Guitar Set-ups, servicing, refrets and general repairs
Everything from a basic set up to a full refret
About Don’t Fret Guitar service and repair
Services
Based in Blackpool, I offer all aspects of guitar servicing and repair at a competitive price. Most new guitars come with little or no set up and need to be tailored to the individual for best performance. Worn frets, pitting, damaged or poorly filed nuts and incorrect neck and truss rod adjustments, can all affect playability on older instruments. I offer several service packages as well as specific repairs to be quoted after assessment. As a gigging guitarist I know the importance of a well maintained instrument, so feel free to ask advice on any repairs you may need.
Don’t Fret Guitar Service and Repair
With over 30 years of playing and repairing guitars, I have built up a lot of experience keeping them in perfect playability. I aim to turn around repairs as quickly as possible, particularly important to the busy musician, and a realistic time frame is always given at the assessment.
When I’m not repairing guitars
The John Sykes 61 Strat
Red 61 Strat
I recently had the pleasure of dating this fiesta red Strat owned by the late, great John Sykes, on behalf of his brother. John was local to the Blackpool area, forming his first band Streetfighter in Blackpool. He went on to join Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy and eventually Whitesnake, contributing to most of the 1987 eponymous album.
His studio in Blackpool remains open and I have rehearsed and recorded there over the last 30 years. I met John on several occasions and he was an amiable and lovely bloke who always wanted to talk guitars, he even tried to buy my Les Paul off me 🤣.
The Strat is not as well known as his iconic Les Paul, and it was used primarily for intros and clean sounds, but there is footage of him playing Crying in the Rain in Tokyo with Whitesnake, using the Strat for the intro.
I was asked by his brother, who now runs Berlin Studios, to date the guitar as it has been in storage since the late 80’s, and no one was quite sure. It was made in April 1961, Fiesta Red with slab rosewood board and is in original condition, 3 way switch, pots and tone capacitor all present. The fretboard is in great shape and frets are not particularly worn and the neck is perfectly played in. It’s not often you get to play a guitar of this vintage, and even less when it has been owned by a guitar great, so thanks to Berlin Studios for the opportunity.
Further pics are available in the gallery.
Price guide
Basic Set Up £40
Neck relief, bridge radius, overall action, nut height, pickup height and intonation checked and adjusted as needed. Body and fretboard cleaned.
As strings are a personal preference the guitar will be set up to suit the gauge/ brand supplied by the customer. I can supply Ernie Ball regular light gauge ( 0.10 ) if required at an additional £7.00. Guitars with Floyd Rose vibrato are an additional £10 due to increased set up time.
Basic Acoustic Set Up £45
Basic set up to include nut checked and adjusted, neck relief and truss rod adjustment where needed, saddle height checked and adjusted and guitar polished and fretboard oiled, strings to be supplied by customer or Ernie Ball Earthwood light can be fitted for additional £9.00.
Due to the nature of acoustic guitars setting the action correctly to give maximum playability can involve considerable work, especially if a neck reset is required or work on the bridge is needed, this can be assessed beforehand and quoted for after inspection as cost can be considerable and may not be cost effective on a more budget instrument.
Standard Set Up £65
As per basic set up with the addition of
Body, fretboard and hardware deep clean
Electronics inspected and serviced, pots, switches and jacks cleaned.
Fretboard oiled and frets polished
Re-string as per basic
Pro Set-Up £100
As per the standard set-up but with the addition of
Fret Level, Re Crown and full Fret Polish to achieve the best possible playing instrument.
Re String as per Standard.
General Services/ Repairs
Please note these are labour prices only and parts are charged for separately or can be supplied by the customer for fitment,
Nut replacement £25
Pickup install from £20
Switch replacement from £10
Pots replaced from £10
Jack socket from £10
Re wire from £30
Hardware Replacement from £10
Sharp fret ends/ fret sprout re dress ( includes standard set up) £80
Full / Partial Re-fret
All re-frets are priced according to the type of fretboard as this dictates the amount of time required to complete the work. Please note that a re-fret will almost certainly require a new nut to be fitted, prices are labour only and the choice of fretwire is up to the customer. I supply Stew Mac nickel silver as standard, this is available in a variety of sizes to suit individual needs. Stainless steel is also available, however due to the increased time required to fit there is an additional £70 surcharge. Partial re-frets are priced after inspection.
Unbound Rosewood / Ebony / Maple £170
Bound Fingerboard £200
Lacquerd boards quoted after assessment as they will generally require some re finishing after installation.
Gibson bound fretboards that still have factory frets installed will have “nibs” where the binding meets the fret ends. The usual practice is to remove these and allow the fret to span the entire board, this gives a little more room for bending as the nibs are purely aesthetic. The time required to fit frets within the existing nibs makes it impractical from a cost perspective, on all but the most valuable guitars and as such I don’t offer this service.
Additional Services
Please feel free to contact me with any guitar related issues, Acoustic or Electric, for advice on upgrades, pickups, hardware swaps or damage. Contact via email or leave a message and I’ll respond within 24 hrs.