I’m not taking on new repair work right now, except in very limited cases. But the years I spent on the bench are exactly what make my appraisals sharp.
Heads up: I’m currently not accepting new repair or restoration work, except in a few limited cases. If you were hoping to get an instrument fixed, the best thing I can do is give you an honest read on what it’s worth, and if you’d rather sell it than repair it, make you a fair offer. Get a free appraisal or call or text me at (602) 900-6635.
Really knowing a vintage instrument takes more than a shelf of serial-number books and a ledger of specs. It takes understanding how the thing is built: truss-rod tension, hide-glue joints, the geometry that makes it play right. Those are the details a lot of appraisers miss, and they’re the ones that decide whether a guitar is the real thing or a story.
I spent years on the bench taking in instruments other shops had written off and getting them stage-ready again. That work taught me what a guitar looks like underneath, and that’s the same eye I bring to every appraisal now.
For years the shop was a repair destination. These days my focus has shifted to appraising, buying, and selling fine vintage instruments, so I’m not taking on new repair commissions. That shift actually makes the appraisals better: instead of fixing a guitar, I’m looking at every bit of damage and every past repair and working out exactly what it means for value and for what a real restoration would cost.
To know what a guitar is truly worth, you have to understand how it was built and, more important, how it’s been messed with over the last fifty or sixty years. That’s the part most people can’t see.
A few real examples of details that change the number, and that are easy to miss without time on the bench.
1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard
A broken Gibson headstock can be glued back so well it looks untouched, but the wood grain never lines back up perfectly across a repair. Catching that keeps a buyer from paying an all-original price for a guitar that has been put back together.
1954 Fender Stratocaster
Whether a guitar is a collector piece or a player often comes down to the fingerboard: how much wood has come off in past refrets and whether the radius is still right. You have to know what you’re looking at to judge it.
1930s Martin D-28
On a flat-top, the value lives inside the box. Original bracing, an intact bridge plate, and the top thickness tell you far more about what a pre-war Martin is worth than anything you can see from the outside.
Late-1950s Gibson ES-335
This one looked flawless to a couple of dealers who passed it as all-original. A close look at the heel showed a professional graft, which dropped the real value by about 40%.
1952 Fender Telecaster
The finish looked original at a glance. The witness lines around the edges said otherwise, it was a quality pro refinish. On that guitar, the difference was roughly $65,000 versus $25,000.
Vintage electronics
Vintage solder looks and ages differently than modern work. Reading the joints and the way the components have aged is how I confirm whether the electronics are untouched or have been gone through.
Have a vintage guitar to sell or a question? I’m here to help.
