Conversations with Brock Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brock Williams

Hi Brock, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Bristol Guitar Company’s beginnings can be traced back to my family’s garage in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where I built my first guitar. When my band’s music was taking on its own unique sound, I knew I needed a guitar that could keep up – a guitar that I couldn’t find in a shop, but could be built. Over the next few months, I spent all of my time researching the craft, studying my favorite manufacturers, and building the guitar that traveled with me for the duration of my touring career.

After years spent on the road, playing music and continuing to work on guitars in any way I could, I relocated to Anaheim, California. When the Pandemic hit in 2020, I was placed on furlough at my job, and found myself with more time to dedicate to my dream – building guitars. I spent the next year refining various prototypes and gathering feedback from any local musician who was willing to test them.

Once I was confident in the guitars I was building, I decided to launch with a name that means the world to me – Bristol.

Bristol, my mother’s maiden name, is a name that my brothers and I have always tried to pay homage to. Through the Bristol side of my family, I learned some of the most valuable life lessons – to be passionate in the pursuit of my dreams, to pay respect to those who paved the way before me, and to be humble.

Today, Bristol Guitar Company is dedicated to inspire musicians to tell stories the same way that I hope to – with a guitar in hand.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think it’s safe to say that the road has been anything but smooth, but that’s part of the fun!

Before starting Bristol Guitar Company, I never had any experience running a business, so I’ve had to learn a lot as I go. While I’m definitely more of a creative-minded individual, I have learned so much when it comes to running a business, and that experience has been so valuable to me.

I’ve also been the type of person who never wanted to get too deep into social media. However, when I started to see how much these platforms can help with my outreach, I had to teach myself a lot about content creation and how to reach bigger audiences.

There’s always something new to learn every day that I’m in the shop, and while there have been many difficulties along the way, I’m grateful for any opportunity to learn and challenge myself.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in building electric guitars!

As for what I’m known for – I’m sure a lot of people found out about Bristol when I made the two guitars out of recycled hockey sticks from the 80’s and 90’s. But what I would like to be known for is my building process and techniques: I make each guitar by hand – no use of computers or CNC machines. While I know that these tools could help me to produce in greater numbers, building by hand makes each piece unique and allows me to refine my skill as a craftsman.

I’m proud of any opportunity that I have to see my guitars on stage. Last year, I got to see my hockey stick guitar played at a sold out show at the House of Blues in Anaheim (big shout out to In Her Own Words for that!) and this year, I got to see a custom order played at the Rock The Block show in Oklahoma (another shoutout to Voth!) – I am so thankful for every individual who is willing to help me get my guitars out in the wild.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I feel like I am truly “myself” when I am creating.

Whenever I’m in the shop, or writing music, or even working on random projects for friends and family, I feel like I can focus on my work and drown out any of the outside distractions.

I feel like I am “at peace” when creativity is flowing, and that translates to happiness for me.

Pricing:

• I have two models of guitars – the “Ginny” and the “Tomo.” The starting prices for these is $1800, but these prices will vary based on the custom options chosen in by the customer.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://bristolguitarco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bristolguitarco
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bristolguitarco