MH: Currently tell us about your facility and how many employees are on the
Baker staff?
GB: There are 12 full-time people including myself and we have the shop broken into 6 basic departments, necks, bodies, paint, buff, assembly and the office. We have roughly 2 people per department to help keep each area running smooth while cross training and promoting employees from within. Bryan Eskew is the foreman of the woodshop and oversees all construction, Gil Vasquez heads up as VP of Operations, purchasing, warranties, and oversees the entire shop as well as the lead assembler. Shaun Nix heads up the paint department, Jennifer Beck handles all office management, Forrest Williams takes care of the web site, marketing, graphics, artist relations and sales. Where I basically oversee everything and help organize, trouble shoot any department problems, drafting, CNC programming, training, research and development, model prototyping, sales, artist relations, clinics and customer feedback question/answer support.

MH: MH How many models are you currently producing and briefly describe?
GB: • BJ Series - Flat top models which vary from the solid to hollow body construction.
• BJ (J-Junior) Solid Mahogany Neck and Body
• BJ Unbound - Solid Body that features a 4A Maple Top and natural wood binding.
• BJC (C-Chambered) heavily hollowed body with a center tone T bar. (feather weight)
• BJH (H-Hollow) features the added sound hole to the open its voice for a honky, bluesier, jazz vibe. (Feather weight)
• B1 Series (1-carve top) Carve top models, which vary from the solid to hollow body construction.
• B1 Unbound -Solid Body which features a 4A Carved Maple Top and natural wood binding.
• B1-Solid Mahogany Neck and Body, 4A Carved Maple Top, neck and body fully bound in creme.
• B1 Custom - Solid Body, maple neck, carved one piece plain grain Maple top, Ebony fretboard, multiple bound body, neck and headstock.
• B1C (C-Chambered) heavily hollowed body with a center tone bar, 4A carved maple top also carved from the underside, neck and body fully bound in creme. (Feather weight)
• B1H (H-Hollow) features the added sound hole to the open its voice for a bluesier jazz vibe. 4A carved maple top also carved from the underside, neck and body fully bound in creme. (Feather weight)
• Super B Series or superb as we like to call them - Carved Mahogany back 4A carved Maple top also carved from the underside, neck and body fully bound in creme, available in 3 hollow variations available with or without sound holes.
• Super B-T - Center T bar for a tighter attack and better feedback control, neck and body fully bound.
• Super B-CB - Center Block under bridge only, pickups floating, much more of a blues to jazz instrument, neck and body fully bound.
• Jazz Cat - Carved Spruce Top, Cedar body, fully hollow, two sound holes, fully bound, with a trapeze tailpiece, neck P90 and a RMC piezo/acoustic bridge.

MH: Any special manufacturing techniques that you feel are exclusive in the building of your guitars?
GB: While at Fender we messed around with various truss rods to accommodate the extreme amount of underbow Robben Ford likes in his setup. Most stock guitars by other companies cannot achieve .040 to .060 amount of truss rod relief and usually lay flatter for most standard setup specs. The easiest way to achieve this is to use a double expanding truss rod. What we found in our research is a double acting truss rod needs nothing to do its job and will work outside of a neck. Once installed into a neck they create little tension and basically move the neck one way or another. We refer to necks with a double expanding rod as 'Hot Dog Buns' because when you tone tap them they are dead and lifeless. We spent years in the evolution of our current rod geometry. All vintage Gibson and Fender rods are based upon what we call a 'Compression rod', when tightening or loosening the rod you can hear a change in note pitch and the neck moves based on the arc it is mounted into. This type of rod is our favorite for the tones they produce while incorporating a few of our own improvements.

MH: How many guitars are produced in the Baker Factory on a monthly basis?
GB: 1993 to 98 - 32
1999 - 36
2000 - 110
2001 - 312
2002 - Shoot the moon!
Currently we are averaging 32 to 40 depending on the complexity and dollar value of the month's schedule.

MH: What do you attribute the success of Baker Guitars to over the past few years?
GB: Having dealers and customers that believe in the product we provide and make a lot of noise for us. Second being a proficient player means I know what makes a good guitar and I have dedicated my life to the evolution and refinement of the instrument. Also my partner Gil began with me as an apprentice but has always carried himself as an owner and is as sick and twisted as I am. With his time spent at Jackson Guitars and managing the wood mill at the Fender Custom Shop, he and I were eating and breathing guitar dust night and day and our train of thought became very in tune with each other. One person cannot create an empire it first takes a vision and then others to share this vision. The Internet has been our easiest way to keep people up to date through our website so they can almost step inside the shop and see what were up to.

Other than that we pride ourselves in the fact that our endorsees play our guitars because they really dig them and not because they are paid or given all this free gear. We have also been able to attract players that I feel are killer players and not just what's hot for the moment. To name a few, Robben Ford, Ronnie Montrose, Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks, Tommy Skeoch (Tesla), Joe Cano (George Benson), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Dean Parks, Lauren Ellis, John Shanks (Chris Issak/Melissa Ethridge/Joe Cocker), Randy Jacobs (The Boneshakers), Kirk Fletcher (Fabulous Thunderbirds/Kim Wilson Band), Mark Slaughter, Lenny Kravitz, as well as country rockers Kenny Chesney guitarist Nick Hoffman and Toby Keith guitarists Johnnie Helms, Joey
Floyd and Rich Eckhardt. There is no one perfect guitar but it sure is nice when you can make an instrument that is capable of handling most anything you can throw at it.

MH: Baker Guitars are incredibly easy to play, any special "setup" techniques you feel attribute to your guitars?
GB: The key to a good setup is a well-leveled true fretboard and a good working truss rod. Coupled with a nice fret dress, no sharp edged fret ends and high polished frets. The radius must be smooth and consistent to match the bridge being used. Other than that a well-cut nut that's not too low or too high to allow those notes to ring and you got the 'bear necessities'.

MH: Any new models you will be unveiling at Summer NAMM?
GB: We will not officially display at Nashville NAMM although Gil and I are planning on making the trip to hook up with some of our dealers while playing tag with some of our Nashville artists. By 2003 we should be keeping a steady rotation of both winter and summer NAMM Shows.

TonePros, WD and Baker Guitars have hooked up to sponsor a Summer NAMM special event with 'Ronnie Montrose' and the 'Lauren Ellis Band' which will be a rocking night to remember with many special guests. Event Location & Time: Saturday July 20th, 2002, Douglass Corner, 2106 8th Ave. South, Nashville, TN (times subject to adjustment). Doors open at 6:30 PM and food served.

Currently we have a B1 'Joystick' tremolo model in early production stages. This has been something we have wanted to release for quite some time and it's been a matter of either manufacturing our own tremolo or finding a bridge available in the market place that I can believe in. There are so many pros and cons with every option that it can drive you nuts, but in the end we have settled on a bridge from 'The Point Technology'. This bridge features a special patent point fulcrum, which is situated directly under the intonation point of the bridge. What this improves is the tremolos travel distance range, also when you depress or raise the bar your string action doesn't change its height over the fretboard or pickups like most all other tremolos do. The model features Sperzel locking tuners and a reduced 12-degree headstock angle from our vintage 17-degree headstock to keep nut friction minimized. It's still a B1 at heart and will serve up a hefty serving of meat and potatoes, also available in BJ Models.

The first Baker Bass 5 is near ready to be released built for Brian Wheat of Tesla, no set name for the model yet. The model boasts a Wenge neck thru with Bubinga wings, 4A Maple bent top, 34" scale length, 24 frets, 2 active P style bridge pickups. Up and coming models, Single Cuts, 30" Baritone guitars, 12-string option, and a few new larger blues/jazz infused body shapes.

MH: How do you feel your guitars are unique in today's market place?
GB: We have always held a mentality that demands quality before quantity so we seek out people that share a similar goal and a true love for the instruments we create. We offer a wide variety of options from scale lengths to electronic layouts, fretwire selections, neck shapes, wood types, inlay patterns, pickup choices, various colors, Buzz Feiten Tuning System, TonePros System 2 Bridge and Stop Tailpiece. Back that up with the interaction of the customer being able to talk with the builder, answering all the detailed questions to deliver exactly what the customer expected. To date most customers have stated that we always exceed their expectations and our customer service is very personal and every customer is treated with the same respect we would give our best artist endorsee. Figure the quality, workmanship and tone have to be there or it won¹t justify the price, back that up with quality service and a competitive price and what more could one
ask for.

MH: Any special vision for Baker Guitars in the future?
GB: We are already planning our next expansion into a new facility scheduled for 2003 to allow us the room and space needed to do our jobs better, more efficiently, surrounded with a positive environment and the right tools to do our job the best we can. The new building will provide us the added space to take us up to the next level of production, the room for additional personnel and a healthy professional presentation. We are beginning to work with our local community to provide free lessons to kids age 8 to 16, and help sponsor some local concerts in our community youth centers as fund raisers to present opportunities to teens that our local schools haven't been able to provide as school budgets get crunched. It's all about the music, kids and passing it on.

MH: In your opinion, what is the best thing about Baker Guitars?
GB: The fact that we listen to the players and we're willing to step outside the norm of what most manufacturers would ever entertain in a custom guitar, without costing your kids their college tuition is a plus. How many 7-string guitars have you ever seen with the E to E having a vintage tremolo and the low A cemented with a hardtail bridge? If a customer has an idea that I believe is well thought out and makes good sense, I'm all for it, if it can be built within our current designs or is already in our future plans, so be it.

CNC machining is only about 10% of our operation and the rest is all handwork. CNC machining can be so precise with a good operator and programming that hand built guitars can't even come close in consistency and high tolerance details, it's a perfect marriage of man, machine and technology. Anyone who says that hand built is better than CNC machining either cannot afford machine technology or don't posses the knowledge to use technology at hand. The fretboard is the single most important factor and the truss rod action is a close second, a tight neck pocket fits a comfortable neck shape and deep neck tongues equal solid tone. Take this level of accuracy and bring in the fine temperament of the Buzz Feiten Tuning System and the rock solid stability of TonePros System 2 Bridge and Stop Tailpiece and intonation doesn't get any better.

MH: In closing Gene, any words of advice or lessons learned you would like to share?
GB: In Business: Buy quality machinery. Have a good attorney. Treat your employees well and give them the support needed to do their job with pride. Pay attention to technology but don't ignore vintage roots, Tone is King.
In Playing: Practice with a metronome and sing. Every player should learn all the basic maintenance required maintaining one's guitar. Always stay in a band and play live. Be yourself. Love every note. Play hard, life is short. Friends don't let friends play crap.

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