Maxwell Sipe writes:
My journey into lutherie is a natural one.
As a kid I was always drawing and making model planes and cars. Simultaneously, I was involved in music. I had piano lessons starting in the 1st grade and I played music all the way thru college.
I graduated with a BA in music from the University of Portland and studied classical guitar with Jeffrey Ashton and Scott Kritzer as well as attending numerous master classes. While teaching music and performing after graduation, I was always preoccupied with other projects: building furniture, painting cars, fiberglassing, etc... which led to me to try my hand at lutherie.
It was a good feeling to be able to connect two of my passions - music and a hands-on construction project. I made my first guitar in 2005 and I've been hooked ever since. I am mostly self taught, but I am also lucky to live in a place where I am surrounded by gifted luthiers with whom I can learn and share.
Doing repair work is a wonderful way to study the craft.
I worked for about 6 years in Kerry Char’s workshop repairing instruments and helping him with his custom builds. It was a great learning experience and helped me raise the bar to what I wanted to do with my own building. Being able to study instruments from the Baroque to the present is invaluable in shaping ones perspective. Also, the work itself; things like completing hundreds of re-frets and neck resets build an invaluable skill set.