Meet The Guitar Doctor
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"My name is Robert Brooks, and I'm the guitar doctor around here. I love the fact that I can take an old guitar that others have given up on and restore it to sound even better than it did brand new." |
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Taking a PickI would have never imagined that I would end up where I am today, that's for sure! It all started when I asked for an acoustic guitar for Christmas in 2011. My wife took me to the local music store to pick out a guitar, and of course, I couldn't wait to get started playing. Needless to say, I did not end up being a guitar prodigy, BUT my first few months learning guitar did lead me on an interesting journey that got me where I am today.
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Injured Knee, Healing HandsBack in 2011, I was off work due to a knee injury from working in construction. I had all day to practice and hone my guitar skills, but it wasn't too long before I was researching guitars and trying to figure out how they were built. I thought, "I wonder if I buy an old beat-up guitar if I could fix it and make it playable again."
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ApprenticeshipI asked at one of the local music stores if they had any old guitars for sale and told them what I wanted to do, and the employee said that they didn't. He happened to mention that there was a luthier in town who fixed up broken guitars and offered schooling opportunities.
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Luthier
(loo-ti-er):
A person who builds or repairs string instruments generally consisting of a neck and a sound box.
The word "luthier" comes from the French word "luth," meaning 'lute."
A luthier was originally a maker of lutes, but the term now means makes of stringed instruments such as the violin or classical guitar. -- Wikipedia
On The Job TrainingI decided to look into Scott Baxendale and Baxendale Guitar, which started me on the path I'm on today. After knee surgery in the summer of 2012, I started my first 6-month session at Baxendale Guitar in September and by December, Scott asked me to take on the role of employee rather than continuing as a student for a second semester.
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ConversionWorking with Scott, I rebuilt and converted many acoustic guitars that were played by different musicians around the country. I built my own custom acoustic guitar from scratch as well as a Jaguar electric. I have been able to restore guitars that others would never touch, including an acoustic guitar that was smashed into several pieces and one that somehow survived sitting in flood waters.
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The Doctor Is InI put my guitar medical skills to work restoring and fixing acoustic guitars. In addition, I do a mean setup for new guitars. I can repair headstocks that have been broken off, refret and do neck sets.
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