Services
Services
STRING CHANGE
Strings begin to deteriorate the minute you remove them from their packaging. Just being exposed to the air alone begins decaying the string. Add to this the natural oils in your fingers and possibly moisture from sweating, it doesn’t take long for the strings to loose their tone and brilliance they had when new. If you play a guitar for a couple hours a day, you are probably going to need to replace strings about every six weeks. Sure you can go longer, but your tone will slowly degrade and your tuning is going to become more difficult. Strings that are “coated” will last twice as long but also cost twice as much. Your average good set of strings range from $6.00 to $10.00 per set. Coated strings on average are $12.00 to $16.00. Wipe your strings down with a clean cotton cloth when done playing and they’ll last even longer. Guitar Repair Services stocks quality strings from D’Addario, DR, Fender, Ernie Ball, Gibson, Augustine, LaBella, Elixir and Pyramid at very reasonable prices.
SETUPS
A good thorough set up can take a mediocre guitar and transform it into something you don’t want to put down. There’s no prize for playing a guitar with strings that are too high off the fretboard (action), a guitar that sounds out of tune when you play past the middle of the neck due to bad intonation, and no prize for buzzing and rattling strings. Not only isn’t there a prize for any of this, but it really gets aggravating after a while. You’ll never know how well and easy your guitar can play until you’ve had a proper set up done. You will also become a better player when you don’t have to exert so much effort to play. There is no charge to evaluate your instrument and tell you if your guitar is sick or not. So why not bring it in for a check up!
FRET REPAIRS OR REFRETTING
Over time frets wear from normal use. They get tarnished from poor weather conditions, get nicks and dings from the pressure of steel strings being pushed down on them thousands of times, and they can wear at different rates causing uneven fret height up and down the fretboard. This leads to dead notes when fretting, buzzing strings, or the ever popular hearing the same note on two different fret positions (loose frets). Eventually all guitars if played normally will need fret work done to some extent. Sometimes only a few frets will need leveling, other times a full fret level and re-crown or fret replacement may be required. If your guitar has any of these symptoms, bring it in for a look see and I’ll give you an honest opinion on how we can solve the issue.
NUT REPLACEMENT/REPAIR
One of the most under rated parts on a guitar, the nut. It sits up there at the top of the guitar doing its job keeping the strings separated properly and lining up the strings to travel down to the tuners. Thats about it right. Not really.It also transmits a large majority of your sound and tone. A quality nut made out of good material (bone, corian, macerate, tusq) can transform a dull lifeless guitar into a real winner. It also plays a significant role in how hard you need to press on the strings when chording or fretting. Improper string height at the nut can lead to excessive force being needed to fret chords. The process of “regulating a nut” insures the string height is optimum for the easiest playing experience and eliminating buzzing on open strings!Replace that cheap plastic nut on your guitar and hear just how good it can sound and play.
SADDLE FABRICATION & REPLACEMENT
If you’re in need of a saddle for your acoustic guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, ukulele, etc we can supply one for you either pre-made or custom fabricated to specifically fit your instrument. We only use quality material since the saddle plays an intricate part in transmitting the tone and string vibrations of your instrument to the sound board. A good quality saddle material is not much more costly then using cheap plastic. Also a correctly compensated saddle will intonate the instrument properly so notes are accurate when playing in any position on the fretboard. The most popular material for saddle fabrication is bone since it transmits sound so well.
PICKUP INSTALLATION
We can install / replace pickups in your instrument. Pickups play an irreplaceable role in the tone and overall feel of your guitar and there are almost limitless options on the market today. Upgrading or changing pickups in a guitar can literally make it seem like it’s a completely different guitar. If you are in need of some advice or information or have a certain tone you have in mind, advice is free! I’m sure we can help you reach your tonal euphoria.
ELECTRONICS REPAIR/MODIFICATIONS
There are endless scenarios that can occur with guitars and electronics issues. Regardless what the issue is, we can trouble shoot it and find a solution. Whether you are looking for a repair to a problem or just looking to upgrade or modify your existing electronics, we have the resources and knowledge to meet your goal. We only use quality replacement parts when replacing or upgrading components because they are more reliable and the cost over the cheap parts is surprisingly negligible. We can upgrade your wiring, pots, capacitors, and switches and also install more tonal options in the way of coils splitting, phase switches, cutoff switches and much more. Call for more information or if you’re in need of clarification as to what some of your options are.
SHIELDING
Single coil pickups are notorious for picking up every unwanted bit of interference and transmitting it through your guitar and out the amp. Lighting systems, computer monitors, static electricity, interference from electrical outlets, atmospheric /humidity changes all contribute to the possible reasons your hearing strange noises from your pickups.Even static electricity on your clothes can be transmitted through the pickups. Most new guitars today , especially cheaper ones, have inadequate or no shielding at all. You’ll never no until you start to get inside the guitar and see what’s really going on. Properly shielding and grounding your guitar can yield big payoffs. Although there are shielding paints available today, I still believe copper properly installed is the best way to go, so that’s how I do it. If you’re not sure if your guitar is shielded properly, bring it to me and we’ll check it out together.
HEADSTOCK REPAIRS
So your guitar fell and had its headstock snapped almost completely off. Gibson Les Pauls are notorious for this. Because of the severe headstock angle it doesn’t take much of a hit to damage the headstock. If this ever happens to you, save any fragments of wood that might have separated from the guitar. Theses are a big help in the repair process. The extent of the repair really is on a case by case basis and really needs to be seen to give a proper estimate because the severity of damage varies so much. But we are one of the few repair facilities that will install splines in the neck to reinforce it so it is significantly stronger when the repair is done then when it was new. Cosmetically you can barely tell that there was ever any damage or repair done. And we do it the right way with two 6 inch splines. Bring your broken guitar in for an estimate! Don’t throw it away!
STRING CHANGE
Strings begin to deteriorate the minute you remove them from their packaging. Just being exposed to the air alone begins decaying the string. Add to this the natural oils in your fingers and possibly moisture from sweating, it doesn’t take long for the strings to loose their tone and brilliance they had when new. If you play a guitar for a couple hours a day, you are probably going to need to replace strings about every six weeks. Sure you can go longer, but your tone will slowly degrade and your tuning is going to become more difficult. Strings that are “coated” will last twice as long but also cost twice as much. Your average good set of strings range from $6.00 to $10.00 per set. Coated strings on average are $12.00 to $16.00. Wipe your strings down with a clean cotton cloth when done playing and they’ll last even longer. Guitar Repair Services stocks quality strings from D’Addario, DR, Fender, Ernie Ball, Gibson, Augustine, LaBella, Elixir and Pyramid at very reasonable prices.
SETUPS
A good thorough set up can take a mediocre guitar and transform it into something you don’t want to put down. There’s no prize for playing a guitar with strings that are too high off the fretboard (action), a guitar that sounds out of tune when you play past the middle of the neck due to bad intonation, and no prize for buzzing and rattling strings. Not only isn’t there a prize for any of this, but it really gets aggravating after a while. You’ll never know how well and easy your guitar can play until you’ve had a proper set up done. You will also become a better player when you don’t have to exert so much effort to play. There is no charge to evaluate your instrument and tell you if your guitar is sick or not. So why not bring it in for a check up!
FRET REPAIRS OR REFRETTING
Over time frets wear from normal use. They get tarnished from poor weather conditions, get nicks and dings from the pressure of steel strings being pushed down on them thousands of times, and they can wear at different rates causing uneven fret height up and down the fretboard. This leads to dead notes when fretting, buzzing strings, or the ever popular hearing the same note on two different fret positions (loose frets). Eventually all guitars if played normally will need fret work done to some extent. Sometimes only a few frets will need leveling, other times a full fret level and re-crown or fret replacement may be required. If your guitar has any of these symptoms, bring it in for a look see and I’ll give you an honest opinion on how we can solve the issue.
NUT REPLACEMENT/REPAIR
One of the most under rated parts on a guitar, the nut. It sits up there at the top of the guitar doing its job keeping the strings separated properly and lining up the strings to travel down to the tuners. Thats about it right. Not really.It also transmits a large majority of your sound and tone. A quality nut made out of good material (bone, corian, macerate, tusq) can transform a dull lifeless guitar into a real winner. It also plays a significant role in how hard you need to press on the strings when chording or fretting. Improper string height at the nut can lead to excessive force being needed to fret chords. The process of “regulating a nut” insures the string height is optimum for the easiest playing experience and eliminating buzzing on open strings!Replace that cheap plastic nut on your guitar and hear just how good it can sound and play.
SADDLE FABRICATION & REPLACEMENT
If you’re in need of a saddle for your acoustic guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, ukulele, etc we can supply one for you either pre-made or custom fabricated to specifically fit your instrument. We only use quality material since the saddle plays an intricate part in transmitting the tone and string vibrations of your instrument to the sound board. A good quality saddle material is not much more costly then using cheap plastic. Also a correctly compensated saddle will intonate the instrument properly so notes are accurate when playing in any position on the fretboard. The most popular material for saddle fabrication is bone since it transmits sound so well.
PICKUP INSTALLATION
We can install / replace pickups in your instrument. Pickups play an irreplaceable role in the tone and overall feel of your guitar and there are almost limitless options on the market today. Upgrading or changing pickups in a guitar can literally make it seem like it’s a completely different guitar. If you are in need of some advice or information or have a certain tone you have in mind, advice is free! I’m sure we can help you reach your tonal euphoria.
ELECTRONICS REPAIR/MODIFICATIONS
There are endless scenarios that can occur with guitars and electronics issues. Regardless what the issue is, we can trouble shoot it and find a solution. Whether you are looking for a repair to a problem or just looking to upgrade or modify your existing electronics, we have the resources and knowledge to meet your goal. We only use quality replacement parts when replacing or upgrading components because they are more reliable and the cost over the cheap parts is surprisingly negligible. We can upgrade your wiring, pots, capacitors, and switches and also install more tonal options in the way of coils splitting, phase switches, cutoff switches and much more. Call for more information or if you’re in need of clarification as to what some of your options are.
SHIELDING
Single coil pickups are notorious for picking up every unwanted bit of interference and transmitting it through your guitar and out the amp. Lighting systems, computer monitors, static electricity, interference from electrical outlets, atmospheric /humidity changes all contribute to the possible reasons your hearing strange noises from your pickups.Even static electricity on your clothes can be transmitted through the pickups. Most new guitars today , especially cheaper ones, have inadequate or no shielding at all. You’ll never no until you start to get inside the guitar and see what’s really going on. Properly shielding and grounding your guitar can yield big payoffs. Although there are shielding paints available today, I still believe copper properly installed is the best way to go, so that’s how I do it. If you’re not sure if your guitar is shielded properly, bring it to me and we’ll check it out together.