Aperio means ‘to reveal’ in Latin and was started by Greg Hails (me) and Bette Gilbert (my wife) in late 2009 (pics below).  Our goal is to reveal the ultimate tone and sound that your guitar can produce by providing the skills to make it happen.  You provide the talent!  We are literally a “Mom & Pop business” and we pride ourselves in personalized service and great communication.

I’ve been playing and building guitars and tube amps for 50+ years and built my first electric guitar at 13.  I recognized my technical talents for electronics and building early on.

I’m a programmer, a CNC programmer/operator, 3D designer and a guitar player with an electronics/programming/engineering career that has spanned over 25 years.  I wrote software for the IBM touch screens at the ’96 Atlanta Olympics and designed Video On Demand software and hardware systems and infrared controllers.  I rebuilt a 36-foot sailboat and all its systems- navigation, electrical, mechanical, engine and hydraulic, and sailed it to Mexico and back.  And I learned all about stainless steel!

We have fine tuned what we do here and have narrowed it down to stainless steel refrets, doing general repairs only if accompanied by a refret.  We also build our own necks but are currently putting that on hold due to the large number of refrets coming in.  Stainless is all we use and I’ve done over 600 documented stainless fret jobs.  I will work and consult with you personally to make sure you are getting a refret you’ll be happy with.  Our work is professional and our prices reasonable.  Our customers are pros and semi-pros alike, who demand excellent service and know that working on guitars requires dedication and expertise.