Sam Radding

Sam Radding is the founder the famed American Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, which was the training ground for several future iconic luthiers including Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug and Greg Deering!  Sam’s brother opened a small retail store in San Diego in the mid 1960s and soon Sam had the idea of opening a woodshop to hire builders to make instruments his brother could then sell.  The shop proved to be the place luthiers hung out and learned their craft.  Sam later sold the shop to Kurt and Bob who would later change the name to Taylor Guitar.  Greg left to form his own company too, Deering Banjos!  While Sam got out of the business he returned to making musical instruments in the late 1990s, not too far from where he started!