PITTSBURGHTRIBUNE-REVIEW

CITY&REGION

BY JASON CATOTRIBUNE-REVIEW

Whether it’s fixing an 1876 Martinacoustic guitar, a retro-looking Koreanelectric guitar, or a fretless Middle East-ern “ude” they’d never seen before, itdoesn’t matter to the guys at MannellaGuitars.

A broken instrument is a riddle they’redetermined to solve, which they do - in aslittle as an hour or even up to two years.

“If it has strings, we’ll work on it,” saidDave Mannella, 50, of Murrysville, whohas been in business for 25 years, the pastfive on Verona Road in Penn Hills. “We dothings nobody else in town can do, wantsto do or is willing to do. We’re problem-solvers, and not many people do thatanymore.

Repairs are done by the two-man team ofMannella and Frank Giove, both of whomused to travel the country in the 1970’s asmembers of different bands. Giove stillplays with “Chizmo” Charles Anderson,Pittsburgh’s senior statesman of the blues,and Gary Belloma and the Blue Bombers,local legends in their own right. Mannellano longer plays professionally.

“I came off the road (in 1976) and didn’twant to see a guitar, hear music or any-thing,” Mannella said. “Then I did anabout-face.”

Mannella Guitars typically has about 100guitars on hand from around the countryneeding repairs, but the company doesmore than guitar work. It also fixes old am-plifiers and has eight professional instruc-tors who teach everything from piano andvoice to drums and, of course, guitar.

Fixing instruments is a complicated busi-ness that often requires imagination andcreativity along with power tools, chiselsand a tiny hand held camera on the end of awand that can poke into crevices where theeye cannot see.

“Finding the problem isn’t always thetough thing,” Mannella said. It’s gettinginto it.”

Other times, it’s figuring out a way to fixan instrument when no ready-made part isavailable. That’s when Giove springs intoaction. The shop’s “electronic guy” has a

passion for woodworking and regularlywhittles replacements for parts that are nolonger in production or were one-of-a-kind components - making the instrumentsound better than ever.

That’s what he had to do with a 60-year-old “tipple,” a 10-stringed, ukuleleshaped instrument, that needed a newbridge to hold the strings. No parts storein the world carries the piece to make thewhole.

“It’s not something you can just call(a manufacturer) and order,” said Giove,57, of Churchill.

No matter what’s done to the instru-ments, Mannella and Giove share one tenetwith doctors and surgeons: Do no harm.

“We work with things that are museumquality,” Mannella said. “The authenticityis the main thing, and that’s why a lot ofcustomers come to us... Everybody remem-bers that tone they heard in their head, andthey’re forever chasing it. We try to helpthem find it.”

As for the owner of the centry-old Mar-tin, he’ll just have to wait. Such intricate re-pairs come only during truly inspiredmoments for these craftsmen.

“It took 100 years to fall apart, so youwant to take your time,” Giove said.“That’ll wait. It’s waited this long.”

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GUITAR DUO STRIKETHE RIGHT CHORDSInstrument repairs inspire creative workmanship

LOCAL NEWS

I N B U S I N E S S

Fixing guitars, amps plenty of work for Mannella’sBy Patrick FinneganStaff Writer

When it comes to guitars, DaveMannella can work his magic with-out even playing a note.

“People bring in a bag of tooth-picks, we’ll make a guitar.”

Mannella has been in the guitarrepair business for 20 years.He first opened his shop in Verona

in 1983. Eleven years later, hemoved to Frankstown Road in PennHills.

Two years ago, in need of morespace, Mannella Guitars found itsnew home on Verona Road.“There’s nothing we don’t do here.

We do a lot of things nobody in thecity does.”Mannella’s services range from

basic guitar setups to major recon-struction and refinishing.The shop also handles amplifier repair, thanks to Frank Giove, whoteamed up with Mannella threeyears ago.“Dave’s got the eye,” Giove says,mentioning Mannella’s ability topinpoint any guitar’s problem orprefectly refinish an instrument.“He’s almost an artist in that respect. There’s a lot more to it thanpatching a hole and slapping somepaint on it.”Mannella’s work area resembles

that of an artists studio, only withguitars and amplifiers replacingcanvases and sculptures.Guitars line the walls and racks

behind the shop’s front counter, butMannella is quick to point out thatthey are not for sale.“Every guitar you see in here is

broken.”Each instrument is waiting its

turn to be rehabilitated and returnedto its eager owner.Mannella has developed strong

working relationships with majorguitar retailers because of his busi-ness’ status as solely a repair shop.“We’re not in competition with

other stores because we don’t sellanything. We’re not going to try tosteal their customers.”Mannella’s also has earned the dis-

tinction of being a certified servicecenter for many major guitar manu-facturers, such as Martin, Gibsonand Guild. As Giove explains, this isa testament to Mannella’s skill.“They’re pretty strict about who

they let fix guitars.”After September’s flooding, how-

ever, Mannella’s shop itself, becamethe the focus of major restorationwork. Four inches of water accumu-lated in the building, ruining all ofthe carpeting and padding.Fortunately, Mannella and Giove

were at the shop that day. Theyquickly moved the amplifiers tohigher ground and took the guitarswith them.“That was pretty rough and very un-

expected”, Mannella says. “We wereshut down for a period of time.”

The flooding also damaged thewooden guitar racks, which had to be

rebuilt.“It knocked us for a pretty good

loop. We just dug in and got it done.We were lucky.”

The flooding was just another experience for Mannella, whose lifehas almost always revolved aroundmusic.Mannella started playing the guitars

when he was 8 years old.“The first time I saw The Beatles,

that was it.”He started taking lessons and was

teaching by the time he was 17.At the same time, Mannella also

was developing his other love, wood-working.

“I’ve always enjoyed woodwork-ing. So much of what I do with gui-tars is woodworking.”While working on projects in shop

class, he realized he could probablymake his own guitar. Mannella finetuned his skills and began doing gui-tar repairs for a local music storewhen he was 18.In the 70’s, Mannella lived the life

of a rock star. He was in severalbands and toured from 1975-78.“It was my sole means of income.

That’s all we did. Nobody had a reg-ular job; that was our job.”

Though many dream of playingmusic and touring the country, Man-nella realized he needed to make achange.“It just wasn’t for me”, Mannella

says of life on the road.He didn’t want to wake up at 40 and

still be touring, so Mannella started afamily and a business in guitar repair.“The last time I played out was 25

years ago. I really don’t miss it onebit. I really enjoy what I’m doing.”Giove’s life has also centered on

music. He stared playing guitar as ateenager and played at his school’sdances.After going to college for music,

Giove, like Mannella, made his living touring during the 70’s. Hestill plays a few times a week withblues groups in the area.Giove’s attention always went to

the technical aspects of performing,however. He perfected this interestby going to technical school forelectronics.

Three years ago, Giove came to Mannella’s shop, which, at the time, only specialized in guitar repairs.“He was a guitar guy, and I knew

amps. Business doubled because ofthat,” Giove says.Mannella says Giove is skilled inelectronic work and specializes inrepairs to vintage tube amplifiers.“Frank is the best around at what

he does.”Mannella and Giove have expe-

rienced success at the new locationon Verona Road. The building isalso more conductive to Mannella’sother service: guitar, piano, andvoice lessons.

One side of the building housesthe guitar repair center, while lessons are given on the other side.Separate entrances and locks allowMannella’s six teachers to comeand go as their schedules dictate.“It has worked out very well forwhat we do.”

Mannella does not teach anymore, but says he has a talentedgroup of teachers. “ I think they’re all top-notch.”Mannella gets a sense of pride

from all of the services he offers tohis customers.

“Our business is different than most.”Mannella says that in a standardmusic retail shop, the repair work-ers are usually in the basement oronly have basic guitar tweakingknowledge.

“We’re in touch with our customers constantly. That’s whatseparates us. We find things theother people don’t. We know we’re

doing everything we physically canfor the customer.”

Mannella gets true satisfactionwhen a customer picks up a repaired guitar and says, “Wow, thisfeels great.”

Mannella says, “It makes you feelgood about what you have done. I can’t think of too many better waysto make a living.”Mannella Guitars is at 5238 Verona

Road. Hours are Monday throughThursday, noon to 8pm.; Friday,noon to 5pm.; and Saturday, 11am to3pm.

To contact the shop, call 412-795-5400 or visit www.mannellaguitars.com.

January 5, 2003 Penn Hills Progress Page A-3

FRANK GIOVE, who has been on the staff forthree years, works on a 1964 Bassman amp.

DAVE MANNELLA plays one of the innovative guitars he has designed.

NEIGHBORHOODSEASTPITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE * WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1996

Each instrument David Mannella makesis a source of pride, painstakingly producedover a period of three months to a year.

BY JEAN BRYANTPOST-GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

Guitarists around the world know the name Fender. But local gui-tarists are becoming familiar with another name engraved on the neckof customized guitars - Mannella.

Behind a counter in his small Penn Hills shop, Musician’s Choice Studios, several gleaming customized guitars are on display, eachshaped differently with beautiful wood grain patterns highlighted be-neath gleaming veneers. All are crafted by David Mannella.

Mannella, 39, of Penn Hills, went from playing guitars, to manufacturing them.

While the former band leader respects the Fender name, he says hedoesn’t want to get that big. Each instrument he makes is a source ofpride, painstakingly producted over a period of three months to a year.“I started out like Leo Fender did - a garage manufacturer,” says Mannella. “But I don’t want to mass produce. I’m a stickler for perfection.”

Mannella says he can afford to work in a slow and meticulous manner.“I teach guitar, banjo, and bass. That’s what pays the rent,” he adds

with a laugh.Mannella says he was influenced as a youngster by the music of

The Beatles and badgered his parents for a guitar.“They thought it was just a phase,” Mannella recalls.But Mannella was persistant. He took lessons at the studio of his uncle

Frank Cacese, who owned music shops in Penn Hills and Murrysville.By the time he was 12, he had formed his first band.“It didn’t last long,” he muses. “In fact, I went through quite a

few bands.”Mannella says as he got older, he became disenchanted with

performing.“I hated the traveling and I didn’t like the crowds. I’m not good

at mixing.”Eventually, Mannella left the band scene and went to work in his

uncle’s music store, teaching guitar and repairing stringed instruments,something he learned to do on the road when he had to fix his own in-strument, as well as those of his colleagues.

“I realized I liked that better than playing,” Mannella says.In 1983, Mannella opened his first music store in Verona, giving lessonsand making repairs. He decided then to try his hand at making guitars.

“I always liked to work with wood... I thought, ‘How hard can it be?’”

Mannella says he learned fast that it is an exacting art craft.“Boy, did I learn how hard it is,” he admits.Mannella says his music store was too small so he had to work from

his home. Starting out with a few hand tools, he gradually acquired tablesaws, drill presses, band saws, planes, industrial drum sanders.

“Before I knew it, I had a whole shop in my house.”Needing larger quarters for his manufacturing equipment, Mannella

moved his store to its present location on Frankstown Road, opposite theRitzland Shopping Center, in September.

One of Mannella’s biggest fans is a former student, Barry Hilgart, 29,of Mount Washington.

Hilgart, guitarist and leader of The Nixon Clocks, an alternative rockband popular in the Tri-State area, says Mannella fashioned a guitar forhim that always attracts the attention of other guitarists.

“I’m constantly approached about where I got the guitar because ofhow beautiful it is, the craftsmanship...”

Hilgart, who has a second Mannella guitar on order, says Mannella’swork is unique.

“He brings out the beauty of the wood more than major guitar manu-facturers do,” says Hilgart. “Dave really can work magic with wood.”

David Mannella with some of the customized guitars he makes at Musicianʼs Choice in Penn Hills.

Crafting the musician’s choiceA customized guitar maker from Penn Hills is making a name for himself

Bill Wade/Post-Gazette Photos

Mannella applies a cost of finish to a guitar.

avid Mannella is aluthier.

He’s not, as somemight guess, a memberfor a religious order. A

luthier is one who makes stringedinstruments.

While there is nothing essentiallyecclesiastic about building musicalinstruments, the demanding craft ofguitar making requires almost anascetic devotion to precise detail. Aguitar that is a 16th of an inch out ofkilter can be unacceptable to a discerning player.

Mannella has been building andfixing stringed instruments for about10 years. He got started fixing guitarsout of frustration.“I was a victim of the repair shops.

I got tired of leaving my instrumentto be repaired and have it come backto me the same way I left it orworse,” Mannella says.

He started out in a shop on Allegheny River Boulevard and spentnine years there fixing players’“axes,” giving guitar lessons and,

eventually, building guitars in agarage workshop. He builds betweensix and 10 guitars a year now, all byspecial order.

His clients are mostly professionalmusicians who give their instrumentsa lot of punishment, usually have twoor three guitars and know exactlywhat they want but don’t know howto explain it. Mannella spends sometime with each customer, observingtheir playing style so he can get anidea of what kind of instrument will

suit their needs.“They can play anything they want,

but they can’t find the right thing,”explains Mannella.

He has made four guitars over theyears for Carl Skiles, who plays inThe Voice, a local band, teaches gui-tar and runs S.O.S. Recording Stu-dios in Penn Hills.

“I won’t play anything else on agig,” says Skiles, who has commis-sioned Mannella to make a fifth in-strument for him.

“The Wolf” is Skiles main in-strument and gets its name from the airbrushed artwork on the body.“The Vine,” another instrumentcrafted by Mannella, gets its namefrom the intricate mother of pearlinlays on the guitar’s fingerboard.

Barry Hilgert, who plays guitarwith the Nixon Clocks, a Pittsburghband, says his aggressive playingstyle requires and instrument thatcan take a beating and stay in tunethrough a set. Mannella chose amaple guitar with extra-hard nickelsteel frets to hold up to the punish-

ment Hilgert dishes out. He has Man-nella making a second guitar for him.

Visiting Mannella’s shop, locatedin the basement of his Musician’sChoice store on Frankstown Road inPenn Hills, takes some of the mysteryout of the guitar-making craft but lit-tle of the wonder. With the help of atleast a half a dozen stationary powertools and dozens of tools and jigs,Mannella cuts, planes, routes andsands blocks of hardwood - often exotics like flame - or tiger tail pattern maple - into bodies and necks.

Continued on next page

GUITAR MAKER David Mannella holds one of the guitars he has made. His designs range from the mild, like the Fender Telecaster, secondfrom left, to the wild, like the flame pattern body at the left.

HE MAKES ONE-OF-A-KIND INSTRUMENTSPhotos by Shawn Mertz

LIFESTYLES

GUITARS

GATEWAY PUBLICATIONS APRIL 10, 1996 • PAGE A-9

MAKING

DBy Ray MaranoStaff Writer

MAKING A custom instrument often involves intricate decorative effects,like this mother of pearl vine inlay pattern on Carl Skiles’ guitar.

HE ALSO REPAIRS GUITARSDavid Mannella makes beautiful cus-

tom guitars, but the bread-and-butter ofhis business involves repairing, modify-ing and adjusting instruments.

Owners often come into his shoppulling splinters of their treasured Gib-son or Martin out of their pockets.

Most frequent repairs are neck cracksand replacement of bridges, the part of aguitar where the strings attach to thebody.

The toughest repair job is tryingto fixone that an owner or inept repair personhas botched. A well-intentioned amateurmay use the wrong glue or turn a minor

fix into a major project by an improperadjustment or unskillful repair.Mannella has compasion for the owner

who took a swing at fixing his instru-ment, only to find that he or she hasmade things worse. He has less patiencewith repair people who are inept orrushed by shop owners to get the workdone and foul up the work.

Modifications usually come in theform of new electronics to change thesound of a guitar. He has to sort throughhundreds of manufacturers and types ofelectronic gear, matching it to the indi-vidual instrument to try to get the soundthe customer expects.

A significant amount of his work in-volves restoration or extensive refinish-ing or instruments. Some clients wantwild paint jobs or need to have a beat-upguitar with a chipped paint job repaintedto give it more eye appeal.Mannella learned some of the tricks of

refinishing - and at times distressingwhen a customer wants a vintage look -from furniture refinishers.A recent job involved restoring the fin-

ish on an early 1990’s Gibson guitar thatgot an unintended coat of oversprayfrom a home spray painting job.

Other jobs involve removing old finishes and restoring instruments to

their original condition.Another interesting repair was

replacing the top on a Latin American in-strument that uses an armadillo for theback. Someone had stepped on the instrument, crushing the soft spruce top.

Some players want modifications thatwill radically alter the appearance of aninstrument or give it a different sound.He usually counsels owners of vintageinstruments regarding how changesmight diminish the guitar’s value.

“You’d be surprised what some people want to do to a vintage instrument,” he says.