pre-show lights at a packed atlanta theater, march '09

visualizing your instrument's glorious future

clamping the crack

I’m Brian Watson, and welcome to Sick String. I focus on guitar repair and improvements of all kinds at Portland Custom Shop, and travel as guitar/backline tech for Modest Mouse. Growing up, as I became more serious about music, I also grew more serious about caring for and setting up my own instruments. In 2001 I attended the Galloup School of Lutherie and began doing setups and basic repairs from home. After several years of working for free on every instrument I could get my hands on, I found myself living in Portland and doing guitar repair out of Old Town Music. During my time at Old Town I had the opportunity to work on an extremely diverse range of modern and vintage instruments. After working on a number of instruments for Isaac Brock and Johnny Marr during the writing and recording of “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,” I accepted an invitation to tour with the band as backline tech (check out the Portland Custom Shop Myspace page for touring tech blogs and photos). Since 2007 I have been working with Bryan Sours, starting at the original Soursound location in Chinatown. In 2008 we moved into the current Portland Custom Shop location and had the opportunity to begin building up a woodshop and expanding the repairs offered to become a full-service repair shop.

60's batwing Epiphones and a Soursound

I feel extremely lucky to be doing something I truly love, on my own terms. Working in my own shop means that I have the freedom to spend the time I want to on every instrument. One feature that sets Sick String apart from higher-volume repair shops is that I challenge myself to make every instrument I work on play as well as it can. This means that I’m not satisfied with just doing the minimal amount necessary for a given job, and getting the guitar out the door so I can bill someone for the next project. If you bring a guitar in for a setup, it’s very common for me to replace missing hardware, spend time doing extra cleaning and tweaking, trying out different settings, and actually play-testing each instrument on time you’re not paying for. If you tell me to just change your strings, it’s not rare for me to throw in an intonation adjustment for free, if I feel the guitar needs it. I respect every instrument as a musical extension of the player, not just expensive and collectible “fine” instruments. My job is not just to “fix what’s broken;” it’s to facilitate music-making. Great music is the end goal, and I want each instrument to help its owners make the best music they can. By giving well-adjusted and great sounding instruments back to the world I can contribute to making the creative process a little more effortless, a little more inspired, and I really believe that makes our community a better place.

In all I believe Sick String offers the best value in guitar repair available because of the added intangibles. While my advertised rate is $40 an hour, it’s much more likely that 2-3 hours of work goes into each billed hour of labor. I always have time to talk with each player about their needs and interests. I’m more than happy to sit down and experiment with different pot and cap values, discuss pickups, amp settings, pedals, and do some critical listening. Devoting an attentive ear to not only each guitar and amp that I come across, but also each cable, component, and accessory, is a part of my job I take seriously. By comparing a range of instruments and focusing on the details in settings like pickup, bridge, and nut height, saddle materials, speakers, and string attack, I can help voice your instrument to perform in the way you want, or even in a way you didn’t imagine it could.

Loading in at Madison Square Garden

My experience touring, working and playing on stages world-wide, from huge festivals to packed sweaty clubs and private parties, has given me an invaluable perspective on the real-life rigors your instruments go through at shows and on the road. There are many great guitar techs and luthiers in Portland, but few who have seen firsthand the impact of sweat, humidity, elevation, room changes and more, over the course of a show or tour. Most guitars behave quite nicely in a controlled shop environment, but I pride myself on being able to find solutions to nagging, weird problems, like sound that suddenly gets muddy and dark toward the end of a hot and steamy set, crackling and cutting out when you know your jack and cable are both good, imbalanced sound when changing between guitars on a single amp, annoying feedback, and other intermittent issues.

I specialize in impeccable setups, but crucial to that equation are excellent nuts, saddles, frets, and wiring. I’ve worked on, played, and listened to most of the guitars, electronics, and accessories that are on the market. I’m also more than happy to help with cracks, breaks, chips, replacements, and tonal upgrades of all kinds. Bring your guitar in today, or drop me an email or phone call to discuss your instrument, and let me help you get the most out of your situation so that you can be as creative and expressive as you know you’re capable of!

Looking forward to working with you,

Brian