Letter of recommendation

I’m a guitarplayer from the Netherlands and I bought two very good 000 Martin guitars.
Both of excellent quality. One in New York and one in Austin Texas.
Not really used to the dry and hot weather I found out in Moab that the 000 16M from Austin had a small crack in the top. I had the intention to let it repaired when I got back in New York. But Stan Jay from Mandolin Brothers said I should get it fixed as soon as possible. Thru the internet I found gonzoguitar.com . And what immediately struck me was the good information he gave on his website about things he could do for your guitar and the price it would cost you. So I decided to go to Salt Lake City and get the guitar fixed by Gonzo.
What started as a conversation about a crack in the top, ended after two hours in a complete restorationprogram. Instead of the 45 dollar for the crackrepair it would cost me a lot more. Because talking to Gonzo made me realize that this was the guy to do the upgrading of my Martin 00016M. On his advice I choosed the Highlander system with a coaxial bridge pick-up and a condenser mic build in combined with a DI/mixing box. A reshape of the bridge, an intonated saddle talyormade for my tuning and a finish repair on the neck and a fret level. My worry was do I have to sacrifice some of the acoustic sound for a great pick-up systeem. Comparing the Martin 00021 from 1947 with the Martin 00016M from 1989 it turned out that the sound of the 00016M was as good as the 00021. Gonzo did enhanced the sound of the guitar. I already told my friends in The Netherlands what a great job he did, and that it is strange to say, but I was lucky to found a small crack in the top in Moab. I had bought a great 00016M, but with the work that Gonzo did in such a skillfull way I ended up with a superb sounding guitar. It was amazing to me to sit on his porch in the evening talking about the good things in live, while he was able to make a complete intonated saddle for me. This really shows the craftmanship of Gonzo. I have spoken to a lot of guys here in the USA from the best shops in New York City to specialized shops in Austin and L.A. There is a great knowlegde about acoustic guitars in the US. Knowing that the Salt Lake City Area has some fine guitarbuilders, I found myself lucky to run into this guy. So I can recommend Gonzo to everyone. If you want the job done well, Gonzo is your man.

Jos van Oost, singer/songwriter.