William Allen Asher (born 24 July 1964) is a Californian-born

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

(guitar maker) in the Los Angeles area. He has been in the guitar repair and restoration business for over 30 years and has been building high-end, custom guitars for 15 years. He is best known for helping revive the

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

instrument into popular music by creating a modern-day lap steel guitar that is now used in a variety of musical genres.

Early life

Asher was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and is the son of actress

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

and director

William Asher William Milton Asher (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series. Wit ...

. He was brought up in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

and lived with his brother Robert and sister Rebecca. He attended

El Rodeo School The Beverly Hills Unified School District, abbreviated BHUSD, is a school district based in Beverly Hills, California. It was unified into an elementary and high school district in 1936. Serving the city of Beverly Hills, it consists of one middl ...

, then

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

. He graduated from University High School in 1982. He was always interested in music, even at a young age. It was in this high school wood shop class where he attempted to build his first guitar body. After graduation from high school, Asher took his unfinished guitar to a Los Angeles repair shop owned by Jeff Lunsford. At the end of the summer, Lunsford offered Asher an apprenticeship at the guitar shop.

Career

After the summer of 1982, Asher began an apprenticeship with luthier Jeff Lunsford at a Los Angeles guitar repair shop. He worked with Lunsford for 4 years before moving on to work with other luthiers such as Rick Turner, and Mark Lacey, before opening up his own guitar repair shop, Guitar Traditions, in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. He moved from Guitar Traditions and now works at a private shop in Los Angeles called Asher Guitars & Lap Steels. He services guitars for many famous musicians and builds high end guitars and lap steels.

References

External links

Bill Asher websiteAsher GT-3 Review
on

Premier Guitar ''Premier Guitar'' is a media company devoted to guitarists. It is based in Marion, Iowa, and it's staff is focused on creating the best website, videos, podcasts, and print/digital magazine for gearheads around the world. Interviews have include ...

Fretboard Journal articleGuitar Player Magazine review of the Asher T Deluxe Guitar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Bill Guitar makers Living people 1964 births People from Santa Monica, California Beverly Hills High School alumni American musical instrument makers