About
Arthur Gentry and why he became a Luthier
My
decision to build guitars and fine instruments has been, as they
say, "a long and winding road", and draws on a lifetime of skills
learned both as a "country" musician and as a craftsman in the
building trades.
Way back in 1945, I learned how to play guitar from a fellow veteran in a
Naval Hospital in Shoemaker, California. By 1947 I had started a
"hillbilly mountain music" band, and we played bars, clubs and
"honky tonks" all over Illinois and Missouri in the 40's and 50's.
Back in St. Louis I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play during
breaks for legendary country artists like Hank Snow and Carl Smith.
Even then, in the back of my mind, I always thought that making an
instrument that musicians would be proud to play would be a real
accomplishment and a true honor.
When I retired from both my careers as a band leader and stone
mason, I finally decided to combine my love of music, my crafting skills, and
my long-held dream of building fine guitars. I joined the Guild of Luthiers
and applied myself to developing a standard of quality that would make
musicians proud to own and play an A.L. Gentry instrument.
Partly through associations and knowledge gained from other Luthiers --
and also partly through experimentation -- I learned
many of the "finer points" of the art, and also hand-built much of
the apparatus that I use in my workshop today.
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