The guitar street

Located on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in Ho Chi Minh City is a bevy of guitar shops.

Guitarists throughout the south converge on this street to play and purchase locally made and internationally known guitars.

On a 500 meter stretch of Nguyen Thien Thuat there are over 20 guitar shops which have been operating there for three decades, selling and making instruments.

One of the oldest shops is Duy Ngoc, named after the owner, who set up the store in the 1980s.

Duy Ngoc says, “This street has been a hub for guitars since reunification 1975.

From the 1990s up to now, many more stores like Phuc Loi and Duc Thang have emerged.”

Depending on the quality, the guitars range from ten US dollars to a thousand.

The average guitar price is about US$300-400.

According to Ngoc, the best sounding guitars are made from imported pine.

He says that besides selling to local artists, many of the guitar makers export their higher quality instruments to markets in the US, England and France, among others.

Ngoc’s shop produces approximately 10 guitars a month.

Making a guitar is an intricate process with several steps, most important of which is the sound assessment of each instrument.

Ngoc said that, “The number of new shops has been on the rise, thus competition is harsher. A good businessman must know how to put his clients’ benefits as the top priority over simply trying to make a sale.”

Ngoc claims that the biggest challenge facing the businesses on this street today is how to afford the rising cost of rent.

Besides Duy Ngoc, a number of stores like Sai Gon, Tam Hiep and Xuan Thanh opened in the beginning of the 1980s.

Sai Gon was established by artisan Nguyen Anh Dung.

After his death, his wife Lang and their daughter have continued to run Dung’s three shops on Nguyen Thien Thuat and Cach Mang Thang Tam streets.

Lang mentioned, “This is a career that needs an artistic soul and great consideration. Artisans should respect the materials and craftsman-ship that goes into making guitars. Most of all, the clients’ benefit must be a priority over money.”

Reported by Diem Thu

Source : Thanh Nien Daily