Interview with bass builder Mark Garza

See Mark Garza’s business listing here

Mark Garza is the owner and operator of Garz Guitars & Basses, specializing in handcrafted instruments using the best woods available. We chatted with Mark to get some insight on how he became to be a builder.

Could you describe what your business is?

The manufacturing of guitars, basses, acoustics and mandolins. I also do repair work on those instruments as well.

How long have you been building guitars?

Since I was 26 in 1986; that’s when I built my first guitar.

What did you do before guitar building?

Railroad conducting as a civilian employee for the US Army, although I did several different types of jobs when I was working for the Army.

What inspired you to build guitars?

I had already been playing for a while. I also owned several guitars that I didn’t feel were comfortable to play. While in a guitar shop one day I saw a book on how to build guitars, picked it up, read it and that’s where I started.

My first project came out pretty good, and after that I was hooked on building and have been doing it ever since.

Did you teach yourself how to build and repair instruments?

Yes. I bought more tutorial materials which included books and VCR videotapes. Since there was nobody in my area that was building or repairing guitars the way I wanted to, I had to learn it all myself.

Your signature bass guitar design has a very distinctive body style. Could you explain how you came up with the design?

It was a combination of styles I was exposed to over the years along with my own ideas. I went through several designs on paper before making the first one. Many of the other shapes I have come up with are by the same process, although now it’s true that customer input is also incorporated into the designs.

What are your favorite materials to work with?

For basses, I really like walnut for body wood. I’ve made several out of that and I really like the tone it brings. I also like alder and northern ash over swamp ash. Northern ash is heavier and more difficult to work with but I prefer the sound I get out of it.

What are your favorite specifications for a bass guitar?

My favorite specifications are anything functional that doesn’t take an overly extended amount of time to construct. For example, I like the 34-inch scale, straight-up electronics like the OBP-3 and Bartolini pickups (or Nordstrand). Sometimes I even wind my own pickups.

The best thing is when the customer knows what he wants. I don’t mind educating customers and walking them through the available options available as that is normally part of the process, but when the customer knows up front what he wants in a build, or at least has a very good idea, that makes things go along a lot better both for the customer and myself.

Do you have favorite brands of certain electronics?

I like the Hipshot bridges as they sound good and are good to work with. For pickups I’ve been using Bartolinis for years but as I said I’ve also started using Nordstrand as well. For preamps I usually stick to Aguilar.

What is the biggest/largest build or repair project you’ve ever had?

I built a 9-string jazz guitar for a customer, full hollow-body with carved top and back and all-wood binding everywhere (headstock, fingerboard, etc.); that took me the longest to make. It ended up being really good.

Which bass player would you most like to build for?

As long as the customer can appreciate a luthier’s time he puts into a build, that’s the player I prefer to build for. And if the customer regularly plays and enjoys the instrument I build for him, so much the better.

Have you ever had to turn down a request for a custom build or repair job for one reason or another?

I haven’t had to yet.

What are some of your basses aside from what you’ve built?

I like Ritter Designs because they’re different.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned over the years of building and repairing guitars?

Stay focused on the instrument you’re building and do the best job you can with what you’re given. I personally find fretwork to be paramount to a proper build, as I’ve seen many custom builds by others where everything was great except the frets.
Many customers are most impressed by “the little things” with a custom build, and that means everything on a custom build must be done right the first time, both for the big stuff and the small stuff. Miss anything, and the customer will notice. Always.

What would you say is the biggest improvement in guitar technology compared to 10 years ago?

Electronics. Preamps in particular seem to be getting much better.

What’s your #1 tool that you use?

My favorite tool is my thickness sander. It saves me a lot of time and effort having that compared to before when I didn’t.

What’s your favorite grit of sandpaper?

On oil finishes, 600. On lacquer finishes, 320.

The last grit however is always my favorite one.

What advice would you give to other builders looking to get into the business?

Being there are so many more builders now, it would be wise to get an apprenticeship as there will probably be a luthier nearby who could train you. It’s possible to learn a whole lot faster now compared to the way I did it.