T u r q u o i s e g u it a r p h o t o : E m i l y R . H a ll
equipm ent has come down in
price and thousands more p eo-
ple are m aking guitars, he
thinks standards have fallen.
“T oo often it’s all about getting
the latest, greatest gizm o
instead o f learning m ethods,”
Baxendale says. Fine, precious
w oods are being used to make
what he sees as inferior guitars.
“Scott is an excellent teach-
er,” says D eW itt Burton, who
m aintains instrum ents for
R .E .M . and w orks w ith Bax-
endale on occasion. “I think
the academy w ill be a hit.”
This page: Inlays (top
left and above) and gold
embellishment on the
American Spirit
guitar
(right) are part of
Baxcndalc’s meticulous
craftsmanship, refined
over decades. He also
makes an occasional
electric guitar, such as
the turquoise instru-
ment above, commis-
sioned in 1988 by the
Hard Rock Cafe for gui-
tarist Will Sexton.
Opposite: Closeups of
Baxendale’s inlay work
show the artistic details
that make each instru-
ment unique.
Baxendale alm ost didn’t
arrive at this hopeful place,
despite a lifelong love o f guitars
and m usic. H e made his first
“guitars,” cardboard props, in
third grade in Kansas City,
M issouri, w hen he and some
pals started a band called the
Shaggy D ogs. In college in
1974, under pressure from his
parents to have a backup plan
in case a career as a musician
didn’t pan out, he took a job
w ith legendary guitar maker
Stuart M ossm an in W infield,
Kansas - having no clue that
his new em ployer’s clientele
included Eric Clapton and
John Denver.
For the next dozen or so
years, Baxendale was in a
groove, working for M ossman
and later for the premier vintage
guitar shop Gruhn Guitars in
Nashville. For the Hard Rock
Cafe in Dallas, he repaired and
restored some o f the crown
jew els o f the music w orld,
including the guitar that Buddy
H olly used to record
N o t F a d e
A w a y ,
the instrum ent Elvis
Presley played in the 1968
a u g / s c p n
a m e r i c a n c r a f t 0 5 3
