About Us

In the beginning ...

The saga begins way back in 1986, in the fair city of Montreal, Quebec, where I worked for eleven years at Steve's Music Store, on St. Antoine Street, the largest music store in Eastern Canada, honing my skills as a luthier on every type of guitar, bass guitar, mandolin and banjo that the musicians of Montreal could throw at me. (And that's a lot!) I was one of a team of three luthiers, second in seniority, when I decided to strike out on my own.

Spreading wings...

In 1996, I set up shop in Calgary, when offers of employment from two American companies, Elderly Instruments in Lancing, Michigan, and Picker's Supply in Fredricksburg, Virginia, had bogged down in red tape. I worked for one year in association with GuitarWorks, then, for two years, with Calgary Musical Repair and Sales. From May 1999 - March 2002 I had the pleasure of working with The Acoustic Guitar Store. The spontaneous jam sessions, fine instruments, and good people I encountered there are a part of my history to be fondly remembered.

The spontaneous jam sessions, fine instruments, and good people I encountered
there are a part of my history to be fondly remembered.

Fun stuff ...

In addition to my usual shop work, I have served for three years as the on-site repair technician for the Calgary Folk Festival. I love that All-Access-Pass...coming to the rescue of musicians needing emergency work done on their instruments.

Like most luthiers, I love to play my guitars too, and have been doing so for the past thirty-five years, playing a variety of styles ranging from down-east country to blues, rock, classical and jazz. I have found that studying the various guitar styles and techniques has given me a deeper understanding of what each genre demands in a set up. Studying cello for a year has also given me an understanding of what bass players require from their instruments. Yes, I take bass players seriously! My current musical passion is European Gypsy Jazz, which I have performed for the past two years around Calgary, using Selmer-style guitars.

I have found that studying the various guitar styles and techniques has given me a
deeper understanding of what each genre demands in a set up.

Getting serious...

On March 1, 2002, I opened the doors of my own repair shop, at a location in Southeast Calgary.In 2005 I left guitar repair for personal reasons and returned to it in 2007. I work by appointment out of my residence now in the NW of Calgary, where I continue to focus on my personal specialty - the restoration of vintage instruments - as well as general repair work with every kind of fretted stringed instrument. Yes, folks, from the Strat to the sitar, and everything in between.