Repair and Restoration

Our History

Our Repair Service dates back to 1967, when Dan Erlewine founded the The Guitar Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan was not only the local repair person, he built guitars for prominent players such as Albert King, Jerry Garcia, and Otis Rush to name a few.

Dan and his brother, Michael Erlewine, also founded the roots-blues band, “The Prime Movers”, that featured many great players, including James Osterburg (aka Iggy Pop) on drums.

Dan and Bryan

Dan moved to Big Rapids and eventually met Bryan, who accepted a position with Dan that lasted until 1986. Once Dan moved on to Stewart MacDonald, Bryan became the owner and continued offering quality repairs specializing in Gibson, Martin and Fender guitar restorations.

Bryan’s Work

Bryan changed the shop’s name to Galloup Guitars in 1986, and today Bryan is known as a leading expert in fretted instrument repair and restoration. His work has been well documented, and that has earned him an international reputation as a public speaker, lecturing on the history and advancements of Lutherie. He’s contributed extensively to major publications and currently is one of the co-columnists for Premier Guitar Magazine’s Acoustic Soundboard.

Andy Kirby

The Galloup repair and restoration department is currently co-managed by seasoned veteran and Galloup School Graduate, Andy Kirby, who ran his own successful repair business for years. Andy understands what players want, in part because he is a multi-instrumentalist who is an active and touring musician himself. This gives him insights that can be overlooked by other technicians. Andy and Bryan work side-by-side to ensure that Galloup customers get the quality service they have come to expect. In the school, Andy teaches multiple repair lectures to the Journeyman students, as well as short-term and enrichment classes.

ACOUSTIC REPAIR

Over the past thirty years, Bryan has performed every acoustic guitar repair possible (and some impossible)! For some of the toughest cases, Bryan developed new techniques and tools which have since become widely-used throughout the industry. From neck re-sets to damaged sound boards, Bryan’s bench has seen it all.

ELECTRIC REPAIR

Bryan has long been considered the first-choice repairman to restore damaged vintage electric guitars. Whether it’s repairing a broken peghead or precision setup, Galloup Guitars meets only the highest standards. Bass players will be glad to hear that Bryan has been a bassist for 40 years. He truly understands this instrument’s unique issues and can make your bass play and sound right.

FRET WORK

In the early 80’s, Bryan and Dan developed many new tools and techniques for fretting new and used instruments. One such tool, “The Fret Jig”, adjusts to the angle at which the player holds the instrument. Now, Bryan could accurately predict relief in the “playing option”, making for a better-feeling and playing guitar. This tool and others have now become industry standards for luthiers around the world and can be found in almost every repair or building facility.

REFINISHING

Reproducing vintage-style finishes for restoring priceless instruments became one of Bryan’s main projects. But it wasn’t just a matter of getting the color right, it also included aging the finish to look correct for its era. Bryan was one of the pioneers developing methods for setting the patina on refinished instruments to bring them back to their original appearance.

INSTRUMENT REFURBISHING

Instrument restorations are much different from your general maintenance and repair issues. The techniques used typically require decades of experience to bring an instrument back to working condition.

When Bryan takes on a restoration job, it’s generally a major project on a priceless family heirloom or an irreplaceable piece of vintage guitar history. He generally takes on two or three projects a year. To inquire about your instrument, give Bryan a call.

(And yes, this guitar was restored to full playing condition!)