Garrett Burton

Photo by Erin Landry

Garrett Burton is somewhat of a rare breed. Not only is he a guitarist in the outfit General Jive and the Souldiers, but he is also a luthier; he builds and repairs guitars and he’s been hard at work at it for the past three years. After being certified in 2004, he moved back to Milwaukee where he found work restoring classical stringed instruments such as violins, cellos and violas. From there, he went on to work as a guitar technician for local guitar shops while opening his own shop in the process. Currently, he is doing repair work at Gearheadz Music while also restoring guitars out of his home. To hear more from Burton, check out myspace.com/milwaukeeguitarrepair or myspace.com/generaljiveandthesouldiers.

1. When did you know you wanted to build guitars?
I took a couple of woodworking classes in high school and in physics class my teacher was really into sound and making his own speakers. So that’s when I thought about the two different worlds: one of science and one of wood-working. Being a guitar player, the two just merged together for me. I didn’t know what I wanted to study in college, so I decided to go school for luthrie at Bryan Galloup’s School of Luthrie in Big Rapids, Michigan. That’s where I developed an interest in the acoustic properties of instruments.

2. How has Milwaukee’s guitar luthier scene been?
There’s definitely been appreciation for my work around here. Presently, I’m over at my friend Benny’s music store, Gearheadz Music, on National Avenue. I like the vibe of his shop; Benny’s super cool, and being a musician, he understands other musician’s interests in instruments.

3. How much has music influenced your life?
Well, considering my occupation, it has completely altered my life, or kept it on its path. It has given me many tools to express my feelings. I remember the first time music hit me: shivers. This was junior high. I got the White Album and I needed to put a band together immediately. That’s when I knew I wanted to play music. I’ve been playing ever since.

4. How has building guitars deepened your understanding of guitar music?
If you look at the timeline of the invention of different types of guitars, you can see [a relationship to] how the sound of the music changes, and the style being played. For instance, surf rock most likely wouldn’t exist without the Fender Stratocaster and some mad reverb, dig? But classical guitars brought my ear to Brazilian music. Arch-top guitars drew me to early jazz. Flat-tops introduced me to ragtime, country blues and country music.

5. What’s one of your favorite things about repairing guitars?
The look on the customer’s faces when they play their fixed instrument and it plays the way they want it to play; they’re happy. I also really like to experience working on all sorts of stringed instruments, especially older ones. They tend to have more craftsmanship and detail or thought in the work, so they’re really good to pay attention to for future building ideas and future repair processes. I look at it like surgery, bringing back the life to these instruments so they can be played, so music can live on. VS