In the nearly 20 years that he’s owned Weaverville-based instrument shop Dream Guitars, Paul Heumiller has received a lot of requests for repair work. “We constantly hear from people all over the country that really qualified repairmen who they would trust with their high-end guitars are superhard to find,” he says. When the opportunity presented itself to team with Ken Jones of Mountain Song Guitars, Heumiller expanded his existing repair service into a 3,000-square-foot shop — Dream Guitars Repairs — located at Jones’ business in Candler.
Dream Guitars is known for carrying modern-day highest-quality custom guitars, says Heumiller. Jones is a guitar maker whose instruments have been carried in Heumiller’s shop for about five years. “Because we’ve been selling these high-end guitars for 20 years and I know [the makers] personally, if one gets shipped to us, I can call them and say, ‘What exact finish do you use on this,’ or ‘We’re seeing this problem with your guitar and we’re thinking about doing this.” Dream Guitar Repairs also specializes in every stage of repair work, from finishes to manufacturing parts.
“We’re getting called on a lot to do some major restorations or undoing of bad repair work,” says Heumiller. “Not just for the [value], but for the sound.” Dream Guitars has also built a reputation on selling very fine vintage pieces; being able to work on those instruments is a natural extension for the company of guitar lovers.
“We all play,” says Heumiller. “We’re not just workers who glue wood together. We know what [the guitars] are supposed to do, soundwise.” And, though high-end guitars are the focus (with 70 percent of the shop’s work coming from out of state), Dream Guitars Repairs will also take on most fretted stringed instruments (including electric, acoustic and classical guitars) and occasionally family heirloom instruments, whose worth is more sentimental than monetary.
“It’s so great to see a historical piece and be part of that guitar’s story,” says Heumiller. “One of its chapters can be us, bringing it back to life.”
Learn more at dreamguitars.com/repairs
http://store.dreamguitars.com/shop/the-boggsdream-guitars-musicians-chair/