PROFILE
BEARD GUITARS: BUILDER PROFILE Bruce Adolph
Ask a bluegrass musician about their dream
resonator instrument and the answer is likely
to be, “Well, I’d really love to have a Beard!”
With world class players like Zac Brown, Jerry
Douglas, Vince Gill, Dean Parks, and Bob
Minner associated with the Beard brand, and
expansion into the roundneck market it is easy
to see why their artist page features players of
many genres.
Owner, Paul Beard first became fascinated
with resonator guitars at the age of 18 when
he started repairing stringed instruments.
Combining his love of music with his passion
for luthierie his musical career was launched
as a teacher, stringed instrument technician
and performer. As a road musician, Paul
became dissatisfied with the quality of available
resonator guitars and focused his skills on
design and construction of a next generation
instrument, a guitar that would take advantage
of new technologies and techniques while
honoring the tradition of the Dopyera family.
Equipped with degrees in Aviation mechanics
and Mechanical Engineering he designed
and built his own resonator which still hangs
at Beard Guitars shop along side his first
commissioned guitar.
Well known regionally as a luthier Paul was
asked to build a replacement guitar for a
friend, whose original resonator instrument
had been stolen. This first Beard guitar built
was delivered in 1985 and Beard Guitars was
launched. Quickly outgrowing his 100 square
foot basement shop, Paul moved his workshop
to a larger building on his property.
As the business grew the company relocated
to a 6000 square foot building in 2004 where
the Instruments are
handcrafted by skilled
luthiers as they have been for 30 years. Many
Beard enthusiasts make sure to plan to spend
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Nov Dec 2016
CollectibleGuitar.com