Gene Baker (b3 Guitars)

Baker Guitars 1999-2003

I had a dream and I was chasing it! I began building my first Baker model designs as as early as 1994 having connected with Gil Vasquez and utilizing his one car garage as a start, then bought our first house in 1995 which tripled the shop size. Baker Guitars was officially started as a business in 1997 to gain a few years of banking before departure from Fender. I left Fender early 1999 to start Baker Guitars in Santa Maria CA. I had been a Central Coast resident for many years starting 1982 and always loved the region for awesome weather year round, really hard to beat Pismo Beach area for quality of your daily experience so it was always a dream to return back to the CC under my own business. We held our Grand Opening on my birthday in July having embraced the endeavor with business loans filling the shop with everything we needed to have a chance at being competitive. We quickly expanded from one 1500 sq ft shop to adding the next suite next to us to increase to 3000 sq ft while also separating the woodshop from paint buff and administration.

Fine Tuned Instruments b3 Guitars debut 2005-2008

Upon exiting Ernie Ball there were a bunch of customers that had purchased incomplete guitars from the Baker Guitars liquidation that needed completion. So with all the required chores in front of me I basically started creating the paint and assembly departments and worked myself backwards adding new tools or departments as the chore happened. This allowed me to slowly rebuild all I was doing and slowly grow my space as needed. The name b3 was a combination of thoughts joined together at the hip between Cliff Cultreri of Destroy All Guitars, Matte Henderson (artist) and myself. It was my 3rd business venture, brainstormed by three people and a hint at chemistry merged with the powerful Ohm symbol. b3 in simple meant Built By Baker. This era was heavily driven by myself and Justin Abernethy who was the first hire under Baker Guitars and he would go on to work with me across 3 companies. Today Justin operates his own Bottomline Abernethy Guitars out of Guadalupe CA….https://bakerbuiltb3.com/

Larry Mitchell (Artist / Producer)

Larry Mitchell is a Grammy award-winning producer, engineer and performer who has toured the world playing guitar with well-known artists including Tracy Chapman, Billy Squier, Ric Ocasek and Miguel Bosé. In his original compositions, Larry skillfully weaves guitar textures that showcase his virtuosity as a solo artist and ensemble player.

As an artist, he has released 9 solo records, 2 EP’s and won a San Diego Music Award for best pop jazz artist.

As a producer-engineer, Larry has won 26 New Mexico Music Awards in various categories from pop, adult contemporary, rap, rock, country and Native American. He won a Grammy Award for producing, engineering and performing on “Totemic Flute Chants” by artist Johnny Whitehorse, who is better known as Robert Mirabal of Taos Pueblo.

Larry is currently touring with his own trio as well as with Native artists Shelley Morningsong, Dawn Avery, Joy Harjo and Robert Mirabal.

On September 14, 2025, Larry had the distinguished honor of participating in A Topology of Sound, a groundbreaking work by composer Tim Brady. Presented in collaboration with the acclaimed Australian ensemble Topology and featuring 100 local Brisbane guitarists, the performance was hosted at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Brisbane Festival in Australia and delivered an unprecedented sonic experience. Truly, a must-watch performance.

He has many long-standing endorsements and relationships with companies such as D’Marzio Pickups, Tech 21 NYC, Dava Picks, Majik Box, Fractal Audio, Composite Acoustics, Hotone, Keeley Electronics and now with Knaggs Guitars and Godin Acoustic Guitars….https://www.larrymitchell.com/