What Now: Hanging Up His Strings

Ron Lira is an Oklahoma City luthier who, after forty-four years of meticulous handiwork, has decided to move on.

If that job sounds unfamiliar, it's one that makes familiar sounds—a luthier is someone who designs and crafts instruments with strings, a neck, and a soundbox. Lira is considered a staple of the scene by many local musicians and guitar hobbyists. Since he opened up Honest Ron's Guitars in October of 1985, many have tried to compete with Ron’s steady hand and attention to the small details, but they seem to come and go.

While answering questions for this story, Lira kept tuning and working on one of his projects in a workshop absolutely covered in guitars. Any spaces on his walls big enough for a guitar are filled with guitars. His store gives off a vintage, lived-in aura that can only be built with lots of time.

Originally from Long Beach California, Lira came to Oklahoma in 1977 and now considers himself an “Okie.” His journey as a luthier started when he began playing guitar at age fifteen and really blossomed in 1970 when he began buying and selling guitars, slowly learning how to build and repair them. After the move to Oklahoma it became his full-time career.

For the most part, Ron is self-taught, a rare achievement in the industry. He cites local guitar expert and author Don Teeter for assisting him in honing his skills.

Tyler Smith, a long-time customer of Lira's, says he's trusted the luthier with his instruments for eighteen years. One particular guitar that was near to Smith’s heart was the one that his grandfather used to serenade his grandmother. When the old, beat-up six-string was eventually passed down to him it was unplayable. Lira was the only person he trusted with an item so fragile and sentimental to him, and with good reason. When he was done with repairs, Smith was able to play it at his grandmother’s funeral.

Finding the balance between aesthetic and sound for an instrument is essential for a luthier.

"I avoid doing anything really crazy, but every once in a while, a customer will come up with an idea that you think is impractical or won’t work and it works great," he says. Some customers care more about how it looks than how it sounds, but Lira's aim is always to make both the best possible.

Lira does not use any digital equipment for his work, but instead uses hand tooling—100 percent old school. Even though he has been using the same methods for repairing and building since he started, he says the entire industry has changed. Simple instruments have grown more and more complex over time, with far more choices for parts and materials than in his youth.

Lira's advice for aspiring luthiers is simple: “First off, don’t do it," he says. "Go to college, get an education, and become an engineer or something. Keep guitars as a hobby."

In six months, Lira will be leaving the working life and starting his retirement. If he has any regrets about closing up shop, it's the loss of the shared space where he worked with and grew to knew so many local musician friends. But anyone who spends time with him knows he'll still have his hands on his guitars in his spare time.

Written By

Erik Charlson