August has turned out to be our new “best month” and has seen some great people and terrific guitars come in.

My old customer and friend John Zucca came by and brought his Jack Straw 000 short scale I built for him 8 or 9 years ago. John and I had lost contact but he noticed one of our ads and dropped in. His guitar is one of my favorites. All mahogany, with a pyramid bridge, Waverly tuners, 14 fret neck with a late 60’s Martin profile.

There is always some apprehension as you open the case of a guitar you built but haven’t seen in years. After a quick look see I was very happy. No cracks, good neck angle, the bridge is tight……all the stuff I hoped would stay put stayed put.

John graciously allowed me to keep the guitar for a week so I gave it a good buff out and a set up. It was hard to give it back to him but great fun to show it to a few new customers who were not aware that I had built quite a few flat tops in the 90’s. Thanks John.

Another client of long standing, Ray Morisaki, came by with a guitar he’d been searching for over several years: a drop dead gorgeous early 60’s 00-21 Martin with stunning Brazilian rosewood. Joshua Blatchley, our talented “intern”, played 4 notes on it and promptly declared it “perfect”…..or something close. Congratulations on your patience Ray.

New customer Butch Thompson has been in with a couple of splendid Santa Cruz instruments with terrific Brazilian backs and sides. Butch seems to be on the trail of yet another Santa Cruz OM in, yep, Brazilian rosewood………If you start to waver Butch, remember…..”if it makes you smile, it’s worth it.”

Stephen C. Jones, a serious Goodall fancier brought in his beautiful 12 fret “long body” dreadnought which had suffered a tumble at home. If you read this Stephen, the patient is doing well and should be home soon.

Peter Goulart showed up with a “pointy headstock” ESP with a Floyd…….he claims it’s his kid’s guitar. Sure Peter…..

Wayne Riker brought a Breedlove in for a Baggs Element pickup installation. I’ve had the privilege of installing pickups and setting up the 5 or 6 guitars Wayne uses in his solo show. If you aren’t familiar with Wayne’s music, come to his concert in the TGW gallery on September 20th…you’ll be in for a treat. The esteemed Mr. Riker had some questions about a “marble shipment from Milan” but I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about.

Pat Chin and Bernardo Rodriguez, old pals from the B.B. days, came in and jammed a little on what they claimed was a Doobie Bros. tune…….at least they brought their workmate John Davidson who left a tidy 60’s D28 here for a little work.

Alex Shester and his wife Judy came to see the shop and pick up the J-200 that Alex brought down from Carlsbad the previous week. Alex was very excited about finishing up his first CD which we’ll have available at TGW.

Nick Jackson who inherited his dad’s J45 brought it in for frets, a reset, and a new bridge. Ron Jackson, Nick’s dad, passed away unexpectedly last October. Ron was a fabulous musician and well-known teacher who I met many years ago at Traditional Music in Leucadia. It’s an honor to have his old guitar on my bench. Thanks, Nick.

Bob Colosi posted a couple of pictures of a job I did and had some nice words for our shop. Check out Bob’s terrific saddle and bridge pin line at www.guitarsaddles.com.

There was a mention of TGW once again on the Acoustic Guitar Forum. I’m pretty sure the person responsible was Russ Brown…thanks for the compliments.

Space won’t allow me to mention all the people who’ve been in this month but I want to thank everybody for your patronage and compliments on our shop. In particular I’m very gratified by the growing number of clients I met when I was up at the big store in Carlsbad who drive the 30+ miles south to TGW. Your loyalty and trust is humbling.