The Percolator back story

January 08, 2017  /  Jimmy Deveney

Hey y'all-

Thanks for visiting the page. My name is Jimmy Deveney, and I am the guy that started, and runs Percolator Guitar Repair. Here's little bit of my story, how I ended up starting my business:

GUITAR REPAIR

I have been tinkering with guitars as long as I have been playing them, over 30 years, and started taking repairs seriously about 20 years ago, end of 1999, when I got my first music store job. Magnolia Music in Jackson, MS.  I was always peering over the shoulder of Chuck Ripperton, the sales and repair wiz. Chuck was a sweet guy, and a brilliant, player and repair tech. I learned a lot from him.  This became a trend in my following jobs, I was in sales, but always getting as much hands on knowledge from repair guys as I could. By the time made it to Austin in 2002, I was getting pretty acquainted with it. In 2003, I moved to Strait Music from a big box store, and ended up with my own bench to take some heat off the main repair guy upstairs. By 2008, I was ready to open my own shop, and a buddy of mine who fixed amps, Chazz Bessette, and myself opened "Atomic Power Repair" in Austin. We made it 2 years, but the economy was tanking, and our cash on the barrel head philosophy wasn't gonna work. To avoid taking on debt, we closed down, and I toured the country for 3 years with my band at the time, Horse Opera.  I came home and started building custom electric guitars for Teye Guitars in Austin.  I learned a TON there, and loved the people I worked with. After a year and half the company shut down temporarily to reorganize and moved operations to Nashville.  I stayed in Austin.  I also worked for a time for Moniker Guitars in Austin, again, learned a lot and loved the crew, but it wasn't a proper fit, with my band touring a lot. 

So I went back on the road a good bit in 2016, and had a good time, but I found I really missed the work, so, I started a repair shop out of my house, and also worked about 30 hours a week for Danny Shoemaker at his "Straight Frets Guitar Service". I learned a ton, and loved it, but life takes you where it takes you. I moved back to my hometown of Albuquerque NM in December of 2017, and began working from home there as well as being a barista at Michael Thomas Coffee. 

Percolator Guitar Repair opened its first “Not in my garage” location in Albuquerque at the ABQ collective in 2018, also managing the first location of “Rust is Gold'“ coffee in the same building, (coffee is a continuing theme). 1 year later it moved into a new home at Music Go Round, and in June 2022, moved to an off site location, using Music go Round as a check in, drop off, meet to pick up point. In September 2023, I was able to move into a beautiful workspace in Wells Park, sharing the building with Empty House Studio. This actually matches up with the original vision of Percolator, to have a recording studio and guitar repair in the same building. Music go Round are still my partners for drop off and pick up.

Hi FI service was discontinued in September 2019.