Meet Edward Victor Dick of Victor Guitar in South Broadway

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Victor Dick.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Edward. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I opened “Ed’s Music Workshop” in Peterborough, Canada in 1976. I would travel throughout the northeastern U.S – Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc. buy broken instruments, bring them back to Canada, fix and sell them. After a few years I began to build instruments as well – dulcimers and banjos at first, and then guitars.

I moved to Ottawa, Canada in 1985 and then to Colorado in 1995, continuing to build and repair string instruments. EVD String Instruments was first located was located on South Pearl St. in Denver. I also served as the repair manager at the Olde Town Pickin Parlor in Arvada for 16 years. I invented an instrument called the Banjola in 1996. I began teaching others how to build guitars and in 2001 started the Colorado School of Lutherie.

In 2011 I consolidated my business interests under a new name Victor Guitar and opened a storefront on South Broadway in Denver. Along with a small staff we build and repair a variety of string instruments. We have expanded the school to provide a variety of opportunities for others to learn the art and science of lutherie.

Has it been a smooth road?
No journey of any interest or depth is straight and smooth. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been learning how to mesh my creative vision with the artistic demands and commercial needs of the world at large. We live in a rapidly changing economic environment. Doing service work has helped me stay current with the needs of my clients. Their feedback and support have been essential.

We are very fortunate to live in a time and a place where music is allowed to flourish, I was originally attracted to Colorado because of its physical beauty. I have been pleasantly surprised by the strong and diverse musical community here in Denver.

Tell us more about the business.
The backbone of the business has always been service and repair. We work on acoustic and electric guitars, basses, banjos, mandolins, as well as some ethnic folk instruments I particularly enjoy restoring vintage instruments and bringing them back to their former days of glory.

We also build custom instruments. I am currently working on #450. The front of the shop is devoted to selling instruments built by myself or my students as well as a variety of 2nd hand instruments sold on consignment. The back of the shop is devoted to the Colorado School of Lutherie. Along with our classes, we have a steady flow of interns, some of whom go on to start their businesses.

We may be the only music shop in the country where all of these activities occur in the same space. As a side note, we are located in a historic building that was originally owned by Buffalo Bill Cody. His ‘buffalo’ insignia is above our entrance.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The internet has changed everything. When I first started it was necessary to be a jack of trades and I relied heavily on local word of mouth for my clients. The web opens one’s doors to the world and encourages specialization. We now quite regularly do work for people from out of state. Students find us through our website and even come from other countries.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1457 S, Broadway
  Denver CO 80210
• Website: VictorGuitar.com ColoradoSchoolofLutherie.com Banjolas.com
• Phone: 303-777-7411
• Email: edward@victorguitar.com
• Instagram: VictorGuitarCO ColoradoSchoolofLutherie
• Facebook: Victor Guitar
• Twitter: Victor Guitar
• Yelp: Victor Guitar
• Other: Victor Guitar

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