Custom guitar maker strikes the right chord in music city

Peng Kefei, a man who once relied on odd jobs to make a living, has become a guitar maker and now lives the life of a craftsman in Hengshui, Hebei province.

The 51-year-old comes from Suining, Sichuan province, and became a migrant worker in his 20s.

"My first job was as an assistant bricklayer, and I earned about 3.50 yuan per day," he said.

Since then, Peng had traveled all over for work, including Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, cities in Anhui province and Xiamen in Fujian province.

From bricklayer to boat tracker, from a watch and bicycle repairman to the manager of a barbershop, Peng was unable to find a job he found satisfying.

"They were all tiring, but that didn't bother me. I just wanted to find something I was interested in," he said.

Fortunately, his temporary jobs helped lay a foundation for finding a job Peng finally wanted.

In 1996, a friend recommended he work at a musical instrument factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

When the boss learned of Peng's background, he gave him a position in the factory's research department.

"The work needed great care and attention to detail," Peng said.

While working at the factory, he realized that he had an interest in guitars and over the course of the following decade, he gradually became an expert in the field.

In 2005, a worker from a musical instrument company in Wuqiang county in Hengshui, Hebei, met Peng at a fair in Shanghai and invited him to offer technical guidance.

Knowing that Wuqiang had a well-established reputation for making instruments, Peng accepted, hoping to develop his experience.

Wuqiang's history of making musical instruments dates back to the late 1980s, and the county now has 60 makers, and sells instruments to some 80 countries and regions, according to the county government.

"I love it here because the environment caters to the music industry," Peng said.

Under his guidance, the company took part in exhibitions, and their instruments were appreciated by both domestic and foreign customers. In 2009, he was promoted to head the research department, and made responsible for making top-tier guitars.

However, Peng was not interested in the idea of making guitars on a production line.

"I've always wanted to have my own studio and make guitars of my own," he said.

In 2011, with the help of the Hebei Jinyin Musical Instrument Group, he did just that, setting up his own studio in Zhouwo Music Town in Wuqiang.

Named Kefei Studio, it makes custom guitars for clients.

"I adjust the raw materials, size and other elements according to my customers' preferences," he said.

He said that making a guitar by hand takes at least three months and sometimes as much as half a year.

"I want to guarantee good quality," he said, adding that he has visited other parts of China and other countries to improve his skills.

There are about 200 steps to making a guitar, from selecting the materials to tuning the strings.

"Every step is critical to quality," Peng said, adding that balancing a guitar's treble, mid and bass ranges and adjusting it to play at the correct pitch is challenging.

Most of Peng's customers are either music lovers, performers or teachers who get to know him at exhibitions or at cultural festivals.

His guitars sell for anything from 5,000 yuan ($685) to tens of thousands of yuan.

"The price differs based on the material and the amount of work I've put into it," he said.