Basics

Restring

Acoustic Steel String … $30 (plus cost of strings)

Nylon String … $35 (plus cost of strings)

Electric with fixed bridge … $30 (plus strings)

Electric with vibrato/tremolo … $35 (plus strings)

Floyd Rose or other locking bridge … $45 (plus strings)

Action Adjustment

(Exact price determined upon inspection of instrument. May involve adjusting truss rod, shaving or shimming saddle, modifying nut, or other work.)

Acoustic Steel String … $20 to $40

Nylon String … $20 to $40

Electric with fixed bridge … $20 to $50

Electric with vibrato/tremolo … $20 to $50

Floyd Rose or other locking bridge … $20 to $75

Intonation Adjustment

(Applicable to electric guitars only. Generally not possible on acoustic instruments with standard bridges. Restring recommended for best results - see above for prices.)

Electric w/fixed bridge or vib/trem … $25

Electric w/locking bridge … $35

Setups

(add cost of strings to all setups)

All setups include: Restring, Adjust action, Clean and polish frets and fretboard, Lubricate moving parts, Tighten loose screws, nuts, etc. Inspect instrument for problems and advise.

Different types of instruments have specific setup requirements, priced accordingly and described below:

Acoustic Steel String … $65

Nylon String … $75

Electric with fixed bridge (Gibson style) … $65

Gibson style Intonation is adjusted on each string, action is set for entire bridge as a unit.

Electric with fixed bridge (Fender style) … $75

Fender style intonation and action is set for each string.

— with Fender style trem/vib … $85

Fender style vibrato setup requires adjusting spring tension. Other common vibrato mechanisms such as Bigsby are not generally adjustable but may need tightening and lubrication.

— with Floyd Rose or other locking bridge … $95

Locking bridge/nut setups are quite labor intensive and often require repeating some steps during the process to ensure the stability of the mechanism.

Simple Jobs

Add strap button on acoustic guitar … 1/$20+ … 2/$35+

(For instruments without existing holes for button, plus parts cost.)

Replace strap button … $5 plus part.

(For instruments with hole already drilled)

Replace tuning machines … $45 to $65

Usually a simple job, but occasionally requires modification to the headstock if new hardware does not fit existing holes, which must then be widened or shimmed. Plus parts cost.

Nut replacement (acoustic or electric) … $120

New nut installed, made from natural bone, or high quality synthetic Tusq or similar material. Add $50 for 12 strings. Includes restoring original action, but cannot predict exact changes to the sound of an instrument.

Saddle replacement (acoustic) … $80

New Saddle installed, made from natural bone, or high quality synthetic Tusq or similar material. Includes restoring original action, but cannot predict exact changes to the sound of an instrument.

Saddle and Nut Combo (acoustic) … $175

New Saddle installed, made from natural bone, or high quality synthetic Tusq or similar material. Includes restoring original action, but cannot predict exact changes to the sound of an instrument.

Re-attach Acoustic Bridge … $150 to $250

Price does not include new strings . Includes a basic setup to ensure proper action as much as possible.

Electric/acoustic guitars usually have pickups and wiring in the bridge which must be partly removed and reconnected, adding to the cost of the repair.

If the bridge is coming loose the repair includes removing it completely and cleaning the bottom surface of any old glue and splinters and shaping it to match the contour of the sound board. Though soundboards seem flat, there is always some degree of curve which usually becomes greater over time. Many bridge separations are due to ‘bellying’ of the sound board, since the bridge cannot flex as the sound board slowly changes. The surface of the board where the bridge is glued is prepped and scraped free of old glue. It is usually possible to reglue a bridge with a minimum of marring of the surrounding finish, but lacquer occasionally will crack or chip around the area of a bridge when it is removed. Every effort is made to make the repair as invisible as possible.

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Acoustic Body Cracks … $50 (Up to 3”… estimates for larger cracks on inspection)

Hairline cracks may require a spline or patch inside the body for reinforcement. Long cracks may need several splines. Repair includes minor functional touchup of finish, but we do not do complete refinishing.

Re-attach Head/Neck Joint … $125 to $250

Price does not include new strings . Includes a basic setup to ensure proper action as much as possible. Also includes basic touchup of the finish at the joint. We do not offer complete refinishing.

Necks frequently break just at the base of the head stock, usually due to a sharp impact. Sometimes these breaks are clean with little splintering and a lot of surface area to apply glue, sometimes the break is at a sharp angle and requires some reinforcement. The tuners and (usually) the nut must be removed and the crack must be inspected and cleared of any loose shards. If the head remains attached to the neck, it is usually a matter of gluing and clamping. If the head has come off completely it’s more difficult to align and clamp the parts before gluing.

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Reglue Top or Back Edge Joints … $50 and up (Actual price determined upon inspection)

If the edge of your guitar has come unglued it is often a relatively simple matter to reglue the joint, however, some jobs can be complicated by warped parts or cracks.

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Fret Work

New strings are required with fret work, setups are optional and will be given a $10 discount when applied.

Fret Leveling … $225 (plus cost of strings and additional setup charge)

Leveling includes removing all grooves and other imperfections in fret surfaces, re-crowning and polishing frets, conditioning wood fretboard, restringing and adjusting action.

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Partial Refret (1 to 10 frets) … $30 per fret (unbound neck) labor

$40 per fret (bound neck) labor

Full Refret … $400 (unbound neck) labor

$500 (bound neck) labor

(add $1 per fret to all labor prices per fret for stainless steel frets)

Refretting includes removal of old frets, smoothing fretboard surface, installing new frets, crowning and polishing, conditioning wood fretboard, restringing and adjusting action. Add cost of fret wire to all prices.

Touch-up Fret Ends … $60 to $150

Touch-up removes protruding ends from existing frets where shrinkage of neck has caused frets to ‘sprout’. Also corrects poorly done fretwork which has left frets with sharp corners along the edge of the neck.