05/28/2026
Something that people may not realize: I could not be more grateful to have found a passion and vocation that really suits me, and my appreciation of the changes that have occurred over my almost 3 decades of doing this work. I’m aware that I and my skills have grown exponentially in this time, and that there will always be more to learn
As an apprentice, the fundamentals seemed endlessly daunting and tedious at times. I’ve learned that never ends
As a barely experienced tech, I realized how little I knew without a mentor around to lean on; but I did have the gumption to persist and ask questions and sought further guidance, from those willing to aid
As a slightly more experienced tech, I realized how much I’d learned and further realized how much more I needed to know. I also started to see those who valued what I do and those who didn’t
As a yet more experienced tech, my desire to achieve better results than I was prior capable of grew more - even if satisfactory to the client
Ad nauseum, these perceptions/considerations remain. As I say to clients with regularity and verbatim: talk to me in a year and I’ll say how much I sucked last year. This will persist. If I don’t learn something every day - no matter how seemingly small - I’m not paying attention
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was from Ed Manteufel. If you knew him, he was a kind man, RIP. He told me that being a tech makes you notice all of the details; to the point that you bring those observations into your personal relationships. Leave that at your shop door. As a tech, we are to repair things, but relationships are not the instruments we breathe new life into. If you treat your relationships like you do an overhaul, you’ll only and unnecessarily alienate people. Sound advice
As I approach 30 years of repair and restoration, I love that I get to tinker until I’m happy, and that my client is happy. Music is a language that unifies and those that make music speak that language best when their instrument is as it’s supposed to be, or better than they knew it could be
To all of you, thank you
