Guitar doctor to the rescue

Choo (right) and Chee are luthiers who produce custom-made guitars in Taman Desa Aman, Cheras. (Right) Choo buffing away built-up paint on a fully restored guitar. — Photos: NORAFIFI EHSAN/The Star

MUSICIAN and luthier Ray C. Akira’s job is somewhat akin to a medical doctor’s; he runs The Guitar Hospital and breathes life back into guitars that are on the brink of “death.”

If that is not enough, he is often on-call past midnight to receive emergencies from his fellow musicians who need their “ill” guitars resuscitated.