Hi again,

I think it might be helpful to explain how I
became involved with guitar repairing. My dad,
Harold, is a brilliant person, and very adept at
all things mechanical. Even though he and my
mother were not musically inclined, nor is my
older brother Jonathan, I found an interest in
the guitar at age 7. This must have been from
watching Chet Atkins and Roy Clark on TV, but
I don't specifically remember.

Where my musical abilities came from is still a
mystery to me, however I'm quite sure that any
mechanical skills I have must have been inherited
from my dad. Growing up I always enjoyed helping
him fix the lawnmower, the car, the washing machine
restoring the old house; whatever he was working on,
I found it interesting. Tools became nearly as
fascinating as musical instruments.

I suppose it was a natural evolution for me as I
was trying to eek out a career as a full time bluegrass
musician based in Massachusetts, that my second
profession would be in repair. I tried working in sales and
management (in music stores of course) however I did
not do well in retail. Eventually I decided to start doing
really basic fixes (replacing tuners, restringing, adjusting
truss rods, and the like) and this evolved over a few years
into performing more advanced work. Back in the late
1980's there were not as many sources for repair techniques
as there are today, but I did benefit from Don Teeter's
dated, but fine guitar repair manuals, as well as other
sources I could find.

Many clients were very patient, and understanding with
me in those early years as I more or less learned the trade
doing a lot of repairs by improvisation and feel. At times
is was pretty much like walking around blindfolded; just
reacting to whatever I bumped into. Sometimes it's still
like that, but I was always guided by my musician's sense,
and the mechanical abilities my dad taught me.

Experience can be a good teacher if you pay attention
and always look at yourself as a work-in-progress.
I find it personally inspiring to always look at tasks,
even the simple ones, as techniques I'm still trying to
improve upon. I believe the learning never ends.

It's also noteworthy that there are now a lot of great
repair websites, books, and videos readily available.
These can be extremely helpful, however I believe
strongly that you must jump right in and develop your own
personal senses to do any avocation to your potential.

My next post will discuss more specifics on how I decided
to structure my repair shop. There are some general
principles with which the business is guided and I'll
share them with you in my next contribution to the blog.

Regards,

Dave