Reputable guitar repair /setup guy Dallas, TX

Everyone boasts about the guys at Charley's Guitar Shop. They really know what they're doing. It'll take a while though. I've found with practice, I can setup my guitar better than most to my tastes though... Anything beyond a setup and I have no problem taking it to Charley's. Or Sky Guitar in Denton.

 

Give Steve @ Anderson Guitar Gallery in Frisco a call (214) 387-4050. Super nice guy and does all sorts of guitar work short of refins and refrets. Expert work and service at very reasonable prices. Roger Crisler also does great work but can be pricey.

 

Shawn, +1 on Charley's and Steve. I think Charley's is run better, but Steve does great work - no worries!

 

I've always had Kerry Cash work on my guitars since I moved here 10 years ago. He's done tons of stuff for me over the years and I've always been happy with his work. He's also pretty fast. I highly recomend him. Here's his info:

Kerry's Guitar Shop
1312 Brown Trail, Suite D
Bedford, TX 76022
www.kerrysguitarshop.com
phone: 817-280-9603

 

I use Erik at Sky Guitars up in Denton. I heard Erik does set ups for Brave Combo. Good enough for Grammy winners...good enough for me. Excellent work by the way.

 

Forgot to mention that Steve Anderson has been building partscasters under his Andertone brand for quite some time. Just a 45 minute drive from Rockwall to Frisco on the Bush highway.

 

Charley's and Kerry are both good recommendations.
Best work you'll get anywhere.

 

Has anyone had experience with Frank Whetstine? I saw that he has a shop in Arlington and used to work in/run the Charley's repair dept.?

http://www.soundrepair.net/My_Homepage_Files/Page1.html

 

I have a guy by the name of Jim Birch who lives in Dallas not too far off of 75 and is doing my repair work for the guitar that can be found at http://www.coldthewinter.com/strat.htm

If you looked at the site, you will see all kinds of issues with the guitar, ranging from a bunch of fiberglass resin in the pickup cavity, the thin barrier between the bridge pickup cavity and the bridge was broken, the neck had dings in it, among other issues. He chipped the fiberglass resin out, replaced the broken wood with a strip of maple and sealed it with, I believe, fiberglass resin. He refinished it in metallic lake placid blue, and is fixing the electronics for me as well. Any time he came across an issue I wasn't aware of, he called to let me know.

While there, he showed me some of the repair stuff he's done, from repairing broken headstocks, to totally fixing another repair guy's screw ups. This other repair guy had drilled these odd holes in a Les Paul to repair a broken headstock. I mean, drilled 4 holes down into the neck of the guitar. Jim totally fixed that and, after a finish touch up, I couldn't tell. And he left the Les Paul logo and Serial number intact.

This guy works by word of mouth. I should have the repaired guitar back sometime this week and I can show you a before and after if you'd like. As I said, I've seen some acoustic guitar before/after in person...and the stuff is excellent.

I won't quote any prices, but he's definitely reasonable. He does all of this out of his home, so he doesn't incur the overhead of a shop. He's an extremely nice guy. Guitar repair isn't his primary job, so he does it in his spare time. So, he might not be as fast as repair shops, but at the same time, he doesn't have the volume they do. I told him to take his time, as that guitar is likely trade fodder for me.

If you're interested, PM me, and I will give you his email address.

 

Terrence Slemmons on Commerce street in Deep Ellum has done some work for me - two setups, fixed intonation on Ovation guitars. Maybe screwed down the tuners too tight and the finish immediately chipping off. I can't say for sure is his fault but I think so. Otherwise, happy with the setup. Would I take my expensive guitars? Unsure, so I am looking too.

 

I know it is out of your way, but Steve Lamb @ Lamb's Music in Ft. Worth is the best setup/repair guy I've ever known. (Just talking setups here, if you need electronics work I might look at Charley's)

Steve used to be responsible for all customer repairs brought to the old Brook Mays Music. He now handles all of the guitar repairs for Guitar Center's in Texas, Oklahoma, and part of Louisiana.

Not a quick turnaround, but he is the best I've ever used. It will be fixed right if you use Steve.

 

IMO Charley's is 'ok'. They are stiff on the prices and their repair guy isn't like the former one.

Frank is/was Charley's. Frank is the shiite.
Thanks for letting me know his info...I've been wanting to go to him for work for a long while now. Nice guy and stellar work.
Can't say the same for the current guy at Charley's.

 

Oh yeah, Frank did a Buzz Feiten install for me. It came out great. He walked me through the decision process and was VERY patient with me as i was a newbie on it. I would highly recommend him on my limited experience with him. I was sad to see he was not there the last time I was in Charley's. Did not know he no longer worked there. Where is he located in Arlington?

 

If you're in Fort Worth, there's a guy named John Zaskoda who used to own a music store called Sessions Music who does a great set up. Sessions is closed but he's still doing setups. He might be doing repairs still, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

the old site can be found at http://www.myspace.com/sessionsmusic and you can still contact him from there.

Plus, he's a pretty good blues guitarist and has a blues trio that plays in the Fort Worth area. I'm not a huge blues fan, but I dig what he does.

 

That differs from my experience with Frank. He's as nice a guy as you'd want to meet, but I was underwhelmed by his guitar setups (intonations not right, an instance of ghost noting on a strat because he set the pickups too close to the strings, a few other issues). Don't know if he's still around, but when I lived in Dallas Jim Russel of Texas Guitar & Sound did exceptional work on a few of my guitars. Fret leveling/dressing, setups that were spot on, etc.

 

Another recommendation for Steve Anderson. Great guy. His shop is 10 minutes from my house.

 

yep I've used Kerry for many years...
he also did a great job on a '49 Gibson acoustic my brother in law inherited from his father...guitar was in BAD shape, Kerry brought it back to life...