Michael Walker gently strums a century-old guitar in his workshop in the hills above Arcata. "What I'm noticing about this is… the word that would come to me would be ‘dry’. Using a vocabulary usually reserved for wine enthusiasts, he's laser-focused on the tone. "Each note speaks for itself. They're perfectly separate from one another. But at the same time, they complement each other and work together."
As a guitar builder and restorationist, Walker is a true believer in the craftmanship from guitar-making's golden era. As such, when a guitar from the late 1920s or early 1930s needs repair, he's the go-to person. Using vintage 'bar frets' on the neck is his specialty. "I'm one of two or three...in the world that does that system." It's complicated and labor-intensive, but his love of these priceless instruments is in full view. "I'm a firm believer that these are the best guitars that were ever made." While some of these instruments come from collections and guitar brokers, he finds satisfaction in keeping musical heirlooms playable.
In this episode, Walker tells Keith Flamer and Tom Jackson how a road trip opened his ears to the universe of guitar-building, what stories these instruments hold, and how he's made a living from such a small niche.
[To hear an extended version of this interview, click here.]
Transcript:
Tom Jackson:
Hi, I'm Tom Jackson, president of Cal Poly Humboldt, and I'm here again today with my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Keith Flamer, president of the College of the Redwoods. Do you smell something in this room?
Keith Flamer:
It's like resin…and wood.
Tom Jackson:
What do you see?
Keith Flamer:
Number one, this is the cleanest shop I've ever seen. Two, I see old guitars.
Tom Jackson:
We are in the workshop of Michael Walker: Good to see you, Michael.
Michael Walker:
Thank you. Nice to see you.
Tom Jackson:
So, what do you do? Let's start off there.
Michael Walker:
Right. My title is I'm a luthier. I am a guitar builder. I spend most of my time restoring old Martin guitars from the years mid-twenties to late thirties.
Tom Jackson:
What is it that makes these years special for you?
Michael Walker:
They consider that the golden era of acoustic guitar making. Around 1929, Martin started making what we might consider the modern guitar. They had outstanding craftsmen in that shop around that time, 1929 to 1934. They're using a system called bar frets to hold the neck together. They don't use that anymore. Now it's called T-frets, modern T-frets. The main difference there is a bar, for it is just a square piece of metal that gets filed down around it, much like a jeweler.
That changed in 1935. They put a metal bar in there. They changed the frets. And when they did that, the acoustics of the instrument changed a little bit. They were changes that were not focused on the sound and the tone of the instrument, but more of beefing up the guitars. I specialize in the bar fret system. I'm one of two or three...
Tom Jackson:
Maybe in the world.
Michael Walker:
Only a few In the world that does that system. I'm a firm believer that these are the best guitars that were ever made.
Keith Flamer:
When I walked in the door and I heard your accent from South Georgia… talk us about your journey.
Michael Walker:
I grew up in South Georgia on my grandfather's father's farm. My dad was a farmer and my dad was... frugal, would be the word. He built the house we lived in. He built all the furniture in the house. You know, and we cut the trees and we sawed the boards.
So I learned a lot about working with my hands. And I learned a lot about problem-solving. After high school, we left and went traveling through the country.
Keith Flamer:
Who's ‘we’? You and your father?
Michael Walker:
Actually, my wife. We went to high school together. Through all that traveling, this was a place that stood out to us. I went to C.R., went to Humboldt State. During that time, I took another trip with a friend of mine. It was kind of like a little musical journey, going to different camps to learn music at one of those camps in Colorado. They actually had a little luthier building shop. That's the first time I knew that such a thing existed, really.
Tom Jackson:
Earlier when we were chatting and you're giving us a tour of the workshop, you mentioned the name Gary Burnett.
Michael Walker:
It was during that same trip that we traveled around playing music. Gary is a vintage guitar dealer and he lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He said, 'Well, let me let you boys hear what a real guitar sounds like…'
Keith Flamer:
Great, great opening line. I love that.
Michael Walker:
So he goes down to his ‘vault’, I think is the word he used, and he comes back up. And at that point, playing the guitar, strumming through it, holding it... there's a certain tonal quality there, and I still remember it today. That sound that's in my brain and I really have been chasing that ever since.
Tom Jackson:
We're here in the workshop of Michael Walker, who repairs and replicates really unique guitars. There had to be that first moment when you said, I'm going to open up this guitar. And I think I can fix it. What was going through your head when you did that, and how did it turn out?
Keith Flamer:
Great question.
Michael Walker:
Well, yeah…[laughter]... The skill level did not just fall out of the sky for sure.
Tom Jackson:
I feel sorry for that guitar.
Keith Flamer:
Where do your guitars go? Companies, private collectors?
Michael Walker:
At this point I have a dealer that I work with. His name is Eric Schoenberg. He's a guitar designer. He's a guitar player. He's a guitar broker. So I have one client and that's him. I most definitely would not be where I'm at now without him.
Keith Flamer:
With these guitars, what would the story be that these guitars can tell us?
Michael Walker:
A lot of it, you know, are those classic examples of the barroom fight and the mic goes through the top. Those kind of things. But probably the better stories are "This is my grandmother's. It was new in 1935 and it was handed down." They have a lot of sentimental value. It's not all collectors, it's not all people that want to have a trophy on their wall of having the rarest thing. It's a family heirloom, and there's a lot of satisfaction in that.
Tom Jackson:
That's a good story.
Keith Flamer:
That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. What drives you? What is that tone that drives you to do this?
Michael Walker:
Okay, So this is 1929 OM-28. And on the bench beside it is a 1930 OM. And both of these guitars are in here for restoration purposes, but they do sound good.
Keith Flamer:
Okay, here we go!
Michael Walker:
[Strums guitar]
What I'm noticing about this is… the word that would come to me would be ‘dry’. There's not a whole lot of overtones to complicate the tone, to make the tone mushy. It would be ‘dry’. Using a vocabulary usually reserved for wine enthusiasts, he's laser-focused on the tone. "Each note speaks for itself. They're perfectly separate from one another. But at the same time, they complement each other and work together."
Keith Flamer:
Wow. That's cool. I could see why this drives you. I can see that.
Tom Jackson:
You were being taken to another place as you were describing.
Keith Flamer:
You were somewhere else. I wanted to be there, too. Thank you so very much.
Michael Walker:
You're welcome. Thank you.
