For years I’ve been fixing and restoring old instruments, both as a hobby and as a way to afford vintage guitars, mandolins and banjos. As a a matter of fact, I used about 16 of these instruments on my CD The Last Day of Winter. Now I love bringing old instruments back to life, but I’ve reached the point where I have way too many to keep them all!   

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Orphan Instruments is my solution to that problem. My plan is to offer restored, vintage instruments for sale directly to folks, especially working musicians, at very reasonable prices. Like an old man once told me when I commented on the very affordable prices in his antique store, “There’s the sell it price and the keep it price. I want to sell ’em and move on to the next thing.”  Well that’s my philosophy too.

 

My goal is to price things well below market price so that everyday people can afford them. I’ll get my investment back out, make a little money and be able to move on to another project. I have a significant backlog of vintage instruments, primarily turn of the century parlor guitars and mandolins (and a couple banjo's).  I there is something  special you are looking for, email me and I'll see what I have in storage and move it to the front of the line.

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All instruments I offer will be fully repaired, restored and set up for playing. Most will receive much more time and attention than they might normally receive at a standard repair shop and each will be a unique piece of musical history. Best of all, they’ll be priced to sell within a working musician's budget.​

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Custom Restorations

 

I am currently accepting a few selected instruments to restore directly for owners.  I generally only take

on a couple a year and take my time with the work.  I recently completed the restoration of a 1931 Duolian

for my friend and fellow musician Gale Masinda and have just finished the restoration of a late 40s Kay

arch top for the son of it's original owner. If you are interested in having me restore an instrument for you,

please email me multiple shots of the instrument front, back and sides, the neck joint, the string height,

headstock front and back, and close ups of any specific damage. Tell me anything you know about it's age,

history etc, and what you want to have done to it.  Send it all to ginridge@gmail.com. I'll be glad to take a

look and give you my thoughts.