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Tristan Berg on Crafting Unique Instruments with NVision Guitars · The Scene Projects

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  Today, we are joined by the inspiring mother and son team behind Envision Guitars, a veteran
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  and woman owned small business that not just building custom guitars, but building a
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  movement for inclusivity in music.
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  They believe every musician, regardless of ability, should be empowered to speak
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  uniqueness without apology through their instrument.
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  Let's dive into their story.
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  This program is part of the Scene Projects podcast network.
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  Scene Project features interviews with independent musicians, comedians, and artists
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  from across the Midwest.
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  Become part of our community and support local art wherever you are.
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  Welcome in to another exciting episode of the scene.
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  I am your host, Bubba Starts.
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  And with me today from Envision Guitars is Tristan Berg.
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  Tristan, welcome to the show.
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  Awesome.
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  Thank you for having me.
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  No.
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  My my pleasure.
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  I'm a guitar player, so the, connection was immediate when I heard about you guys.
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  I'm glad I talked to you into being here.
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  I know this is your first time.
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  Yep.
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  Yeah.
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  No.
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  No.
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  That's fine.
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  Just two dudes having a conversation, man.
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  No big deal.
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  Yep.
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  So why don't you tell me a little bit about kind of the your backstory a little bit, and
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  then we'll talk about how Envision got started.
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  So, I started playing guitar when I was around 10 years old.
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  But, growing up, I always knew that I wanted to be somewhat, working in music in some way.
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  When I was growing up, it was to be a rock star, be a famous guitarist.
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  But then, as I grew up and kinda reality hit, I had to find other ways to kinda get through
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  life.
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  So went to college, got a good job, everything like that, but I still have that passion for
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  music.
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  And so this is something that really just striving for to get off the ground and get
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  going.
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  So that way we can really just push our passion and push our goals, which is creating unique
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  instruments for all abilities.
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  That's incredible.
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  Now we mentioned it was veteran owned off of there.
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  Are you a veteran, or is that your mom?
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  That's my mom.
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  So my mom retired from the military a couple years back, and she worked for about twenty
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  years in the military.
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  And then she is a retired disabled veteran now.
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  So she's a majority owner, and she's our pit connoisseur, and then I focus on the guitars.
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  Fantastic.
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  Well, I wanna thank your mother for her service to our country.
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  We are a big veteran.
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  You can see the banner behind me here, operation combating veteran suicide.
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  We love our veterans, so we appreciate your mom's service and her service to our music
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  community now as well.
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  How did they how did you transition from guitar player to guitar maker?
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  So, it's kinda funny how it happened.
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  It was a couple different things that led us in the direction.
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  So, a little while back, we were on our way up to Minnesota, and we were talking about how
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  short life is and how you have to really go after what you want and what you're passionate
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  about.
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  And we were talking, and I was saying that what I'm passionate about is guitar, but I'm never
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  gonna be a famous guitarist or anything like that.
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  But I love the the feeling of guitar.
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  I love just everything about it.
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  And then we're like, well, what if we start making them?
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  And then we thought that'd be a really interesting idea, kind of fun to play with.
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  And, another kind of thing that goes into that is, my grandfather.
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  He was disabled, and he got a bunch of tools that he used to use for leatherworking.
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  And, so we got all of his old tools, and we thought that a really good mission would be to
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  create instruments using some of those tools and that idea for just making different
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  instruments that anyone can really use.
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  Man, I love that.
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  Was was your grandfather not necessarily a guitar player, was was he a musician as well as
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  well?
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  He tinkered around with it, but he was more into leather working.
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  So that was kinda more of his passion.
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  And then from there, a lot of the tools were kinda dual use.
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  So craftsmanship runs in the family.
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  Yeah.
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  That's amazing.
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  That's amazing.
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  So did I mean, your mom's the majority owner.
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  Right?
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  So she's the money behind the dream, is is what I'm hearing there.
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  You are the guitar builder.
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  But this is a relatively new passion for you.
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  So what kind of instruments are are you making?
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  Are you what tell me a little bit about them.
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  I don't know if you have any lying around close to you, or maybe we'll have some pictures we
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  can share later on our socials, but we'd love to see some of them.
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  Yeah.
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  I got one in the other room I can grab here in a minute.
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  But, I focus mainly on solid body electric guitars.
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  And then, the things that I really focus on are just having exotic wood tops that are kind of
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  that natural finish to them.
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  And then I do different augmentations to make them more playable and more ergonomic for the
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  player.
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  So a lot of times with the ones that I make, I take the contour I take contour gauges and take
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  measurements of the player's body to ensure that the guitar fits them perfectly.
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  And then I also chamber out the insides of them to make a lighter weight guitar so that way
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  it's not as heavy on you just in case you have any issues with your rotator cuff, stuff like
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  that.
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  And then from there, throw in, I usually go with humbucker style pickups for really kinda
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  metal sounds.
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  That's the music that I grew up listening to.
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  Some bit of a metal head.
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  And, yeah.
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  So really just exotic wood, hard body, electric guitars is my thing.
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  But, I got one in the the room.
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  I could run and grab it real quick.
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  I would love that, man.
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  I we give you a second.
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  Go ahead and grab it.
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  I don't mind talking for a little bit here.
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  Amazing conversation here.
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  You guys know how much that we love our veterans and love the mission here from from
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  this young man and from, you know, his mother supporting this dream.
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  I think it's so cool what they are doing.
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  I wanna mention to you guys that we just started a text line.
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  So you can text SCENE, s c e n e, to 60585990, and you can stay up to date and never miss a
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  show.
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  Now we're gonna get back to Tristan.
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  Alrighty.
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  Yeah.
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  So this is the guy I'm finishing up right now.
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  It's called our Symbiote model.
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  So it is a carved top Paduc, offset style body.
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  We put a couple Seymour Duncan invaders in it to give it that real metal sound.
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  And then, it does have a magnetic cavity cover, so it's nice, easy electronic access if that's
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  ever something that interests you.
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  And then I went with the toe knob deletion, so that way you just have a nice clean front.
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  You don't have a bunch of knobs, a bunch stuff.
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  You can really focus on the exotic wood top, and then just has a beautiful black limbo body.
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  I'm, still finishing up the stringing up of it so you can see all these kinda extra wires
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  hanging everywhere.
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  It's got a matching padauk headstock too.
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  I don't know if the lighting's really letting you see that or not.
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  And then a roasted maple neck.
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  So
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  Are you making the necks as well, or are you just buying necks online and placing them onto
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  the body of the guitar?
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  Yep.
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  So this one, I did buy the neck for, but we will be creating our own necks.
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  I plan on CNC ing out the fretboard so we can do some really cool inlay designs and do some
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  resin fill.
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  So that's kind of the next project that we're working on.
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  I'm pretty excited about it.
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  So
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  It's so cool looking, man.
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  You're all good.
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  I I got cats, man.
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  So it's all good.
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  Biting my keyboard.
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  We,
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  we love our veterans.
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  We love music, and we love custom things.
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  Right?
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  In a world where so much is carbon copied one to the next, not that I, you know, I have a Les
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  Paul.
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  I would never be able to afford it.
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  I was very fortunate to have that gifted to me.
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  But I have a custom kind of a telestrat Frankenstein that my friend Jason Guthmiller
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  built.
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  And, you know, to have something that is just completely unique, speaks to our individuality
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  as human beings.
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  Right?
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  And I I think that having these instruments where you are really honing in on why is this
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  person not able to play a regular guitar.
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  Right?
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  Why what are the challenges you're facing to play the different instruments, but you still
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  want to communicate with those six strings?
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  What can I do to make that better?
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  I love that kinda high level problem solving that you're doing.
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  It's really incredible.
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  Mhmm.
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  Definitely.
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  And I also see it as like and I know that everyone kinda knows there's art therapy and
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  things like that, but it just is another way where, let's say, that not every guitar would
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  suit your specific needs, but now you can have one that would.
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  And then along with that, you get that artistic express expression, excuse me, along with it.
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  So I think it just kinda goes hand in hand.
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  You know?
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  Well and I think a lot of guitar makers will get caught up in their own artistic expression,
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  not thinking about the end user of it.
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  And Mhmm.
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  So are you pretty much contracting all of these instruments then you're kind of working per
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  guitar basis as you go?
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  Yep.
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  So currently, I'm making one at a time.
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  The last ones I've made, I've made for some really close friends just to really get a good
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  feel for it.
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  And each one is made exact to their body measurements, so it's a nice comfortable feel,
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  and it's something that they can really keep for the rest of their lives and know that that
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  guitar is theirs and if it's them specifically.
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  So I think that's something that's just very unique to have as a musician because a lot of
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  times you just kinda make whatever rig you have work.
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  You know?
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  God, boy, do I know.
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  That's why I have eight of
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  them.
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  Yeah.
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  What is the price range?
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  Because I know when people hear custom guitar, they often think that it's completely out of
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  their budget, and then they don't even inquire.
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  Right?
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  So what's kind of the price range we're looking at for one of the typical ones that you've
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  built so far?
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  So, obviously, custom, like you said, it does, range in price depending on what accessories
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  you want.
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  You can go on a very high range for hardware that you'd like in your guitar, or you could
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  just want something that makes noise.
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  So the way that we generally go about it is I would have a consultation with a customer.
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  We would go about what exact needs they like.
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  And then from there, we'd price it out from labor cost as well as material.
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  So the one I showed you right here, this one I would be putting up for about $1,600.
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  Given this one does have very high end hardware, so not all of them necessarily need
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  every bell and whistle in order to make them unique to the customer.
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  And then along with that, you do have your variations from, like, if you want more exotic
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  woods, domestic woods.
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  So there is variability in the price.
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  But from there, I would say that it is it does compete with your premium kind of guitars that
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  you would buy from a local store as well.
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  So they're not astronomically different from if you're looking for a premium guitar.
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  Right.
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  I mean, you're gonna spend a thousand dollars minimum on a solid fender or and these aren't
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  even the upper echelons of them.
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  They're not a fancy just your kinda run of the mill strat or LP are going to run you a
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  thousand dollars minimum.
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  So you're right in that price range, and then, of course, you can go up and to put better
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  pickups in and all of our guitar playing gurus out there listening to the show already know.
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  And how unique of a thing that you're doing?
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  I'm just enthralled because we work with so many veteran organizations and we have so many
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  disabled vets in our larger scene projects community that I I see so many connections for
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  us in the future, Tristan.
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  I'm really excited to get to meet you today, to get to hear a little bit of your story, and to
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  think about ways that we can serve you to get you working on more and more guitars in the
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  future.
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  Before I let you go, can you tell everybody how they can find you guys, how they can get on a
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  consultation to see how they can get a custom Envision guitar, and get you some business
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  flowing in the doors?
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  So right now, we are mainly online.
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  You can find us on Facebook and Instagram under Envision Guitars.
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  Always email us as well, EnvisionGuitars@Gmail.com.
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  And, yeah, right now, all online.
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  Hopefully, we'll be going to local stores here soon.
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  And Envision Guitars is n, the letter n, vision.
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  Correct?
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  Yes, sir.
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  Yep.
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  Just like this, n v and then vision.
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  Awesome, man.
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  Well, Tristan, I hope next time mom will jump on with us as well, and I hope I get to meet
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  you both in person.
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  Where are you physically located at?
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  Yes.
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  We're both out of Ankeny, Iowa.
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  Fantastic.
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  Fellow Midwesterners.
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  I heard you mention Minnesota in there and heading to, so I wasn't sure exactly where
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  you're heading from.
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  Love Iowa.
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  We got some great friends all over that area.
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  And a lot of guitar players out there, a lot of really good ones.
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  So Yeah.
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  Tristan, I thank you so much for for spending some time with me today, and thank you for
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  being part of the scene.
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  Yeah.
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  Well, I really appreciate you having me on, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
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  You as well.
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  Alright.
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  Take care.