All Better Guitar Repairs

Took my 98 Larrivee D5 to Chris after I bumped it and heard that heartbreaking sound of the wood splitting. He was honest, said he could glue it but couldn’t say that he could make it not show, that «it would be irresponsible to make that kind of promise». He did a great job explaining the work entailed when I brought it by and left it with him.
It was the holidays so I told him
To take his time that I would be out of town. Got a call from him less than a week later and he had gone ahead and refinished the area after doing the glue repair. I didn’t expect that he was going to make it look this great without losing a few appendages.
He will get future business from me because:
He is talented
He does great work
He is honest
He is fair
I trust him!!!

Just got my Fender back from Chris and it’s as good as new. He cleaned up the rust and adjusted the bridge and it plays and sounds great. The Fender Bullet was the first guitar that I ever owned, and I had to sell it 20 years ago for the cash. I recently re-​connected with the guy I sold it to and bought it back. He had left it in a garage and it had a lot of rust and was pretty dirty. Chris did a great job!

Chris completely assembled my new Strat from boutique parts from different makers and set it up beautifully much faster and for much less $ than the other quotes I got. He’s super knowledgable and helpful with sorting out what you’re looking for and how to make it so, and really helped me get the play-​ability and sound I’m looking for. Chris is awesome and I can’t recommend him highly enough, I’d give him more stars if I could.

Chris does great work and is very easy to work with. He is interested in giving you what you want, not what he thinks you should want. He’s got all your needs covered, from electric and acoustic guitars and basses, as well as amps. I highly recommend All Better.

Chris is an incredible luthier and a perfectionist. I’ve been a guitarist for nearly 30 years and owned countless guitars. I’d trust him with anything and know with absolute confidence the job will be done expertly and beyond my expectations. I had him do a finish repair on a 10 top PRS. I was hoping for ‘barely noticeable,’ but truly it’s completely invisible and the guitar looks as beautiful as the day it left the factory. I can’t tell you how tricky this must have been given that PRS uses a proprietary finish and curing process. Thanks Chris, truly appreciated!

Couldn’t be happier with my experience with All Better Guitar Repairs. purchased a 64 jazzmaster which was a darn good guitar when it arrived, but needed some work to make it sound and play a bit better, brought it to Chris and within a week he called me and said he had done the work and I should come give it a go and see how I liked it. The jazzmaster went from being pretty darn good to my dream guitar (beyond my expectations)… for a price that was quite reasonable. He also gave me some really solid tips on caring for it I feel you wouldn’t get at most repair shops. Other luthiers i had used didn’t seem to be as much in tune with details/​aesthetics, but Chris certainly was, which makes him very valuable in my eyes. Very interesting/​friendly fellow to boot.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

Chris is a really awesome guy. Very honest and on the ball with his shit. I took my SG and G&L in for a set-​up on Thursday and had them by Tuesday. Quick as fuck and reasonable pricing. AND the guy knows a shit ton, so unlock his brain for guitar knowledge. i’ve been playing on my SG for an hour – the guy definitely knows what he’s doing. My axe is sonically perfect. Same goes for the G&L. Do not go to guitarcenter or anywhere else if you care about your guitar and want it to sound perfect. Go to Chris.

Chris did a great job cleaning up my Gibson ES-​135 and a truly heroic job resurrecting an old Telecaster that had been out of action for ages. The work was done surprisingly quickly (ahead of schedule!) and thoroughly. Chris was very easy to communicate with (a big deal) — he was responsive and he offered thoughtful suggestions and great options. The price was very reasonable and meeting up was very easy. I’ve had some iffy experiences with other guitar repair shops in the area and it was a relief to feel like my guitars were in the hands of a reliable, reasonable pro. I’ll definitely be coming here for future guitar work. Highly recommended. Thank you!

Chris did a great job on my Guild D25. He has a passion for what he does and wants to make sure that you are happy with the quality of his work and the overall experience.

Chris was recommended to me by my guitar teacher when I was lucky enough to find an extremely beautiful and old electric guitar in a pawn shop that needed some clean up and set up work. Chris was super psyched to work on the guitar and talked me through all the things he’d be working on. He was also great in providing me with some advice regarding upkeep. He’s a super nice guy; very reasonably priced work, quick turn around, responsive, worked with my schedule for a late pickup, not much more I can say– an awesome experience. I know I’ll be bringing my acoustic guitar and bass to him when I need work done on those as well. A++

I normally play my acoustic guitar almost every day but when I moved to a new apartment this summer, I found that I didn’t have the time to do it for almost a month. When I picked up my guitar for the first time in weeks, I found that two of my strings buzzed sourly when I played certain chords so I took it to Chris at Rocker Guitars and he fixed its bowed neck up quicker than all get out. He genuinely loves what he does and wants you to love to make music too. He’s knowledgeable and straightforward and just all-​around rad. Peggy Sue was never the most impressive acoustic guitar but she sounded great after Chris was done fixing her up.
Very much recommended.

I took my guitar in for a pickup replacement; Chris did great work on this, and I’m perfectly happy with it.
But where the service was really great was the setup. I had no idea what a professional setup could do for my (admittedly cheap) guitar. I used to enjoy playing this guitar. Now I _​love_​playing this guitar. I played it a little at the shop to make sure I was comfortable with the action; at that point I wasn’t sure. Then I took it home and played it for a few hours. Then a few more hours. As Chris said (and I’m probably paraphrasing here): «The guitar shouldn’t get in your way.» It doesn’t.
So go into Chris’s shop for any reason you can think of… but be sure to get your instrument set up when you do. If it’s not set up properly now, it’ll be like you got a new guitar when Chris is done with it.

Chris is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. He does great work… fast. No more waiting around for 2 – 3 weeks to get a guitar back. I’ve already had him set up 4 of my guitars. Highly recommended!

I recently sought the help and expertise of Chris in repairing my Squier Jagmaster. The poor thing had been trampled on and the jack basically destroyed. Chris took my guitar, gave me a clear estimate, and had it all fixed within a couple of days. In fact, I actually lagged in my picking it up! The guitar plays great again. If I ever have any other guitar issues, I’ll most definitely be seeking out Chris again.

I can’t recommend All Better Guitar Repairs enough. In short, if you want excellent work done at a reasonable price and within a reasonable timeframe, you need to see Chris. What really earns Chris five stars is that he is proactive, keeping you updated on the status of your beloved axe.
I had a humble Fender Standard Telecaster that had been sitting in storage for years and needed a good cleanup and setup. I gave Chris a call one Saturday and even though he was out of town, he still took my call and chatted with me a bit about what I wanted done. Long story short, my Telecaster is now rocking a fat humbucker in the neck and plays like a dream. My friends remark not only how handsome it looks, but how well it plays.
As I mentioned earlier, Chris is great at responding to phone calls and emails and makes himself available to bounce ideas back and forth.

Dropped off my bass to get set up and got it back the same day. Very professional and knowledgeable. Sat down with me while I played the bass through one of the rigs there to make sure I was happy with it. Highly recommended.

I called Chris a few days before the holidays. Even though he was out of town, he took the time to answer my call. He was honest and upfront with the cost of a setup for an acoustic guitar and let me know that I could drop it off at the shop while he was gone. I went in the same day and was greeted by Marlon. He asked me a few questions about how I wanted the guitar to sound and feel. Some independent stores are good at making their customers feel like idiots or can be intimidating, but these guys were great. They listened to what I wanted, offered their own advice without being arrogant, and did not try to sell me on anything.
The turnaround for my setup was less than a week. I think it would’ve probably been even shorter if it wasn’t around the holidays. Chris was really good about giving me a call the moment my guitar was ready. I paid $ 80 for my setup. It would’ve been $ 90, but I brought in my own strings. I would definitely go back. Chris even offered to show me how to string my guitar because he noticed my method could use some improvement.

I’ve been gigging with San Francisco as my base since 1993 and have had some talented folks work on my axes, but Chris is the best — straight up, hands down. Not only is his work great but his attitude makes him fun to be around. He’s a cool guy that loves music and instruments. After a few moments in his shop, this becomes obvious and you realize that your precious baby is in the right hands.
It’s also nice to find someone as skilled as him that charges reasonable prices! I have a bass with stainless steel frets (bassists, don’t do it!) that I’m going to refret with traditional wire. A tough job no doubt that a lot of techs would gouge you on price wise, and Chris gets big ups for not doing so and taking the high road. I’m sure the refret will be top notch and done in a timely fashion, just as his pick ups/​preamp installations and set ups have been.
Check out Chris down at ol Rocker Guitars. You won’t be disappointed… nuff said.
Dark Kent

I went in because of the convenience of the location, literally within a block from my house on Howard between 9^th and 10^th, but I’ll stay because I’ve found my SF guitar tech.
I brought my Gibson J60 in for a set up and Chris did a great job on it.
I needed the turn around to be quick as well and he was completely accommodating. Price was fair and service was excellent, what more could you ask for.

Chris has worked on six different guitars of mine… anywhere from a simple setup to a complete electrical overhaul with tricky switching and unusual pickup combinations. Some of them more than once when I changed my mind. His work has never been anything less than outstanding He listens to what you want, offers suggestions, calls you when he gets a new idea, sends you email updates and keeps you involved until he’s finished. He’s both a player and a guitar tech and instinctively knows how to get you what you want. He just recently built an amazing guitar for me from scratch using Warmoth and other parts and, among other things, improvised a clever pickup switching system that is both simple and logical. He called and sent emails throughout to discuss the progress. The entire guitar came out so perfect and pristine that I’m almost afraid to play it.
Like others, I’ve had less than positive experiences over the years with the repair shops that drop names, take forever to get the work done and charge a fortune. Chris is professional and punctual, the workmanship is top notch and his prices are more than reasonable. Highly, highly recommend.