Today we’d like to introduce you to David Harper
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I became obsessed with guitars at 9 years old. School was something I had to endure to be able get home and play guitar until my parents made me go to bed. At 17 I’d developed my skills well enough to begin playing in bars, my older bandmates blatantly lying about my age to make it happen. After graduating high school, I had big plans of a career playing guitar, but my parents certainly did not approve and gave me an ultimatum: You can be a guitar player, but you can’t do that and live at home. You can stay at home and go to college or work, your choice. After a conversation with my great grandfather (the oldest and wisest fella I’ve ever known) I chose to stay home and go to work with my father who was a career machinist. Unexpectedly, I LOVED it! Being a machinist was just as demanding as playing guitar, and I set out to learn all I could. Ten years later, my first born arrived and I decided to leave the small shop for a better job & better benefits with a global company. Technology came into play there, Computer Numerical Control, or CNC machining was relied on heavily so I learned much more from a group of people that were world class professionals. Twenty five years later, after still playing guitar and modifying/repairing/building instruments almost the entire time, I left to start my own business. That was four years ago and my workload is nothing short of overwhelming. Any given day I have 20-30 instruments in que with repairs varying from a simple set up to vintage Martins requiring a neck reset. It would seem I’ve combined both my skillsets, machinist and guitar player, into a viable business. I get to work on guitars every day and make the world more musical, and I believe that to be a worthy endeavor. My dad is thankfully still with us and thrilled with my full circle career!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Learning HOW to run a business when you are a technician was, and still is, my biggest struggle. I had to learn to balance all the tasks required for a business OTHER than just BEING the technician. It’s an enormous undertaking, no way around it. I’m just a one man shop and that requires me to wear a lot of hats: CEO, CFO, sales and marketing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc. Cashflow management is a challenge, but I understand how tough things are right now for everyone. It’s really hard to make some people understand its the same WORK involved on a $50 guitar as it is on a $5,000 guitar. The WORK cost the same and is not tied to the value of the instrument. Time away is another real struggle because my shop is at my house, I have to be really careful or I could work all the time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Having played and worked on my guitars for almost 40 years, as well as being a full time machinist for the last 30+ years, I feel I have a unique understanding of how your guitar feels translates into how you feel, and inevitably how you play. I have been lucky enough to have lots of friends who’ve shared their tips and tricks with me over the years as well as a couple repairmen who helped me more than I could ever thank them for. Now, let me help you. Come see me at FULL SCALE GUITAR REPAIR and let me show you the difference between an instrument that merely plays versus one that plays its very best. “My guarantee is really simple: If I can’t make your guitar perform better than it ever has, you don’t pay.” – Dave Harper
ALL types of guitar repair, no job is too big. My goal is for you to walk out of my shop and onto the tour bus, with complete confidence in your instruments condition. Beginners and professionals get the exact same service at Full Scale Guitar Repair.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’ve been involved in recording for over 40 years. I’ve recorded, engineered and produced several records in my guitar shop during off hours.
Pricing:
- Basic Set Up $85 plus string cost
- Handmade Bone Nut $100
- Complete Re-fret (base price) $360
- Acoustic Pickup install $125
- Bridge Reset $125
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fullscaleguitarrepair.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullscalerepairman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullScaleGuitarRepair/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Xl2St2bD6O49lenf8XlsR
Image Credits
Frank Cardamone at Cardamone Photography
