Biography

When I first decided I wanted to play guitar at around age 13, I asked my father if he could get me a Les Paul just like Jimmy Page’s.  He said “sure”, and took me to a local pawnshop and bought me a $50 Korean Les Paul copy.  It looked the part but it played terrible, so… I began to fix it as best as I could.  That began a love affair with the guitar that has lasted ever since.

About the time I graduated from high school, my father decided to buy a handmade guitar from a local luthier named Mark Lacey.  My dad would film various stages of Mark’s building process and began a friendship with him.  Somehow, he convinced Mark to hire me as an apprentice and I began to sand bodies, do general repairs and sweep sawdust.  When Mark relocated to Nashville in 1993, I was forced to take a job at the local hardware store where I actually gained quite a lot of useful and practical knowledge.

In 1994, I took a job with local guitar finisher, Pat Wilkins.  I worked at his shop for about a year and a half sanding guitar bodies 10 hours a day, four days a week – brutal, but I was beginning to hone my building skills. 

Finally, with the help of my parents, I enrolled in Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona.  While there I built two electric guitars and one flat top acoustic.  Other than the grueling schedule and lack of females, the experience was probably one of the best in my life.  I immersed myself in guitar building and repair and realized that this is what I was meant to do.

After graduation from Roberto-Venn, I worked for several small guitar companies until I landed a job at ESP in 1999.  I honed my skills there for 6 years, moving from a general setup tech to overseeing the custom builds and customizing endorsee guitars.  I worked on every type of “metal” guitar possible but eventually tired of the routine. 

In 2005, my mentor and master luthier, John Gaudesi, called me about a job opening at the Yamaha Custom Shop.  I jumped at the opportunity and enjoyed three years working at Yamaha with my friend and mentor, which I will never forget.  At Yamaha we built custom instruments from start to finish, prototypes for new guitars, and custom pieces for Yamaha artists. 

Oh yes … here’s the important part! In February 2001, I also started my own part-time repair shop, which is now a full-time operation.  Throughout this time, I have been able to establish an extensive client base, in addition to servicing some local guitar retailers. 

I have realized my childhood dream of owning and running my own guitar repair shop.  I provide my clients with expert guitar repair and restoration, so if you have a guitar that needs repair, please give me a call!