The Story of Boaz One
It took me thirty-five years to create the Boaz One. Well, kind of. I first thought about building a plastic electric guitar in the late 1980s. I was wandering the world on my motorcycle, first mainly in Europe, the US and Latin America, then in Asia and Africa. I still do. Striving to become a master luthier, I was chasing the great masters around the world. I built my first guitar when I was 13, and ever since I knew I would be a classic guitar builder, a luthier. The only way for me was traveling and working as an apprentice – the old way – for the greatest of the great. Building acoustic guitars, playing music, composing, and making friends. This was my life. Meanwhile, I collected the secrets of trade, the best woods, the best music and my best friends.
Why electric guitar then, and why plastic? I believe I wanted to return the favor to all those people who helped, taught, and hosted me. Everything I learned belongs to them. I met so many endowed musicians, children and adults, poor and well to do. The amount of talent among the poor in those faraway places shocked me, and I wished for every gifted child to have their own professional guitar, a very chip one, but top quality. That's why the first name of Boaz One was the Toy Guitar, a children's guitar, but with masters' quality. I imagined a big factory, a robotic assembly line, making guitars for millions of children. And me sitting nearby building classic guitars and doing some quality control.
This was not that simple. Being the craftsman that I am, I continued building acoustic guitars, now mainly in my own workshop. Some of my guitars have become world famous because of their groundbreaking innovation and uncompromising quality. I also created a number of special instruments for leading classical musicians and one unique instrument, the Ishay, for my own concerts. I love Ishay. I am the only one playing on it, and I play only my music.
So, the first prototype of Boaz One was created only in the mid-1990s, and serious development began in the early 2000a. We are now 23 years later. For a while, I toyed with the idea of becoming an industrialist, but there was no robotic factory in the cards for me. I was approached several times by serious and honest investors, but this was really not my cup of tea. They wanted a business plan and a horizon for seeing profits. This is something I could not give them. I wanted a beautiful instrument, and the timeline for this was my life. I had enough money from my work to put bread on the table and raise my children. There are no drawers for business plans in my workshop. I do have a lot drawers, but all are filled with other stuff. That's what builders do. I continued working on my own, with my wife Ruth. I put it to you that no other project benefitted from so much help from so many people, friends and volunteers. Musician friends agreed to test the guitars and recommend them, for free and for the love of music and the musicians community. I am so grateful for all.
The Boaz 1s are now ready to go. They await your feedback. The guitars are fully hand-made. The vision of an almost-free "toy guitars" for the children of the world has become a reality of a master-luthier, hand-made, top-quality plastic electronic guitars. Each guitar we deliver is made by me and my wife. No workers so far. Only the two of us. The Boaz One is truly a top quality and happy-to-play instrument in a ridiculous price. I am so proud and thankful to all those who helped with this project.
I still hope one day to make this guitar industrial and chip, just for children. If this happens, God willing, the guitars you purchase now will no doubt become a collectors item, a testimony to my love and to the generosity invested by so many music lovers around the world in the last four decades, the love that made Boaz One.
