Strength In Numbers

Some of the worlds finest Luthiers have passed through Bryan’s doors, together they have challenge the boundaries of guitar making and changed the course of Lutherie. Aside form Bryan’s personal projects that seemingly have no end, each Luthier is required to actively build and promote their personal line of guitars.

The Mission

In the fall of 2018 Jamie Gale called and said he was curating an event themed “functional art” at Walt Grace Vintage during the prestigious Art Basel Festival in Miami. After thinking about it for a day, Bryan called back and decided to throw his hat into the mix of Luthiers being considered and Jamie accepted. Bryan informed the team of what he had committed to and after an intense week of deliberation, the team decided to not back down and got to work.

Bryan set up the basic concept of Art Deco paying homage to Miami’s Art Deco district which also fit ideally into the Deco Nouveau designs of Bryan instruments. Then, Bryan thought it would be interesting if a custom stand was made to flow with the guitar’s design, a stand that would display the instrument at the same time.

One thing that popped into Bryan’s mind was the Frank Lloyd Wright high backed prairie style chair. This would be ideal to not only double as a stand but as a place to sit and play the guitar. Then, as the team was talking Bryan said, “wouldn’t it be cool if we put a bottle of scotch and a glass under the seat?”. About there is where it spiraled out of control.

What the Galloup Studios produced was a masterpiece of functional art that not only matched the makers style, but produced furniture which incorporated Frank Lloyd Wright design from the finish right down to the webbing in the seat.

Then, the team said, “wouldn’t it be cool if the storage compartment under the seat for that bottle of scotch turned into a well hidden sliding door compartment complete with a private label bottle of Napa’s best, two glasses, a decanter and a corkscrew?”

The rest is history……….

Functional Art

Bryan introduced Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology to his shop not to improve production, but to explore the possibilities the technology could offer with the development of tone wood testing, art, guitar design and arched plate evaluation.

What the team zoned in on was the artistic possibilities the CNC had to offer. At first the attempts were basic designs like rosettes and back stripes but it quickly moved into more advanced projects that can be seen in works like “Sound and Science”.

Recently the team has shifted into another gear with the next installment of CNC generated art that can be seen on “The Lilly” and “The Hibiscus” guitars made by Robbins Acoustics. These are another level of artistic expression made possible by technology. From the tip of the peg head to the bottom of the back stripe this is a unique expression formed between the efforts of the artist, the technician and the team.

Deco Nouveau

Art Deco, Frank Lloyd Wright and 1930’s guitars all seem to go together in Bryan’s mind. The artistic expression of this time period is so unique, it has withstood the test of time. Somewhere in the mix of all this is a style called Art Nouveau (new art) that refers to the total art style of everything from architecture to paintings. To this day it influences so much and musical instruments are no exception. Bryan’s spin on this is his Deco Nouveau (new deco). He has taken the ground work already laid, messed with it, tweaked and ultimately has developed his own take on the Deco style.

Bryan’s guitars for the most part are not highly embellished instruments. A standard spec Galloup build generally follows the Deco Nouveau movement but he changes each guitar so no two are alike. Others in the shop have been inspired by this flow and have in turn developed their own path and so on it goes…. We’ll let you know if this story ever ends.

Current Studio Contributors

Tyler Robbins

Tyler’s eye for design is as good as it gets and once you see a Robbin’s Acoustic, you’ll understand what that means. Tyler envisions design uniquely different and that ability, coupled with his talent to flawlessly execute a build from concept to completion makes him one of today’s most sought after young Luthiers.

Tom Dalia

Tom Dalia was a Galloup Master Class graduate in 2019. Upon graduation Tom applied for the position in Bryan’s CNC department and took over full operations in the winter of 2019. Within 6 months, Tom had the Galloup’s CNC department in full production not only producing the jigs and tools used in the Galloup School, but additionally all of the highly advanced designs and art coming from the Galloup Studio’s team.

To date, Tom has elevated the CNC departments production to include making his own line of Guitar and cutting jigs, fixtures and parts for some of the worlds most demanding Luthiers.

Past collaborations

Sam Guidry

Sam’s ability to understand the physical elements of guitar making gives him an edge not many Luthiers have achieved. If you talk to Sam, he feels he’s somewhere in the middle of his journey to unlocking the tone he hears in his head. But if you talk to others who have played a Sam Guidry Guitar they will tell you; Sam’s custom line of acoustic guitars are among the finest sounding instruments in modern Lutherie.

Zack Balwinski

Zack has become one of the worlds finest arch top guitar makers. His use of texture and design are unique that include a vintage flair and hand-rubbed sunburst finish reminiscent of iconic instruments from the 1920’s. Zack level of execution and commitment to follow through are so intense he generally becomes the team leader for the studio’s larger projects.

Sound and Science

“Sound and Science” was made for the 2014 Grand Rapids Michigan ArtPrize celebration. The team’s original idea was to produce something that was pure Michigan by coupling the skills of our Luthiers with the shop’s technology and innovation. The Galloup Sound Profiling Software would be used to analyze the tone woods, the CNC would cut the guitar to the exact specifications for tone, response and appearance as determined by the software, then it would all be skillfully crafted by the team.

It was going to be a simple guitar with a few inlays but as all things associated with the Galloup Studios have a tendency to do, it spiraled out of control from there. The outcome was a guitar (of course) made from Michigan maple, that was a replica of the arch top guitars made in Kalamazoo Michigan, with some of Grand Rapids most famous icons inlaid into the peg head and fret board. It also included a beautiful custom made display case built “in-house” as well.

The whole project is a real testament to man and machine but the best part of the story? Utilizing the Galloup Sound Profiling Software to tune and pitch the top and back was so successful it opened up an entirely new approach to guitar building. The science of sound is a story of innovation that continues to evolve at Galloup Guitars today.