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Putting it together
> When some musicians can't buy exactly what they're looking for, they just build it themselves
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Joe Eagleman with his handmade guitars. Eagleman has so far built a six-string, a 12-string, a mandolin and a guitjo, a guitar on the body of a banjo.
Photo by Jj Duncan/Rockkansas.Com
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Jared Flickenger's job title started as two simple letters.
He developed an interest in keyboards at age 14, then found his calling as a DJ at age 18. His job title has lengthened in recent years, when a part-time hobby turned into a full-time livelihood.
Flickenger's name is on the list of Kansas musicians relying on their own abilities to handcraft instruments. In Flickenger's case, a small business has captured the attention of big names in electronic music.
"Nobody was really doing it right like the customer wanted," he said. "The larger companies are just so big that they can't take new financial risks on a product like that."
Flickenger's task: Create an analog synthesizer to rival those made in the early 1980s, but offer today's technology and increased sound control. He took two hand-built FutureRetro-777s to an Illinois music show, where he met with Dennis Barton, of Skylab 2000.
Barton purchased a unit that night. Flickenger's business was born.
The FR-777 found a new home in California, a mecca for electronic music in the United States. After Barton received inquiries from friends and fans about the new machine, the orders started to multiply.
"They would play these venues with them and be like 'what is that thing you're using. How do I get one?' " Flickenger said. "They really helped a lot of the bigger artists find out about us."
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On The Web
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Information on Jared Flickenger's company, FutureRetro Synthesizers, and the FR-777 can be found at www.future-retro.com.
Joe Eagleman's band, the Country Gentlemen play the first Saturday of every month at the Old Country Buffet at 75th and Quivera in Overland Park. MP3s of the band can be found here.
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The list of artists who have used the FR-777 includes Nine Inch Nails, the Crystal Method, KMFDM and the Chemical Brothers. Despite the success, the company that employs only Flickenger and his father never has spent a dime on advertising. FutureRetro has no plans to expand.
Flickenger, 29, said the Internet and word-of-mouth have transformed the Salina-based business into a worldwide player in the industry. And no one is offering the same level of customer service.
"You call us up and you're talking to the guy who built it," he said. "Chances are he knows what he's talking about."
The attraction of playing a hand-made instrument swept-up Joe Eagleman about 10 years ago. Eagleman, who plays with Lawrence-based band, the Country Gentleman, has made four guitars, a mandolin and a guitjo -- a combination of a guitar and banjo.
He said he modeled the inlay of his guitar after a high-end model of a Martin guitar. The finishing touch was personalized initials on the guitar neck.
"I can make them look nicer and sound better," he said. "I told my wife if it didn't sound better than my Martin, I'd just hang it on the wall and make it pretty enough so it would look nice."
His quickest guitar was finished in three weeks while working eight to 10 hours daily, although some can take two years to complete. Like Flickenger, Eagleman said he might jump into the business of marketing his instruments.
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The Fr-777 was developed by Salina inventor Jared Flickenger.
Photo Courtesy Future Retro
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He said his guitars combine the desired amounts of depth, tone, bass and treble -- traits that are lacking in the "assembly-line" approach of large guitar manufacturers.
"If you pick up a really cheap guitar, it doesn't have the depth and the vibration that a more expensive guitar sounds like," he said. "The ones I make go one step further."
Flickenger and Eagleman said their search for the ideal instrument has steered them from large manufacturers.
Flickenger built his first 150 units of the FR-777 by hand, then contracted with other small business that assemble parts for the synthesizer. Each unit once took eight hours to assemble -- now it takes two.
After seven years in the business, Flickenger reached the magic number of 700 and ceased production of the FR-777, although he continues to sell other products. With the help of his father, he is focusing on products the company has in development.
"Honestly," Flickenger said, "I never would have thought it would have become what it has."
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