About Rebecca Urlacher
Luthier Philosophy
The art of building guitars can best be described by luthier, William Cumpiano in his article A Pedagog's Lament, "It rewards only the pure in heart, the ones that give themselves completely to it, and ask nothing from it, except the privilege to be allowed to continue." I do feel privileged to have the opportunity to make instruments and with the completion of each new guitar, I gain a great sense of pride. Building guitars for me is where my passion to create and my great interest in music come together. Throughout the building process I strive to make guitars of the highest quality, both aesthetically and tonally. I believe when people see, feel and hear an Urlacher Guitar, the love for what I do shines through.
Northwest Guitar Building
I am fortunate to be living in the Northwest, a part of the country that is saturated with many great luthiers. Eugene, Oregon has been my home since 1990. The climate is moderate, making Oregon a fine place to build instruments. I currently build approximately four guitars per year, focusing on custom build quality rather than producing a large number of guitars.
Getting Started as a Luthier
Being intrigued by the guitar and having a growing interest in working with wood, my curiosity peaked to the point that I had to take action. In 2002 I started the unthinkable task of building a steel-string guitar. I use the word "unthinkable" because I had never played the guitar (or any instrument for that matter), and I had zero wood working experience. One year later I had the unmatched pleasure of stringing up my first guitar. I consider myself to be self-taught, although I have gained a lot of information and guidance from several fine luthiers.