I was born September 16, 1954, raised in Nazareth, PA, home of Martin Guitar. In my teens I became inspired by meeting some of the world’s finest guitar builders. This led me to play guitar and become a builder. Visiting the shop of one of Martin’s craftsmen encouraged me to buy one of his guitars. I was overwhelmed by the craftsmanship and ease of playing. At that point I knew I wanted to build an instrument of that quality. I started building acoustic guitars in 1977 in collaboration with friend Dick Boak.

In 1993 I began an apprentice with Archtop guitar builder, Robert Benedetto. Working for Bob for several years was an experience of a lifetime. Teaching me his secrets and passions for the Archtop guitar that has taken him some 30 years to master. Together we built some of the worlds finest Archtop guitars.