Yeah, we’re dorks but our moms think we’re cool.

 
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Joseph Bartone, Technician

Joe began working at J. Kennedy Guitar Repair part time as Justin's assistant in 2013. Doing nearly all of his training in-house has tailored Joe's skill set to be virtually identical to Justin's, and his work is of the highest quality. Specializing in finish work, set ups, nut replacement/repair, acoustic saddle work, and fretwork, Joe's attention to detail is apparent to many of our customers, as nearly every guitar passes through his hands at some point while at the shop. Joe's "fret-prints" have been felt on hundreds of instruments throughout Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. Joe is a Silver certified Taylor Guitars repair tech, and many of the Taylor Guitars that come through the shop end up on his bench at some point during their stay. Joe currently plays guitar for the Cincinnati based band Lift the Medium, and has previously played for the West Coast based band House of Floyd (Pink Floyd tribute), and Cincinnati based bands Atlantis Becoming and Patchwork.

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Tiernan McKinney, Luthier/technician

Tiernan Started working at J. Kennedy Guitar Repair in July of 2019. He studied lutherie at the Guitar Craft Academy at Musician's Institute in Nashville, TN where he graduated in June of 2019. He is a Fender Silver Certified technician, and has previously worked for Gibson and Washburn Guitars. Tiernan can do nearly everything in the shop, from routing and high level woodworking, to finish touch ups, fret-work, and final set up. Tiernan also builds custom guitars and basses (his crazy shaped 7 string guitar projects have been a staple of shop "decorating" since he started). Tiernan also works for local schools in their music education programs and plays bass in the band Mask of the Charlatan.

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Nick Blasky, Technician

Nick began working at J. Kennedy Guitar Repair in early 2017, focusing on set ups and fretwork. Prior to working for J. Kennedy Guitar Repair Nick won recognition from the NAMM Association for his work setting up ukuleles for Amahi Ukeleles. A naturally gifted musician and multi-instrumentalist, Nick has played both bass and drums for many Cincinnati based bands. He can also play nearly any Rush song you can name on guitar, making him cool to musicians, but a hopeless dork to everybody else. 

Jasper Adams, Luthier/technician

Jasper graduated from the Galloup School of Lutherie specializing in flat-top acoustics in 2020. He began work at J. Kennedy Guitar Repair in 2021. Since starting guitar building and repair he has quickly become a huge wood nerd. Quickly striving to learn the best of arts and science in crafting high performance acoustic guitars, and applying that knowledge to repairs as well. If there is an instrument that looks vaguely like a birdhouse, it'll no doubt have his attention.

Andy Sorentino, Technician

Andy started playing guitar in the late 60s in Columbus, Ohio and played in his first band in Junior High school. Years of playing music professionally and working on amplifiers led Andy down the inevitable road to guitar repair. He had been teaching guitar at Sidekick Studios in the Liberty Township/ West Chester, Ohio area since 2008. Andy took classes at Gallup School of Guitar Building in Michigan, to sharpen his skills. After a short stint with a national guitar retailer Andy joined the team at JKennedy Guitar Repair. The rest is history!