar sector for 35 years. Are there differences between the US, Europe and Asia?

Peter Wolf:

The markets are actually pretty similar. The Japanese are more detail oriented. On the other side, contemporary music and the musical development of the past 70 years had a huge impact on Americans and Europeans and even to a degree helped shape our culture. In the old days, we used to have a sign at our guitar wall at Prosound in Koblenz, which said: "No Stairway to Heaven – Please". That sort of humour is something people from Asia would hardly understand. The Asian markets are still developing. It may take another 2 to 3 generations (of Rock 'n 'Roll culture) for Asian markets to play a significantly bigger role as far as the sale of musical instruments is concerned, particularly guitars. In that sense, I think it was a good and smart move by the Messe Frankfurt to engage in China. However, Europe will also become more important in the future. The EU and the opening of Eastern European markets are playing an important part in increasing market potential.

Musikmesse:

Knaggs Guitars will first be presented to the public at the upcoming Musikmesse. Why did you decide to launch in Germany?

Peter Wolf:

Because of timing issues, we probably wouldn't have been able to launch at NAMM in Anaheim in January anyway (laughs). However, the more important reason is that as a German (and long-time exhibitor at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt), I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to introduce our instruments at the Messe first. I have always supported the Messe Frankfurt as much as I could. If we are honest it is the better 'show' anyway, especially from a consumer’s point of view.

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