The Repairman

Phil Maneri

Phil founded the Fretshop in 1998.  A working musician since the early 1980’s, Phil began using his skills as a woodworker and predilection for tinkering to repair his own instruments. From there, he began working on his friends and bandmates’ instruments, and a business was born. Early in the 1990’s, he moved his shop into the back of Cowtown guitars, a venerable Vintage Guitar shop in Columbus Ohio, until establishing the Fifth Avenue Fret Shop, where his lutherie practice has been for the last two decades.

As a professional musician, he knew exactly what it felt like on the other side of the counter. He wanted a shop he could be proud of, with no shuttered doors or hidden spaces that instruments disappear into. The Fretshop is one big open room where retail and repairs are mixed together. This is really about trust and confidence. His experience and insistence on integrity drive the Fret Shop ethos.

Most of Phil’s bench time is dedicated to complex projects. Phil’s work includes neck resets, peghead breaks, infrastructure repairs, refrets, fractures, and meticulous paint touchups that make repairs fade into the background. Decades of work on guitar electronics have made him a guru of both vintage passive systems and modern active systems. He is often consulted for challenging rebuilds and unique modifications.

With his long history of repairing vintage instruments and immersion in the vintage instrument marketplace, Phil understands the subtleties of maintaining values versus maintaining instrument function; mindful of the delicate dance between asset value and value as a tool for creative expression.
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Because of Phil’s unique position as skilled luthier, skilled musician, and experience in the marketplace, he is sometimes called on to evaluate instruments for insurance claims and legal matters. When large collections become available for sale, he provides appraisals to be sure families aren’t taken advantage of.

In 2007 Phil was approached by Tom Bowlus to collaborate in starting a publication eschewing the fluff of corporate bass musician publications.  Bass Gear Magazine focuses on useful evaluations of bass specific music equipment. Equipment is examined in great detail with clear, objective measurements to create reviews that educate the consumer without marketing hyperbole. Phil has measured and reviewed every instrument in the publication’s history. Over almost a decade, that body of work has also helped builders get exposure to consumers who wouldn’t normally have access to their instruments and hold those same builders accountable to the highest standards.

Phil maintains an active professional schedule, playing double bass and electric bass as a freelance musician both live and in the studio. He works regularly with several musical acts such as the Buzzard Kings, Lisa Bella Donna, Delyn Christian, Mad Mad Men, The Guitar Company,  Bob Piascik, The Rice Brothers, Parker McDonnel, and many others. You can follow his musical career on Maneri.net and social media.