Shop News

The first time I met Lock, I knew he would be a perfect fit for the repair shop here at Dave’s. A spot previously held by Sig Lombardi who, being Italian, had a genetic predisposition to venture off and study the fine art of the Violin. We thank Sig for his fine work.
It’s a position not everyone is cut out for. Work of this nature requires a myriad of talents that take a life time to develop. Patience, perseverance, attention to minute detail, a love of guitars, music and the ability to improvise when the situation demands, as it so often does. Not only does Lock excel in all the aforementioned but he brings a certain calm, coolness and modesty to the environment that is crucial when things get hectic. Being that said, I didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask him to write is own biography so I thought I would take the liberty.
Noritsugu Lockhart, or “Lock” as he goes by, hails from Tokyo, Japan where he spent the first 20 or so years of his life. He’s an amazing artist, speaks Japanese, kills it on the guitar and has the ability to sit in one place for hours and focus on one tiny thing until he has it down perfectly. Locks skills as an artist lend themselves beautifully to so many things that we do in the repair shop. Give him an old part, some dyes, pigments, stains, and he will make a new part old that even I have trouble distinguishing from the original.
All of us here at Dave’s are really lucky to have Lock on board. World Meet Lock.
-Carl Meine

So imagine this… You work in one of the coolest guitar shops in the world. Every day you get to play with, talk about and look at, not only the latest and greatest stuff that’s new to the guitar world, but some of the most unique, rare and valuable vintage guitars still circling the shadowy world of uncles basements and grandparent’s closets. Every day when you walk into your boss’s office you get to walk through one of the most comprehensive collection of vintage guitars in the world. Your desk is surrounded by hundreds of the nicest acoustic guitars available and when you pick up the phone the person you are talking to could be anyone from your local buddy who plays around town to some of the coolest people in the guitar world. Sound like a dream you would like to never wake up from? Well, this is the exact situation we find ourselves in every day.

This blog is just a little taste of what it is like to work at Dave’s Guitar Shop. For the last 30 years guitars have been filtering through the doors of Dave’s in the small town of La Crosse, Wi. Staffed with people who love playing, fixing and looking at guitars this shop is always full of stories worth telling and we are excited to bring these stories to you. Be it interesting repairs, unique gear, personal opinions on new gear or just a funny story this blog will be your inside track to what life is like inside Dave’s Guitar Shop.

- Tylor Fischer

- ‘View from my Desk’