About Me

I have lived my entire life in Fairfax County, and grew up in the country which is now the busy area called Burke. I graduated from J.W.Robinson in 1976 and at an early age discovered that I had an interest and talent in anything mechanical or electrical. By the time I got out of high school I was already working as an auto technician and have worked in this field for most of my life either working as a tech or managing the shop. Over the years I have held numerous certifications and qualifications and have always been the guy who would tackle the jobs others would not or could not do. I have an innate ability to look at something (not just cars) and understand how it works almost immediately. I also know how to relate well to people and customers.

I was married at 23 and began a family soon after. I have 5 grown children from that first marriage and I remarried in 2002 and had another daughter. At that point in my life and after 25 years in the auto tech world I was tired of fixing cars. I switched career tracks and for 2 years managed a local sports bar. Later my wife and I decided that it would be best that I should be a stay at home dad for our young daughter.

After my daughter started pre-school it didn't take long before I got bored and needed something else to do. I have played guitar on and off for over 12 years and it only took one experience at a local guitar shop for me to start working on my own guitars. It also didn't take long for me to become very knowledgeable and skilled in the areas of set-ups and repairs. Once the word was out I had a lot of work just from friends and family members.

One day my wife said "Why don't you put up an ad and start working on other peoples guitars". Since I love working on guitars her suggestion got me very motivated and after only a few months I was getting more work than I ever dreamed possible. I have been building a steady reputation as a good tech and have a loyal customer base.In the last 2 years I have donated 17 guitars to a Cedar Lane school in Vienna and have given as presents guitars to people that I knew who wanted to play but could not afford one. Music is a great gift to give and it is certainly has brought of a lot of joy into my life and my family's. Both my sons are musical and I believe that the joy of music has helped direct their lives in a positive way.

Gary Madison