From Hagerstown to the Stars

Paul Beard and the resonator guitars he builds in his basement.

Paul Beard builds resonator guitars in his basement, and they find their way to stars and stages around the world

By Laura Forrest Hopfauf

Paul Beard started building resonator guitars in a Hagerstown basement 40 years ago. At that time, he wasn’t setting out to build a business. Instead, he was setting out to make music. Today, Beard Guitars has grown into a formidable business, handcrafting guitars in Washington County that have been played on celebrated stages from The Grammys to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, by iconic artists like The Eagles and Creedence Clearwater Revival, and by contemporary stars such as Oliver Anthony and Mumford and Sons.  

Paul Beard and his son, Ben.

“I never intended to build guitars for a living,” Beard says. “I was playing music on the road at that time while I was searching for a career, and I was looking for a higher quality resonator guitar than what I owned. 

“I decided to build my own instrument, and from showing that guitar to others who were interested, I was able to take two orders for custom guitars. The orders kind of snowballed at that point. The more guitars I got into the hands of musicians, the more orders I took, and I found that I liked that challenge.” 

Lesser-known than a traditional acoustic or electric guitar, resonator guitars like Beard builds were created in the 1920s to make guitars louder in the pre-amplification era. The resonator guitar, although often associated with 1930s and 40s blues musicians, can be used to create almost any sound a musician is hoping to produce, no matter what kind of music they play. 

“The resonator guitar produces a very different sound than a standard acoustic guitar and that sound is very appealing for different genres of music. It is very vocal like or can emulate the human voice in some cases. The first time I heard a resonator guitar, I was immediately drawn to it because it had such a different sound and seemed to be more expressive in the acoustic guitar world, to my ear. That is still what draws me to it,” Beard says. 

Ben Beard, Paul’s son who builds guitars alongside his father, explains the way a resonator works. “A resonator guitar functions much the same way [as acoustic], but instead of the strings being attached to the top of the guitar, they are attached to a mechanically driven metal speaker, which creates a louder sound, more metallic, and brighter than a standard acoustic guitar,” he says.

Paul and Ben show off their hand-made guitars.

Building resonator guitars that find homes in the hands of musicians around the world is a family affair for the Beards. In addition to Ben helping his father, Paul’s daughter Becka works as the social media manager for Beard Guitars and his wife Bobbi takes care of bookkeeping. 

“Growing up around this work I didn’t realize that hand-building and designing custom guitars wasn’t a normal job,” Ben says. “But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand it for what it is: a rare opportunity to serve others in a way that brings them immense joy and satisfaction. 

“There is nothing quite like handing someone their dream guitar and watching their face light up. I’m really proud of what my dad has built over the last 40 years, and it’s an honor to continue in this work.”

Paul adds, “It’s fun to come to work and hang out with your kids. I never imagined that my family would be involved in the business when I started, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

At work in Paul Beard’s basement, he and his son, Ben, build guitars for the stars.

That’s a part of the business that Ben treasures even more now that he has a son himself.

“The thought of possibly being able to spend every day working with him one day showed me how blessed I am to do this with my father,” Ben says.

Even though guitar builders are typically associated with larger entertainment-driven cities than Hagerstown, Paul is deeply connected to the area, and he chose to keep Beard Guitars in Washington County.

“I grew up in Hagerstown and I’m a fourth-generation resident of Washington County,” he says. “It would’ve been easier to conduct this type of business in a place like Nashville, Memphis, or Los Angeles, but the allure of those places never came to me because I have always held a strong connection to home.”

Even 40 years later, Paul still feels surprise and joy when he sees his guitars on stage.

“I’m still not used to that,” he says. “It is cool to see that something I started in my basement here in Hagerstown has now made its way to stages worldwide.”