Time to take a (welcome) step back from the big guns; the Fenders and Gibsons and whatnot.  Time to take a look at a small (relatively speaking only) guitar maker.

The guitar on the left is the, rather splendid, Solstice from Galloup Guitars.

Galloup is run by Bryan Galloup, a luthier and repair-man second to none.  If there’s something he doesn’t know about guitars, there’s a fair chance that it’s not worth knowing.  Anyone who’s studied Dan Earlewine’s excellent tuition on particular guitar repair jobs will probably already be familiar with Bryan Galloup who shows up now and then to give his take on guitar repair.

Not content with running a guitar repair shop and building custom instruments, Bryan also teaches courses on how to make your very own guitar at the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair.  From weekend seminars to eight-week courses to full, six-month master programmes, Bryan provides professional, hands-on tuition to students who enrol at his school.

Galloup Guitars and the school are located in Big Rapids, Michigan.  If you’re nearby, or can travel there, and want an excellent eduction in guitar-making, you could do much worse than give Galloup a call.

The video below gives you a look around Bryan’s workshop and the guitar school.  You can see a number of instruments in progress and also some that have been in for repair.  Bryan conducts the tour himself.