When Bob Tedrow moved to Birmingham more than 30 years ago with his wife Klari, he wasted no time hitting the streets in his new city, introducing himself to those who might be interested in his rather niche talent of repairing musical instruments. He visited area pawn shops and even the education division of the local symphony, explaining his craft to everyone and anyone willing to listen. Soon enough, Tedrow had a burgeoning client base as well as a busy home life, caring for his little ones while Klari began her own career as an attorney.
As the early iteration of Homewood Music continued to grow — he was “a one-person show for about a decade,” he said — Tedrow earned a sterling reputation for buying, selling and restoring musical instruments. Today, the names behind Homewood Music are known throughout the state of Alabama and beyond, and scores of musicians trust Tedrow and his two associates to fine-tune their beloved music-makers.
Stroll into Homewood Music, and you’re instantly wooed by its gorgeous chaos. Far from a pristine showroom, this shop is humble and eclectic, with an assortment of instruments needing TLC and a trio of dedicated craftsmen who understand the intimate details of sound.
“There are three of us,” Tedrow said, speaking of himself, Jason Burns and Michael Clayton, his associates. “We are always busy at the bench with our hands, all day every day. We start with coffee, and we don’t stop for lunch — we work all day. We repair instruments, upgrade instruments, appraise other people’s instruments. We work for collectors, hobbyists and professionals.”
Tedrow shared how he and his younger associates work perfectly in tandem – far from the “older, wiser one,” he is happy to learn from Burns and Clayton regularly, and he is thankful to have a host of knowledge in one place for the sake of musicians everywhere.
“Jason Burns used to hang out in my shop as a teenager. Now, he is more talented than I am,” Tedrow said, chuckling. “I taught him how to repair; now he teaches me. Michael Clayton is an intensive care nurse, and his hobby is musical instruments. He is a fountain of information on rare guitars and how guitars are built. Everyone in this shop is obsessed with minutiae about musical instruments. It’s the perfect crowd for me to hang out with.”
As for what, exactly, goes on in the shop, it’s not necessarily building instruments from scratch, though the team is happy to do it when asked. Rather, buying and selling instruments and restoring instruments is what keeps Homewood Music humming. Instruments regularly cared for include guitars, violins, mandolins, ukuleles, banjos and more.
“We are all players, and we have all built instruments that are worth thousands of dollars. But building instruments by hand is not a great way to make money. It takes too much time — hours and hours,” explained Tedrow. “So, we buy and sell and also restore. When we sell new instruments, we always upgrade them so they are better — it's an incentive to shop with us.”
Thanks to their loyal client base of aficionados, this iconic shop has survived the pandemic, taking great care with everyone’s instruments so Birmingham homes are swelling with melody. The future looks good for Homewood Music as far as Bob Tedrow is concerned — he’s optimistic, even with the rise of online business. After all, at Homewood Music, musicians don’t get a “churn and burn” or impersonal corporate experience; they know their favorite instruments are handled with patience and love.
“That’s always been the goal: to work hard every day, to be nice to people and to be responsible,” Tedrow mused. “Rinse, lather and repeat. It’s a simple business plan. It has worked for more than 30 years. If someone loves their instrument and has a good story, we love their instrument too.”