April 29th, 2024

Good morning friends,

     Every week I write this newsletter about some kind of personal topic, travel or event going on in my life, my family or my business. I started it SIX years ago on Julie’s birthday (which is tomorrow in case anybody’s keeping track). They are all archived here:

 https://bernunzio.com/johns-corner-archive/

It’s been a fun ride and I fully planning on continuing until AI takes over our brains. That said, I am well aware of the events that are happening around the world…and they are very, very painful. Sometimes I find it difficult to rationalize being in the business of buying and selling music instruments while so many people around the world are suffering. So much of this world’s energy and resources are spent on warfare in the name of defense and protection that there is little left for the REAL human experience. World yearly military expenditure is at an all-time high of $2443 billion!

    While inequality and warfare display the worst qualities of the dark underbelly of our species, MUSIC gives us what is the best of humanity…..It is universal communication…beyond words and beyond differences. I feel good about being in the music business. It’s the best I can do with my life right now and my experiences this past week have confirmed that.

     Earlier in the week, some folks had dropped off two very nice old instruments for evaluation and possible sale. They including a great older Martin guitar and an early Gibson mandolin. Our tech, Alex Patrick, assigned values to the instruments, based on his research and the current condition but the owners felt there was a considerable discrepancy. When I walked in on Thursday, I saw the guitar and my jaw dropped. It was a very beautiful 12 fret Martin dreadnought, a very unusual configuration, and the wood was spectacular Brazilian Rosewood. Upon closer examination, the guitar had many modifications over its lifetime. When Alex called them back and told him what we were willing to pay, they seemed disappointed and perhaps thought we were being a bit underhanded. They called and said they would come and pick up the instruments on Friday.  Now, I wanted to buy the instruments, but the price had to be right because they needed work to make them playable and it could take a considerable amount of time before they’re ready to go up for sale. We always need to take into account the modifications that detract from the value. When they arrived I immediately took over the situation and went into my teacher mode. I carefully explained all the nuances of Martin guitars from this period. The pickguard had been changed, the neck angle had been changed, the bridge had been shaved and the case was not original. Additionally, the Gibson mandolin had replaced tuners and needed to complete set up and the case was not original. These are all modifications that affect value. After a lively discussion, we agreed upon a fair price shook hands and wrote a check. The woman then looked at me and said, "you are John Bernunzio aren’t you?" I could not deny it and said, "yes’. She then said, "Fifty years ago, in Canandaigua, New York, you chased me around a parking lot because I had a Martin guitar sticker on my car and you wanted to see what I had. Well, you finally have the guitar!". We laughed, we hugged and we promised to stay in touch 

With peace,

John Bernunzio

Dan Palmer’s  old-time jam on the last Saturday of the month is our best attended event. It is all because of the welcoming personality of Dan Palmer. All smiles all the time…

Mark your calendar….."BANJOS and BASEBALL"  is set for July 31 at Red Wing Stadium. This event will be brought to you by Bernunzio Uptown Music and it will be fun for the entire family. Tickets are available at the store and online.

The greenery is starting to show itself on the Keuka Outlet Trail. I took the big cart out for a spin on Sunday…..