WE EXIST TO MAKE SOUND THAT STAYS
MEET THE MAKERS
David Showalter | Co-founder & Head of Instruments
Dave began playing guitar when he was 11, around the same age that he started helping his dad with woodworking.
He studied jazz guitar performance and composition at Columbia College Chicago and certified in luthiery at Roberto-Venn, returning to Columbia College for an entrepreneurship degree.
After apprenticing at Specimen Products, Dave built basses at Lakland for pros like Adam Clayton and Geezer Butler. He then moonlighted as a custom maker while adulting in cybersecurity at Bank of America. In 2018, he started MachMachines, which became his full-time gig in 2023.
Geek out with Dave about Charlie Christian, Fugazi, Hound Dog Taylor, and Big Thief.
Jennifer Vianello | Co-founder & Managing Partner
Born into a family of musicians, Jen has played classical piano since age 7.
She went to Columbia College Chicago for arts management and piano, followed by Chicago Booth for an MBA. Early on, she interned at Alligator Records and worked in marketing at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
When digital disrupted her function and industry, Jen spent the next 2 decades inside media and tech, most recently as CMO for Cars.com. She stayed connected to the Chicago music community as a board member at Merit School of Music. In 2026, she came full circle - applying all she learned to the thing that always mattered most.
Geek out with Jen about Stravinsky, Charles Mingus, PJ Harvey, and Lyrics Born.
Dave & Jen |Music Nerds, Chicago Natives & Parents
Dave and Jen met in a Columbia College dorm — a former Lyon & Healy piano and guitar factory. A year later, Jen was the teacher’s aide for Dave’s keyboarding class. For their first date, they ate ice cream and attempted to watch Brazil. It seemed kismet when Dave met Jen’s conductor, composer, and violist grandfather; Jen had no idea that Papa Hugo was also a skilled woodworker with a stash of pernambuco. They married at famed jazz club Green Dolphin Street.
Dave and Jen moved around Chicago, Berwyn, and eventually Oak Park. They have two boys, a mystery mutt, and an absurdly specific approach to keeping current with music. Aside from the kids and MachMachines, they spend their time listening to vinyl and tinkering on their century-old house.
25 years later, they are restoring Chicago’s musical instrument legacy but still haven’t seen Brazil.
NAMESAKES
A CHORD BY ANY OTHER NAME…
We tell our kids that words are just sounds and symbols. Like chords, few are “bad” - only dissonant. Intent and context are what matter.
Except when it comes to names. Names carry identity and connect generations.
MachMachines - in name and in practice - is about our family legacy. Our instruments are built to become part of yours.
MACH is David’s middle name and his mother’s maiden name. It is the unit of measurement for the speed of sound. While “Mach” is Czech, “machen” means “to make” in German. Almost literally “Make Sound.”
SHOWALTER is David’s and our kids’ last name. It’s of German and Swiss origin and means “man from the beautiful forest.” Naturally, our mascot is a sasquatch named after the earliest Showalter ancestor we’ve found.
VIANELLO is Jennifer’s last name, thought to mean “the way in.” It’s one of the most common family names on the small barrier island of Pellestrina, once traversed by sea travelers and traders to reach the artisans of Venice.
