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Little did I know that, at eight years old, listening to the Beatles would start a love affair with the guitar that has lasted a lifetime. It all began for me on my 10th birthday when my mom bought me an incredibly inexpensive electric guitar that needed some work. As a kid, I was curious about how things worked, so I would always take things apart to investigate how they functioned, and sometimes, I would put them back together correctly. After tinkering with my new awesomely cheap guitar, I realized I couldn’t tune it. As much as I tried to understand Mel Bay's how to play guitar book, it was useless unless the guitar was in tune. I went back to the music store and they charged me five dollars to tune my guitar, which took all of five seconds. I thought it was a great deal, and I carried it back in the plastic bag that it came in, only to discover that when I got it home, it was out of tune again. After that experience, I began to wonder what the difference was between a good playing guitar and a bad one. At 13 years old, I found out.
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After an argument with my brother, I had an electric guitar that was in 50 pieces (he obviously won the fight!). I had no choice but to fix it, and with a good deal of glue and some electrical tape, I had a frankenstein guitar that obviously wasn’t working properly. I realized I needed help. I opened up the yellow pages and found a vintage looking ad and figured they must have experience (Alex Music on 48th Street.) So I got myself a token and got on the subway. The man behind the counter laughed at my restoration attempt hysterically (it was pretty bad!), but he admired my determination, so he asked me to help him in the shop that day, and at the end of shop hours, he would see what he could do for me. I loved it, I was surrounded by guitars, some very broken, some not so broken, but I was amazed, feeling that I was in a special place where magic happens.
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He did fix my guitar and told me that after school, if i wanted, I could help him in the shop. I was there the next day and the next day after that for six years. It was probably illegal for me to be working at such a young age, but to me it wasn't work, I was so happy just being around guitars. At that time, i didn’t know that Pasquale (the shop owner) was a highly respected luthier in New York City. He was an old school Italian guy, with incredibly bad english (we communicated by me speaking spanish, while he spoke italian, It was crazy, but it worked!) He was an old world craftsman luthier with an incredible knowledge of musical instrument construction. I had no idea at that time in my life, I was learning a skill that I still use today. After Alex Music, I worked for many reputable shops all over New York, including Rudy’s Music Shop and Focus II (now Music Emporium).
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As a teenager, my father insisted that I get a degree because he felt that there was no future in playing with guitars all day, so I studied art and became an illustrator. Upon graduation I tried it, but it was not what I wanted to do with my life, so I went back to playing with guitars. I was lucky that I've always had steady customers and a good reputation that has followed me. When Guitar Center came to New York and opened up their first store, I got involved. I struggled and worked hard to get factory authorized with as many guitar companies as I could, and as Guitar Center branched out in the New York area, I branched out with them. At one point, I was working in eight Guitar Centers by myself doing two stores in one day (12 hour work days.)
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As the years went on, Guitar Center's direction changed drastically. If you know how some corporations work, they usually cut from the top, meaning they will let go of a more experienced, knowledgeable person and hire 3 novices in his place and pay less wages and/or mold them to conform to their corporate practices. That might work with some things but not Musical instruments, people (customers) are smarter than that. They know the difference.
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Fast forward to today, I started my own shop where my customers can get excellent work at fair prices and be treated with respect by a true professional. In my shop, the customer always comes first, and being factory authorized, we have all the major guitar companies standing behind us. Anything you can imagine, we can do. Our client list is an unbelievable group of artists, including, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Elliot Easton, Ace Frehley, John Petrucci and many, many more. We offer excellent repair work, in an expedited time frame, with nothing overlooked. Estimates are free, and we always give free advice, so our customers can benefit from our knowledge. If you decide to get your guitar serviced at a corporate chain store where a non-musician corporate executive profits from your hard earned money, just remember, you get what you pay for.
