Week 4: On the Job Photos

For this assignment, I visited Fingerboard Extension, an instrument and repair shop on Northwest 2nd Street in Corvallis. My goal was to visit a violin shop, but because none of them were open at the time I ended up going here. And I'm very glad I did, because all three employees who were there at the time were extremely friendly and willing to let me take as many pictures as I wanted. Leigh even showed me a few things, like the difference between a guitar bridge made out of plastic vs. one made out of bone. 

Tim Martin has been working at Fingerboard Extension for around 9 years, ever since officially retiring. He has also been playing and singing on stage since he was 13 years old, despite having a teacher tell him to not bother joining the choir, as he was never meant to sing. He says he likes being on stage because "It strokes my ego"; when people shout "You're really good!", his typical response is "You're really drunk, but thanks!" While acoustic guitar is his primary instrument, he has played multiple instruments over the course of his life, including the pedal steel, mandolin, and drums.

Leigh, shown here replacing the bridge on a customer's acoustic guitar, has been tinkering with guitars since he was a kid. (He also requested that I omit his last name.) He said he would often spend 3-4 hours every night in his room practicing, "while my friends were out chasing girls." He actually credits guitar as the reason he never married, because: "My guitar is more important than any woman." Unlike Tim, he doesn't like for people to watch him when he plays, and doesn't appreciate compliments from people who don't know anything about guitar.