Manchester, city of the Smiths, Oasis, the Stone Roses and the Haçienda, must be quite an interesting place to have a guitar shop. While Jack serves a lot of session musicians, students, hobby players and local bands, he counts members of indie royalty Blossoms and Doves amongst his clients, and works closely with local studios and music shops. It’s a successful business and has brought some nice perks along the way. Jack has built quite a reputation in his field and has been writing the ‘Fix Your Guitar’ column in Total Guitar magazine for a couple of years.
Were you taking guitars apart as a child and putting them back together?
“Kind of. I’ve been repairing guitars since I started playing them when I was young.” Much of what he knows is self-taught, but he also learnt the trade by working alongside well-respected luthiers such as Colin Keefe and Bob Dayfield at shops like Sheehan’s Music Services.
It was during Jack’s student days at the University of Salford that he realised that his talents could turn into a career. Jack began setting up other students’ guitars, and started his own business from a home workshop in 2009. “I crammed that workshop full of specialist tools, weird rare guitar parts and more parts until I couldn’t fit any more in,” says Jack. “Once I found my premises in Cheetham Hill I adapted it entirely, spending nearly a month furnishing it, but it was definitely worth it. We have two workbenches, a specialist spray room, coarse work area for woodworking, guitar racks and timber store.”
“I take great pride in my work”, says Jack, and it is obviously an enjoyable, exciting and rewarding way to make a living. “Over the years there always seems to be something fresh, a unique sound, some wacky hardware or a different design in a guitar that keeps me interested. My job is coming up with solutions and if there isn't the part for sale, hey, let's make it instead!”
www.jacksinstrumentservices.com/
