Chris Radostits turned to Homewood drum technician Grant Niebergall for help when he inherited a lackluster 1950s drum set from his grandfather’s polka band.
In order to bring the 1950s hybrid set consisting of Slingerland and Ludwig brand drums brought back to life, Niebergall’s work included recalibrating the drum heads to bring the right tension to the shells, which he also repainted.
Radostits, who operates Aurora-based Cinnamon Sound Studio and has known Niebergall for 20 years, said the result “was as if I had just purchased it in 1950.”
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Top touring bands employ a staff person to regularly perform drum repair and maintenance, said Niebergall, who retails his services through his “1 Fine Tune” enterprise. His repair/rebuild portfolio includes kettledrums, drum lines and classical percussion.
“He’s the man,” said Bill Richardson of Axes Music, recalling Niebergall’s visit to the Mokena-based studio to tune a client’s drum set and perform a sound check the night before a scheduled recording session.
“It was a big kit and it made the session the following day go extremely smooth,” Richardson said, adding an out-of tune drum “can suck the life out of a recording pretty quick.”
Niebergall started 1 Fine Tune eight years ago in his garage in Homewood and will celebrate the business’ one-year anniversary in a 2,400-square-foot industrial space at 17807 Bretz Drive this month.
Aaron Brace, who manages the operation, is “my right-hand man and a very talented musician,” Niebergall said. Jennifer and Sidney Elliott are also key staff members, he said.
“I’m a rebuilder,” Niebergall said, noting 1 Fine Tune focuses on repair, maintenance and then some rather than producing custom-made products.
Still, rebuilding requires “creative thinking, working with a budget, skill and patience,” he said.
Drum restoration requires having the necessary skills and equipment — and being willing to expand those skills to meet the needs of a customer, as in the case of Radostits’ polka drums.
“I’ve become a niche paint shop, powder-coating entire shells,” Niebergall said.
Ken Burman, who operates Midwest Custom Cymbals, said Niebergall is “pretty well established in the drum community in Chicago. He’s got his market share for sure.”
Niebergall works closely with Burman, who repairs cymbals that have been dropped off at 1 Fine Tune.
“He focuses on drums and I focus on cymbals,” Burman said, adding the relationship gives Niebergall “a full-service shop,” at least as it relates to drum kits.
Richardson said Axes Music’s retail business, in operation since 1999, “doesn’t really specialize in drums, so I’m often referring our more serious customers to Grant.”
Niebergall’s quality, Richardson said, “gives us better credibility.”
The company name, 1 Fine Tune, is a bit of serendipity.
“I was at Starbucks with a backstage manager for Lollapalooza,” Niebergall said. “He played me a song from one of the bands. I said, ‘That’s one fine tune!'”
Niebergall said he didn’t give it another thought until calling on his first customer, who asked the name of the business.
“1 Fine Tune just shot out of my mouth,” he said. “It kept resonating.”
Niebergall offered that customer, a church musician, a money-back guarantee for work similar to the work he would later perform for Radostits. The customer was satisfied, Niebergall said.
For the most part, that’s been the experience of all his customers, Niebergall said. But sometimes things go wrong.
“I only have one shot to drill something,” he said. “Only one (drum) has come back in eight years and it only came back because my drill slipped.
Looking to the future, Niebergall is opening the additional space available at his Bretz Drive location to address drummers’ other needs.
In addition to Midwest Custom Cymbal Repair’s presence, 1 Fine Tune now offers a rehearsal area that can be rented by the hour. An Evanston-based recording studio also is slated to begin operating in the space before the end of the year, he said.
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Niebergall, a drummer for 40 years who also performs, said he can’t wait to come into work “because I love my job,” he said. “I’ve found my joy and I feel I’m where God has placed me.”
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.