Hugh grew up in the musical instrument hotbed of northeast Nebraska, where at the age of 13 he traded a Faith No More tape for his first guitar. In 1998, after having abandoned a successful drywall sanding career, he attended Minnesota State College Southeast Technical Red Wing Campus, where he earned a certificate in Musical Instrument Repair and Construction. Since then, Hugh has been fixing instruments, (both at his own shop and at Dietze Music House in Lincoln, Nebraska), as well as building the occasional mandolin.He joined the Gruhn staff in 2006 and specializes in mandolin repair and acoustic guitar restoration. His favorite jobs include oversized bridge plate removals, Gretsch neck resets, and sunken mandolin tops. He has a lovely wife, Katy, and daughter Stella, as well as a dog Sitka, towards whom he is indifferent at best. In his spare time, he enjoys mowing the lawn and preparing for end times.