Third Coast Guitar: From Hippie Mystique to Machinist Mastery

Guided by a philosophy of precision and innovation, Third Coast Guitar sets a new standard in musical instrument repair and charts a course for success in a rapidly changing marketplace.

By Chris McMahon, MSJ

Chicago’s Third Coast Guitar and Amp Repair is emerging as a case study of how repair and maintenance shops can adapt and succeed amid the upheaval and uncertainty hitting music retailers. Its growth has been fueled in part by the recognition that, as brick-and-mortar music retailers close shop, the need for repair and maintenance professionals isn’t going away. But the repair business needs to change.?

For Chris Eudy, owner of Third Coast Guitar, this means rejecting some of the more romantic notions about guitars that have long dominated the industry in favor of a more technically rigorous approach that emphasizes math over mystique and investing in new technologies. By consolidating talent into a larger, strategically located facility near Chicago’s Fort Knox Studios, adding satellite repair sites, developing new partnerships, and soon sharing the space with a boutique guitar builder, Third Coast Guitar has positioned itself to thrive in a world of internet musical instrument sales, offering a glimpse into what the future of the guitar repair and maintenance business may look like.

"I was lucky. I came into the guitar repair world just as we were wrestling it out of the hands of the hippies and putting it into the hands of the machinists," Eudy says. “There's nothing artistic about what we do here. The guitar is a tool. The player is the artist.”?

The PLEK Machine: A High-Tech Tool for Killer Playability

Eudy can barely contain his enthusiasm when discussing gear, especially his new PLEK machine, a computer-controlled fretwork station, which takes pride of place near the entrance of his new location.?

The PLEK works by scanning a guitar's fretboard and creating a detailed digital map of its unique topography, accurate to 1/1,000 of an inch. This data is then used to guide a series of high-speed cutters and files, which carefully sculpt each fret to achieve optimal height, crown, and pitch. The result is a guitar with near-perfect intonation and a level of playability that’s impossible to achieve through manual fret leveling, Eudy says.

"The most interesting thing for me about the PLEK Station has been how humbling it has been,” Eudy says. “Fret leveling is hard. It’s hard on your mind, it’s hard on your hands. Now, having someone do it by hand is better than not doing it at all. But why would you pay me $200 to do it by hand when you can pay me $50 more to do it in the PLEK machine and it's 1,000 times better?”

For Eudy, investing in a PLEK machine was a natural extension of Third Coast Guitar's machinist philosophy. With the PLEK in their arsenal, Third Coast Guitar can offer their customers a level of service and quality that sets them apart from other repair shops. It also frees them to take on more demanding jobs, from full restorations of vintage instruments to an increasingly large volume of extended warranty repairs, which is another new practice and partnership for Third Coast.

“If you buy a guitar from Guitar Center or Amazon, they sell the extended warranty. And if you file a claim, it gets sent here,” Eudy says. “We inspect it, repair it, and send it back to the customer or we total it.” While many repair businesses have declined such partnerships, he says, the volume actually pays for one technician's annual salary. "We do a lot of that kind of work and it allows me to expand.”

The Third Coast Guitar Approach to Repair and Setup

After a stint as an aspiring actor, waiter, and musician in the 1990s, Eudy apprenticed under some of Chicago's most respected luthiers, Master Technician Robert Daniel, who still works at Third Coast, and Bob Egan, Third Coast’s original owner. Eudy bought the company in 1997 after working there for a year and a half.?

“The guitar is a tool of expression but it’s completely dictated by physics and geometry. The psychology part comes when the human picks it up." ~ Chris Eudy

"I did not have very much experience but I just took very naturally to it,” Eudy says. Over the years, Third Coast Guitar has grown into a thriving business with multiple locations and a growing team of skilled technicians. Through it all, Third Coast Guitar has remained committed to a core set of principles and practices that set them apart in the industry, including a focus on precision, rigorous attention to detail, and a collaborative, team-based approach to problem-solving. But, most importantly, a dedication to customer service and communication, working closely with each client to understand their unique needs and preferences.

“That's why I started doing this. I went into a store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when I was about 19,” to buy strings and get his '80s MIJ Squier Stratocaster set up, Eudy recalls. But the guy behind the counter started teasing him about getting a “real guitar” and giving him a hard time. “He was just so rude to me,” Eudy says. “And I'm like, screw this. I'll do it myself. It can't be that hard. That's why I started doing this: because I didn't want people to judge me. We don't talk down to people. It doesn't matter what I like and what I think. I don’t have to play your guitar. You have to play your guitar. And that's why we're easy to deal with.”

Looking to the Future

As Third Coast Guitar looks to the future, one of the biggest challenges is the need for more skilled technicians and luthiers, Eudy explains, adding that new hires increasingly have attended lutherie schools rather than having served apprenticeships.?

“The old school is dying,” Eudy says. “In every town there was a Mom and Pop store and there was a ‘Mr. Wizard’ who could fix pedals, speakers, guitars, horns, whatever. And those shops are gone.” Now, luthiers and technicians are consolidating around a smaller number of highly professional businesses. “The shops where folks are doing things the way they are meant to be done are getting fewer and farther between. It's just the trajectory of the industry,” Eudy says.

“Most of the guys I hire now went to a school. I never went to (luthier) school, Sean never went to school, Bob never went to school. For some of us who've been around for a long time, that wasn't an option. All of us apprenticed. And that's the only way you learn how to do this. You can get some little bit of knowledge, get your foot in the door. But you're not going to learn how to do this except by laying your hands on things over and over, being shown the way it's meant to be done by someone who’s an expert. You come in here and you sweep the floor, listen, and have some humility.”

"... you're not going to learn how to do this except by laying your hands on things over and over, being shown the way it's meant to be done by someone who’s an expert." ~ Chris Eudy

Technology also will play an increasingly important role in the future of guitar repair and setup work. Tools like the PLEK machine are just the beginning, Eudy believes. For repair shops and luthiers looking to stay ahead of the curve, Eudy advises a proactive approach to investigating technologies that will allow technicians to work with greater precision, productivity, and consistency. While that may require a significant upfront investment, he acknowledges, the long-term benefits in terms of customer satisfaction will be well worth it.

Ultimately, the story of Third Coast Guitar is one of adaptation and resilience in the face of a rapidly changing industry. By embracing new technologies, mentoring his team, and staying true to his machinist’s principles, Eudy and his team have built a business that is well-positioned to thrive in the years ahead.

For Eudy, the rewards of this work go beyond financial success. As he reflects on his time in the industry, he speaks with pride and passion about the incredible community of musicians, collectors, and enthusiasts he’s had the privilege of serving over the decades.

“You cannot get rich repairing guitars, bro. You just don't. We do it because we love it.”

Chris McMahon is a writer, photographer, and guitarist based in Evanston, Illinois. He has worked in technology marketing for the past 10 years. Click to view a portfolio of his work.