Adam Charette works on a new guitar at his shop in Tiverton recently.

TIVERTON - A guitar owner is often a finicky creature. For those who don't play, a guitar is little more than a block of wood with a neck and a bunch of strings attached. But for those who do, the instrument is a delicate balancing act of a whole assortment of variables. And when any one of them is out of whack, making music and — in the case of the real fanatics — just getting through the day can be all but impossible.

That's where Adam Charette comes in.

As one of the area's foremost luthiers — people who make or repair stringed instruments, especially acoustic guitars — and the owner of APC Repair and Custom Services of Tiverton, Charette is the person countless local guitarists turn to when they're fretting about instrument-related matters.

Drop your guitar and crack the neck on the way to a gig? He can probably fix it. Hate the buzzing sound the strings make when you play a chord? A few adjustments and he'll have you smiling once again. Or, after years of dreaming, do you finally want to build the weird sound machine you've never been able to find in a store? Well, it's time to bring your kitchen table doodlings to Charette's workshop and get down to business.

"Through all the jobs I've ever done, there was always that one common root of loving to work on instruments," Charette said.

The full-time job he holds now began as a high school pastime more than 25 years ago. Unhappy with the way some repairmen worked on the guitars he was using in school rock bands, he decided to try his own hand at the craft.

"At first I started fixing my own," Mr. Charette said. "Then, once people tried out my guitars, they'd hit me up to do theirs. For the first year or so it was free for my friends. And then that turned into helping out friends of friends."

When he went into the Army for a short stint, guitar repair went on the back burner for a while. But he soon returned to the craft, eager to learn more. However, he faced skepticism from people who thought it was a skill that couldn't be taught.

"When I was first getting into it, everybody wanted me to think it was voodoo. They acted like it was a talent you had to be born with," he said.

Luckily for the novice craftsman, he connected with Tiverton luthier Al Leis. "He was the guy who said 'Don't listen to them,' that it was a skill that could be learned like anything else," said Charette. "Basically he helped me get my feet wet."

Being a luthier remained a part-time job for years, but in 1994 Charette approached Fall River bass guitar and pickup maker Lane Poor. "I basically walked in and introduced myself and said 'You need to hire me,'" he said. "And I bugged him until he did."

While the experience would be a mixed one, Mr. Charette credits Mr. Poor with teaching him the art of making pickups. No, not barroom dating, but the integral part of an electric guitar or bass that electronically 'picks up' string vibrations and allows the sound of the string to be amplified. While all contain magnets and wire, they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and each company, from the big brands like Fender and Gibson down to the no-name varieties, makes theirs a little different from every other.

"I'd always replaced pickups, but I got an understanding then of what makes different sounds," he said. "It was largely through experimentation."

A new venture

After several more years of part-time guitar work, Mr. Charette finally decided to try to take the business full time. He credits his wife Terry with encouraging that attempt, and for helping turn the possibility into a reality. "I'm real lucky in that sense. She's my support structure," said Charette.

The next step was the difficult one, though, as he had to figure out all the details of running a small business.

"The interesting thing about running your own business is that you do every aspect of it, from answering phone calls to shipping to the repairs. It ends up being a lot more than you expected in the first place. It takes on a life of its own," he said.

Traveling, at least locally, is a big part of the job. Much of his repair work comes through area guitar shops ranging from Moss Music in Newport to Top Music in Fairhaven, Mass. Just the pick-ups and drop-offs take a good chunk of time, but he enjoys dealing with them as compared to the larger corporate chains.

"This helps them compete with the monsters who are trying to take over the music world," he said.

Repair work, though, isn't enough to pay the bills. Custom jobs, which include everything from replacing the pickups in order to get a different sound to designing an entire instrument, are the difference between profit and loss.

"Slowly but steadily I'm increasing my private clientele," he said. "That, I think, will keep this viable as a business."

Dan O'Rourke was in Charette's shop recently to check up on some improvements the luthier had made to his custom bass guitar. O'Rourke, who is well known locally for playing in the band Shipyard Wreck, had Charette build the guitar last year, and after months of gigs had come up with some ideas about how to make it play even smoother.

"I designed it, and he built it from scratch," said Mr. O'Rourke. "He exceeded all my hopes and wishes on it. I couldn't think of anyone better to do the job. I've dealt with guys who only do custom stuff. I've played their guitars, and they don't even compare to this."

Designing a guitar

For anyone looking to have a guitar built, Charette has a simple suggestion to start them off.

"Get yourself a notebook and carry it around," he said. "When you think of something or see something you like, write it down or draw a picture of it. Look at them, and then narrow down your plans. When you're done, the pages that are left are your guitar."

It's not quite as easy as that. The process of designing the guitar alone can take weeks, if not months. He wants to be sure that the instrument he makes is the exact one the buyer wants.

"We sit down, make drawings and discuss options," he said. "And then basically I blend them into the instrument that's in their head. If you carve an instrument to fit a person they can play it with their eyes closed, because it's in their head."

As for the less glamorous repair side of the business, Charette notes that his knowledge of instrument making is often broadened after opening up an old or unique guitar and seeing how it is built.

"If you get an instrument that is 100-plus years old and was built in another country, you learn things. You learn techniques. It adds colors to the palate, I guess is a way to phrase it," he said.

As with every trade, specific tools are needed for the instrument business. While many are items you would see in any workshop, Charette has also resorted to creating his own when needed. Take the machine he uses to make pickups, for instance. Copper wire has to be wound tightly around the magnets, and while most companies do this on the assembly line nowadays, Charette still does it the old-fashioned way — by hand.

"I made that based on a photo of Leo Fender winding a pickup. The winder was in the background," he said, noting that the reason pickups Fender and other companies made in the 50s and 60s are so popular (and expensive) today is because of the tonal qualities added through the hand winding.

While they are his most common task, guitars are far from the only instruments he works on.

"When I started, I primarily wanted to work on guitars and basses. But that burgeoned to bluegrass instruments, cellos, upright basses, balalaikas, just about any stringed instrument you can think of," he said. "If someone walking through the door with an instrument with strings on it I haven't seen, I'd be surprised."

But surprises like that do happen, and it's one of the reasons why he enjoys the business so much. Each instrument, whether it's one he creates or one he repairs or customizes, brings its own unique challenge. If Adam Charette has his way, those are challenges he'll take on, with growing skill, for years to come. Despite the naysayers when he first started out, he still hasn't had to dip into the voodoo world to make a name for himself.

For more information about Adam Charette, visit his website at www.guitardr.com or call him at 624-8076 or 524-6470.

By MICHAEL MEDEIROS

life@eastbaynewspapers.com