Bruce Bolen

Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), first hired Bruce into the industry. At the time, CMI owned Gibson Guitars and Bruce worked in marketing their products. In the 1980s, after Fender was bought from CBS, Bruce was hired to run the artist relations department, which he had also done for a while at Gibson. Over the years he has worked with nearly all of the major guitars in rock, pop, blues and coun

John Page is a master luthier and visionary builder whose career has helped shape the modern era of handcrafted guitars. His association with Fender Musical Instruments began in 1978 when he joined the Research and Development Department as a model maker

Tom Pooton was not yet a teenager when he began taking guitar lessons. A year later, with the support of his mother, Tom attended a Gibson clinic where he connected with some of the employees. They later invited young Tom to attend the NAMM Show in Chicago, where he fell in love with the music industry. After college MH Berlin hired Tom to serve as the Marketing Manager for Gibson Guitars in the era in which it was owned by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI).

Tim Shaw is the Chief Engineer-Guitars for Fender Musical Instruments, helping the company create guitars, pickups and other products. Tim’s career began when Charlie Wicks hired him to repair guitars for his retail store. He found his way to R&D at Gibson in Kalamazoo in 1978 and worked with the founders of Heritage Guitars before relocating to Nashville. His friend Bruce Bolen hired Tim to work for Fender in 1996, where he worked in R&D for Guild with Bob Benedetto and Ren Ferguson. His current position has him designing new instruments, pickups and hardware for many of