Luthiers
Kiyokazu Ishibashi is proud to be in the music products industry and to follow the path of his father, who started the business following World War II. The music store was small in the beginning and in fact first carried sporting goods as well as musical instruments. When Kiyokazu was just 12 years...
Bob Willcutt still loves repairing guitars. The nice view of downtown Lexington from his repair bench doesn't hurt. Initially working as a social worker, Bob repaired and rebuilt vintage folk instruments as a hobby starting in the 1960's. After repairing and mentoring at a local music store, he...
Tsunesaburo Kurosawa has a deep passion for instrument building and has become one of Japan’s leading classical guitar luthiers. The success of his guitars grew into the need to create a showcase for his instruments and soon he opened his own shop in Tokyo. This success was followed by a second...
Ed Roman opened a guitar store in Las Vegas after a successful career in the motorcycle industry. What he learned about that business and the customer base he found, he could easily apply to his guitar store. He soon expanded his store to a company which also manufactured instruments. Ed pioneered...
Billy Grammer formed his own guitar company after years of playing country music in and around Nashville. Billy recorded several hit records on his own as well as playing behind some of the biggest names in country music. In 1958 he recorded “Done Laid Around” and the chart topper “Gotta Travel On...
Paul Chandler discovered a specialized market within the music industry as a result of being a rock and roll performer and loving vintage guitars. Over the years, Paul found that he had to replace vintage-style pickguards due to the composition of the materials used back in the 1930s and 40s. As a...
Wayne Charvel is the electric guitar designer and luthier who placed colorful and innovative instruments in the hands of heavy rockers in the 1980s and 90s--ushering in a new era of music and a new era for electric guitar sales. Wayne started making guitars in his Azusa, California, home before...
Don Oriolo grew up in a very creative home. His father was the cartoonist behind such characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Felix the Cat. Don developed a passion for music as a child and played in bands growing up, as well as writing songs. His introduction into the music products industry...
Ken Parker began building guitars and basses, first for his brother then for other players, in the early 1970s. He fell in love with arch-tops and became one of the best-known guitar luthiers in the industry. After learning his trade in New York in the 1970s and 80s, Ken met Larry Fishman and...
Manuel Velazquez was one of the greatest guitar luthiers of the last one hundred years. He was born in Puerto Rico in 1917 and handcrafted his first classical guitar when he was still a teenager in 1929. He studied the art of guitar making from his older brother and the importance of woods from his...