Donnie Wade

Donnie Wade "borrowed" his parent’s car when he was 14 years old to drive to a bar so he could hear Freddie King play the guitar! That experience and an earlier encounter with Merle Travis marked the beginning of his passion for the guitar! That passion took him from his own retail shop in Texas to setting up factories in Asia and more recently to Fender, where he is the chief luthier for the Gretsch brand.  A career that all started with a car drive.