Meet Barrett Culpepper of Southeast Guitar Repair in Gwinnett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Barrett Culpepper.

Barrett, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started playing drums & and guitar at about 10 years old. By 14 I was booking shows at The Somber Reptile & other spots around Atlanta. All of us kids always had weak instruments with no money to put into getting them playing right, I kind of had a knack for fixing up our instruments but never thought much about it. For years, I played with a bunch of bands around town. But playing original songs every weekend just wasn’t paying the bills. I was happiest when I had my hands in music. But I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career. Once I graduated high school I was just cooking for restaurants & playing music. It wasn’t until I found out what a luthier was that I decided to go to school to learn the craft. Being able to combine my wood working skills & still be in the music scene was the perfect combination. Once I graduated Luthier school I apprenticed at Southeast Guitar Repair under the famous Mike Marshall. He taught me everything he knew. We had a bond like no other. Mikey turned down many offers over the years but when it came time for him to retire he wanted to sell the shop to me. It’s my 5th year owning the shop and my 12th year here. We outgrew the original location soon after I took over. When we decided to move the shop, we questioned the decision of moving it further north of Atlanta, but year after year we saw more people driving from different states & even shipping instruments to us. It became clear that musicians were not looking for the nearest luthier, but instead the best & they didn’t mind driving to us no matter if we were 15 minutes further or several hours.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Owning a business is never a smooth road, there are long hours and at the end of the day you get paid last. But being a luthier is one of the coolest jobs out there. Since this is a dying trade, the hardest part about the business is finding capable luthiers to join the shop.

Please tell us about Southeast Guitar Repair.
I am the master luthier and owner of Southeast Guitar Repair. We build and repair fretted & stringed instruments. We do minor repairs like setups to make your guitar play easier, all the way up to full restorations like reviving a guitar that set in Hurricane Katrina waters for weeks. We are known for being the best luthiers in the Southeast. We are proud of over 20 years of business and proud of our customer base. We have high profile musicians as our clientele as well as new players just starting out and each person gets the same attention. Our whole team of luthiers are incredibly talented. They are all active musicians & artists. Our shop staff has so much personality & talent, every day at work is a blast. We are working on filming a pilot for a sitcom based on the shop & its colorful characters.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to do anything over while in luthier school, I would have built myself more personal instruments. Since we are such a busy shop, my time for building is less than I would like. I have a wait list for my original guitar builds for sale. I would prefer to be able to supply my builds sooner than my current turnaround time. So, If I change anything, it would be more building time for me.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1651 Horizon Pkwy
  Suite 100
  Buford, GA 30518
• Website: www.atantaguitarrepair.com
• Phone: 770-504-6383
• Email: guitarrepair1455@att.net
• Instagram: southeastguitarrepair
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/southeastguitarrepair
• Yelp: Southeast Guitar Repair