| About the Crew |
Tom Ribbecke |
Bobby Vega |
Mike Gutsch |
Daniela Ribbecke |
Chip Norton |
Kevin Gilbaugh |
Frankie DeSouza |
Mike Tardif |
Timmy Lovold |
Fred Campbell |
Bobby's legendary career as a bass player began at age 16. He's worked with Sly and the Family Stone, Etta James, Billy Preston, Paul Butterfield, The Starship, Joan Baez, Olatunji and Mickey Hart. And, with over a hundred albums and recording projects to his credit, he continues to tour and play today.
Bobby consults on fundamental design of instruments and setup. He puts his decades of experience and talent into choosing pickups, strings, hardware, wood and hand voicing the instruments.
Mike is our shop Foreman. Mike was the first (and for a long time; only) employee of RGC! Having spent several years at Alembic Guitars, he has an extensive background in luthiery.
Mike is our genius in residence. He designs all of our jigs and fixtures. You need it: he'll make it! The quality of our instruments is due to his creativity and pursuit of excellence.
Daniela is the Operations Manager at the shop and Tom's daughter. She has grown up in and around the lutherie industry; making this job a perfect fit! Luckily she and Tom are very close (they even have the same birthday) and work well together.
Daniela attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has worked in Management positions for various companies. She does a little bit of everything at RGC from office work to customer service.
Chip has been working with wood since he was a child. He has worked in several shops, including seven years at Alembic Guitars. Chip came to RGC in 2006 and quickly made a place for himself in the Neck Department.
Chip has been invaluable in implementing new production procedures. He is our Production Manager and works closely with Daniela and Mike to make the shop run smoothly. (He is pictured on the left with his wife; Liz.)
Kevin began his career in Tom's private practice in 2000. He was one of the first employees at RGC. He has worked in various departments in the shop and is currently our lead Setup Craftsman.
His work at Tom's shop prepared him well for the detail oriented, custom nature of each instruments setup. He works closely with both Tom and Bobby to hand voice each instrument.
Frankie is a dedicated musician. His focus on playing the guitar naturally evolved into an interest in building guitars. While he is still a touring and playing musician he has dedicated himself to learning the craft of lutherie.
When Frankie first started at RGC he had never used wood working machinery! Luckily he was devoted to learning. And now Mike relies on Frankie to build our Hardware; which is very complicated and detail oriented.
A Maine native, Mike (or as we call him; NewMike) joined our shop in 2007. He graduated from the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in early 2007, and was brought aboard RGC in November of the same year.
NewMike started working with Chip in the neck department, and is now making the bodies. He has also been helping with random projects around the shop, as well as spraying and sanding lacquer as needed. He is happy to report that working at RGC has been a dream come true!
Before coming to RGC Timmy worked in Tom's private practice. Timmy's amazing personality and incredible focus have been wonderful additions to RGC.
While he currently works in Setup alongside Kevin, in the future, Timmy will be working in the Finish department. He can do everything from inlay to hardware and will be putting his artistic eye to work on our sunburst finishes! (He is pictured on the right with Tom).
With over 35 years experience in lutherie, Fred is considered a Master Finisher and Luthier. Doing business as F.W. Campbell and Sons in San Jose, California, Fred had clients from around the globe seeking his guitar finishing services and consultation. He also taught Master classes in guitar finishing for the Guild of American Luthiers and the American School of Lutherie.
An old friend of Tom's, Fred has been a wonderful source of information for RGC. We are so lucky to have his help and advice!