Restoration

I love old guitars the most, I own a few of them. The lacquer checks, the worn finish, the patina on the hardware — that's not damage, that's character. My job isn't to make a vintage guitar look new. It's to make it play new, while honoring everything that makes it cool.

Why I Love These Jobs

Restoration work is where the craft really shows. Every old guitar is a puzzle, and no two are alike. There's nothing more satisfying than handing back an instrument that someone thought was unplayable — and then watching their face light up when they finally play it.

Acoustic Restoration

A vintage acoustic guitar that's been sitting unplayed requires dedicated attention to come back to life. The old, lacquered wood sweetens with age — the goal is to unlock what's already there. I try to be minimally invasive, reshaping and working with the existing wood as much as possible.

Electric Revival

Vintage electric guitars and basses have a certain charm that new instruments just can't replicate. Groovy contours, out-of-production hardware, and decades of mojo. What's even better is when it plays like a new guitar with tone of cherished relic. It’s also fun to consider wiring upgrades and mods to extend the tonal potenial.

Common Restoration Work

• Deep cleaning & buffing — decades of grime carefully removed, finish revived
• Deferred maintenance — all the small things that were neglected over the years
• Replacement parts — vintage-appropriate tuners are often a key consideration
• Binding repairs — shrinking or lifting binding can be stabilized and re-glued
• Re-fretting — removing frets allows me to refurbish the whole fretboard
• Cracks, breaks & bulges — structural issues are a liability, let's fix 'em!
• Wiring — I can restore period-correct wiring, or upgrade and modify