Chicago Fret Works Guitar Repair

The best in Chicago! Wonderful folks who do masterful work. They're great about assessing your gear and talking you through your options.

My bass has never sounded so well always kinda fine, but after I had it picked up from Fretworkers, woooow what a difference! Sound, action, I mean the whole work is apsolutely amazing! Thanks guys!

I've had multiple LP style overhauls done here and the work is absolutely top notch. Hand carved bone nuts, fret work, intonation, and more. The best quality work I've had.honestly, the pricing is on the higher end of the spectrum. So.can I go somewhere cheaper? Sure, but I refuse; the quality of their work is worth paying more. I just wish I'd get bundle reductions for all my nerdish requests;

Balthazar just repaired 2 of my tube amps, one of which was a complex circuit. He did fantastic work and I appreciated his great communication.

Affordable, quality work on vintage instruments. My neglected vintage electric guitar needed some serious work to get back to playable condition. CFW did the repairs and set-up for a very reasonable fee. The guitar plays better than it ever has. They are now my go-to place for vintage guitar work.

These guys are amazing. We brought them an acoustic guitar with the headstock snapped off in the most jagged way. Not only did he manage to replace and reinforce the headstock, there was *zero* visible evidence that it was ever broken in the first place, down to the grain lines that he manually added in. Great communication and accurate estimates. It's clear that these guys are not just talented, but also love their craft. Absolutely superb work.

I recently had this shop craft a new nut & saddle for my classical guitar. This, of course, included a re-string and general setup to get it playing again. The work was done beautifully and I am very impressed with the playability of my instrument since then. My only complaint about the repair is very minor. For some reason they took off the tape markers I made on the side of the neck.

I can't imagine why they would remove them, but whatever. The reason it's a 4 star review is because I wasn't impressed with the customer service I received when I picked up my instrument.

I've been going to Chicago Fret Works for over 10 years but have yet to drop them a review all this time. They always do great work at a reasonable price, and the shop has a great small town feel. Honestly, the dogs hanging out in the shop are my favorite part, but luckily the humans do a great job setting up my bass every year. : They recently accommodated a rush request which I really appreciated and which prompted me to write this review. Highly recommended for all your instrument/gear repair needs!

They were very friendly and told me what to expect from my busted amp. They called when they were working on it and explained everything that was wrong and explained how much it would cost. Only downside was that it took 5 weeks, which, for me, was ok. But I can assume others would need a quicker turnaround time. I'm sure they're busy because they're good. Amp works great.

I accidentally dropped a schaller strap lock on top of my favorite guitar and put a pea sized hole in it about 1/4 deep. Everyone else was quoting twice the time and 50% more money. Chicago Fretworks not only got it done way earlier than quoted, and for less than the competitors quote, but they also did an amazing job refinishing the guitar. It looks like it never happened. I can't recommend these guys enough, they've earned a customer for life in me!

The did a knock job on an average guitar. Thanks guys it is so much easier to play.

I wanted to get some really weird stuff done to my guitar and emailed Steve to see if they could do it. We talked for a bit, I brought it in, and he didn't even see it as a challenge. Just gave me a, "Yep, no problem" along with an estimate that I thought was WAY more than fair. I got it back, it exceed my expectations, and I couldn't have been happier with the process.

I've had a couple amps and a guitar repaired there over the past few months. Everyone there is friendly and easy to deal with. Work done was excellent, and I thought the prices were reasonable. Really loving having my 1978 Vibro Champ up and running after gathering dust for 15 years or so.

Over the last several years, I've brought two bass guitars in for fret work with Chicago Fret Works. The first was a bass in need of a fret "rescue" following a very poor fret job by another shop; the other simply needed a regular fret dressing. Both times, Chicago Fret Works delivered quality work that is second-to-none. I would trust Chicago Fret Works with anything relating to my bass guitars and would recommend them with confidence to anybody needing any kind of work on a guitar or bass.

Just another shout out for Chicago Fret Works. Brought one of my prize acoustic guitars in for new electronics, set-up and maintenance. Wow, these guys made it look, sound and feel brand new. The K&K pure mini pickup sounds great. Thanks guys. I will keep bringing my instruments in for your expert care. Btw prices very reasonable for this expert quality work. Also, thanks for the contactless drop-off and pick-up.

Getting a trusted instrument repaired is never an easy prospect, but when it is necessary, Chicago Fret Works provides the kind of experience you're looking for. Even during the pandemic, they are providing a level of customer service most places aspire to but fail to deliver, and are providing quality, top-notch repairs. I needed some binding work done on my banjo.

When I arrived, I met with Dan, one of the owners. He took the time to discuss the repair with me. He asked questions about my expectations and answered questions I had about the repair. During the process, he sent me progress photos and explained what was happening. The end result is better than I could have hoped for. It took slightly longer than they said it would, but it came in under the quoted price. I'll definitely use them again in future.

I was pretty devastated when my Martin acoustic got a major crack down it's back along with internal braces getting unglued. I was an idiot and left my guitar on the wall during this last winter, which caused the crack. I took it over to Chicago Fret Works and they did an amazing job restoring it. I couldn't be happier! I'd recommend these guys to anyone.

The guys at Fretworks are honest, nice and highly skilled. They gave my G&L ASAT Tribute a new bone nut, sanded the back of the neck and reset up the guitar professionally. I have more expensive guitars I love but after their craftsmanship this import is now my favorite. Highly recommend them for guitar repair.

Great work on pick up swap and set up on both strong thru and floyd rose guitars (I have had so many problems with other shops not being able to address a FR bridge properly). Reasonably priced. And up front with lead time. Will go back again and definitely would recommend to other guitarists as well.

I wrote a review a year or so ago. Apparently, reviews can be removed, so here I am again. Social justice. I had a guitar setup and pickups installed. The pickups still work, and the setup was great, but they damaged the studs of the bridge. This guitar has a wraparound bridge. It's a hassle, but to adjust the height of the bridge, you need to loosen the strings to release the tension on the bridge.

If you don't you can damage the screws. Damaging the screws makes it easier to strip them in the future. They know this, everyone knows this. Chicago Fret Works will cut corners if they're busy. They didn't have the time to do it right. This is unfortunate. From my experience, you can't be guaranteed quality work from Fret Works.

I own a 1965 Gretsch Country Gentleman, which is synonymous with 'binding issues'. The binding was badly yellowed in some parts, but mostly brittle, cracking, and falling off in small pieces. I couldn't find anyone in NY City (where I live) who would touch the guitar. I sent the guitar to CFW and spoke with Dan. We agreed patching the binding wouldn't be sufficient, and the entire body needed to be re-done.

This included the 'edging' as well as the entire back portion of the guitar. They did not rush at all, and made certain the job was done correctly. Dan did a tremendous job with the entire guitar! The guitar looks absolutely gorgeous. I requested polishing it and a setup as well. The Country Gent has a floating bridge, and Dan tapes the bridge and packed it very well in case if was thrown around during shipping. Taping the bridge kept the intonation and setup they gave me untouched. I would highly recommend CFW if you are looking for top service, professional work on any guitar you own.

Specific to Patrick McKeever: this is THE guy to have do your amp repairs, upgrades, and custom builds. He built an improved circuit blackface Princeton Reverb for me with all the bell and whistle upgrades plus a couple of his own recommendations. Patrick built it from scratch then spent almost two hours fine tuning it with me until it was exactly the sound and response I wanted. Been loving this amp for over 6 months now. I can't recommend him enough. Customer for life for all my amp needs, and I'll head his way again when I need a tweed circuit sometime next year.

I brought a couple of amps in to Fretworks be gone over recently.an old Deluxe Reverb with original capacitors from 1970, and a Friend-Made Marshall 2204 circuit in a head. Patrick & company did an excellent job. The Deluxe Reverb sounds killer.he did one small mod that i love and suggested a speaker im very happy with.all in all - total recap, new speaker, popped in a proper reverb tank and determined what the spec rectifier should be. Amp sounds beautiful.

On the Marshall 2204 amp he killed one of the bright caps in it and also tweaked the bass to give it a bit more range. This Amp sounds incredible.still a Marshall but without the ice pick when playing clean.i can actually use the Mid and Treble pots now.totally changed this amp without killing it's proper vibe. Very Happy as usual.

Steve will give you incredible customer service and is very knowledgeable. This was my first time here and I'll definitely be returning.

I recently picked up an Epiphone Lucille that had been somewhat neglected by its previous owner. The neck relief was off, the intonation was also off, and the action was poor with considerable fret buzz. I dropped it off at Chicago Fret Works on June 3rd to have them perform "The Works" package. I picked up the guitar earlier today and was absolutely amazed by the quality of their work.

Not only does it now play effortlessly with perfect intonation & action but they cleaned, polished, and buffed it. I doubt that it looked that good when it was new. As an added bonus, the cost was extremely reasonable. It's a 3 hour round trip drive for me but I would never take a guitar anywhere else for service. Chicago Fret Works is the best.

I've done business with Chicago Fret Works twice now and have been extremely satisfied with both experiences! Nice atmosphere, fair prices, excellent quality work, and SUPER quick turn around time. Both Dan and Steve are easy going, knowledgable, and VERY accommodating. I was even inspired to pick up one of their sweet t-shirts :- I will continue to take my high-end Taylor acoustic to them for any/all work that needs doing. Five stars to this fine establishment!

This place is superior to anywhere. The craftsmanship is amazing, the luthiers are professional and super chill. Can't help but fall in love with the location and atmosphere. I never hope a guitar goes down but when it does, I don't mind stopping in here. A couple of nice fenders that I have I take in for regular maintenance. The prices are straightforward and reasonable for the superb talents that these guys have. I do wish that they stayed open in the evenings one night a week or something but family does come first.

From beginning to end my experience with Chicago Fret Works was exceptional. The goal was to replicate a 1959 Fender Precision Bass using a picture as reference. I supplied the bass and the Chicago Fret Works team worked their magic. They refinished the body in classic 3 tone sunburst and expertly mimicked the details of the reference bass including dents, finish checking, and fretboard, neck, and pick guard wear. The result was remarkable: the look and feel of a vintage road-worn 1959 Precision bass at a fraction of the cost. The bass is beautiful!