- Ed Beaver Guitars
- 750 Cowan Street, Nashville, TN 37207
- 1-615-714-5593
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- Photo by Thom Bresh
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| Ed
Beaver Guitars is an instrument repair shop
in Nashville, TN. The shop is located in Soundcheck Rehearsal Facility on
Cowan Street. I
build and repair guitars and other stringed
instruments with over 30 years
experience. Most of these are good. |
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This is an ongoing question for all generations of
philosophers and drunks. (Often the same person). In my case and for this
website let's stick with credentials:
- Graduate - Saint Michael's High School -
Santa Fe, NM (1966). This was a Christian Brothers boarding school and I was
enrolled as a boarding student. It was hoped that the Catholic disciplines
would straighten me out. It didn't, but it was fun trying.
- Musical entertainer for several years.
(Loathed by many, loved by more. Life is balance, isn't it?) The only regret
I have is not believing in myself more, Stuff happens. You live, you learn.
(http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/1977/08/01/Arts_and_Entertainment_KEEPING_UP.aspx)
- Attended Guitar Research and Design in South
Strafford, Vermont (1980) (https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Category.aspx?product=2&id=356)
Two major life's lessons came from this:
- It is only as complicated as you make
it.
- It is not going to come to you
overnight.
- Graduate - College of Santa Fe in Business
Administration/Concentration in Management (1997). This College went broke.
So have I. I learned something there.
- Married Margaret Farley. (1998) (Best and
luckiest thing I have ever done, no question.)
- Refresher course at Vermont instruments.
(2003) (http://www.vermontinstruments.com/)
- Opened a shop in Nashville in 2005 at
Soundcheck Rehearsal facility.
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- I would like to welcome Lance Acreman to the shop.
- Lance is an Auburn Graduate and has been in Nashville about a year.
- His work is meticulous and he has a good eye for repair and setups.
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- Appointments are available.
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- What is going on at
the Shop on Cowan Street?
- (Frequently asked questions I ask
myself daily)
Why did turnaround slow down so much?
In May of 2010, Nashville suffered a
major flood in which the shop was completely destroyed. Many guitars
were salvageable but in need of serious repair. I rebuilt the shop
and continued receiving and repairing instruments. I am a one man
shop so keeping current with the flow of instruments excluded me
getting into the repair of flood damaged guitars. There are also
projects which have been delayed. After a year, my loss of sleep and
customer's patience wearing thin contributed to the realization that
I have to concentrate more on flood guitars and past due projects
than the current flow. In the past few months, Lance Acreman, a very
talented Auburn, AL. repairman has taken over the shop daily flow
and I have been able to turn my attention to the backlog of
projects. Lance has done an incredible job of reorganizing the work
flow and helping as much as he can. This is a process, but it looks
promising. I apologize for not being more clear about this to many
of you who have instruments in the shop. Lance and I are on it and
things should be showing progress very soon.
Is the quality of the work what I have
come to expect?
Yes and no. I do the best I can, but I
always see room for improvement in all areas. The quality is as good
or better than it ever was, but I want it to be better. You have the
final say on whether it is or not. Shop policy is simple. It is only
good enough when you feel it is good enough. If you have issues, we
will work with you to resolve them. If you cannot be satisfied, then
you may consider another luthier. It does happen. However, as long
as you are willing to make it the very best, so will we.
Are my instruments safe at Soundcheck?
Soundcheck was part of a major flood
that damaged to many of the industry hallmarks in Nashville.. The
Country Music Hall of Fame, The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Gibson
and many others were effected. The community pulled together and
rebuilt the facilities as good or better than before. When I see the
hallmarks move, then I will question the Soundcheck facility. Until
then, I remind us all, this was considered a freak of nature (with
help from the Feds). I trust the location and hope you will as well.
I heard you were quitting the business.
Is that true?
If it means running this shop by
myself and competing poorly with other more commercial repair
facilities, probably. My strength lies in my relationships with
customers and their instruments. If I am losing that due to poor
organization, floods, economical factors, and my own mental chaos, I
will not do this anymore.
However, with the help of Lance
Acreman, if we can keep this shop true to its standards of customer
service and quality work, I will stay as long as I am capable of
performing the craft I love. I have the trust on honor to work with
many fine people including musicians, the staff at Soundcheck,
honorable manufacturers and, of course talented Luthiers and repair
people like Lance. These instruments become my babies and I will not
abandon them unless it just hurts to much to stay.
Are you still a Warranty
Center?
In all honesty, we are. We
are trusted and recommended by several of the manufacturers listed. We
perform many services for Gibson/Epiphone, Martin and Stonebridge
Guitars. We also perform services for the others if you require them. We
are honored to represent Kirk Sand Guitars although it is rare we have
to service them as Kirk handles most of his warranty work himself.
- How do I get in touch with your shop?
Please call 615-714-5593
(Nashville, TN).
We are located in Soundcheck at 750 Cowan
Street, Nashville, TN 37207
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- Thom Bresh made this video. It is what he saw
happening.
- I was reluctant to believe it, but found it
actually does happen a lot. Go figure.
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- Emily Hughes and Thom Bresh take a moment
from producing a documentary on her father, Lenny Breau, to discuss a mutual
friend. Me! These observations were unsolicited, but were
very kind words from two people whom I have grown to care for very much.
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- The
shop is honored to serve as a warranty station for
the following manufacturers.
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- How
to be the World's Greatest Guitar player
- a study
guide by Ed Beaver
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- Appointments are available.
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- A guy walks
into the shop. He looks concerned and asks, "How do I make
my guitar sound better?". Response?
........................Lessons. He didn't get it.
- A guy walks
into the shop and asks, "Do you install that new thing that
makes the guitar play in tune up and down the neck and.
Response? ................ "Did Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau or
Les Paul have it? No? When you are that good, come back and
ask again".
- Advice:
- In essence,
the final effort to make a guitar play well is in the
player. I have a customer whose response is to look for what
is wrong. He has issues. All the players whom I admire
usually look for the good and then we talk about tweaks.
Sometimes, a guitar actually acts like wood and steel with
equal tempered tuning. Perfection is in the heart first,
then the hands, not the instrument. If you want preciseness,
consider being an electronic keyboard player. If you really
want to be exact, consider playing alone a lot.
- These opinions and
philosophy are my own. It is my web page. I have a sense of
humor and this is how I express it.
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