Sam Koontz made his first guitar, a classical, in 1959, followed by a solid body bass and carved top jazz guitar in 1960. Since then he had made over 200 additional guitars, each with the unmistakable craftsmanship and sense of design for which Sam was renowned.

Prior to setting up his own shop in Linden, N.J. (1970) Sam worked as a shop foreman for the Framus line importer; later he designed guitars for the Framus factory while working for Philadelphia Music Co. Design work was also done for Martin Co. during this tenure.

Sam was then assigned the task of developing the Standel and Harptone guitar lines, including the manufacturing procedures. In some cases he even designed the machinery which was used to manufacture the instruments.

In his Linden shop, he continued to fashion beautiful and beautifully sounding guitars, along with custom work and repairs.

An innovative craftsman, he was continually looking for and working toward improvements and refinements for fretted instruments. Sam constructed many experimental guitars. One, a double-neck six and twelve-string acoustic, may have been the first of its genre. Another, a self-contained electric guitar/amp/tape recorder, was conceived with the idea of solo performances, which could be captured on tape immediately. Conversely one could play the tape with pre-recorded accompaniment. It even had speakers and sufficient amplification to drive them. Naturally, it was both battery and AC compatible. This effort consumed hundreds of hours in Sam's estimation, but was typical of the manner in which he attacked things.

Sam also created the "Studio One" guitar for Wayne Wesley Johnson, which was a beautiful natural 16" archtop jazz guitar outfitted with customized D'Armond pickups and built-in on-board studio phaser and flanger…providing for the same stage tones as used in the recording studio. He built an archtop guitar-organ synthesizer for Pat Martino. He also built Johnson a thin line double cutaway guitar-organ/synthesizer. A beautiful natural curly maple electric guitar with the fingerboard frets sliced and wired from underneath with MCI organ electronics and run inside the neck under the fingerboard to an electronics PC board mounted within the guitar's body. A Steiner/Parker monophonic analog synthesizer was provided externally and triggered by the guitar…way ahead of its time.

The interplay of clean design but a variety of features was always in Sam's mind. This is evidenced in ways, which are not always so obvious at first glance. An example of this interplay at work was his unique method of placing solid-body electronic hardware without need for a back-plate, thereby preserving the natural beauty of the guitar's back. Sam accomplished this by means of a side-plate (access beneath) which also acted as the mount for the guitar cable jack.

Sam's main love, however, remained the acoustic-electric carved arched top and carved back jazz guitar, which he built in 15"-18" widths, along with at least three different choices for neck scale length, and two choices in peghead designs…which Sam designated as single scroll or double scroll patterns. Many fine players, including Pat Martino, Howard Krive, Wayne Wesley Johnson, Vic Cenicola and Harry Leahey purchased their instruments from Sam, in the past.

Sam was always tinkering with newer, better ways to enhance their tone, beauty, durability, sustain, whatever it took to have the instrument perform the way he thought it should. A notable development in this class of guitars was the sound-hole closure, first used on the guitar made for Martino. It inconspicuously slid underneath the top when not in use. The closure eliminated the need to stuff foam rubber and other unmentionables in the opening to avoid feedback. The f-hole versions of this closure were a bit trickier, but Sam had the answer: tine hinges. A pinky through the f-hole is able to flip the closure in place.

Artist/collector Johnson remarks, "My favorite guitar of all time is the Oval-F personal model that Sam built for me, just prior to his death in the early 80's. It features a 17" body with oval hole and a single F hole on the bass side. The oval hole is fitted with the unique sound-hole closure mounted in a track. Sam built me the guitar with the single scroll headstock design and with abalone block inlays surrounded with stirling silver borders…absolutely gorgeous to behold. My guitar, was finished in a sunburst finish and has incredible tone and sustain… Out of all the guitars I've ever owned this one is unquestionably, my favorite guitar."

One of the most appealing albums of the past year is Canciones del Alma (Songs From The Soul) from New Mexico-based guitarist Wayne Wesley Johnson Since moving to New Mexico 10 months ago, Johnson has firmly embraced the pleasurable Nuevo Flamenco guitar sound and on his latest CD he's joined by top players like former Ventures' guitar legend Nokie Edwards, Tom Doyle and Chinese pipa artist Gao Hong A superbly recorded CD, Canciones del Alma is the perfect selection for anyone looking to explore a new guitar sound sound steeped in the legacy of the past, but one also quite willing to blend a host of timeless international musical flavors. Whether you call it instrumental guitar jazz or rumba flamenco, Johnson has the sound covered. For his interview with 20th Century Guitar in early April 2003, Wayne was quite prolific in his descriptions of his early guitar influences, his friendship with guitar legend Les Paul and his guitars.

TCG: Hi Wayne. How do you like New Mexico and why did you move there from NJ?

WWJ: For several years, I'd been venturing out here from NJ several times a year, to record. Firstly with Ruben Romero, and then to work entirely on my own projects. I'm particularly fond of the "Camargue" flamenco style of flamenco (from Camargue, France), made popular by the Gipsy Kings. That style has a significant influence and place here in Santa Fe, as does jazz, new age, world, mariachi and Native American. Since there are so many tourists here from all over the world, it's a good place to promote and market my music internationally.

TCG: Isn't there a big New Age music scene out in New Mexico?

WWJ: There is, what has been referred to as the "Santa Fe Sound", popularized by local guitarists Ottmar Liebert and Ruben Romero. Most of the music created here seems to get placed in either New Age or World categories though there is a jazz and country scene here, too. I've coined the phrase "The New Sound of Santa Fe" and "Jazzamenco" hybrid of smooth fingerstyle jazz and nuevo flamenco. I've also been expanding on the traditional by adding instrumentation from other parts of the world. My theory is that we live in a global environment now. With the power of the internet and web marketing we can reach out to music enthusiasts and resources the world over For example, the Spanish rumba flamenca rhythm integrated with the Chinese pentatonic melody and applying the Merle Travis thumbpicking technique to a Gipsy Kings-like rumba flamenca rhythm track. That works, too.

TCG: Can you remember some of the record albums that interested you as a kid and then later in life?

WWJ: My Dad always had music on and he was partially deaf, so it was always loud, too. Though he always had organist Lenny Dee on or the big bands, when he'd throw on a Les Paul & Mary Ford record that's the stuff that really excited me. I listened to Al Caiola, Tony Motolla, Wes Montgomery, Duane Eddy, The Ventures, Santo & Johnny, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, Chet Atkins, the Dorseys, Glen Miller and a lot of my Dad's 78's. I even learned to play "Sleepwalk" like Santo & Johnny on my Fender steel guitar when I was a kid. I certainly loved their recordings. My first 45 was Venus by Frankie Avalon. I always liked that tune, that's why I recorded it with Nokie Edwards I always loved the clean guitar sound. I think Wes Montgomery was my biggest jazz influence and later George Benson and Earl Klugh. I've always admired the work of Acoustic Alchemy, too. I like R&B. I always enjoyed B.B. King, The Temptations and The Four Seasons. Back in my college days, (68'-72') my favorites were Carlos Santana, Dickey Betts, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Terry Kath, Steve Howe and Pat Martino. Today, I like the Gipsy Kings, Pat Metheny, Paco de Lucia, Manitas Fernando de Plata, jr., Tom Doyle, Nokie Edwards, Thom Bresh and of course my old favorites.

TCG: Can you remember your first guitar and what year did you start your first band?

WWJ: I picked the guitar and began taking lessons at age 9 with Sandy DeVito I started with a clunker rental guitar that made my finger's bleed. Then my Uncle loaned me a Gibson Jumbo Dreadnought that I could hardly get my right arm around. About a year later my Dad bought me a 1960 blonde Gibson ES330TN. In 1961, I picked up a new Gibson Les Paul SG Custom (white 3 paf's) Around '64 I got an ES175D. I had studied with Sandy for nearly 8 years I was playing Tico Tico by age 12. Every time I speak with Sandy about my guitar obsession, I tell him it's his fault. I also took drum lessons, clarinet, and steel guitar lessons for awhile and later played some tenor sax and trumpet, too. In 1968, for a high school graduation present, I got two guitars for the price of one. I had designed a custom made L5-CES with Super 400 inlays, florentine cutaway, master volume, Tal Farlow pickguard, extra slim (Byrdland) neck. I also designed a custom made Barney Kessell model with extra slim body (Byrdland thickness), Tal Farlow Pickguard, Bigsby, spruce top, stereo and varitone, and standby switch. Gibson built both instruments for me, to my specifications, and my folks gave them to me as a graduation gift. I believe it cost them about $1200 back then. I still own those two guitars. My very first band was called the Rhythm Kings. Two other elementary school guitarists joined me to perform in a talent show. Shortly thereafter, I formed the Yellow Jackets in 1960 and that band grew from 2 guitars and drums to 11 members in 1968 when we changed the name to Sons &Lovers By then the band had a 5 piece horn section and all....a big sound.

TCG: You played with Les Paul earlier in your career. How did you meet Les Paul and do you still keep in contact with him?

WWJ: I first met Les Paul at Michael Dennis' in Fairfield New Jersey around 1971. I was studying jazz guitar with Eddie Berg at Fairleigh Dickinson University at that time. Eddie was also teaching my friend and jazz great Vic Juris Both Eddie and Vic were to perform at Michael Dennis' and they invited Les Paul to come hear them play one evening. Eddie and Vic invited me to come, too. It was quite a thrill to meet Les. I ran home to get my two Les Paul guitars and bring them down to show Les. In 1979 I ran a business conference at the Great Gorge Playboy Resort Hotel in north Jersey, and I needed to come up with some entertainment for the host night activities. My Dad suggested I contact Les Paul, who lived nearby and see if he'd be interested in performing I sent him a letter. He called me at home one night and I just about fell off my chair. I couldn't believe it was really him. He was very nice and agreed to perform for our conference. We even arranged to get a Les Paul Guitar to raffle off at the conference. Since I hadn't heard his show, he invited me to tag along with him to a performance he had planned prior to our event, in Atlanta, Ga. So, I got myself a ticket and hung out with him for a few days. Les is like an encyclopedia. My God, he can remember everything, names, dates, places...amazing. This was the first time I had heard the complete show and it was awesome. His drummer Bobby Sutton performed with him then, too. Les performed at our industry conference as planned, and shortly thereafter something happened that his drummer was no longer able to perform with him and the Gibson "Galaxy of Stars" concert was being planned for the Namm Atlanta show in only a few weeks and Les needed a drummer. He asked me if I knew of any drummers and if so, would I bring them up for an audition. I brought someone along, but, he was unfamiliar with Les' music so it didn't work out. During a break, I sat down at the drums. Les came in and started to play and encouraged me to play along with him. I was scared to death. I hadn't touched the drums in nearly 8 years. I was stiff but I knew the tunes. He was surprised He told me to go home a practice and he then invited me to join him on stage as his drummer at the upcoming show. We shared the stage with Larry Carlton, Larry London, Mike Elliott, Bruce Bolen, Howard Roberts, BB King and others That was an extraordinary and overwhelming event for me. Les even had me play a drum solo. Subsequently, we later went to Argentina together to perform again in Buenos Aires. Later we did a show together in Cicero, Ill. After that, he had some serious health issues to deal with and then touring stopped After a while, Les put his trio back together (without a drummer) and started working at Fat Tuesday's and later at the Iridium, which he still does every Monday night. He's truly an amazing man. I usually try to get to his birthday parties held at the Iridium each year. We still remain good friends though I don't get to see him much now that I'm living in Santa Fe. He's given me some good musical and career advice over the years. He's told me things like "stick to the melody...people remember melodies...they can hum them.....and that's commercial....that sells records." I also learned from Les that there's no such thing as a "bad note" if you know how to resolve it. I've learned a whole lot of other stuff from Les, too, over the years. Sorry to digress, but, I must say that I've been extremely fortunate in my life that I've been able to perform with two of my idols, Les Paul and Nokie Edwards. That in itself has been a wonderful experience. Now, if I ever get to perform with the Gipsy Kings, my musical life will be complete.

TCG: How would you compare the making of your earlier albums with the 2003 album Songs From The Soul?

WWJ: Well, my first solo album is Canciones del alma (Songs from the Soul) with guest artists. Prior to that the three albums I recorded were with my friend Ruben Romero Flamenco Festival (Narada / Hallmark Music), Flamenco Flavors (Talking Taco/IAGO) and Hypnotic Safari (Wannadu) Ruben and I co-produced these prior albums and to a certain degree (with the exception of Hypnotic Safari) we worked to a defined budget. What I like about the latest release is that I had total creative and financial control over the project. I was able to record in analog format instead of digital (which I prefer for the acoustic guitars), hire the sidemen and instrumentation I wanted, select the song sequence and arrangements. I got to play the rhythm and EQ it the way I wanted and the leads when I wanted. I got to share the music and experience with the other great musicians that joined me in the project, too. I had total creative freedom and loved it.

TCG: Which guitars are most heavily featured on the Songs From The Soul CD?

WWJ: The guitars that were most heavily featured on the Songs from the Soul CD would be the Hernandez Huipe flamenco, the Conde Hermanos, an Esteve Aria flamenco, the Heritage Bluesette, Koontz Oval F archtop, Fender Bass VI and McGill Resonator. The new album Summertime in Santa Fe that I'm working on now with Thom Bresh, Tom Doyle, Tim Farrell, Anthony Smith, Edgar Cruz and Lou Pallo will feature the Stromberg Master 400 cutaway, the Stromberg G-3 Cutaway, Benedetto Cremona, Triggs "Faerie Tales," D'angelico New Yorker and D'Angelico Excel and the Koontz Oval F. I also have some Fender, PRS and Gibson's that I'm quite fond of. I use Godin's a great deal.

TCG: Can you say something about your next album which is tentatively called Summertime In Santa Fe?

WWJ: Yes, I wanted to get Songs from the Soul into the distribution pipeline, and give it some time on the shelves before bringing another CD out right away. It looks like the release of Summertime in Santa Fe, is still about 10 months away. By then, Songs from the Soul will have had some shelf time.