Rare, hand-made electric guitar: fret repair in Bay Area?

December 18, 2016 6:22 PM

I've got a hand-made, non-standard, one-of-a-kind electric guitar with a buzzing fret. As far as I can tell, the extent of the job should be to whack it in a little and then set it, but I'm a bit nervous to do it myself. (Plus, surely a specialist would use something better than a mallet and super glue...) What are some reliable guitar repair shops in the Bay Area I could turn to, and how much might the job cost me?
posted by archagon to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

I bought an 80-year-old banjo on eBay and Thin Man Music in Alameda did a nice job putting planetary tuners on and filing down some frets. I'm no expert but they seemed to really know what they're doing. I don't remember how much it was but not a ton.
posted by Smearcase at 7:25 PM on December 18, 2016

Multiple guitarists in my life use Stephen White, in the East Bay.

Fatdawg provides a sense of the cost of various repairs.

If the guitar is collectible/impressively valuable in some way, you could also call an auction house like Clars and ask for a referral.
posted by vunder at 7:27 PM on December 18, 2016

Gryphon in Palo Alto may be a bit of a hike but this is exactly their wheelhouse and they're top notch.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:36 PM on December 18, 2016

I avoid Gryphon. They done me wrong twice many years ago, and I still encourage friends to avoid them. YMMV.

http://www.hoegguitars.com Rich Hoeg is a current recommendation for a complex repair on an unusual guitar.

The repair may actually use a small brass deadbounce hammer and cyanoacrylate glue, so "mallet and crazy glue" may literally be the correct solution.

Best of luck.
posted by lothar at 8:21 AM on December 19, 2016

My mandolin teacher sent me to Alan Perlman early last year when one of the E strings on my 1903 Italian bowlback started to buzz. He did an impeccable job of diagnosing the problem and replacing the nut ($85). He's in the Outer Sunset and it was well worth the two trips from Berkeley.
posted by kiripin at 8:29 AM on December 19, 2016

Response by poster: > The repair may actually use a small brass deadbounce hammer and cyanoacrylate glue, so "mallet and crazy glue" may literally be the correct solution.

Yeah, I wasn't joking — the guy who made my guitar told me to try this exact procedure! But I'd rather just give it to someone with more experience and have them use a slightly fancier mallet and glue.
posted by archagon at 11:19 AM on December 19, 2016

Can't speak to price, but Rich Hoeg is a friend of a friend and he's fixed up multiple guitars for them. Said friend spoke very highly of the service.
posted by vickyverky at 6:23 PM on December 19, 2016