Frequently Asked

Galloup Staff

Bryan Galloup is an industry leader in the preservation of vintage and contemporary fretted musical instruments. Galloup Guitars is a full-service guitar facility producing
Bryan’s line of fine stringed instruments and is also home to the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair. Bryan is recognized as an expert in guitar tone development whose innovations include his proprietary Computer Assisted Voicing™ approach. This opened the door for his Instrument Making System™ and Wood Management™, software which through its Sound Profiling™ approach is changing the way our industry views guitar acoustics and design.

Jean Howarth is more than our office manager, she is our all-around go-to person that keeps our system on track. When Susan Galloup passed in 2013, Jean stepped in to guide the Galloup team that along with handling all business, Jean is instrumental with helping students work through the enrollment process. With over 30 years of experience as a business owner, Jean has taken on the roll of teaching the Galloup School’s Business Classes.

Tyler Robbins is a Journeyman Program graduate who was immediately selected for our Student Graduate Session. During this time, Tyler proved to be a uniquely insightful craftsman with an eye for design and the hand skills to back it up. Tyler works directly with Bryan on the Galloup Guitar line and spearheads many of the interesting designs coming from the Galloup Shop and to date is well on his way to becoming a fine CAD designer and machine operator. Tyler is a prime contributor to our studio’s projects but of course we all know that Tyler’s line of Robbins Acoustics are some of the finest acoustics being made today.

Andy Kirby is a 2002 Galloup School graduate. After his attendance, he ran his own successful repair service for many years. Currently Andy is the head instructor in the school, who has taken the school to new heights including repair and restoration along with solidifying the GS-AG1 student build to be the best it has ever been. As a multi-instrumentalist, he has insights that could be overlooked by other technicians. In the school, Andy teaches the first term as well as short-term and pickup winding classes. Additionally, he is our Taylor Guitars specialist teaching the Taylor Silver and Silver Plus certification classes.

Cooper Wentz is a former Galloup student who completed our two year
student graduate session. Additionally, Cooper trained under many different departments including instrument voicing classes. Currently, Cooper is an Acoustic Instructor, teaching the Fingerstyle guitar, Advanced Fingerstyle and Nylon Crossover guitars. Furthermore, Cooper has worked with Bryan to transform our school incorporating many of the new techniques Bryan has been perfecting over the past decade of research and development.

William Bezard is a former Galloup Graduate whose expertise is in the field of electric guitar making and model development. After his Master Class Training, William was afforded the opportunity to work with Master Luthier Rick Tuner in Santa Cruz CA. Filling numinous roles including CAD design, CNC operations, production manager. Currently, William is head electric guitar instructor transforming our student electric guitar lessons as he continues to build his personal line of electric guitars.

Steven Anderson is a Galloup Masters Class graduate who after his session session was complete, Steven wanted to expand his efforts into arch top instruments and thin-line semi hollow body guitars. Steven was instrumental with developing our acoustic archtop hybrid and advancing our finishing options for our Master Class students. Currently Steven is continuing his work with our Master Class students and has started development of his personal line of guitars.

Adam Winarski graduated out Masters Class in the spring of 2020. He expressed a desire to learn CAD and CNC operations so he made the decision to expand his training in our studio’s department. This gave him the opportunity to practice CNC machine operations and work on his personal line of Danial Adam Guitars. Additionally, Adam has become a fine guitar repair technician and is the main operator in our PLEK department.

Aidan Bergstrom is a Galloup School graduate who excelled at in our Masters Program. Additionally he took advantage of our enrichment class that rounded out his training nicely. Currently Aiden is moving through our apprentice program and has become a fine all around Luthier. Furthermore, he is in the final stages of his guitar design learning to draw in CAD and operate our CNC operator. We expect great things from them.

Micah Nolstein is another Galloup graduate who was at the top of his class. After graduation, applied for our apprenticeship program and was accepted. Currently his responsibilities are working with the students and expanding his training as listed in his apprentice arraignment.

Chris Garcia met Bryan at the 2022 La Conner Guitar Festival and enrolled in the school a week later. After completing his Journeyman’s Class Chris applied for our apprenticeship program and was accepted. Currently his responsibilities are working with the students and expanding his training.

Class Choices

Even though our Masters Class is one of our most popular classes, one should not exclude our two and four month training options. They are incredibly strong training sessions that can be taken as stand alone classes or be taken one at a time earning your Masters Class certificate over a longer period of time. This puts the power of choice in your hands and helps to spread out the finances for those on a budget. But in any case, taking advantage of our enrichment classes is one of the strongest options we offer that should not be missed.

If you are on a budget or uncertain you want to make the full commitment, we always suggest you look at our two month Journeyman’s Class, this is a powerful class that will give you a solid foundation and you will get a good idea of what a day looks like in the Galloup

School housing

Our goal is to offer comfortable housing at a reasonable cost to students during the course of their training. Currently the Galloup School’s housing has grown into six houses that are maintained by our staff to ensure they meet our standards. Housing offers a private room, a full kitchen and no more than two students to one bath. A light cleaning is scheduled twice a month but it is up to the students to keep the housing up to Galloup standards. The thing to note about the Galloup School’s housing; this is a place for you to stay with only a maintenance service charge and a refundable damage deposit required. As a student, you will be spending your time with students from around the world who all have the same interest and goals as you do. Such housing is an ideal way to share your training experiences and make friendships and connections you will keep for the rest of your life.

The Guitars I Make

Every student guitar was designed as a tool to develop skills as a Luthier. It is our philosophy that the projects at the Gallop School are not so much about the actual instrument being made, but the students themselves and the ability for the student body to successfully absorb the curriculum. Our goal to set high standards as we align the guitars to progress. New standards are added as the students advance through the school’s curriculum. The guitars made in the Galloup School are the most current by design both physically and sonically. Even though the guitars you make will represent your progress as a student (quirks and all), the Galloup School’s staff is committed to guiding you through to completion to help you meet your goals as a student.

Big Rapids Mi

Big Rapids Michigan is iconic in the Lutherie world for its history of hosting some of Lutherie’s most prestigious events. Mostly due to the friendship between Dan Erlewine and Bryan Galloup, Big Rapids continues to be a destination for aspiring Luthiers. Its unique small-town atmosphere, with its many amenities- thanks to the local Ferris State University- makes it an ideal choice to focus on your training. Forty-five minutes to our south is Grand Rapids that is our closest major city which is rich with the arts, music, and shopping. To the north of Big Rapids is Traverse City, an area overflowing with natural beauty, world-class biking, hiking and vineyards, all on the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan

Galloup Guitars

10840 Northland Drive, Big Rapids Mi 49307

Links

bryan@galloupguitars.com

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