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You can hear the care we take!TM
English studio musician John Pearse first began researching into music string manufacture in the mid-sixties. The first person, ever, to teach guitar on television - his BBC lessons have been seen in six countries while his PBS series, STRING ALONG, was shown in most US television markets whilst becoming perhaps the best selling video guitar course both nationally and internationally.
He is the author of some forty books on such diverse subjects as instrument building and technique- to cooking and the traditional art of fly fishing!
In 1965 John began his collaboration with British Music Strings, a London string maker, to develop a guitar string with both a longer life and a more 
accurate vibrating and nodal pattern. His designs were so successful that, over the years, both British Music Strings and Thomastik marketed strings under his name. John also designed string lines for Bourne Guitars and Jay Associates, makers of the Jester guitar line.
In 1978 he came to the United States to develop a unique line of accessories for the C.F. Martin Company. It was here that he again met dulcimist Mary Faith Rhoads. After eighteen months, in 1980, he decided to leave Martin, and, with Mary Faith, started Breezy Ridge Instruments to produce the Breezy Ridge Hammer Dulcimer. His revolutionary design proved itself to be the best sounding Hammer Dulcimer ever made.[Check it out later...on the Instrument Page.]
Next came a line of music strings designed especially for the professional musician. Within months, word of these exciting strings had spread across the country and pressure from both the public and beleaguered dealers had persuaded John and Mary Faith to make their line available to stores and things have just kept growing since then!. In addition to expanding the string line over the years, Breezy Ridge has also brought out many of John's unique accessories and produced his popular PBS TV series "Stringalong" and "Cooking with Wine" which have garnered rave reviews everywhere! In addition to all the new accessories available through Breezy Ridge®, he has also worked with Rick Shubb to produce the line of Shubb Pearse Bars for lap-steel and resophonic guitars. Most recently, John has just published a new book of his stories called "Carousel."
Over the years, John and Mary Faith were married and divorced, John married Linda and Mary Faith married Spafford...and through it all, Breezy Ridge, which became a proper "corporation" in 1990, has continued to grow stronger! Who would have thought that two old hippies could accomplish so much!
Music really does make the world a better place!TM
The worldwide celebration of the New Year 2000 was the occasion, for us at Breezy Ridge®, to declare a "Year of Celebration" for our 20th Anniversary! It also marks the 35th Anniversary of the first appearance of John Pearse Strings in England!
We are grateful to ALL who have supported us over the years: the musicians who literally sing our praises, the store personnel who have made our strings their own personal brand and recommendation, and the people who have encouraged and helped us to stayin the music all these years! Together we have created relationships which resemble family more closely than business! And, in the long run, we each do help to make the world a better place!
THANK YOU!
[We created the wonderful banner, the artwork of which is shown above...it's 8' long by 3' high! We carried it with us over the year 2000 and got signatures of endorsees and friends at each show we attended! When we decide we can part with it, we will offer it up to be auctioned off for a good cause! If you have any suggestions along this line, please don't hesitate to contact us and suggest them!]
Graphics and logos on this web site are trademarked, copyrighted, or registered by Breezy Ridge® Instruments, Ltd., Mary Faith Rhoads-Lewis or John Pearse, Center Valley, PA 18034, and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Breezy Ridge® Instruments, Ltd.
