Guitar guy: The pull of fixing guitars keeps Barry Martin motivated, happy
EL PASO — Barry Martin has a passion like no other. Martin, 55, said he has had the bug since the seventh grade. He is driven by his craft, and obsesses over it.
Broken string instruments get his blood pumping. Show him one, and he can fix it.
“My father made guitars when my brother and I were little,” Martin said. “By the time I was 14, I was already working professionally but before that I wasn’t really interested. Not until I noticed that the girls would look at you if you played guitar. Then my life changed forever.”
When Martin was 18 he was able to apprentice with local guitar restoration artist Rich Wright, where he gained most of his skills and the key to his future. Wright passed away a year later, leaving Martin with the opportunity to keep his business alive.
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