Meet our December 2024 Luthier

Meet Chris "Shorty" Cherryholmes Of Bakersfield California

1. How did you first get into guitar repair?                                                                                            I will be 72 years old at the end of this month. One of my lifelong dreams has been to build and repair guitars but that really wasn't in the cards for most of my life. I got married and started a family straight out of high school in1971 which meant I couldn't drop everything to try to get hired as a luthier apprentice and there really weren't any programs like we have today. I retired a little over a year ago and decided there is no time like the present so here I am. There is much more to the story but that's it in a nutshell.
2. What was the most challenging repair job you've ever worked on?                                      Probably the most challenging to date has been a neck break at the head stock. I have to say though that the advice I got from Barrett made it much easier than the way I was thinking about going about it. The job turned out good and the customer was very happy.
3. What’s the most rewarding part of your job?                                                                               The most rewarding part is to see an instrument come back to life that was thought could never be played again.
4. Which aspect of guitar repair do you enjoy the most?                                                                    I enjoy all of it from the planning to the execution of the repair or build.
5. What are some common mistakes you see in guitars brought in for repair?                           The most common mistake is thinking that their guitar is ready to play at its best right off the shelf.
6. How do you keep up with new techniques and tools in the guitar repair industry?                     I do have several books but to be honest I don't read much. I do watch Youtube videos now and then and I have been to the NAMM show several times but fortunately I am a member of the Southeast Guitar Repair Academy which is where I get most of my advice and information.
7. What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a guitar tech?                       You won't get there by reading books or watching Youtube videos. If you are really serious about becoming a guitar tech, invest the money to get some proper training. There are some brick and mortar schools out there, I'm not sure of the cost because that was not an option for me. There are also some video courses you can purchase, I have purchased a few, but most are very limited on what they cover. For my money SGRA covers it all.
8. What trends or innovations are you seeing in guitar technology?                                              I'm not really a trend following kind of guy. I suppose I'm a bit old school when it comes to most things including guitars. I guess what some builders are doing with bolt-on necks for the acoustic guitars with shims and adjustment screws is pretty cool.
9. Can you tell us about a repair project that really tested your skills?                                             I guess I would go back to question number 2 on this one.
10. How do you work with musicians to understand their needs and deliver the best results?      Talk with them, watch them play and ask questions.
11. What’s one piece of gear you can’t live without in your workshop?                                           As you'll see with my shop photos I have a lot of gear. A lot of it is from the cabinet shop I used to have but I also have a lot of specialized tools. It's not easy to pick one I can do without.      
12. How has your career as a guitar tech influenced your own playing, if you play guitar?            I'm a blues guy, holding these different guitars, feeling how the action is or how the neck feels, hearing the sound each one makes inspires me to want to play more and get my chops up.
13. What’s next for you in your career as a guitar tech?                                                                       I am also a builder and I am working on my own designs.