Steve’s Guitar Services — a Calgary repair shop that services all stringed instruments including banjos, ukuleles and mandolins — has occupied a small workshop on the second floor of Music Centre Canada’s Macleod Trail Southeast location since 2008. Owner Steve Rozitis started playing guitar when he was 15 years old. Currently he performs in a local blues and funk band called The Firm Handshake. He also teaches guitar.
Steve’s path to that of luthier (instrument maker) began with his passion for music, but also for economic reasons. He had taken five guitars to another Calgary guitar shop for repair, when the owner offered to teach him the repair trade. Steve studied under him for several months. Once he’d learned the craft of stringed-instrument repair, he went into business for himself. He is now one of only a handful of professional luthiers in the city.
Steve estimates he sees around 1,500 guitars each year, from instruments that cost only a few bucks to some worth upwards of $40,000. Much of his business involves “setting up” new guitars, which can include adjusting the neck and string height for maximize sound quality and playability.
