Intown Guitar Repair | Our Services

Fret Work

Fret Dress
Because the intonation of your guitar is based upon the crown of your frets, flat spots and divots can cause your guitar to play out of tune. A fret dress takes care of these issues. We file your frets flat and then re-crown them (put the arc back) and then polish them to a high shine using four grits of sandpaper and steel wool. The fret dress price includes a Pro Setup. It's almost like getting a new guitar!

Refret (Standard Necks)
When your frets become too worn and low to dress, or you want to go to a different size fret wire, it's time for a re-fret. We can install whatever size fret wire you choose and dress them to get your guitar playing sweet. A full re-fret job also includes a Pro Setup.

Refret (Maple Necks)
Finished maple necks are a little more work. Most guitar companies (like Fender) spray finish on the neck after it has been fretted so removing the frets can be tricky. We try to preserve the original finish if possible, but sometimes it requires a new coat of lacquer.

Professional Setup

Every guitar should be set up about once a year. It is, after all, a piece of wood. Wood is hygroscopic and is always absorbing and/or repelling water which causes your setup to change. Also, your guitar should be set up anytime you change string gauge. Acoustic guitars are even more susceptible to weather changes than solid-body electrics and should definitely be set up once a year. By the way - we're big believers in guitar humidifiers. If you have a good acoustic do yourself a favor and buy a humidifier.

The IGR Professional Setup includes all the adjustments to keep your guitar in great playing shape.

Here's what is included in a typical "Electric Pro" setup:
Lemon oil treatment for the fretboard (rosewood and ebony) / Polish frets with special chemical / Check the electronics / Lubricate the nut and saddles / Tighten all the hardware / Restring / Adjust tremolo if applicable / Set the truss rod at .012 relief / Set the string action / Check nut action and adjust if necessary / Set the pickup heights / Intonate at the bridge / Give a good general polish

Here's what is included in a typical "Acoustic Pro" setup:
Lemon oil treatment for the fretboard / Polish frets with special chemical / Check the electronics if applicable / Lubricate the nut / Tighten all the hardware / Check the interior bracings / Vacuum the interior / Restring / Set the truss rod at .012 relief / Set the string action / Check nut action and adjust if necessary / Give a good general polish

Neck Reset & Repair

Like any item made of wood, the neck of your guitar is susceptible to change over time. Constant string pressure, age, humidity, and wear can bend, bow, twist, warp, or crack a neck. When this happens you need the right skills, tools, and techniques to do the job properly.

Neck Resetting
The constant pull of the strings contribute to the neck moving forward creating a different angle towards the bridge and extremely high action. When this happens, it's time for a neck reset. High-end guitars are made to be reset but this is not a "do-it-yourself" project. The neck needs to be removed and cut at an angle to get it back in good playing position.

Neck Break Repairs
Usually necks break at the headstock, especially if it's a tilt-back headstock. This happens a lot with Gibson guitars. If this has happened to your guitar, try to save any splinters or chunks of wood from the break and carefully bring it to IGR. We can fix it.

For extreme cases and the absolute best neck repair, ask us about "Neck Surgery".

Electronics

Electronic components age over time and may become weak, noisy, or inoperable, no matter how good the guitar is. And while the build quality of cheaper guitars has really improved, some manufactures still cut corners with electronics. Rewiring can make your "good" guitar sound GREAT!"

Install Input Jacks, Pots, and Switches
Tired of those noisy switches, scratchy knobs, and intermittent output jacks? Let us replace those for you and keep your bandmates happy.

Complete Rewire
A complete rewire means replacing all of your wiring, pots, and switches. This is a good idea to improve the entire signal chain of any guitar. This upgrade is especially effective on older or less expensive guitars.

Pickup Replacement
There are a lot of good aftermarket pickups out there that can help you achieve the sound you are looking for. The price to swap out a pickup is surprisingly affordable, however if you desire converting to new configurations or complex wiring, the final pricing will depend on how involved the job is.

Install a Piezo Pickup
Under-the-saddle acoustic pickups are very popular. They allow you amplification with very little noticeable modification to your acoustic guitar. We install piezo systems, on-board EQ systems, and hybrid mic-blend systems.

Bone Nuts & Saddles

It is a universally accepted notion that bone produces the best tone, especially on acoustic instruments. In the good ol' days the better instruments came with bone nuts and saddles but now it's too expensive for the big companies to make bone nuts so they are usually made of plastic or Corian. These synthetic materials do nothing for tone.

Bone Craft
We hand-craft nuts and saddles out of bone for any kind of instrument. The nut is meticulously shaped and each string slot is slotted to a specific depth, depending on the gauge of the string. Then we bring it to a high shine with 4 different grits of sandpaper and steel wool. You really will be able to tell the difference in tone!

Other Common Repairs & Mods

Bridge Replacement
Sometimes acoustic bridges start to lift off the top or may crack from stress. This is due to the constant pull of string tension over time, especially if you use heavier gauge strings. It's best to leave this repair to an experienced luthier. This is not a job for an amateur woodworker, there are many factors to consider beyond gluing on a new bridge. We can remove the bridge and repair and reuse, or replace it with an entirely new bridge.

Floyd Rose Tremolo Installation
Want to put a Floyd Rose into your guitar? It's a big job but we can do it. Remember, this is an irreversible procedure. It includes making all necessary routs to the body and at the nut, installing the tremolo bridge and the locking nut, and a complete setup. Of course this does not include the price of the tremolo itself. You can buy that from us or bring your own.

New Machine Heads
Replacing machine heads can make a big difference in the tuning stability of your guitar. Old tuners can wear out, and lesser quality tuners have a tendency to slip. Many folks choose to install locking tuners especially when a tremolo is involved. This job involves removal of the old tuners, clean-up and re-drill of headstock if necessary, installation of compatible new tuners. Again, you can buy from us or bring your own.

Body Routing
There are a variety of new products on the market that can be retrofit on your guitar without modification, but some items still require a bit of needed space to install. Routing the body cavity of you guitar is not a DIY project. Let IGR do it for you. We'll give you a fair estimate for the job based on the amount of routing needed to accommodate your desired modification.