Guitar Talk: Third-Eye Music Inc.

“I’ve devoted my life to it,” he tells a teenage boy and his mom one afternoon. “That’s how I’ve got what’s now a fortune of a guitar collection. You’ve got to expect to work for this stuff … you’ve got to pay for it. Put out some effort and you’ll appreciate (your guitars) more.”

A minute later, Wittrock tells a more seasoned player and collector about the merits of rosewood versus maple fingerboards and the intricacies of various kinds of pickups, the devices that make the guitar electric.

“What it comes down to is the sum of all the parts,” Wittrock explains to the customer. “If you pick up a guitar and like it, you play better. If you pick one up and don’t like it, you don’t play as well. Enjoy it. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing, having fun. That’s my take on it anyway.”

Scenes like this go on daily at Wittrock’s guitar shop, at 1904-A E. Meadowmere St. Wittrock got into the guitar business three decades ago after watching his older brother, Bart, do the same. Bart Wittrock owns the successful Rockin’ Robin Guitars and Music in Houston, Texas.

Tom Wittrock is not just a seller of guitars – he’s also a player as the mainstay member of The Bluesberries.

Valuable instruments

For a man with a collection of guitars that includes individual instruments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, Wittrock is far from being an elitist guitar snob.

Third-Eye is an entirely unassuming store. One wall is lined with guitars – many of them in the $100 to $200 price range. (Wittrock keeps his most expensive instruments in undisclosed, vaulted locations.) There are guitar magazines strewn about, some mandolins and lap steel guitars here and there and an open area with several amplifiers. Customers can try out any instrument in the place to their hearts’ content.

The glass counters serve as workbenches where Wittrock can work on his recent purchases as well as offer service and advice to customers. He’s learned hands-on during his career and knows the value inherent in keeping an instrument “in shape.”

“When I get a guitar, I try to set it up and tweak any problems that I can, to make it a good, viable instrument,” Wittrock says. “People starting out need a good guitar. If they get a bad guitar in their hands, they don’t know, they’ve never played a guitar before. It’s like if their first bicycle only had one tire and the other was just a rim. They’d think, ‘This is no fun.’”

He encourages his customers to bring in an instrument if it’s having a problem. After 30 years in the business, he’s adept at troubleshooting things that might perplex a novice.

Customers: gearheads vs. players

Third-Eye’s customers are a wide-ranging bunch. Wittrock says a lot of them are “gearheads” who know the nuts and bolts of guitars. But others simply want to play their instruments and don’t want to fuss with them.

Singer/songwriter Jenny Vinyard falls into the “player” category. She bought her first guitar from Third-Eye in 1979.

“I’m completely at the other end of the spectrum from the gearheads,” Vinyard says. “I just want something that feels good in my hands and sounds good; something I can pick up and play.”

Jason East, guitarist with The Conniptions, is more of a gearhead type but a relative newcomer to the guitar world. He’s been playing for five years and has been a Third-Eye customer for just as long. He remembers trying out an amp at Third-Eye shortly after he began playing.

“Before I plugged in, I explained to Tom that I’d only been playing for a little while and probably wasn’t as good as the folks he’s used to hearing in the store,” East recalls. “He seemed to like the Chuck Berry, rock ’n’ roll style of my licks, or at least he seemed to think I was on the right track. We developed a trust right off the bat. He also invited me to go see his band play that night at Harlow’s.”

Dave Painter is in several bands around town, including his role as lead guitarist for Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and he also gives personal guitar lessons. Painter’s first encounter with Wittrock and Third-Eye was in 1979, and he’s been a customer, friend and band mate since then.

“People go there for knowledge,” Painter says of Third-Eye. “They know that he knows so much about guitars. When he picks up a guitar, he knows whether it’s quality or not. It’s almost a psychic kind of thing with him. And he will not buy, or sell, a guitar if he doesn’t think it’s a quality instrument.”

Third-Eye Music Inc.

Owner: Tom Wittrock

Founded: 1976

Address: 1904-A E. Meadowmere St., Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 862-5823

E-mail: sunburst2@mindspring.net

Products: Buys, sells and trades used and rare guitars

2006 Revenues: Less than $100,000

Employees: 1[[In-content Ad]]