Scott Stancil’s Guitar Studio Feature

By Adia Keene

Pictured above: A Fender Telecaster guitar covered in band stickers that Scott Stancil has dubbed the

“Stickercaster”.

The main studio of Scott Stancil’s Guitar Studio in Kensington, Maryland, is actually

located in the basement of the two-level business. For Stancil, the studio is the perfect

combination of comfortable and professional, with a red carpet and painted wall sceneries, which

include a sunset and outer space. The studio features a large drum set, several amplifiers and

guitars hanging on the walls that are exchanged from time to time depending on what Stancil is

repairing or has recently found. It’s hard to imagine that it used to be an unfurnished, entirely

cement room before he converted it alongside one of his former students.

Sitting at the computer nested in the wall of his studio, Stancil scrolled through photos,

dating back to 2013. Amidst the many photos of his family there were images of rare guitars
from museums and exhibits, vintage cars and motorcycles, landscaping projects and wild animals

found on hikes. At a quick glance, someone might be confused as to what Stancil actually does.

“I’m like a Renaissance guy,” the guitar teacher said, chuckling a bit. “It’s how I’ve been

described.”

But at the end of the day, music is the interest that presides over all others for Stancil.

Along with playing the guitar, he plays the drums, bass, keyboard, mandolin and banjo, among

other instruments he’s picked up over the years. Stancil began playing the guitar at age seven,

greatly because his mom played. Out of five siblings, he is the only one still playing the stringed

instrument, though his brother plays classical piano and is a talented composer.

Stancil began studying music in 1980 at Montgomery College as a performance guitar

student. When he caught wind of a music business program in Nashville at Belmont College, he

knew that it was something he would be interested in. After finishing his studies Stancil moved

back to Maryland. His first job out of college was as a luthier’s assistant. A luthier, which is

derivative of “lute maker”, refers to those who build string instruments. Stancil had no prior

experience in making instruments prior to taking on the job but he found the experience

invaluable. In 1992, Stancil shifted gears towards becoming a teacher and in 1994 he opened his

own studio.

“It appears that after twenty years of teaching that that’s my true passion, but my interest

in building comes through in that,” Stancil said, as he continued to search through the pictures to

find an image of an original guitar he had built.

After a bit of time searching, he settled on pointing out an instrument that already hung

on the wall. Around the same time he worked as luthier, Stancil worked in a lumber yard, which
stood in place of the storage facility that is located across from his studio. He bought wood from

the lumber yard which he used to construct the body for what he refers to as the “Space Bass”

due to its galaxy-covered finish. It was one of his first building projects and he takes great pride

in it.

Pictured above is the Space Bass, which hangs on one of the painted walls in the studio.

When Stancil returned to the computer, he pulled up an image of an acoustic guitar. “A

1965 Martin D-28,” he explained. “The binding was cracked.” While the value of the guitar he

repaired is unclear, some vintage Martin guitars are valued up to six-figures. Vintage guitars are

always a difficult task as customers not only want the guitar to be fixed, but wish for them to

remain as true to their original condition as possible.

“It’s pretty intense,” Stancil remarked. “Like guitar surgery.”

Stancil himself is a collector of some older guitars. One guitar he has is a 1965 Gibson

Melody Maker. Gibson, like Martin, is a company whose guitars only appreciate value over time.

The guitar is one of the original student models for guitars and it used to belong to Stancil’s

brother. Since receiving it, Stancil has replaced the guitar’s red finish with a sunburst one.
 Stancil holding his 1965 Gibson Melody Maker.

He owns several other rare guitars of the Gibson variety, including a hollow bodied guitar

- specifically a 1966 ES 330 - old enough the originally white binding has yellowed and a special

25th Anniversary Les Paul. The Les Paul is one of the most common electric guitars in rock

music and was designed by its namesake, Les Paul, who was a famous guitarist and luthier.

Among Stancil’s more unique acquisitions is an SG model guitar, which is only a recent

addition.

Stancil was unsure of the specific series of guitars the SG was a part of when he first

acquired it, but he approached it as another potential project. His original plan was to strip the

guitar of its black finish, but as he began to remove the top layer of paint, he another, more

unique one beneath it. The red, black and white swirled design included the text “People Are

Strange” and the name “Emily.” Further research revealed it to be a limited run 2005 “Emily the

Strange” model Epiphone SG guitar. Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson and Emily the Strange
is an advertising mascot character. Stancil referenced the guitar as a prime of example of what

tinkering with guitars can yield.

Stancil pictured with his Emily the Strange guitar.

While building, modifying and antiquing, a term which refers to the process by which

new guitars are made to look older, are major interests of Stancil’s, at the end of the day, he is

first and foremost a teacher. In the midst of the many photos in his collection, there are many that

feature his students either in pictures or in videos of live performances. Stancil himself performs

from time to time.

“For ten years, I’ve been putting a live band on a trailer,” he elaborated as he pulled up a

video of the band performing in the Kensington Labor Day Parade. They have an old school

bluesy sound which is not heard too often these days on the radio.

Stancil also performed at an Einstein High School reunion with his high school band,

Scotty Got Arrested. He was never actually arrested, but the bassist came up with the name when

he was in a court case involving the chickens that were living in his backyard. He can proudly
say that he won the case. Additionally, Stancil loves forming student bands and filling in if

there’s an instrument needed in the ensemble.

“I didn’t really want to be a performer, but I do it to keep my skills sharp,” Stancil

explained. When considering why he does any of it - the performing, the teaching, the repairing

- he had one simple response. He relayed of a story of a woman he met when she was 75 and

began taking guitar lessons. She continued taking lessons up until she was 85. Today, she is 94

and is still in good health. Stancil strongly believes that learning an instrument or even just

listening music can have positive psychological effects.

Stancil certainly isn’t alone in his thinking. Abi Koehler, a fifteen year old musician,

plays the upright bass, electric bass, guitar, piano, and ukulele. Koehler also holds the firm belief

that learning new skills is good for mental health.

“I always want to learn new instruments so I can play more types of music and be

involved in more music groups,” she shared. “Just playing music in general can be good to help

destress and relax and express yourself.”

Despite being a teacher, Stancil states that no matter how much one has learned, there are

always ways to expand upon skills or develop new ones, regardless of how talented a person is.

This sentiment is also relevant in Stancil’s other interest.

“The whole reason I do this is because it’s a form of healthful living,” Stancil concluded.