Ry Denison Charters — Luthier of Kalamazoo.
Ry Denison Charters — Luthier of Kalamazoo.
The short version - Wechter Guitars 1998-2001 setup department, 2005 to 2008 USA production manager Marshall Music 2001-2005 fretted instrument repair Heritage Guitars 2002-2003 final sandout, rim assembaly, setup Driftwood Guitar Shop 2003-2005 owner, repair/retail shop Ry Denison Charters - Luthier 2006 to present
The long version- My introduction to lutherie was in 1998 when Abe Wechter hired me to work in his Paw Paw shop. Abe is a very accomplished luthier whose work is known worldwide. He was apprenticed to Richard Schnieder and followed his teacher to Gibson guitars where he worked in the Research and Design department. After Gibson he was a custom builder and had begun manufacturing just a couple of years before I arrived. I started out binding pickguards and fretboards and within a about a month was brought into setup. I had very little experience (my previous job was delivering pizzas and pretending to go to college) and questioned Abe’s decision to put me into the pressure cooker. For months and months Abe taught me setup. I received guitars that had been buffed (I eventually became the buffer as well) and then took them through completion including neck fitting and fretting. I also handled most of the repair work. For the next three years I more or less ran the department. Sometimes I was the only one in setup, and other times there was help, the likes of Karl Freye (Great Lakes Guitar Co.) and the artist Paul Nerhig. This time was an incredible growth process. Abe took a shaky 19 year old and taught me how to calm my hands and mind and apply critical thinking skills to the work in front of me, as well as to the abstract. I left Wechter in 2001 to expose myself to more stringed instruments beyond the acoustic flattop. I started doing the repair work for Marshall Music of Portage and would continue to do so for the next four years. When I started, I had never even installed a pickup before. I was very green to repair and learned from the advise of John Riemer and from the constant reading of repair books. Working on so many types of stringed instruments really opened up my mind to the possibilities of different types of construction and modifications. I must point out now the great importance I place on repair work as it pertains to guitar building. I think about guitarmaking from two points of view. A) taking an idea and developing it from the ground up and also B) seeing a problem and figuring out a way to side step it without compromising the instrument, almost as if working backwards. Building an instrument is one thing. But that same instrument will move or “settle” over time. Chances are it will also need to be serviced due to neglect or a player’s various preferences. Doing repair work makes you (painfully) aware of general problems with guitars and made me think hard on how to avoid and improve on them. While continuing to repair for Marshall’s, I took a position at Heritage Guitars in 2002 and stayed for about a year. Heritage is old school guitarmaking. The only thing fancy about that place is the guitars. Heritage is on the opposite end of the spectrum as say Taylor or PRS with much of the work being CNCed. The machines were simple, the tools were basic, and the work was beautiful. Most guys’ arm muscles got bigger working there. I was doing final sandout/QC, rim assembly, pressing laminate plates, and some more setup work. I absorbed everything I could and eventually left to open my own shop. I started renting out shop space in June of 2003 and getting it set up for a retail/repair facility. I was at the same time continuing to repair for Marshall’s (2-3 repairs a day) and work full time at Heritage. I was a busy guy. I opened Driftwood in October after leaving Heritage, and continued to repair for Marshall’s thru April of 2005. Customers came quickly after the first few months of nothing ( I couldn’t afford to advertise besides the occasional flier). Everything I earned went right back into the shop. When I opened my power tools included: a hand drill, belt sander, $50 drill press and a $90 bandsaw (that i didn’t really use because it didn’t cut straight), and a dremel. My hand tool arsenal was barely adequate. The retail was to be a means to aquire more tools, books of study, and wood to practice on. I was completely committed to my little shop and thought about little else. I started to dream. It wasn’t until at Driftwood that I started to make necks and truely begin to build. The past seven years had been preparation. My hand skills were well developed, my knowledge was thorough, and the ideas started to come. And finally I had the tools and time to begin. Nobody has ever showed me how to build an entire guitar. I learned bits and pieces from various sources along the way, and eventually I knew start to finish, and many different ways to get there. And now, my aim is simply to build visual and structural works of art that sound and play fantastic, and are unlike anything else. These guitars are not made from kits or preshaped parts. Virtually every non metal/plastic piece of my guitars is produced and shaped from board lumber in my Kalamazoo shop by hand.