Booking Calendar
Repairs & Custom Builds
In-Person or Video Chat
Use the calendar to schedule your appointment at my shop or video chat. Appointments are 15-20 minutes and always FREE! We can talk about any repair or setup issues, or discuss your custom build.
NEW SHOP NOW OPEN!
Our new location is 3880 East Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona
Topics
• Setup & Maintenance
• Structural Restoration
• Electronics & Troubleshooting
• Tone Enhancement
• Tuning & Intonation Problems
• Custom Builds
Available Dates Are Highlighted
Location details will be included with your confirmation email.
Repair FAQs
My availability is limited based on the repair load. This helps us stay on schedule. I also limit repairs to ensure time for building operations.
I only work on FRETTED STRING INSTRUMENTS... mandolins, banjos, basses, guitars, etc. I do not work on amps, violins, orchestral brass or woodwinds.
Setups and easy jobs take 1-2 weeks. Structural repair work is usually 3-5 weeks. Restoration jobs can take a few months or longer. Visit the repair page for more info.
I do not offer rush jobs anymore. Occasionally it's possible with setup work.
Yes! I'm happy to do your initial assessment by video chat. I cannot make official quotes on screen, but it's a great way to get a rough estimate and start the conversation. I usually use Google Meet for these appointments. Select this option when scheduling.
Occasionally I will accept instrument shipped for repairs or modifications. The added cost of shipping both ways is about $180. We only recommend this for guitars and jobs worth the added expense.
Experience & Expertise
Over 20 Years of Lutherie
Working on a Paul. The shop is feeling good today. •
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#guitar #guitarrestoration #guitarluthier #guitarshop #custom #customsound #luthier #customshop #repair #guitarrepair #repairshop #guitars #fixit #whatsonyourbench #restoration #soondsgood #bassguitar #electricguitar #lespaul #gibson #feelinggood ...
Any harmonica players out there? I’m clearing out some old inventory.
1 nice Blues Harp in A
1 Old Standby harp in E
Both for $40. (that’s $10 off the Blues Harp and a free Old Standby.)
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#harmonica #blues #bluesharp #harp #galleryexclude ...
I currently have this #georgeous and #impeccable Huss & Dalton for sale. She’s #mint and ready for a new home.
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#guitar #tone #guitartone #acoustictone #guitarluthier #guitarshop #custom #customsound #luthier #customshop #forsale #guitarrepair #repairshop #guitars #highend #whatsonyourbench #customguitar #soondsgood #omguitar #adirondack #acoustic #acousticguitar ...
I have a story for you. And I debated sharing this because it was a weird thing to do.
This is a #charango . A pretty nice one too, made not from an #armadillo like #traditional charangos, but carved from a complete piece of South American hard wood, topped with spruce. It sounded great.
Anyway, the customer really wanted a strap button... badly, so... I had to find a way to get a properly curved block to fit back up in the right spot inside the body and glue it into place before screwing in the strap button.
I didn’t want to crack the thin bowl-carved wood. This was the only option for the little #beauty. I also had to take contour #measurements for shaping the #convex block so it would have a decent glueing surface inside.
These doodad tuning gear clamps were shown to me by an old luthier tech a long time ago. When they come in handy, they can solve some really weird puzzles.
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #southamerican ...
I split this video in two for the gram... since they gotta be short ones here.
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#guitar #guitarrestoration #guitarluthier #guitarshop #custom #customsound #luthier #customshop #repair #guitarrepair #repairshop #guitars #fixit #whatsonyourbench #restoration #soondsgood #vintageguitarrepair #vintageguitar #acoustic #acousticguitar ...
Neck resets are fun?
Honestly I just can’t tell.
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #vintageguitar #vintage ...
The #two #tenors …
Strange things compound and waves of occurrence do often occur. These two instruments came in on the same day, from two different clients. Both tenors are bout 100 years old. One #banjo one #tenorguitar #occurrence #serendpity
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#vintage #luthier #restoration #arizonaluthier #customsound #tenor #fourstrings ...
Maybe something for the interview tomorrow.
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These little things come in handy on occasion.
@guitarspecialistinc @ianhatesguitars
#galleryexclude
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#loothing #guitarrepairtips #guitarrepair #tricksandtips ...
Here’s the second in a series of posts about a vintage B. Rico flamenco guitar from 1970… “Rico” as in Rich, and “B” as in “BC”… Bernardo Chavez Rico… BC Rich.
Here we’ve removed the top. It was a little nasty, but the sides are untouched and re-binding will turn out well.
I believe this guitar was made by Bernie himself. He was a known flamenco player, a known builder of flamenco guitars, and he’d been building guitars out of his father’s shop for a decade by 1970, the date on this label.
It’s also around this time he started doing more with steel strings and adopting the name change for the brand. Just as he and his father were starting to see more popularity with electric solid body guitars, it’s said that his father was also producing guitars with builders from Paracho, but that was supposedly in the 50’s and early 60’s.
This guitar was made one year after Bernie made his first electric. And this is one of the last nylon guitars with the original name from his original shop in East Los Angeles.
Bernie saw it coming and he was perfectly positioned for the rock and metal scenes that dominated the late 70s and early 80s. B.C. Rich became a huge name brand in the world of guitars.
Anyway, we’re doing a full re-top on this guitar and bringing it back to life. To learn how this all got started, go visit the last post about this.
We have a nice cedar top prepped and seamed. Almost ready to install the prefab rosette from @luthiersmerchantile
Go check us out @solsticeguitars if you’re interested in custom #acoustic and #electric #handcrafted #guitars!
Interested in this guitar? Keep following us here and message me when it’s ready for sale!
#rico #rich #bcrich #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarrepair #vintage #vintageguitar #guitarrestoration #custom #bcrichfanpage #cedar #flamencoguitar #brico @bcrichguitars @officialbcrich #bcrichguitars ...
For some reason the last post didn’t display both pics. Here’s that bridge plate.
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop ...
To remove, heat thoroughly.
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#guitarrepair #luthier #restorationproject #bcrichguitars #bcrichfanpage ...
This was an unconventional bridge reglue. It required a little extra help on the #wings. But the broken plywood underneath was such a good fitting puzzle piece that it was able to go just fine without doing much prep work, which was the idea since this guitar wasn’t worth a compete and tedious job. If you know what you’re doing, sometimes you can do a professional hack job, keep a customer happy within budget, and bring a guitar back to life for more pickin.
Video coming soon...
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#prohackjob #arizona #loothing #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit ...
Here’s something I didn’t mention. That @collingsguitars D1 in the last post has a K&K bridge plate #transducer #pickup. This made the bridge reglue a little more involved than normal. I had to make a #custom clamping caul for inside to avoid the pickup heads and to get proper clamping #pressure. #loothin
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #wood #sound #customsound #fixit #loothing #whatsonyourbench #customshop ...
I made a new #fret tang nipper... stole the idea from a guy on the YouTubes, but I was tired of my other ones not working right and bending frets, dinging frets, and overall making more work and costing more time than #saving . So this is much more #consistent and the little hole on the side works as a fret holder to do the file touch up after #grinding
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #vintageguitar #vintage #refret #frets #loothing #acoustic #tools #newtool ...
Tricky #bridge reglue on @collingsguitars D1... turned out perfect.
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #customshop #loothing ...
Before and after.
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#beforeandafter #arizona #arizonaluthier #luthier#guitarluthier #guitarrepair #instrumentrepair #violin #acoustic #restoration #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #vintageguitar #vintage #galleryexclude ...
The longest and furthest arm of a loose x-brace requires a specialized clamping approach… and creative glue application.
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#arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #repairgallery #gibsonacoustic #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #vintageguitar #vintage #clamps #luthier ...
Something tells me I’m not the first one who’s been in here.
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#isthisajoke #arizona #arizonaguitar #arizonaluthier #luthier #guitar #guitarluthier #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #acoustic #acousticguitar #restoration #guitars #custom #sound #customsound #fixit #whatsonyourbench #customshop #vintageguitar #vintage ...