Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Martinez.
Hi Scott, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a musician my entire life so it was kind of a natural progression to get into guitar making, especially after I switched from base to guitar because guitar opened up a whole new world to me. My creativity created a desire to experiment like never before and that included modifying guitars that I was buying. I soon started having the desire to do some custom things that I couldn’t get anywhere else or that I wouldn’t be able to afford unless I did myself. So when I got my new house and started building a shop and realizing some of the equipment I had I decided to give it a shot. I did a lot better than I expected which was very encouraging! It’s one of those things that you just have to keep doing to get better. So I’ve actually given some guitars to celebrities to try to get my name out there and I’m continuing to do that. My ultimate goal was to make guitars through a non-profit to give to underprivileged kids that can’t afford them. When I was a kid I couldn’t afford a nice guitar and I got discouraged. I don’t want that to happen to somebody else.
Also along the way I realized, which sounds obvious, that I really really knew how to repair guitars and get them playing great! So I’ve added luthori to my business too and I’ve put my website with price list in my contacts information here. There was another guitar people in town named Dave Wendell who was very talented but he is now gone so I feel like I need to step into his spot! So if you don’t want to bring your guitars to a big box guitar place and want personalized repeatable and Custom Service you need look no farther than me.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Tooling up has been pretty expensive there are a lot of special tools for making guitar but it’s just a challenge to make a guitar to begin with. It’s not one of the easiest things to do so just getting better at it and learning all the ins and outs has been a challenge! But I love a challenge.
There’s also a lot of knowledge to get learning how to do all of this, and of course there’s YouTube but I also have some people in the business that are absolute Jedi’s when it comes to electronics and such who have really shown me the ropes!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been in a band called Alice Sweet Alice for years and though we are on extended Hiatus at the moment I am very proud of the work that we did in the Kansas City area. I’m also a professional chef and I work at hope faith in downtown Kansas City feeding some of our homeless neighbors.
Some people call me a renaissance man because I do so many different things, from raising chickens and having a greenhouse and garden to making my own ingredients like bacon and pressing my own oil and sourdough bread. I know how to do most repairs around my house, fix my car and can play the hell out of a bass guitar haha.
Most of that self-sufficiency is just because I didn’t come from money and my entire family has always been self-reliant. I think it’s a good way to be.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I think many of the people that live here are really nice. One thing I don’t like is all of the litter along the sides of the freeway. Don’t know why people feel the need to throw things out of their car. My brother lived in North Carolina and all of the freeways in the south are spotless. As soon as you come up to Kansas City there’s trash all over the roads. Do better Kansas City lol!
Pricing:
- Basic Guitar Setup & Light Cleaning: $65
- Guitar Repair: $50/hour
- Custom Guitar: $1200 to $5000+
- Heavy Cleaning & Polish w/setup: $80
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.audiocaverecording.com/samsaraguitars
- Instagram: @samsaraguitars
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/samsaraguitars
- Twitter: https://Twitter.com/samsaraguitars
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@samsaraguitars?si=hOoRhEvFjOPoM_Zt
