Best Guitar Luthiers in Kerala

If you’re on the lookout for the best luthiers in Kerala that specialize in guitars, you’ve come to the right place.

As a guitarist that’s been playing for more than a decade, I was pretty heartbroken when my brand new Rs 30,000/- guitar had problems. It was a very strange issue. The strings would buzz above the 15th fret.

Sadly, Googling it didn’t get me any good results. So here I am writing this article for others who might need help. I’ve personally visited some of these luthiers and have a first-hand experience of their service. Let’s not wait any longer.

Stelsie (Kochi)

Stelsie is pretty famous among the guitar community in Kerala. You probably have even seen his guitar shop near Ernakulam North Railway Station. Stelsie has been selling guitars for many, many years now. It’s hard to find someone more knowledgeable about fixing minor to moderate issues on the guitar.

Pros:

• Easily accessible.
• Minor and moderate guitar issues will get fixed. I am unsure if he does wood repair.
• Very affordable service charge.

Cons:

• None that I can think of. I highly recommend Stelsie!

Music Amor (Calicut)

Before visiting Stelsie, I had visited Music Amor. It’s a pretty decent instrument shop in Calicut. I think they’re run by the same people who own Basil Industries in Kochi.

I do not recommend this place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice shop and the people there are pleasant, except for the guitar technician there. When I bought my guitar, he was arrogant and was unsure if he could even fix it. He even called my guitar cheap and said that they had a cheaper guitar that was better than mine.

Even though I left my guitar there to be fixed, they didn’t even start working on it when I called to enquire about it the next day. I asked them not to do anything and I quickly went and took my guitar back.

Pros:

• A good place to buy instruments.

Cons:

• Arrogant, inexperienced guitar luthier/technician.

Vivian Varghese (Trivandrum)

I have not visited Vivian for guitar repairs, but I’ve met him elsewhere. I’m mainly going to talk about my friend’s experience with Vivian.

Vivian is probably the most famous luthier in Kerala, trusted by legends such as Rex Vijayan. He is really talented at woodwork, electronics, refretting, and so much more.

I’m not sure if he’s still available for work, since I’ve tried reaching out to him and I’ve not received a reply till now.

Also when my friend gave Vivian his guitar for some basic set-up, it took Vivian weeks to get the job done. It was a small job that could probably be done within a day or 2, but my friend had to keep on calling and enquiring. He even visited Vivian many times to leave empty-handed as he hadn’t finished the work.

Pros:

• Is good at working with wood, and has the skills and equipment to get the job done.

Cons:

• It might take a long time for you to get your guitar back.

So there you have it. These are some guitar luthiers in Kerala. I highly suggest you visit Stelsie or Vivian to get your guitar issues repaired. I shall update this article with more luthiers if I come across them. Until then, get busy practising!