Meet Brandon Howard of Renaissance Luthier Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Howard.

Brandon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My path into this craft began with two things I never expected to combine: a love of music and a passion for chemistry. I earned my associate’s in chemistry, and I discovered that the same curiosity fueling my interest in molecular behavior was also what sparked my fascination with musical instruments: why a finish reacts a certain way, why a neck moves with humidity, why one repair holds better than another, and whether it’s due to environmental factors or the technician’s strategy. That overlap became the foundation for everything I do now.
In my early years, I honed my skills through hands-on learning, eventually co-founding a repair shop in Orange County, where I oversaw operations, managed customer service, and handled most of the bench work. It wouldn’t have taken off without what I brought to it. That experience not only deepened my understanding of the craft at a professional level but also crystallized my vision for the kind of shop I wanted to create: an environment that prioritizes precision, care, and integrity towards both the instrument and its owner. My goal was to create an experience where every visit leaves a good memory, so that later, when someone plays their instrument and finds it completely dialed in, that memory comes back with it.
I founded Renaissance Luthier Co. here in Laguna Beach, which also happens to be one of the most beautiful places to do this kind of work. Although my specialty is in strings, I practically work on all instruments. In my early years, I took on anything that came through the door, which gave me an inner encyclopedia of musical instruments and how they all work. Most of what I do now is repair, restoration, setup work, precise fine-tuning, and lately, a good amount of neck resets. Most of my clients today are professional musicians or recording studio owners, though I treat every player, hobbyist, or pro with the same level of care. My chemistry background still sets my work apart, especially in finish work and in a line of instrument care products I’ve been formulating from a deeper scientific level rather than guessing. I also document everything obsessively, as though each repair were a recorded experiment.
Over a decade in, I’m still discovering, and that’s exactly why I love doing this. I get excited because every repair is like a fun puzzle to me, and every instrument is a part of a story, and I get the honor to preserve it. Not only that, but music is a universal language, one we all understand, so everyone deserves an instrument that’s ready to carry what they have to say.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, but I don’t think it is for anyone building something on their own. And honestly, I chose the harder path intentionally. I could have run a high-volume shop and pushed instruments out the door quickly, but I wanted to create something with integrity, precision, and care instead. This kind of reputation isn’t built overnight. Trust is earned one instrument at a time.
Early on, the hardest part was doing every job myself. I was the luthier, but I was also the front desk, the books, the marketing, and the guy sweeping the floor at the end of the night. It takes a lot of energy, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in the beginning, especially when your standards go against the grain of how most businesses are built to succeed.
I’m grateful to have a few skilled hands working alongside me now, but bringing people in has its own challenges. First, I had to find them. Then, I had to train them thoroughly; and not just my techniques. They need to understand how I think and the intention behind each process. Teaching someone to share that level of care takes a lot of time, it’s how we give each instrument the attention it deserves.
Doing the work this carefully is not cheap. The tooling, the materials, the time planning, and the research behind our care product line, all of it takes serious investment. As an independent shop, we’ve grown it a little at a time instead of all at once. I’ve had to be resourceful and careful about where my time and money go, and trust that doing the work right pays off down the line.
And since I’m always pushing into more complicated jobs, I’m often working right at the edge of what many technicians don’t know. Some jobs carry real stakes. One wrong move on a finish or a neck could set a project back a whole week. The key is to respect each instrument’s history before touching it, to go slow and steady, document everything, and keep the customer informed along the way.
Looking back, the struggles are exactly what shaped this into a trusted boutique luthier shop. Every lesson pushed me to be more careful, more precise, and to fall deeper in love with the craft of lutherie.

We’ve been impressed with Renaissance Luthier Co., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Renaissance Luthier Co. is a repair, restoration, and setup shop in Laguna Beach. We work on just about anything musical. We specialize in stringed instruments; guitar, bass, mandolin, cello, violin, banjo, harp, piano and more. If it makes music, odds are it’s come across my bench at some point.
What sets us apart starts with my background in chemistry, which is rare in this trade. Most repair knowledge is passed down by tradition, and that is important, but I also work from the underlying materials science. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into learning science so I like to use my knowledge to research what is actually happening. So I can theoretically and experimentally understand why a finish cracks when humidity shifts, how different woods expand and contract at different rates, what causes finish checking and crazing, how to stabilize cracks before they spread, and which products or cleaners work on different types of finishes. That’s how we solve problems other shops can’t.
What I’m most well-known for is precision. I can dial in the action and intonation until an instrument feels and sounds completely different. I can even make an instrument resonate at a whole new level. Also, I pay close attention to the way they play and I tailor my work to each musician’s style and needs. I also clean meticulously, so instruments leave here looking new. The same attention to detail along with my chemistry background are why I decided to formulate my own line of instrument care products. I’m creating products at a higher level, rather than guessing or following someone else’s work. Besides that, every repair is well planned and documented, and my customers get clear updates on what is being done and why. No shortcuts in my shop. That’s the standard I hold myself to.
Most of my clients are musicians prepping for gigs or tours as well as studio owners. Either way, I treat a new guitar with the same care as a vintage Martin. The standards don’t change.
Frankly, what I’m proudest of is betting on myself, taking everything I’ve learned, and building something tangible from it. My shop is an intentional space where instruments get the care they deserve, and I get to do work that truly means something to me.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
A few things matter most to me, and they are connected.
The first is integrity. It’s just how I’m built. I’d rather do something the right way, which usually means the more difficult, slower way, and it shows up in everything from how I handle an instrument to how I treat the person who trusted me with it.
The second is freedom to keep creating. I want to spend the rest of my life creating things, whether that’s products, inventions, or just ideas, and this shop gives me that space. I learn something from almost every instrument that comes in, and the day I stop learning is the day this stops being interesting, but that won’t happen. Staying curious is what keeps me eager in my work.
I also love sharing. Not only sharing my technical knowledge, but the perspectives I’ve picked up along the way. That’s part of why I joined the local Toastmasters club: to get better at speaking to groups of people so I’m less distracted by my fears and more focused on the message to share. I feel a responsibility to guide younger people, especially those who feel a bit lost. I want to show them that there’s more going on than meets the eye, and life is a beautiful gift. If I can help someone see that, it’s totally worth it.
And underneath all of it, I believe this work matters more than it might appear. To me, instruments are close to sacred. They give people a place to express what they can’t always put into words, and there’s something profound about the moment when a person feels safe enough to play and even sing aloud. Helping make that possible, one person and one instrument at a time, is what gives my work so much meaning.

Pricing:

• • The shop rate is currently $125 per hour. Our prices reflect the level of precision, care, and specialized knowledge that goes into every job.
• • Rather than a fixed price list, we quote each instrument individually. Every repair and restoration is different. We assess the instrument properly rather than guess at a number.
• • Simple setups and small repairs are very approachable, while full restorations are scoped to the work involved.
• • We’re always happy to talk through an estimate before any work begins, so there are never any surprises.
• • Quality work protects an instrument’s value and longevity, so we treat every repair as an investment in the instrument, not just a quick fix.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://renaissanceluthier.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/renaissanceluthier
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/renaissanceluthier
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@renaissanceluthier
• Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/renaissance-luthier-laguna-beach
• Other: mailto:ocluthier@gmail.com

Image Credits
Lauren Anderson