Woman-Owned Guitar Shop Adds In-House Female Tech in Industry Milestone

Coinciding with Women’s Month, woman-owned Third Wave Music, a full-service music instrument store specializing in guitars and electronic gear, is proud to announce an exciting new addition to their team. Lydia Napier, Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair Masterclass Graduate, now offers her skilled guitar repairs and finish work in-store at Third Wave Music in Midtown, Detroit.

Owner Jen David is thrilled to be bringing on a woman technician into her store’s space. David says, “As a lifelong musician, part of my excitement in opening a music store was that I could create an environment where other women felt comfortable and encouraged, unlike most other shops I’d been in. Women guitarists have always been innovators and have always made up a huge proportion of players, but historically we just didn’t get as much representation.” Additionally, this was shown by Fender’s 2018 extensive study on new guitar buyers. Fender CEO Andy Mooney stated in Forbes,“We found that 50% of new guitar buyers were women and that their tendency was to buy online rather than in a brick and mortar store because the intimidation factor in a brick and mortar store was rather high.”

During COVID-19, Third Wave Music re-examined what musicians needed most in a changing world and found that quality, fast instrument repair was a high priority. By shifting their music lessons online and building out an in-store repair studio customers can get back to playing their instruments even more quickly than before. During her time as Head Technician of Harmony Guitars, Heritage Guitars, and Well Played Gear Kalamazoo, Lydia Napier handled a high volume and wide variety of guitars, but Third Wave needed someone with skills AND who values making their customers feel empowered and informed. Napier says, “Going from being flat out denied a job because of my gender to working in a woman owned shop is a dream come true…now not only do I get to do the work I love, I get to do it in an environment I love too.” Third Wave Music is so happy to find just the right person to make the store their homebase. It may be a rarity in this