Rizsanyi Guitars: In Tune With the World

NOTE: The following is a feature story written by Steve Warburton for the Nova Scotia "Come to life" initiative. "Come to life" is a public-private sector initiative that markets Nova Scotia as an excellent place in which to live, work, invest, play, and visit.

From a hilltop workshop overlooking the beautiful LaHave River valley, George Rizsanyi crafts guitars destined for some of the world's best known musicians, and reflects on life.

"It's stunning," says Rizsanyi as he sweeps his hand out to proudly show off his river valley. "This is a place where you can find the Zen of this craft."

Seven years ago, Rizsanyi began an adventure and took to the Internet, searching for a Nova Scotia home to relocate his thriving guitar-making business. It didn't take long before the former Ontarian and his family settled down near Bridgewater, on the province's South Shore.

Today, no one would ever know he wasn't a Bluenoser. An unabashed promoter of his adopted province, Rizsanyi says it's a proud moment when others describe him as their own.

"It's an open-arms kind of province," the gifted craftsman enthuses. "The first time they said, 'Nova Scotia's own George Rizsanyi,' it made me feel really good."

Recognized worldwide for the design and construction of his exquisite, handmade guitars, Rizsanyi's clients have included the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, superstars Sting, James Taylor and Peter Gabriel.

And being away from a major centre of commerce like Toronto hasn't been mission critical for his business's success. At this point, his accessibility comes by telephone and e-mail. Besides, Rizsanyi's reputation means clients usually find him, whether it's by word of mouth, or by his website www.rizsanyiguitars.com.

Pretty well all of Rizsanyi's sales are from outside Canada, and his goal is to capture a piece of the lucrative American market. That means eyeing places like California and New York City. His high-end guitars average $5,000 each and he makes about 25 a year.

All of his guitars are crafted with hand-carved necks, bridges and inlays. He claims "a connoisseur's dedication to playability, comfort and acoustic quality. Every guitar is strobe-tuned for note accuracy, tonal quality and precision harmonics."

And each offers a rich, full-bodied sound. Supporters point to the guitar's note clarity, projection and sustainability as instantly recognizable when hearing a Rizsanyi guitar being played.

There is no grand tradition of guitar making in the Rizsanyi family. It was fate and his own innate drive to live every adventure life has to offer, much like the attitude of folks in Nova Scotia, that launched the former labourer into the world of music.

Rizsanyi started in the business by meeting a guitar maker (or luthier) at a party near Toronto. "The stars lined up," he says. "He showed me some guitars, and needed a place to park his truck, so I offered my driveway."

That relationship led to other opportunities, and Rizsanyi apprenticed for several years before opening his own shop. "The whole thing has been one neat thing after another," he says, with a fervour bordering on boyhood amazement at his own success.

His initial introduction to celebrity clients began with an American superstar musician. "When I was starting out, I had this notion that I would build James Taylor a guitar."

After a year of trying to track down the legendary singer-songwriter, he turned on the television one day and heard he was in Toronto for a concert. Remarkably, the TV anchor announced his hotel. Rizsanyi picked up the phone expecting to leave a message; instead he was patched through to the singer himself.

Rizsanyi says Taylor was very nice. However, he was afraid of offending Rizsanyi if he didn't like the guitar being offered. Not a problem, Rizsanyi thought, so he made Taylor three guitars, to give the singer a choice. They were hand delivered the next time Taylor was in town. He loved them.

Those types of experiences -- mixing resourcefulness, creativity and innovation -- are typical of Rizsanyi's life. He has a knack for recognizing the right opportunity, making the right decision, and squeezing the most out of each moment.

That's good news for his community as Rizsanyi imagines the day he will reinvent his world again and open a guitar manufacturing plant in his neighbourhood. Ever the visionary, Rizsanyi foresees the day when his disciples and locals' may help him make guitars on a grander scale.

He sees his location as the basis of a dramatically expanded business. The abundance of indigenous woods -- like black ash, cherry, butternut, yellow poplar, tamarac, birds-eye maple, hawthorn, and wild apple -- on his property and the neighbouring hillsides and ravines each give their own exciting and thrilling sound, adding a unique tone to each instrument. It also means a ready supply of raw material.

Rizsanyi also runs the Canadian School of Lutherie, a guitar- building school at his home, featuring courses and workshops. Around the world, his dedication to the craft of guitar making is well known. Each student, including dentists, lawyers and high-school students, make their own guitar that is strung and fully playable by the end of a four-week course. The students also get a full understanding of the process.

But no matter how big the business gets, it seems Rizsanyi will never tire of telling the stories about each guitar and its client. Like the one on how he sold a guitar to Keith Richards.

"I had met Noel Redding, who played with Jimi Hendrix, and he asked for a guitar. I delivered it to him in Boston and the guitar player in his band, Charlie Kemp, loved it."

At that point, Kemp said Keith Richards would like one too. Rizsanyi thought Kemp was joking, but a couple of months later Kemp called to say Richards was waiting for his guitar. Rizsanyi hand-delivered that one too, and ended up hanging out at Richard's Connecticut house for the night.

The banks of the LaHave River are a long way from the streets of New York and Los Angeles, but the master guitar maker says he is content to make the occasional trip abroad, and live a life in his version of paradise.

"Here, it is about being family-oriented. This place has the cleanest air, and you can see all the stars at night too."

For more Nova Scotia success stories visit www.novascotialife.com .