SIX STRINGS...  

1. GUITARS EXCHANGE: How did you end up becoming, or starting out as, a luthier?  

KOSTADIN DIMITROV: Since I was a kid I loved to do things with my hands. I remember the wooden spoon I crafted long before I started learning how to ride a bicycle, the dog house I built with my uncle... It seems somehow I always wanted to do things with my hands, but at that time I didn’t know exactly what this thing was going to be. At around age 18 – I met the guitar! That was the answer, this was my way, this was what I was looking for all this time. So 20 years later, here I am.  

2. G.E.: What inspires you to design and manufacture a new guitar?  
K.D.: Inspiration comes from all possible sources and directions. It comes from dreams, from people, from nature, from animals, from space, from happiness and sadness…  

3. G.E.: Do you look for a given sound for any particular reason?  

K.D.: Yes. Working with specific, rare, mostly local wood, I discovered the unlimited variety and beauty of the sound that can be achieved by using these materials. Such a rich and natural sound – this is what I am looking for while making my KD instruments.  



4. G.E.: Select one and talk about: soul, jazz, blues, rock, pop…or other.  

K.D.: MUSIC – if the music touches me, I do not care what style it is.  

5. G.E.: Are you a jobbing artist or a solitary artisan?  

K.D.: I would describe myself simply as a working luthier  

6. G.E.: What was the last record or CD you bought? And listened to?  

K.D.: Jose Ramos gave me a birthday present CD “Twenty Five Years Ago” by Doc and Friends, which I am listening to right now. Guillermo Bazzola also gave me a CD which was recorded by his band, the album is called “KOTKA” – very nice music.  



...ONE BODY...  

7. G.E.: Electric or acoustic?  

K.D.: Electric  

...ONE NECK...  

8. G.E.: What is the secret behind your choice of wood?  

K.D.: If I told you, it would not be a secret anymore…ok, here is what I do – I cut the wood myself, I dry the wood myself (I season it), I select the wood myself. Not all the wood of course, the tropical species I buy from wood dealers.  



...AND TWO HANDS  

9. G.E.: Why should we consider luthier-crafted guitars as a viable option to guitars made by the large manufacturers?  

K.D.: Having a handcrafted guitar, a truly handcrafted guitar, is like this: You and your wife – you have a baby and you both know that this baby is your child and this baby bears your genes. Having a machine made guitar is like this: You and your wife have a baby, but you know that you are not the father. The father of the baby is someone else, a machine for example. Then the baby has a completely different DNA and temper, voice, look…  

10. G.E.: Who plays your guitars? Who would you like to have play your guitars?  

K.D.: From students to famous musicians and collectors all over the world.  

+1. G.E.: What strings do you use on your guitars and what amplifiers do you like most?   

K.D.: 10-46 is the size I use most. Sometimes I use 9-46. The brands are different – Elixir, D’Addario, Ernie Ball. Amps – I use a custom amp especially made for me by a Bulgarian brand called MG, the best I need.

KD Official website: http://www.kdbasses.com
KD Store at Guitars Exchange