Peekamoose Custom Guitars, LLC

Did a great job. I bought a bass off of Craigslist which wasn’t in great condition, needed a setup and frets needed work and he made it very easy to play. Also fixed a pick-​up issue I didn’t know it had (I only had the bass for a few hours beforehand) with no extra charge and in time. Not easy finding a good guitar tech so very happy to have found him.

I brought my custom strat to Paul as it just wasn’t playing right. A few nagging things that kept me from picking it up and instead playing my cheaper guitars. Paul took the time to listen to what I was looking to get resolved, where I thought the problems were and he proceeded to do a check of the neck, frets and some other things before giving me a quote.
I’ve had guitars repaired before at other places and am comfortable with the fact that one week probably means two, and that’s fine with me. I’m not a touring musician and have other guitars to play in the meantime. Having said that, I was pleased/​shocked that Paul said it would be ready in one week — same bat time, same bat channel. Sure enough he confirmed a day ahead, I showed up, Paul did a last minute check himself before handing the guitar over for me to check it out. The fretwork, new nut and bridge adjustments made this guitar sing like it should have when I first got it.
Paul is an understated guy which belies the huge talent he brings to guitar repairs and from the look of his shop, guitar-​building. I wouldn’t hesitate to take my guitar there for repairs and if you’ve got a cherished axe you need fixed or fine-​tuned, Paul is your guy.

Exceptional doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Aside from some minor adjustments, it’d been years since I’d gotten my Taylor acoustic the professional TLC she needed. However, after botching a «deep cleaning» (ahem), I was in the market for a luthier that worked finishes — something of a rarity in the city. Enter Paul and the fantastic people at Peekamoose.
Not only did Paul and co. do a phenomenal job fixing my errors (made even more difficult by the polywhatever that Taylor uses in lieu of traditional finish), but they also ran a full setup and restored my frets as well. While this isn’t exceptional in itself, the way they handled it is. My guitar, however much I may love her, is not the most expensive instrument of all time; moreover, I can’t afford much on a teacher’s salary. That being said, Paul worked with my budget to figure out a way (grind and polish) to get my guitar playing top-​notch without bankrupting me — for which I’m eternally grateful.
I could go on and on about how beautiful my Taylor plays these days, but I’ll spare you the mushy details. I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention just how awesome Paul is himself. Although I think the word gets thrown around entirely too much these days (especially in the city), Paul really is a true artist. His knowledge, eye, and craftsmanship are second to none; one only needs to spend a couple of minutes with him to know that. He’s intimately familiar with seemingly every aspect of guitar production and repair — from materials to manufacturers, even specific instruments’ histories to the art of mixing finishes.
Customer service-​wise, Peekamoose seems to really stand by their work; they’ll adjust your instrument for free a month or so after you take it home. Although I took advantage of this with my Taylor, it turned out that what needed adjustment wasn’t even something they’d worked on in the first place (a loose nut). Regardless, Paul fixed it for me, for free, while I waited. Good people.
I really can’t recommend Peekamoose enough. If you need a luthier or are in the market for a custom guitar (like the beautiful pieces displayed on the walls), do yourself a favor and go see Paul at Peekamoose.

I had a Fender electric guitar set up at Peekamoose a few years ago, and I was happy with the job they did. So happy in fact that I brought in an acoustic Eastman for a set up and repair of a crack in the top below the sound hole. I thought the guitar was wrecked, but it sounded great after they worked on it, and I do mean worked. All in all, I couldn’t be more pleased with my guitar and the work that was done at Peekamoose

Paul is an artisan, he breathes guitars, his work is impeccable and he is a true craftsman as well as incredibly precise. His work on my 24 year old stratocaster turned a moped into a Harley. Use this shop, you will not be disapointed

Paul repaired my guitars for 15 years and if I wasn’t in LA, he’d still be doing it. He and anyone he hires/​mentors are masters of detail, and if any guitar of mine needs a fret job or any other serious work, they’re getting boxed up and sent to Peekamoose.
That being said, his custom guitars are amazing. They sound great, feel great and look great. I remember when he first started letting his clients play the ones in the shop and they are sublime. I wish I had the budget for one now, but all in good time. Meanwhile, I’ll track him down at NAMM and get a few minutes in on one.
This is where you go when you want you guitar to make you happy again.

A mix between engineering, sensitivity to nuance, sophistication, and an almost mythical knowledge of the guitar. Paul is beyond a craftsman. He takes his time getting it right (to the point where it’s best to schedule a big job when you leave for a vacation). The results are insanely good– he has straightened my steinberger composite necks, he has re-​wired, re-​finished, you name it. Recently I tried one of his own creations and WOW. Ask for it.

Paul did an absolutely incredible job leveling the fingerboard on my fretless p bass. It’s still straight and true 3 years later. If you want to hear how good your instrument can actually sound get in touch with this guy.
Paul has an eye for detail that few others can match.

Paul setup my Telecaster, and I’ve hardly put down my guitar since. It sounds incredible! Now everyone tells me how good my guitar sounds. Every note sings after Paul worked his magic. He also setup my SG, and after two years of having it, it’s never sounded so good. The best thing since taking my guitars to Peekamoose is how little I have to work to get a pristine sound. Not long after having my guitars back from the shop, I experienced an epiphany… I can get a full stellar sound with a light touch. Now when I hear my guitar from my recordings, I’m in awe of how incredible the tone is, and what a huge difference the setup and fret work made.
Indira was most kind, informative, and helpful. They turned my guitars over in less than a week. Paul is a guitar expert! It was such a pleasure taking my guitars here, I would recommend anyone to their guitar shop. I will definitely be going there seasonally for maintenance.

Paul Schwartz of Peekamoose Guitars has kept my guitars in great shape for over 20 years. He’s extremely detail oriented and his craftsmanship is unsurpassed.
Paul is not only a great repairman but also a great luthier. He goes to great lengths to make sure every detail is correct from the pickups to the resonance of the wood.
I starting playing one of his custom guitars on tour and in the studio.
Whether it’s a repair job or one of his guitars, nothing leaves his shop unless it’s right.

I’ve been taking my beloved instruments to Peekamoose for almost 6 years. I have seen many luthiers and guitar shops, but my experience with them has been far and away the absolute best. Paul has an attention to detail that is warmly geeky and comfortingly neurotic (my instruments are my babies). His knowledge and experience has made me feel very comfortable and trusting with them. Just to show you how much I appreciate their work — I’ve brought 5 acoustic guitars, 2 electric basses, 1 electric guitar, a lap steel, banjo, mandolin, and 2 ukuleles to them.
After visiting the shop a few times, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the Peekamoose custom guitars. I ordered an M1 HSH in Ash with a Rosewood fingerboard. Paul cooked it up in a nice red transparent finish — and it is the most gorgeous guitar I have ever seen. More importantly though… it is the best guitar I’ve ever played. It gives me endless inspiration. Honestly — the sound of this guitar is simply perfect, and the action is outstanding. I’m thinking of selling my other electric (a Fender Custom Telecaster ’79) because this guitar feels so good and has such incredible tonal variety.
In terms of cost… you get what you pay for. If you want your guitars well cared for and worked on with the most professional experience and knowledge — then you have to pay a little extra. My instruments are important to me, so I don’t cut corners when it comes to them. Peekamoose is worth it!
Paul, Indira and the rest of the crew are lovely, kind people. You will enjoy visiting them and feel very comfortable leaving your precious instruments with them. My only gripe is that I can’t visit Peekamoose more often!

The best guitar repair place I’ve been to… and I’ve been to many. Paul, the owner, chief luthier, and repair guru – along with his incredibly talented staff, including the always helpful and friendly Indira – will do everything they can to make your guitar better. Setups might cost you more than other places, but the quality of the work justifies the cost-​benefit analysis. I consider myself fortunate to have found them and have been a loyal customer for over 6 years. Seriously, check them out: you’ll be glad you did.

AVOID AT ANY AND ALL COSTS!
Paul Schwartz/​Peekamoose almost permanently destroyed my $ 3000+ Vigier Excalibur guitar and it had to be sent back to Vigier in France to be almost totally rebuilt. It actually took less time for my guitar to go to France and back than it did for Paul Schwartz/​Peekamoose to destroy the guitar 40 minutes from my house. A supposed 4 week job took 4+ months and still wasn’t even totally functioning when I picked it up. I ended up having to file a lawsuit in order to recover his fees. He takes absolutely ZERO responsibility for his actions or the damage he causes to instruments and will blame anyone/​everyone but himself. DO NOT give Paul Schwartz/​Peekamoose your money, let alone your cherished instruments. There are some truly masterful luthiers in the NYC Metro area like Norio Imai, Mas Hino, Larry Fitzgerald, the Rudy’s crew, Flip Scipio etc… GO TO THEM, DO NOT GO TO PAUL SCHWARTZ/​PEEKAMOOSE.
Contact me for additional pictures of his work/​damage as well as detailed information if you wish.
Also, an additional edit after a while…
The other guitar I had done by this person before they butchered the one I wrote about in the review needs about $ 800 worth of repair work to function again (and that’s for it to actually be great again, not be great by crooked Peekamoose standards). It’s missing a piece of binding, the fret crowns are horrific and look like triangular speed bumps, among many other things. Bottom of the barrel here as per usual with this place, part of the purpose of a setup on a guitar is for it to be stable. If anything the shop is really good at making whatever instrument you have, no matter how great, completely unstable.
I’ve also noticed that a lot of 5 star reviews are coming in out of the woodwork for this place, some of which are a day apart. I’m willing to bet now since word of the multiple honest reviews are getting around, in addition to the LAWSUIT, that there might be a bit of shilling happening…
Bottom line is… as it was previously… avoid at all costs. If you want fantastic meticulous second-​to-​none work done on your cherished instruments look up Norio Imai. He’s a savant-​level luthier who doesn’t try and buffer his «skills» by touting the machines he bought.
And if anyone who posted a negative review keeps getting filtered… please write to Unilocal and let them know. Every time a negative review gets swept under the rug in place of one of their shill reviews, it further allows them to prey upon people consulting Unilocal before spending money with them who WON’T see the truth about this business.

i haven’t written an online review for anything before but i thought with a subject as important as your guitar i would warn anyone out there who cares about their instrument to be wary this «repair» shop.
i took my guitar, which is a fairly inexpensive martin that i use as a «road» guitar so it’s not vintage or irreplaceable which is why i made the decision to have them do some repair work in the first place.
now, i usually take my guitars to a guy named steve sauve in massachusetts, but i thought it might be nice to have someone in the neighborhood who could set it up and make a small repairs here and there if needed. wow, was that a bad decision!
i brought it in to have it simply set up for a tour that i was going on. i gave the office manager (and i use that title loosely) the dates that i would need the guitar back by and after she inspected it she said it shouldn’t be a problem.
a few days later she called and said that they would like to fix a small crack that they discovered and since this guitar is pretty beat up already and is mostly used just for work, i thought. why not give them the go ahead.
i can’t tell you how bad this job looks. how do i describe it, hmm? ok, do you remember your first project in 7^th grade wood shop? that looked better than this.
i guess these guys custom make electric guitars which may be what they’re good at but these are certainly not the people you want to trust an acoustic instrument to.
oh yeah, they missed the deadline that they said they could get the guitar back to me and when i did finally get it back, the battery pack for my gold thin-​line that sits inside the guitar was missing!
what makes these guys even more ridiculous is that they only have this crazy cat widow lady (office manager) speak to their customers while they hide behind a locked door in their shop as if what they are doing is serious work, which it would be if they had any skill.
i equate the whole experience to that movie, «being john malkovich» — from the depressing, dimly lit office building that you go through to get to their shop to the pomposity of the owners who think they’re «craftsmen» — when they are in reality hacks, to the lady they have working in their «office» sifting through her piles of receipts and paper work as if she’s in some bureaucratic dystopian nightmare while all along ignoring the phone that’s ringing off the hook.
(i later found out that a friend of mine had his guitar worked on there and though his experience wasn’t nearly as bad as mine, it was similar in so many ways. we laugh about these guys all the time now because of what an extraordinarely bizarre and dissatisfying operation peekamoose is.)
anyhow, i would have really been sad about this experience had they ruined a guitar i loved, fortunately they simply added to character of a guitar that already has a lot of character.