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 Steve: Mike, tell us about yourself - Your history in the business, and how you came to be a master luthier.
Mike: First off, I’d like to thank the Sevenstring.org staff and its members for the opportunity for this interview. This site is by far the coolest website out there with a lot of talented, and knowledgeable members. You guys have made me feel at home here, and I thank you for being so kind and supportive in my work. I would also like to thank SS.org member, Eric Lovett (urklvt) for building my website, and being the promotional machine that he is!
I do not consider myself a "master luthier" and I never will. I am flattered that I have been recognized by my peers as such, but I strongly believe that I always will need to improve, both with my instruments and as a person, and I push myself to do so. You are never too old to learn and improve. I was born and raised in Chicago in '61 and actually started as an Auto Mechanic working for a Chevrolet dealer. Being a musician, it seems I would always bash my hands on the day of a gig. One day, it happened for the last time and I quit. Being out of work, there were several Guitar companies in the area in the '70's and '80's, so I figured I would try to land a job in the industry since I was building guitars as a hobby.
My first gig with a major manufacturer was at Hohner back in '78, where I worked in the R&D division. My job duties were to inspect warranty repairs, and determine why they were happening. I would always bring in my basses that I was building at home and the head brass took notice in my designs, which led to designing prototypes for the company. I did that gig for two years until that one day when Hohner decided to downsize and move the R&D division to Arizona. Man, was I bummed that day. It was such a fun and relaxed gig! From there, I went to work for Dean Guitars when they back at the Ravenswood Shop in Chicago. I worked in the binding, and neck department. After that stint, I went to work for Magnetic Radiation laboratories where I was a Machinist. This company made various shielded metal parts for the Aerospace industry, and NASA. It still is kind or surreal to me that I have actually made parts that are on one of the Lunar Rovers on the Moon. I was working part time in the evenings for my local music store (Kagan & Gaines) doing repairs during that stint with MRL, and I asked the owner if I could hang some of my instruments in the store. He said "yes" and I sold my guitars exclusively through them. There started to be a buzz generating around my Basses, and I made the decision to quit the Machinist job to fill the orders and go full time as a Luthier for myself. The orders would come in spurts, so there would be lulls in incoming orders at times.
I saw an add in the paper for Hamer Guitars in the help wanted section of the local paper out in Arlington Heights. I will never forget that day as I just decided to go there with three of my instruments and apply for the job. I filled out an application and showed my instruments to Annette, the receptionist. She replied with, "Oh, I know Frank is going to want to talk to you". After a few minutes, Frank walks up to the window and looks at me holding my instruments and says, "We do not do repairs here!", and walks away. Annette says, "He just didn’t dis you like that did he?", runs up to Frank and says, "He is applying for the job, and he made those guitars". Frank came back to the window and says, "You made those? Get in here". After my initial intervie... [Read More] | | Newest Gallery Images | 
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