Frank Ford, co-founder of Gryphon Stringed Instruments, dies

Frank Ford wearing his “trademark” Hawaiian shirt, hard at work repairing a guitar. Photo courtesy Michael Simmons.

Frank Ford, the co-founder of Gryphon Stringed Instruments and a beloved member of the Palo Alto musicians’ community, died after a brief illness on Sunday, Dec 17. He was 79.

A longtime resident of the Bay Area, Ford was best known for his work at Gryphon, which he co-founded with his friend Richard Johnston. His foray into playing, building and repairing stringed instruments began during his years at UC Santa Barbara, where, according to his website, he “fell under the spell of bluegrass music” and began to play the mandolin.

Ford met Johnston during his time at Santa Barbara, and together they decided to establish in 1969 a place to build instruments out of Ford’s home. Seeing the need for an established storefront, Ford and Johnston moved their operation to El Camino Way and then in 1975 to where it remains today, on Lambert Avenue in the Ventura neighborhood

Ford was best known for his vast knowledge about fretted instruments — such as guitars, mandolins and banjos — and recorded a great deal of this knowledge on his website, frets.com. He was lauded for sharing his expertise and making it accessible to the public on his website rather than putting it into a book and selling it.

“He never told jokes he’d learned from someone else, and there was no wind-up, no nudge-nudge, and no following belly laugh,” he said in an email. “He cracked you up and moved on. Best of all, he poked fun at himself and only rarely at others.”

Ford was also known for his generosity and kindness and for going above and beyond with customers and coworkers.

“When first-time visitors to Gryphon asked if he was Frank, his cheeky reply was, ‘I try to be.’ As we move into a future without him, we will try to keep this spirit alive and will try to be a bit Frank, as well,” the store said in a statement.

“He was the squarest of squares and the hippest of cats all at once and had an awesome sense of humor,” Brian Michael, a member of the repair crew at Gryphon, said in an email. 

Michael John Simmons, a member of the sales crew at Gryphon who has worked there since 1984, said he was always impressed by how content Ford was to come into work every day, and how much he enjoyed working with customers and staff.

“I remember a few years ago after he returned to the store after a few weeks away dealing with a health issue,” Simmons said in an email. “Someone asked if he should be at home recovering and he replied, ‘I am home.’”

“His partnership with Richard and the creation of their Gryphon Stringed Instruments is legendary and a real testament to what a music store can bring to a community,” they said in a statement.

The school is also launching a scholarship fund in his honor, to “allow learning experiences for aspiring luthiers for years to come.”

Anyone interested in donating to the fund can mail a check to Gryphon Stringed Instruments at 211 Lambert Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 or the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery at 1012 Grand Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007, or contact info@roberto-venn.com or call 602-243-117 for more information.