# Any super brilliant guitar techs I should go to? London/S.Ontario/Toronto?



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

So I've been using guitarworks here in London since I landed but I'm wondering if there is someone better I should try? Someone who is known for working magic with strats? I'd like someone to go over my whole guitar in a month or so and tune it up. I'd be willing to go as far as Toronto to see the right person.


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

no one has a fav tech in S.Ontario?


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

The guys at the 12th Fret are excellent. Also used Brian Mascarin for a couple of set-ups (about 15 years ago), and he did a great job.


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

hey tim.

you're in a bad place, sigh. i've taken a few things to techs in this area, and i've been less than impressed with the quality of work. the guys at folkways music in guelph do good work, but they're on the pricey side. the guy who does work through long&mcquade in waterloo has a good reputation, but i have no personal experience. the guys at 12th fret have always been good. there's also hamilton, the place that did all the high end les paul replicas everyone likes (can't remember the store name, again never been there yet in person). best of luck.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

suttree said:


> there's also hamilton, the place that did all the high end les paul replicas everyone likes (can't remember the store name, again never been there yet in person). best of luck.


Guitar Clinic?


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## djem (Sep 14, 2006)

suttree said:


> hey tim.
> 
> you're in a bad place, sigh. i've taken a few things to techs in this area, and i've been less than impressed with the quality of work. the guys at folkways music in guelph do good work, but they're on the pricey side. the guy who does work through long&mcquade in waterloo has a good reputation, but i have no personal experience. the guys at 12th fret have always been good. there's also hamilton, the place that did all the high end les paul replicas everyone likes (can't remember the store name, again never been there yet in person). best of luck.


Place used to be called the Guitar Clinic, but it is now defunct. Actually, the Guitar Clinic sign is still there, but it only operates as the F bass shop. Mike Spicer set up a shop on King in Hamilton called the Peghead, but it now too is defunct.

I have heard that Mike now rents space in the the Guitar Clinic bldg. and does some work.

This is what I know. Others can comment/correct me.


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## djem (Sep 14, 2006)

TimH said:


> So I've been using guitarworks here in London since I landed but I'm wondering if there is someone better I should try? Someone who is known for working magic with strats? I'd like someone to go over my whole guitar in a month or so and tune it up. I'd be willing to go as far as Toronto to see the right person.


You can always go to Songbird and Capsule as well. I go to Songbird for all of my amp service (Tim Dudley).


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

You might want to consider calling Sherwood Music in Kitchener (519-745-0021) and ask for *Mike in guitar repair *(there is more than one Mike that works at the store).

He has been doing this type of work for many years and has helped me in the past. 



Dave


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Tim, check out Dennis (cougar2) in this thread.

http://guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=4139&page=4


he's in Chatham and did a great refret and set up on my strat for me. If you visit him ask to take a look at his acoustics. Guys a magician.

[email protected]

Dave


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

djem said:


> Place used to be called the Guitar Clinic, but it is now defunct. Actually, the Guitar Clinic sign is still there, but it only operates as the F bass shop. Mike Spicer set up a shop on King in Hamilton called the Peghead, but it now too is defunct.
> 
> I have heard that Mike now rents space in the the Guitar Clinic bldg. and does some work.
> 
> This is what I know. Others can comment/correct me.


Mike is working out of the old Guitar Clinic building, I did reach him there at his peghead number, and I saw him there last week.

He is still doing work, but I think he is being selective and he probably has a really long queue. In my opinion, he's one of the best in the business - anywhere.


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## djem (Sep 14, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> Mike is working out of the old Guitar Clinic building, I did reach him there at his peghead number, and I saw him there last week.
> 
> He is still doing work, but I think he is being selective and he probably has a really long queue. In my opinion, he's one of the best in the business - anywhere.



Thanks for the update. I agree with what you say about Mike. He's pretty well fixed all my guitars. On a unrelated note, do you know whatever happened to Dan Thorpe and Randy from the Clinic? I remember buying stuff from Randy back in the Reggies days....lol. Super nice guys as well. I really miss those guys and hanging out every Friday after work.


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## Warren (Mar 2, 2007)

Has anyone else used Greg at Matt's Music??? He's always done a good job on anything I bring him. He's there between 2:00 & 5:00 on Saturday.


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## big frank (Mar 5, 2006)

Here in Niagara; the go to guy is Fred Gabresek .

www.freddysfrets.com

He worked magic with Alex Lifeson's 335 and did a beautiful job setting up my strat.


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## Sibanez (Nov 11, 2007)

suttree said:


> hey tim.
> 
> you're in a bad place, sigh. i've taken a few things to techs in this area, and i've been less than impressed with the quality of work. the guys at folkways music in guelph do good work, but they're on the pricey side.


I took my 1973 Ibanez Flying V into Folkway and they did an excellent job dressing the frets...They also "heated up" all the wires...It took em bout 4 weeks to go through my whole guitar and came to $493, but excellent job to say the least.


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## fretcity (Jun 3, 2007)

Another vote for Mike in Hamilton, he reset the Neck on my 67 Hofner 500/1 and did a fabulous job !:smile:


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

Warren said:


> Has anyone else used Greg at Matt's Music??? He's always done a good job on anything I bring him. He's there between 2:00 & 5:00 on Saturday.


He was the first guy I used and he was AWFUL!


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

big frank said:


> Here in Niagara; the go to guy is Fred Gabresek .
> 
> www.freddysfrets.com
> 
> He worked magic with Alex Lifeson's 335 and did a beautiful job setting up my strat.


+1 on fred- ive seen work hes done on other ppls guitars numerous times, all of it class a, 
and never heard a complaint about him.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

djem said:


> Thanks for the update. I agree with what you say about Mike. He's pretty well fixed all my guitars. On a unrelated note, do you know whatever happened to Dan Thorpe and Randy from the Clinic? I remember buying stuff from Randy back in the Reggies days....lol. Super nice guys as well. I really miss those guys and hanging out every Friday after work.


 
Randy is at Lou's Music on Concession Street in Hamilton a couple of days a week - I'm pretty sure Tuesday's is one of his days. He was also working at Pongetti's, but I'm not sure if he still is or not.

Dan Thorpe rings a bell, but I can't place him - there were allot of guys through the Clinic in the years I worked there, but only a few that I've seen recently.


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## nest (Aug 17, 2006)

*guitar repair and settups in london*

Dave Rogers right here in London is very good. you can reach him at: 519-4339353. He stands behind his work if you find something about it that you would like differently.


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## nest (Aug 17, 2006)

*guitar repair in london*

I forgot to mention that Dave Rogers is also the certified Martin guitar for this area.


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## nest (Aug 17, 2006)

*guitar repair in london*

I forgot to mention that Dave Rogers is also the certified Martin guitar repair person for this area.


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## djem (Sep 14, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> Randy is at Lou's Music on Concession Street in Hamilton a couple of days a week - I'm pretty sure Tuesday's is one of his days. He was also working at Pongetti's, but I'm not sure if he still is or not.
> 
> Dan Thorpe rings a bell, but I can't place him - there were allot of guys through the Clinic in the years I worked there, but only a few that I've seen recently.


Dan Thorpe was the bald guy (with permanent 5 o'clock shadow) who worked the front and also did basic set ups for GC when things were slower up front. He and Randy were there right to the end. The young kid, think Jason was his name, also worked out back. He also worked for Mike at the Peghead. Not sure what happened to him either.

When did you work there?


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

I worked there from late '88 until '91 or so. After that I was in and out quite a bit on a casual basis. I predated Dan, Randy & Jason as far as full time employment went. Dave Fox, John (OMG - his last name just slipped my mind- red beard and glasses), Wayne (from out West - went back out that way), George and Mike Spicer where the main core in the guitar/F-bass department - there were probably others, but it was a long time ago. Dan Achen started working there for the last year or so I was there full time, and Colin Crips was always around and working on something, but I'm not sure if he actually 'worked there' or 'worked out of there'. Dan and Colin were selling allot of vinatge gear out of there at that time. 'Vegas' - guitar tech for Cheryl Crow at the time (among others) - also did allot of work there (for his clients & his own setup) at the time.

Jason is still around, he is building the pickups for F-Bass (through his own company) and I believe that he has some affiliation with Ernie Ball as well.

There was another Jason that worked there after me - he worked in the back with Lou.

The back was divided between the wood shop and the PA / repair department. The guys from the PA department also worked in the back by the paint booth making cases and cabinets and we even worked up front every now and then. In all the time I was there, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that worked out front or in the wood shop cross the threshold into PA land. I think George wanted to keep them away from us as we were a bad influence and they were allways busy. 

I worked with Lou as a tech for the sound company and also did electronic repairs. There was myself, Lou, Ken Augustine, Paul Roseneck (Ken & Paul were touring most of the time), Joe Balon and a bunch of other guys that would pop up every now and then (Danish, Chello, Doug Taylor.....). Jeanie was there holding everything together - allways willing to make deductions from your pay so you could afford that guitar or piece of equipment that you just had to have.

I still take care of George's computers, and do the odd gig for Lou. I've got guitars in Lou's shop and I drop in there about once a month or so.

The Guitar Clinic was a great place to work, it was a great atmoshere and everyone was always working, but no one ever complained about it. More often then not the people that worked there would hang around after they were off work and shoot the sh!t, work on their own projects or help someone else that worked there with something they were working on. There was a wealth of knowledge there and it was always shared openly. There were also allot of people that came in from the outside that would contribute ideas and knowledge as well. It was a real community oriented type of place that I've never seen since. It's a real shame that it doesn't exist anymore.

I think I've taken this waaay off topic though... 




djem said:


> Dan Thorpe was the bald guy (with permanent 5 o'clock shadow) who worked the front and also did basic set ups for GC when things were slower up front. He and Randy were there right to the end. The young kid, think Jason was his name, also worked out back. He also worked for Mike at the Peghead. Not sure what happened to him either.
> 
> When did you work there?


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## ssdeluxe (Mar 29, 2007)

Jason Brown (the young fella!) is on his own now, mainly building pu's for f bass.

Mike Spicer: is the best, but his queue (spelling ???) is very long, he works in the old world manner, but a true geneous........I don't even think Mike bother's with email ! not the guy for normal work, he's too busy.

sorry, off topic con't !....

does Lou's music have a web page ? where is it located ?


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## ssdeluxe (Mar 29, 2007)

ooops double post


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

ssdeluxe said:


> Jason Brown (the young fella!) is on his own now, mainly building pu's for f bass.
> 
> Mike Spicer: is the best, but his queue (spelling ???) is very long, he works in the old world manner, but a true geneous........I don't even think Mike bother's with email ! not the guy for normal work, he's too busy.
> 
> ...


 
Lou's Music - www.lousmusic.com - He is on Concession St. between Wentworth and Sherman. I think he is planning on moving, but I'm not sure when. He also own's Sound Check Studios.


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## ssdeluxe (Mar 29, 2007)

thank you:food-smiley-004:


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## Muikoma (Nov 20, 2007)

Anyone mknow about the arts music store in Newmarket?


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## Eric Pykala (Jul 1, 2006)

Hope this isn't spamming, but you asked. Me and my partner Darryl Bradley run The Arts repair department. I've been in the Biz as a pro for almost 41 years, Darryl for twenty-some. He's ex-Cosmo Music, I'm ex-Twelfth Fret. We can do pretty much everything that doesn't involve a spray booth, but generally recommend neck resets and complex vintage restorations to the Fret. My specialty is making guitars play absolutely killer, and we stand by our work. This is of course our busiest season, so our turnaround will be a bit longer, so if you have bigger jobs that could wait until after Xmas, that would be better. You can reach us by phone at 905-898-7164 10-5 Monday-Friday, and me by email [email protected] 
Hard to find really good techs; lotsa posers out there. It's like finding a good family doctor: once you do, stick with him/her.-Eric


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Eric Pykala said:


> Hard to find really good techs; lotsa posers out there. It's like finding a good family doctor: once you do, stick with him/her.-Eric


Oooohh you take OHIP ... perfect 


couldn't resist..


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

TimH said:


> no one has a fav tech in S.Ontario?


...see below.

-dh


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i highly recommend eric and darryl at the arts in newmarket, with confidence.

eric has done extensive work on each and every one of my guitars, both electric and acoustic, and even respects and understands the dreaded floating trem system!!!

i think it helps that they are both very demanding players, and can offer advice borne of years studying their craft.

-dh






Eric Pykala said:


> Hope this isn't spamming, but you asked. Me and my partner Darryl Bradley run The Arts repair department. I've been in the Biz as a pro for almost 41 years, Darryl for twenty-some. He's ex-Cosmo Music, I'm ex-Twelfth Fret. We can do pretty much everything that doesn't involve a spray booth, but generally recommend neck resets and complex vintage restorations to the Fret. My specialty is making guitars play absolutely killer, and we stand by our work. This is of course our busiest season, so our turnaround will be a bit longer, so if you have bigger jobs that could wait until after Xmas, that would be better. You can reach us by phone at 905-898-7164 10-5 Monday-Friday, and me by email [email protected]
> Hard to find really good techs; lotsa posers out there. It's like finding a good family doctor: once you do, stick with him/her.-Eric


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## Eric Pykala (Jul 1, 2006)

David, I'm blushing! Thanks for the kind words. Darryl and I work together as a complementary team, in the sense his skillset compliments mine. Between us we have enough experience with what actually works and what is just marketing or internet babble. "I used to think all my guitars were great and did the jobs I wanted them to do perfectly, until I went on the internet and found out they were all garbage". There's lots of stuff out there to blow your hard-earned spendulas on; I'd rather cut the crap and recommend what we know works. Enough infomercial...back to our regularily-scheduled program.-Eric


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...truth be told, my rig these days owes a huge debt to eric (who has become a mentor), and to the arts:

1. my aerodyne tele, which eric thankfully passed on, has become my number one for performing, rehearsing and, especially, recording. this guitar continues to amaze and suprise me. 

2. the traynor ycv15blue eric sold me is a total revelation.

3. i have eric to thank for recommending the john suhr pickups in my '96 tele deluxe plus.

4. i also have eric to thank for bringing my 86 strat plus back to life.

5. i also have eric to thank for recommending and installing the suhr silent backplate system in my g&l legacy.

there's much more.

and more to come. i'm relying on the arts to make sure i have an incredible electrified acoustic to take on stage early in the new year.

-dh


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## Eric Pykala (Jul 1, 2006)

In my job it's people like David H. that make it worthwhile. For every 30 customers you get one who's really in it for the Tone, and that's what keeps you going. Otherwise, the unending flow of "dubious examples of the luthiers' art" gets quite depressing. It also helps to keep me sharp, because I get asked the right questions by these guys/girls. Building a complete guitar/rig system is a daunting task, but the journey is most of the fun. The reward is having your customer come back in later smiling and raving about new improvements. Share the knowlege and the love, and it comes back to you in spades. Rock long and prosper David!-Eric


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Here's a thought from the devil's advocate.

While I have great respect for skilled techs and use them when I need them, I'm of the opinion that many of us would benefit from a little DIY mentality.

Here's where I draw the line.

Refretting = tech
Regluing busted Gibson peghead = tech


Everything else = DIY


Of course there may be some things I'm not remembering in terms of when I would need a tech, but set ups and even assembly from parts is pretty simple stuff if you do them a few times.


Set ups are basic geometry and maintenance. There's really no special equipment required and the methods are simple and readily available here and on many other sites like this.

Now I should clarify that I'm no rocket scientist (sorry for stating the onvious) and that most of us are capable of doing this stuff in my opinion.


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## Eric Pykala (Jul 1, 2006)

Hey Milkman, I'm am totally with you! The little thing that still surprises me every day is how few people are even capable of changing strings properly. I find myself recommending the "Guitar Player Complete Repair Guide" (the Dan Erlewine book) to people, both to get them more self-sufficient, and to tell them when NOT to do the work themselves. This saves me countless botch jobs. Still, if an instrument is your passion, wouldn't you want to know more about it and how to make it work better for you? There are still lots of things left for the pros, but every guitarist should have a few more tools than the basic in-the-case kit and learn how to do at least a setup. Think of the money and time you'll save over your career, much less the fateful day when this knowledge saves a critical gig. "Sorry, the show is cancelled tonight because the guitarist broke a string/can't change a blown tube/had a wire come off/doesn't have a spare fuse...". -Eric


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## Brian G (Aug 17, 2006)

I can also vouch for the Arts, and Eric and Darryl.:bow: Attention to detail seems to be the everyday thing, and they are also very generous with tips and advice. Since time is money for any service department, this is huge.

Brian


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## ssdeluxe (Mar 29, 2007)

...DIY is great..................unless you fall into the category DIYB (do it yourself badly !!!!)

there is no substitute for a professional touch, I learn from the pro's that work on my things!... and appreciate their years of expertise and knowhow.


it is great to setup your own gtr properly, geometry and so on is one thing, but you can't teach someone how to make a gtr setup "feel right", that's something special.

I love doing my setup's, but always use my go-to people to dial in what I can't achieve.

thank you to all the great patient tech's ~!!..for putting up with all us guitar goofo's !!!


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

ssdeluxe said:


> ...DIY is great..................unless you fall into the category DIYB (do it yourself badly !!!!)
> there is no substitute for a professional touch, I learn from the pro's that work on my things!... and appreciate their years of expertise and knowhow.
> it is great to setup your own gtr properly, geometry and so on is one thing, but you can't teach someone how to make a gtr setup "feel right", that's something special.
> I love doing my setup's, but always use my go-to people to dial in what I can't achieve.
> thank you to all the great patient tech's ~!!..for putting up with all us guitar goofo's !!!



...i'm with you, bro'!

intonation and bridge height adjustments, no problem, but i have restraining orders that keep me from going anywhere near a truss rod or a soldering iron.

-dh


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## Greenbacker (Mar 29, 2007)

+1 on Tim at Songbird for amps. He is the best I've ever come across. I've heard really good things about the boys at Capsule for guitars though. My bandmate had his '73 tele Deluxe gone over and refretted there. Great job. They also build their own relics!


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

wow this thread took off. Eric - I'll probably call or email you in the new year.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

david henman said:


> ...i'm with you, bro'!
> 
> intonation and bridge height adjustments, no problem, but i have restraining orders that keep me from going anywhere near a truss rod or a soldering iron.
> 
> -dh


Point taken. It's important to know your limitations. I just think many people sell themselves short in this respect.

Everybody has to draw their own line. I'll do pretty much any wiring as long as I can find a decent diagram to follow and set ups are quite simple. I wouldn't do refret and that's one reason I use bolt ons for the most part.


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## gtract (Jan 18, 2008)

Hi. I'm Dave Rogers, the owner of Guitar Action in London. I am an authorized C. F. Martin warranty repairman, and work on pretty much anything with frets, acoustic or electric. I'm always looking for new clients, and can do a setup or neck reset, or anything in between. If you're interested, I'm at 519-433-9353 (regular business hours please) or you can e-mail me at [email protected]. I've finally been dragged into the 90's, so the website (www.guitaraction.ca) should be up within the next 2 weeks. Good luck.
Dave.


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## ClarksGuitars (Apr 6, 2011)

Hey guys my name is Austin, I'm a luthier here at Clark's Guitars in West Lorne. Only 45 minutes from London, I'd be glad to hook you up. http://www.clarksguitars.com


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## Lance Romance (Jun 4, 2009)

Wow, revival of an old thread. Things change. I'm (Eric Pykala) now working indie out of London instead of The Arts. I've worked at the Twelfth Fret and The Arts, then decided to move here where my family is and work for me. I'm doing everything short of refinish work and neck resets, and my specialty is setup work esp. the beast known as the Stratocaster. There's a thread in "Guitar Tech" section that has a lot of kind words from some of my clients. I'm thorough, fast and reasonable...everything us musicians are looking for. *PM me*.-Eric Pykala "Lance Romance" "The Rock 'n' Roll Doctor"


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## Cinch (Nov 30, 2009)

I put a post on here a little while back in regards to Amp/Guitar techs:

http://www.guitarscanada.com/electric-guitar/40593-search-over.html

We`re lucky to have Eric in town!


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