Our History
I’m Chris Sisson, the owner of Restoration Guitar. This is my life’s work and I feel very fortunate to be able to do it. I have been making stringed instruments since the age of fifteen and had my own repair shop in the Big Four building on Third St. in Cincinnati in the mid 1980’s where I built custom guitars and basses, did repairs for direct customers as well as area music stores. I took a long break from full time luthiery to raise a family and work as a software developer but never stopped working on guitars, building them for my sons as well as myself and restoring instruments as an online business.
Tooling
It’s taken a while to figure out what’s needed. The old standards like drill presses and band saws and newer additions like a vertical mill and CNC machine as well as many Luthiery specific tools and jigs.
Work Spaces
Different places to do different things. A paint area, adjustment and setup, construction table are a few.
Customer Service
It helps to have a comfortable place to sit down and play, and amps or other accessories. We want you to feel comfortable and welcomed.
Things for Sale
Oops, sorry, not really the focus. We’re not about selling you something new although we sometimes have restored instruments for sale. We just help make what you have better.
Restoration Guitar Philosophy
Whether it’s a guitar, bass, banjo or some other fretted instrument it is the tool you use to make music.
Our mission is to provide and enhance the tools you use to create music. Whether you play only at home or in concert to thousands you use your instruments to create music to touch emotions and thoughts. Having an instrument that responds to your touch makes the creative process simpler and more direct. We understand what it takes to let that creative stream flow and we will do whatever we can to help.