Podcast 286: David Murray of Dehradun Guitar Company

For the last decade, luthier David Murray helmed an audacious
project: Teaching the craft of guitarmaking to young Tibetan
refugees in foothills of the Himalayas. It was one of the least
hospitable places imaginable for a woodworking business (from
both a climate and political perspective), but somehow the
Dehradun Guitar Company steadily produced about one custom
acoustic guitar a week. As David says goodbye to this chapter of
his life – which we originally profiled in the Fretboard
Journal #38 – we wanted to bring him on the podcast to hear
what transpired. From Thailand, where his family currently
resides, we talk about the challenges he experienced setting up
Dehradun: the climate, CITES regulations, prohibitive shipping
costs, an Indian government that threw his family out of the
country and more. Despite all the above, Murray and his team were
able to create around 200 amazing instruments and, he admits, “it
was a dream come true.” We also talk a bit about the Fretboard
Journal today, the influence Bob Taylor had on him as a builder
and business owner, and what's next for the Murrays.