Hello! My name is Gary Baker, and I come from the beautiful state of Oklahoma. In many ways, I am your regular middle-aged guy. I love sports, cars and having a beer with my friends on the weekends.
What is more, I have a loving and caring family that I would do anything for. However, I have a passion that not many around me share: I am an electric guitar nut! Trust me, and when it comes to the vast and wonderful world of guitars, I’m the guy you want to talk to.
Do not get me wrong: I love my job as an Operations Manager for a well-known and successful manufacturing company. However, my real passion is music. More specifically, I am a lover of guitars.
Now, I can appreciate the sweet sound coming out of any guitar. When it comes down to it, though, it’s the sound made by an electric guitar that really gets me excited. As you can imagine, hard rock is my favorite type of music by far. There is just something about the raw and powerful sound of an electric guitar going at full volume that I can’t get over.
As a result of this passion, I spend most of my free time either playing, modifying, fixing, or looking at electric guitars. As a matter of fact, I have two different rock bands, and I play the part of the guitar technician for both of them. One of my bands plays hard, fast rock, and heavy metal.
Playing with those guys is perfect when I am looking to release some tension and get some adrenaline going. The other band I play in focuses more on a softer, more classic rock and roll style. While this type of music is certainly not as intense, it does require a great deal of skill and practice. Moreover, it allows me to appreciate the subtler, more refined sounds that a good guitar can make.
Experience
As I already mentioned, my job consists of supervising and managing general operations for a large manufacturing company. Being in that line of work, I am all about performing quality control checks, overseeing manufacturing processes, and ensuring that every aspect of the work chain is functioning correctly.
Luckily, I have been able to apply many of these skills to my life as a guitar enthusiast. That has allowed me to gain a great deal of real-life experience in the world of guitars. Some of my notable achievements are the following:
- Played live in hard rock and heavy metal bands for over 10 years, including various cross-country tours and a multitude of concerts.
- Worked as an on-the-road guitar technician for many hard rocks and heavy metal bands. My job in those positions included maintaining, repairing, tuning, and testing all types of acoustic and electric guitars.
- I worked in a guitar shop for over 5 years. One of the most important tasks I was given was to test and evaluate all new guitar models that came into the store. I was also given the task of dealing with defective instruments. Often, I was required to fix them and return them to optimal conditions.