Pro Bench Bios

[Turnaround]

RICHARD BALES: STRING INSTRUMENT TECHNICIAN

First off, I do not call myself a luthier - I reserve that term for those who make instruments. I repair instruments. I can, and have made instruments, but I leave that activity to those who prefer the making to the repairing. My preference runs the other way.

Current Positions: Owner/Operator of Richard Bales Restorations (string instrument repairs) based in Toronto Canada. Instrument Technician at Club Bass, Toronto. Contract technician to Toronto District School Board for string instrument repairs.

Background: Repairing instruments since age 15 (over 50 years now), seriously as a sideline since age 22, and full time for the past 7 years. Basics of woodworking were learned at the side of my grandfather who was a very skilled woodworker, tool and die maker, and demanding teacher. Did museum quality restoration of antique furniture for a number of years as a full-time business (hence the name of my business). For a few years designed and manufactured custom high-end speaker cabinets.

As a Musician: Started on piano at age 6. Picked up guitar at age 14 (within a year I had to learn to do repairs myself, there were no music stores anywhere nearby). Started playing bass at age 15. Studied at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. Worked in bands, as a single guitarist/singer and sideman through university days. Aside from a serious hiatus when I gave up performing for a number of years, I have been playing many forms of music my whole life. Currently I am playing bass for two Toronto-based bands, hold the position of resident bassist for the Corktown Ukulele Jam, and pick up recording and sideman work.

 

[walterw]

i'll play:

also a fixer rather than a builder (overlapping but different skill sets).

Current Position: primary instrument repair tech at Alpha Music in Virginia Beach since 1994

Previous Positions: guitar repairs and sales at a few other music stores, professional club sound engineering

Background: my earliest guitar memory is sawing the bottom 1/2" off my mom's mini-clipboard with a coping saw to shim up the floating bridge on my hunk o' junk sears acoustic with the musical notes spray-painted on it; i've been taking apart and fixing guitars ever since for myself and my friends, and eventually managed to turn a compulsive personality disorder into a way to put food on the table.

As A Musician: a left-handed 5th-grader fortunately issued a right-handed cello in orchestra class, i took to stuff with strings immediately. as a teen i couldn't decide if i wanted to be ace frehley or gene simmons, so i learned guitar and bass, and have played both ever since; later i couldn't decide if i wanted to be jimmy page or john paul jones, and learned mandolin, banjo, lap steel, and other fun string instruments (hurdy-gurdy, anyone?).

at the moment i'm playing guitar in one working band, guitar, lap steel and mandolin in another, bass in a third, and serving as a "bass mercenary" in a few more.

Repair Philosophy: my life as a gigging player has always influenced my approach to guitar repair; to me, these things aren't furniture to be looked at, they're tools to be used, essentially paintbrushes for creating music. i want the instrument to "get out of the way" of the player, so they focus on the music itself, the whole point of the exercise.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Sure, I'll sign up!

Bruce Johnson; Pro Luthier Also: Mad Inventor; Antique Machinery Historian

Current Position: Owner of Johnson's Extremely Strange Musical Instrument Company, Fillmore, CA. I've been in business since 1990; more or less full time since 1997. My own specialty is Ampeg-style Scroll Basses. I restore the original Ampegs, and I build new-generation Scroll Basses of a similar style. I do everything myself. I have a full machine shop and electronics lab, in addition to the woodworking shop. I make all my own custom metal hardware and pickups for my basses, and I also do all my own finishing.

The other half of my business is supplying custom components and services to other Luthiers and instrument manufacturers around the Los Angeles area. I specialize in neck structures and truss rods, and I supply partially-machined necks made to custom order. I've built my own machinery that allows me to build necks to almost any size, geometry, scale length, and style of construction. I also provide specialized machining services and custom tools to pro Luthiers.

I do some repair work, but it's mostly the really nasty jobs. Serious structural repairs that other Luthiers send me. Necks that arrive in several pieces. Broken truss rods. Missing irreplaceable hardware. The hopeless cases.

Background: I really am a pro Mad Inventor. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree and many patents. I spent about 25 years in the corporate R & D world, designing and building all kinds of wacky things. I started out in the world of auto racing, then designed big gun systems for the Army, a few years at the Lockheed Skunk Works, and a decade or so at Walt Disney Imagineering. Race cars, howitzers, secret planes, robots and ride systems. I've had about as much fun as you can have as an engineer. I'm also an experienced machinist, woodworker, welder, electronics technician, and technical illustrator. Back when it was done with pens.

But, I've always loved musical instruments. They are a fascinating mix of engineering, craftsmanship, artistic design, and even a little bit of psychology. I enjoy all those fields. So, I've decided to be a Mad Luthier as my semi-retirement business. I intend to spend the rest of my years here in my secret underground laboratory, figuring out how musical instruments work, and cool new ways to build them.

My hobby is antique machinery and industrial history. I collect and restore old metalworking and woodworking machinery, and I particularly love machines from 1900-1950. Milling machines, lathes, large drill presses, bandsaws, leather belt drives, that kind of thing. About half of the machines in my shop are older than I am. The total weight of my shop is about 34 tons. I know this because I recently moved it all 45 miles. My new home is in the basement of a huge old factory building, dating back to 1914. It's cool and comfortable down here, and on weekends old historic trains roll by right outside my windows. The perfect environment to work on my machines and build Scroll Basses.

As A Musician: I enjoy playing music as a limited hobby, but not enough to be a pro or do steady gigging. I've been in bands in years past, done many hundreds of club gigs, and a little bit of touring. But that's not the life for me. I like playing bass in the band, mostly old-style. I'm a beginner on upright, and I can play some trombone and euphonium. I also sing bass harmony and baritone lead. These days I play in a blues band that practices once a month and plays maybe four gigs per year. I also play in an acoustic band that does bluegrass, acoustic folk, and old-time cowboy music. Old geezers on a porch, with cookies and beer.

In the shop, I listen to bluegrass, prog rock, '40's swing jazz, Texas Country, and lots of other stuff.

A shop tour, with me as the tour guide:

An old friend of mine, Dilip Patel, visited me back in the summer. While he was here, he took this impromptu video tour of me in the Secret Underground Scroll Bass Lab. I had forgotten about it, but he posted it on YouTube. Dilip and I worked together as engineers at BMY in Pennsylvania back in the early 1980's.

For some reason, we missed the main woodworking bench, but there are good views of the machine shop and the electronics bench. That's AMB-2 #001 on the bench. And a brief appearance by Banjozilla.

 

[Turnaround]

Welcome to the Pro Bench Bruce (mind if we call you Bruce?). Your experience and passion is a great addition to this coterie.

 

[202dy]

Frank Mirigliano

1969 Started playing bass. Disassembled it the first week. Took lessons. Played in bands.
1976 Bought copy of Hideo Kamimoto's Complete Guitar Repair. Played in bands.
1977 Graduated college and began teaching and repairing part time. Played in bands.
1984 Studied bass at Duquesne University. Freelancing all styles full time. Part time repair work. Teach.
1985 Playing freelance, teaching, and repairing part time.
1991 Opened repair shop. Freelancing full time. Teach six hours a week.
1992 Obtained a patent for pickup design with a partner.
1996 Attended Great Northwest Seminar at Bryan Galloup's. Frank Ford, Dan Erlewine, Tim Scheerhorn, and many others.
1997 Open retail music store. Continue repair. Continue freelancing. Cut back on teaching.
2000 Quit teaching and gigging to spend mornings with young family.
2004 Closed store. Continue small private repair practice.
2017 Age 61. Small repair practice for select group of players. Playing occasionally.

Since college I have owned and operated a construction company and developed/managed real estate. This was my occupation from 1978 to 1991 and again from 2005 to date. Today the focus of the business is commercial real estate leasing and management. Which means construction, too.

 

[Turnaround]

Hello, Frank! Care to decipher your TB handle for us?

 

[202dy]

202dy = Too old to die young.

 

[Pbassmanca]

RICHARD BALES: STRING INSTRUMENT TECHNICIAN

First off, I do not call myself a luthier - I reserve that term for those who make instruments. I repair instruments. I can, and have made instruments, but I leave that activity to those who prefer the making to the repairing. My preference runs the other way.

Current Positions: Owner/Operator of Richard Bales Restorations (string instrument repairs) based in Toronto Canada. Instrument Technician at Club Bass, Toronto. Contract technician to Toronto District School Board for string instrument repairs.

Background: Repairing instruments since age 15 (over 50 years now), seriously as a sideline since age 22, and full time for the past 7 years. Basics of woodworking were learned at the side of my grandfather who was a very skilled woodworker, tool and die maker, and demanding teacher. Did museum quality restoration of antique furniture for a number of years as a full-time business (hence the name of my business). For a few years designed and manufactured custom high-end speaker cabinets.

As a Musician: Started on piano at age 6. Picked up guitar at age 14 (within a year I had to learn to do repairs myself, there were no music stores anywhere nearby). Started playing bass at age 15. Studied at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. Worked in bands, as a single guitarist/singer and sideman through university days. Aside from a serious hiatus when I gave up performing for a number of years, I have been playing many forms of music my whole life. Currently I am playing bass for two Toronto-based bands, hold the position of resident bassist for the Corktown Ukulele Jam, and pick up recording and sideman work.

Hey man! I just came across this thread ; I didn't realize that you were from Toronto! It's pretty cool to read about all your credentials and experience. I live in Oshawa and am a local bass player playing in a band here covering the best of funk and soul. We occasionally play in Toronto at "The Orbit Room" when they have a cancellation for one of their regular bands. We actually played there during that last crazy ice and freezing rain storm a month or so ago and only managed to pull it together because we had a whack of subs from the city who could make it! Anyways, I read your profile a bit and I thought I'd send you a message; hope you're having a good time over there playing bass and fixing other people's basses!

 

[Turnaround]

Always good to hear from folks in the 'Shwa". I have a few clients from out your way. Generally a decent bunch, except for those that aren't.