In the crowded guitar market, Anymo Essential ultra thin guitars (only 8 mm) which have received a warm response at South by Southwest 2017 in the U.S., Salone del Mobile 2017 in Italy and Marche international du disque et de l’edition musicale 2018 in France— stand out for their unique features.
The thickness of conventional, or regular acoustic guitars’ bodies, Anymo Essential’s founder Raka Shiddiq says, usually ranges from 8 cm to 12 cm. Anymo Essential guitars’ bodies, which surely make a striking visual impact, are only 8 mm in thickness. As far as I know, they are the thinnest guitars in the world. Since its inception, Anymo Essential focuses on creating electro-acoustic thin guitars only.
Anymo Essential is the brainchild of Raka, a self-taught luthier. He started learning how to make guitars in 2001. Then, in 2007 Raka established IMP Guitarworks and Impera Guitar Co, which produce custom-made acoustic and electric guitars.
Later, to make his products stand out in a highly competitive market, Raka decided to focus on creating ultra thin guitars, which surely are very distinctive in their aesthetic. Moreover, nowadays everything, from televisions to cellular phones, is getting slimmer.
In line with the growing popularity of all things thin, Raka decided to focus on creating ultra-slim electro-acoustic guitars, which are not only visually appealing to the market, but also sound beautiful. (Watch samples of the sound on Anymo’s Instagram and YouTube accounts which also include interviews by various news channels).
However, as a pioneer in ultra thin guitar, the project surely demands lots of investment of time, effort and money, as there was no guidance for Raka on how to make a super slim guitar. The final prototype of his ultra thin guitar was completed in November 2016; that was the beginning of Anymo Essential.
In a nutshell, the biggest difference between Anymo products and regular thick guitars is Anymo guitars do not have acoustic chambers as the resonance tube. Instead, Anymo guitars are especially designed with micro chamber system inside their slim bodies.
This brand has launched SERA and Salamina guitars. All products are made from solid tone-wood that mostly is sourced from Indonesia, such as Mahogany and Sonokeling. They are priced from IDR 4,500,000 to IDR 5,900,000; each guitar comes with Anymo soft case and Anymo strap. Your initials or your full name can be engraved on the guitar; engraving fees start at IDR 150,000, depending on the number of characters.
To meet the growing demands, Anymo, which is based in Bandung, West Java is in the transition from home industry to the factory system. However, in processes that cannot be compensated by machine, skilled luthiers will do the finishing touches by hand. “Currently, we aim to produce between 300 and 500 guitars per month,” Raka says.
Indonesia is the target market for many foreign major guitar brands, especially from the US and Japan. Raka hopes to turn the tables, invading their markets with his distinctively unique stringed musical instrument.
Raka has talked to main distributors in those countries; if everything goes according to plan, Anymo will start exporting its goods to Japan within this year, then followed by the US. The brand has received orders from Italy, Hong Kong, Spain, and the Netherlands, too.
Raka hopes that in the future, Anymo will be put on the same level with major international guitar labels, whether in his home country of Indonesia or around the world.
After all, his guitars have received a warm response, both in Indonesia and overseas.
Anymo won “The Most Marketable Product” at Business of Design Week 2016 in Hong Kong, based on votes from the visitors at that Asia’s premier annual event on design. Anymo also received a positive response at every event in which this brand took part, in Indonesia, Italy, France and the U.S.
Anymo, supported by Bekraf (Indonesia’s creative economy agency), showcased its thin guitars at South by Southwest 2017 (SXSW Conference and Festivals celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film and music industries) in the U.S., Salone del Mobile 2017 (the most prestigious international furniture and design fair) in Italy as well as Marche international du disque et de l’edition musicale 2018 (the leading international marketplace for the global music community) in France.
Bekraf selects the participants through open call; only the best brands, which consistently produce quality goods, are chosen to represent Indonesian products at various prestigious international events.
For a relatively young company, whose final prototype was completed in November 2016, Anymo Essential indeed has done very well for itself. There are exciting plans in the pipeline, such as at least five new models will be launched in the near future, and in January 2019 Anymo will participate at National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM Show) in California, the world’s annual biggest event for the music products industry.
All in all, Raka is a luthier who has the remarkable ability to think outside the box, and his devotion to innovation makes his guitars, which are distinctive in their aesthetic, stand out in a highly competitive market.
When it comes to electro-acoustic guitars, Anymo beautiful, minimalist stringed musical instrument with its distinct look is a breath of fresh air in a market saturated with big and bulky guitars.
In Jakarta, Anymo Essential guitars are available at:
Melodia Music: Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda # 15B, Arteri Pondok Indah & Jl. Tebet Raya # 48D.
Website: www.melodiamusic.com
Anymo:
Instagram: @anymoessential
Webstore: anymoessential.com
WhatsApp (Bowo): 0878 752 95340
