Big Muddy Mandolin’s new apprentice keeps it in the family
After meeting Connor several times I wanted to know, "What led you to building mandolins?" I asked him to speak with me and let the town of Rocheport know there's a new builder in town.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I’ve always loved music. ”
Connor Bentcik
I met Connor Bentcik about a month ago while visiting with Mike Dulak of Big Muddy Mandolin. I discovered that Connor was visiting Rocheport weekly for days at a time to learn the business and how to make mandolins. Many people are familiar with Mike Dulak’s mandolin business and the local music band he is a part of, the Bait Shop Boys, but few know yet that a new tradition is developing in Rocheport.
After meeting Connor several times I wanted to know, “What led you to build mandolins?” I asked him to speak with me so I could let the town of Rocheport know there’s a new builder in town. As cool as it was to meet this gentleman, maybe it was even cooler when he came out to locals’ night and made new acquaintances. In true Rocheport style, I believe they gave him a welcome worthy of remembrance.
Connor bridges the Ozarks and Rocheport by continuing the family business
Roman: Where are you from?
Connor: I live just a little bit South of Camdenton in the Lake of the Ozarks.
Roman: And so you come here to Rocheport just to apprentice three days a week?
Connor: Yep, just one of the builders, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Roman: So what do you like to do when you’re not making mandolins?
Connor: Well, the last couple of years I’ve just enjoyed playing music. My little brother is quite the musician as well, and I spend a good amount of time playing with him. For the last several years, I’ve also been working on my parent’s house.
Roman: So what got you interested in learning the trade?
Connor: It’s something I never had any intention of doing, honestly. I went to Mizzou to be a doctor and I just was not a fan of any of it. I had to completely rethink everything. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I’ve always loved music. It’s probably one of the only things I enjoy in life. And so I bounced around in different jobs and started doing construction. Because my parents were building a house, I began to quite enjoy carpentry. One day during the pandemic, I’d been working for Diane and Mike Dulak for a little while, doing gardening on the side and helping them out, and he called me up one day and asked me if I wanted to take over the shop at some point. You know it just kind of clicked. That’s perfect for me. I love woodworking and I love music. Yeah, I got right into it.
Roman: What’s it like for you going through this process of something that you’ve never done before and learning it from a relative, no less your great uncle?
Connor: Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it. You know, usually, I hate doing things that I’ve never done before. I like being prepared and knowing everything beforehand, but there are no books I could read on this. So I just jumped right in, and it’s been going really well.
Roman: So far, which part have you enjoyed the most in terms of construction?
Connor: I really like working with all of these exotic woods that I never did before. In construction that’s all pine, and then I come in here and there’s woods from all over the world. It’s pretty cool.
Roman: Do you enjoy it more when someone actually buys a mandolin, plays it and then gives you that feedback that says this is a fine instrument and they’re glad to have it?
Connor: Yeah, I definitely enjoy that more. That’s something I never realized I wanted, but it’s very cool to have something you built on somebody else’s wall or stand somewhere else in the world, and you built it.
Roman: So, when you finish one stage of your mandolin, then you need to pick up and move to the next step, kind of a cycle of the mandolins. How does that work for you? Do the transitions feel natural? Do you feel like you have to make a transition in your mind as you go from one stage to the next?
Connor: It was really hard in the beginning, just trying to remember everything. What I do now and especially in the beginning, I would make one and follow it all the way through. But now I’m comfortable enough that there are probably 7 mandolins in various stages right now. You know, I have all the measurements in my head. I know what everything is supposed to be at so I can leave one and go to the next. I already know everything’s good to go. Glue ups take the longest. So I’ll glue something up. and go to another one and have three or four going at once. By the time I’m done with those three or four, I can come back and move them to the next stage, and I just move everything down the line.
Roman: So what are your goals in terms of for yourself in the business of making mandolins?
Connor: Where I am now is perfect for me. I love it, man. I’m not really in this to get rich or anything, but money is also nice. So if I have enough to subsist on, I’ll do this forever. And I have no grand plans. As of right now, the plan is I’ll build a shop down on our property and live in the Ozarks.
Roman: That’s cool that you already have a place picked out. Do you plan on having a store presence or do you think you’re going to sell mostly online?
Connor: I think I’m going to stick to mostly online. You know you end up losing almost half the money to a shop.
Roman: So, when I think of people that make things, you’re not just selling a mandolin, you’re trying to sell a tradition. You’re selling a sound, you’re part of a music scene that you may never be physically present for, but you’re also affecting a whole lot of people when they hear your instruments. Have you considered teaching another generation of makers in the future?
Connor: If I found somebody who I could put that amount of trust in, I definitely would consider it. Mike put a ton of trust in me. It would be very cool if this company went on for a couple hundred years.
Roman: You’ve been following the lead, so to speak, in this apprenticeship. What stylistic things are you hoping to try in the future?
Connor: That’s a good question. I don’t know. I may mess around with things, but I couldn’t tell you specifically what yet. I haven’t put much thought into that. I have zero problems with how they are now. We look to make mandolins that play and sound good. Those are the two most important things to us.
Roman: I noticed you all are starting to make ukuleles. How long before you sell those?
Connor: We’ve made about a dozen of them. We’re just making little changes here and there. When we feel like we finally have it, we’ll start selling them.
Connor’s mandolins are already being sold
It is amazing that Connor’s mandolins have already been purchased and there are more for sale at Big Muddy Mandolin. I’ve had an opportunity to play several of them and really enjoyed the character and selection of the woods. For me, someone who also plays ukulele, it was super nice to play their prototype ukuleles. How many people can say they played a prototype instrument from Mike Dulak and Connor Bentcik? Not many and I consider myself a lucky person.
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