Franklin Guitar Going Strong After 10 Years

guitar

Guitars define David Wood’s life, in one way or another, since he started playing at the age of eight.

The owner of Franklin Guitar and Repair spent more than 20 years playing on the road, performed on Letterman, Leno, Carson (Carson! How cool is that?) and naturally the Grand Ole Opry– more times than he can count.

So guitar players and lovers in Franklin should be thankful that a talented and knowledgeable guy like Wood decided to open his shop in town ten years ago.

He talked to us about the story of Franklin Guitar and Repair, which is entering its tenth year.

“We opened it in 2004, and it was kind of a part time thing for me at the time because I was still on the road,” he said.

The partner left in 2006, and he had to get off the road, which was still fun, he said, after so many years, but it was time to hang it up.

Dave Wood
Dave Wood, owner of Franklin Guitar and Repair

He came to Nashville in ’87 after studying classic guitar, bought a pedal steel guitar and spent the next two decades playing country music with Lorrie Morgan, Doug Stone and Joe Diffie.

Now he spends his days in the shop on 1912-B Columbia Pike, selling, trading and doing set ups for guitars, bass, banjo and mandolin- and, of course, just hanging around with local musicians and guitar lovers.

A few other stores geared to musicians run in Franklin, but Wood sees them as working in harmony with his own. Each store has its own niche, and they help each other out when they can, he said.

“Franklin is pretty diverse, musically- there are a lot of different guitar players and performers.”

Some of which frequent his shop. Some of his better known customers include Al Perkins, Mark Slaughter, Walter Egan, Derek St. Holmes, Chip Henderson (jazz guitar instructor at Belmont University), Kent Burnside (a local jazz guitarist) and even Rob Robinson (the owner of Puckett’s in Lieper’s Fork). Also, he would include “local studio-great David Cleveland,” Tony Haselden, and Mac Gayden, who wrote the legendary “Everlasting Love.”

Asked about jewels of guitars that have come through his shop, he mentions a 1948 Martin B-28, and the virtually priceless 1959 Les Paul sunburst.

Beyond selling and trading guitars, and doing set ups, the shop also offers peddle mods and amp mods; custom peddle board design and amps nad custom nut and saddle installation. He has help doing these jobs from Greg Ellis and Bill Keck.