At the age of 11 Gene’s love for guitar took precedence over youth hockey. He started building guitars in junior high, and after moving from hometown Detroit to sunny California he attended GIT – all the while playing in garage bands and gigging at every opportunity. At age 20 Gene set up shop in his parents’ garage and began doing repairs as well as building and selling “Mean Gene” guitars. He also gave guitar lessons, and created a 100-page instructional book and video entitled “Mean Gene’s Insane Lead Guitar.”
Only 24 years old, Gene got a call from storied luthier Roger Giffin, who headed Gibson’s west coast custom shop. After serving as Roger’s apprentice, Gene operated the shop alongside Roger for nearly two years. In 1993 Gene moved to the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, during what many consider one of that shop’s golden periods. Gene’s mentors and colleagues at Fender were and still are among the leading craftsmen in the industry; including George Amicay, Jay Black, Larry Brooks, Jason Davis, John English, Kenny Gin, Alan Hamel, Yasuhiko Iwanade, Mark Kendrick, Todd Krause, the great John Page, Alex Perez, Steve Stern, Fred Stuart, John Suhr and Art Esparza. (Art now works with Gene as Senior Master Builder at the PBG workshop).
Gene rose to Senior Master Builder at Fender. Highlights include his close collaboration with Robben Ford and Jeff Rivera (Robben’s tech) on three new models; a series of original Gene Baker pieces; the prototyping of the first contemporary carved Strats; the reissue of mid-late ‘60’s big peg head Strats; and collaboration on the production of round-lam necks, twelve strings, double necks, bajo sexto’s, the Showmaster Strat and the John Jorgenson signature model.
Gene eventually left Fender in order to apply his unique expertise to his own nameplate, Baker Guitars USA. Though no longer involved with Baker Guitars and the Baker Guitars name, Gene led the company as it grew to fourteen employees producing 40 guitars per month, with an emphasis on custom builds.
In 2009, recognizing Gene’s rare expertise on both the design and production sides of the business, PBG founder Michael Bernstein asked Gene to serve as Chief Guitar Master Builder for Premier Builders Guild, a new boutique, masterbuilt instrument company based on a new approach. At the PBG guitar workshop in Arroyo Grande, CA, Gene designed and built his own b3 line while he and his expert team also built guitars designed by PBG master builders Dennis Fano (the complete Fano Guitars line) and Saul Koll (the Koll Glide series, made and sold only through PBG).
In 2012, the D’Angelico Guitars brand asked Gene and his team to build authentic, limited edition USA Masterbuilt reissues of iconic D’Angelico models. (These were be sold by D’Angelico rather than by PBG). The first of these reissues, of the 1943 D’Angelico Excel, were introduced by D’Angelico at NAMM 2013.
And what about Gene’s own b3 line of guitars? Each model – Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, Wood – is aimed at a specific tonal space. All are precision instruments for serious musicians and embody the unique expertise and passion of a man widely considered among the very best in boutique lutherie. They are acclaimed by players at all levels, leading gear editors and fellow luthiers for their unsurpassed design and craftsmanship.
While not sweating the details of the latest b3, Fano, Koll or D’Angelico Masterbuilt coming out of the PBG workshop, Gene shreds – with his Mean Gene Band.
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