Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Calhoun.
Hi Robert, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My desire to build was always strong, even as a child. My dad told me he noticed immediately when it came to something as minute as constructing with Legos. He told me I always had an eye for detail, symmetry and understood the concept of mechanical perspective.
It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I actually started using tools and working with wood, but it was basic. I was huge into skateboarding at the time (like all kids in CA seemed to be) and buying premade box kits were bit out of my parents’ budget but they always had scrap wood and told me I was at liberty to build with whatever scrap we had. Mid teenage years is when I started picking up the guitar and slowly transitioning away from skateboarding to focusing on guitar.
When we moved to Oklahoma my woodworking and tool skills began to grow. I was still heavily into skateboarding so my dad bought plans for us to build a 6 ft tall, 16 ft wide, 30 ft long half pipe. To reiterate I got to really cut my teeth with woodworking during this project. Sadly, after we completed the half pipe it didn’t take long for my interest in skateboarding to completely shift over to guitar. The weather made it impossible to skateboard year-round unlike the weather I was used to in Santa Barbara County (Vandenberg/Lompoc). As I got better at guitar and sought out better gear, I had a wild idea to make my own 4×12 cabinet. I used some scrap plywood to make a 1×12 but my dream to make a 4×12 never came to fruition until my early 20s when I was inspired to start Arachnid Cabinets and really push it legitimately.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a multitude of struggles but they have made me the person I am today.
First: My business requires producing a product.
A product that requires precision construction so, therefore, requires higher-end tools that can provide said precision. These types of tools don’t come at hobby/handyman-level prices. Justifying purchases like that to your significant other is a really hard conversation to have especially when you’re not seeing an immediate return. It’s a huge stresser financially and financial stressers are hard on marriages. Luckily my wife has been championing me for the past several years. It doesn’t make the finances any easier but she does understand the need.
Second: Building a precision product takes practice.
TONS of practice. Practice that requires your time and investment into materials to practice on. Again, money I had to justify to my wife was necessary to spend in order to ensure customers got a top-notch product. And sadly, when my skills weren’t 100% up to par with where they’re at now, and customers weren’t happy, I had to swallow my pride and eat those mistakes financially.
Third: Music industry and harsh judgement.
We talk about unity and “brother/sisterhood” in music but nobody is harsher on a gear company than musicians. Those who have been extremely critics l haven’t just been harsh, they have been vicious and hateful. I was told countless times my handmade product wasn’t good enough to merit the pricing I was asking because I wasn’t company X, Y, Z. “Legacy Brands” as I call them. People who had never played through my cabinets or seen one in person. Musicians will spit venom just to spit venom especially when they don’t have the budget for it or you’re not as readily available in a GC like most Legacy brands are. But on a good note, those who have played through an Arachnid at a show/fest I’ve backlined or made a purchase have told me it has absolutely blown them away in quality, tonal response, and clarity.
Fourth: Getting my name out there.
This is the part of the journey so far that has not only been amazing and fun but has maybe been the rockiest. It made more sense to offer Festival and Show backlines than invest into ads. What better way to demonstrate your product than get it in the hands of a musician who has their amp, cables, effects boards, guitar etc. And show them how it reacts with their rig in real time for an entire set. Playing live is the true testament to what your gear is capable of. This again has cost me miles and wear on my vehicles, gas in my tank, late nights, long weekends, hotels, my neck and back from nights sleeping in my vehicle because I couldn’t afford a hotel, cost of dining out, and time away from my family. Luckily the past 4-5 years have been made easier due to the Spring Meltdown Festivals held by Born Dead Productions (Josh Lease) in South Lake Tahoe. The caliber of fest and bands that have been on these fests, including my own, has boosted my company’s credibility and proven reliability and has even landed me several of my artists. So, a million thanks to Josh Lease for embracing me and Arachnid Cabinets.
But these are all growing pains I’m glad I have been through. It has helped shape me and grown my character as well as help me know what I’m worth.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We specialize in built-to-order guitar and bass speaker cabinets. We utilize marine grade BB/BB Baltic Birch plywood and dovetail all our cabinet joinery. Arachnid Cabinets is both a Celestion and Eminence authorized dealer and utilize a spray-on coating called Duratex. It’s tougher than tolex and can be touched up within 30 minutes if one desires to make their cab look practically brand new after any scuffing does occur from gigging hard.
I also took a leaf from the guitar/bass custom shop world. I was determined to give customers a similar experience when it came to customized aesthetics and speaker options when building their dream speaker cabinet. I was tired of generic black-on-black guitar cabs with no personality and a lot of my customers, artists, and people inquire apparently are too.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being 100% available as the owner has been key. People love knowing they’re talking to the ultimate decision-maker. Also showing customers their progress photos. Something about seeing the intimate details of a product you’re purchasing makes you feel more connected. That connection makes the product feel one of a kind, because it is, to the customer. As musicians, I feel we all have a small pride level knowing we had something built personally for us and it can be a fun, modest bragging right.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arachnidcabs.com
- Instagram: Arachnid_Cabinets
- Facebook: ArachnidCabinets
Image Credits
Jesse Fioren
Tayva Martinez
Will Lundin
