MASTER LUTHIER & TALENTED MUSICIAN
Doc Pittillo has been building, designing and servicing all types of stringed instruments for over 40 years. Based in Southern California, countless musical greats even ship to him to keep their instruments in top performance condition. What sets Doc apart is the fact that he’s also a talented musician who has spent many years perfecting his craft on the road. This gave him more of a sixth sense about finding the sweet spot on any given instrument.
As a kid he grew up working on race cars and boats with his father and was a pretty good machinist at an early age. He learned how to observe the details early on. By his late teens he ended up in an old world apprenticeship with a guy by the name of Zell Tate. Zell was actually an aerospace engineer and master craftsman who designed guidance systems for Apollo. Zell had a deep love of music. This was in Fullerton just blocks away from the old Fender factory and 20 minutes to Rickenbacker. Early on, Doc was rubbing elbows with guys like Leo Fender, John Hall Sr., George Fullerton, Doc Kaufman, Paul Barth and countless other original inventor/designers of what has come to be known as the modern electric guitar and amplifier. Southern California (Orange County in particular) has an incredibly rich history of growth within the music industry. Doc knows that these guys got so much right. Most everything to this day is a sort of hybrid of Fender, Gibson and of course Les Paul who he would never leave out of the equation.
Doc was also fortunate to be exposed to a huge variety of music which has influenced his style of playing and scope of knowledge about a variety of stringed instruments. Doc recalls that “on any given day Zell and I would listen to anything from Hendrix to The Who to Forrest Lloyd, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal, Jug bands like Jim Kweskin and Maria Muldaur, classical and straight country.” This shaped his musical perspective, as well as his love and respect for a variety of instruments. Doc feels incredibly blessed not only to play music, create in wood and metal, but also do what he has always loved and still loves to do.