They come from different walks of life, but share one common characteristic: the independent determination to create musical instruments. Some build for the fun of it, others have turned their hobby into a business.

One Salem-area luthier who has taken his passion for building stringed instruments, guitars and basses, and decided to try and make a living at it, is Jim Normandy of Normandy Guitars.

In 2007, Normandy Guitars introduced the world’s first production aluminum archtop guitar, and on July 1 opened a production and retail store in downtown Salem.

“It all started when I was in grad school at Portland State,” Normandy said. “MTV’s Unplugged was popular at the time and as a bass player I loved those stand-up basses some of the bands were using; So, I decided to build my own.”

Because Normandy was a bass player, his first prototypes were bass guitars. Then, in 2005, Normandy Guitars switched to manufacturing electric six-string guitars and introduced them into the mainstream market.

Now Normandy Guitars employs five people in the downtown shop and also runs its own metal shop where the guitar bodies are made.

Even with the growth, Normandy remains very much in control of the business. Not only is he the founder and owner, he is also the accountant and bookkeeper, the manufacturing planner and production manager. When asked who came up with the business plan, Normandy smiled, pointed his finger at his chest and said, “Me. I’m just faking it till I make it, brother.”

One of Normandy’s employees is Josh Helms, who has been building custom bass guitars out of his home for 17 years.

Like Normandy, Helms is a bass player. He bought his first bass when he was 18 years old. “I took it apart before I even learned a song,” Helms said. “I’m one of those people who can’t leave anything alone. Everything must be custom.”

It all began for Helms when he got “a crazy idea to build a custom Fender and put it on eBay.” From there, he began working with a collector and quit his day job. The business with the collector fizzled out, but his own custom bass business remains solid.

Helms maintains a website (http://www.jjhelms.com/id3.html) through which he sells about 20 custom basses a year.

For many of the employees, the desire to build their own instruments arose not only out of artistic curiosity, but also out of necessity.

“I started out by looking at a bass that a fellow in Kona, Hawaii, builds and sells online,” said Phil Priestley, who makes portable three-string upright basses. “I also play ukulele with a group of other uke players and the idea of a nylon string bass to compliment the gentle tone of the ukulele really appealed to me. I found that I didn't want spend as much as he was charging, so I built the first bass for myself.”

One of the uke players is Darrell Hansen. He became a luthier, someone who makes or repairs stringed instruments, in 2004 after attending “Uke Fest West” in Santa Rosa, Calif. “They had classes on playing and one on building,” Hansen said. “Being a finish carpenter and not a very good player, I attended the building class. When I got home I had some scrap hemlock wood, so I tried my hand at it. The uke turned out and sounded good. I'm still playing that uke.”

Priestley and Hansen craft their respective instruments at their homes mostly as a hobby. Priestley has been selling some of his three-and-four string basses without the benefit of a retail outlet or website, operating through word-of-mouth. Hansen said that he mostly builds ukes for family and friends, but he hopes to build more seriously during his upcoming retirement.