SF Guitarworks

Not only have I taken multiple guitars here for setups and repairs, I’ve also done their new build-​a-​guitar workshop. After just a handful of hours, I had my own custom built guitar as well as an intimate knowledge of how to build and setup any electric guitar. Geoff & co are incredibly good at what they do and are just great people.
Only guitar shop worth going to.

I had the opportunity to build a custom guitar this weekend with Geoff Luttrell of SF Guitarworks fame. It was an amazing experience. It was an incredible way to learn about the instrument and understand the interrelated intricacies that make up a guitar. The end result is you end up with a completely customized guitar that plays and sounds just the way you want it to. Geoff was very patient even with my lack of soldering experience and abilities.

Called to check to see if they could restring my banjo. The answer was yes. I brought it in, 15 minutes later it was done. Very reasonable prices for stringing (plus strings). Very friendly staff. A wonderful find!

The lessons are really tallored to your abllltles and how much you want to progress. l have no deluslons, or deslres to becomlng a rock star, what l want to do ls learn to play so l can unwlnd at the end of the day, and just jam wlth frlends. And when l artlculated thls, these guys were great about settlng the pace of the lessons to match my expectatlons.

My basses always come back playing great after being worked on here. Not a long turnaround time like some other shops.

I had to wait and think carefully about the rating I was going to give SF Guitarworks. On one hand I think the job that they did was overall solid, but on the other hand I don’t think they gave my instrument the level of attention to detail especially seeing all the reviews and word of mouth reviews as well.
The backstory is I dropped off my warmoth made guitar off for a set up and their Plek service. When I went to go pick it up, I was really excited to play it and so the lady at the front desk allowed me to plug it in make sure everything worked. I made the mistake of not carefully inspecting the cosmetic condition of the instrument.
When I took it home I noticed couple spots where the finish was taken off. Upon further inspection I noticed streaks in the back of my neck, couple spots on the 19^th to 21^st fret, and couple spots on the top side of my neck all had spots where the finish was just stripped off. I should’ve paid more attention to it at the store, but my excitement got the better of me.
Personally for me, I don’t want to raise too much of a fuss about it because cosmetic issues don’t bother me too much and the playability of my guitar is great. Also once I leave the store it usually turns out to it-​left-​our-​premises-​so-​not-​our-​responsibility conversation. I think the combination of getting it properly set up and the Plek service gives my guitar new life and is definitely worth it. However I was disappointed in the fact that even after paying $ 275, that the attention to detail was not there.
I would probably go back to them again in the future, but definitely will be more attentive to the details and raise the issue then. Overall it was a decent experience, just disappointed.

I got my Bogner amp back, but the problem was still there, and now I can’t get any sound
out of it!
The woman at the front said Phil fixed my amp, and gave me a list of what he did
and I said we’ll see about that, if it’s fixed.
It had the same loud buzzing noise coming from it, and then I couldn’t hear my guitar playing
from any channel?!
This guys is an idiot, and that’s putting it lightly.
Bogner amps are complicated like Howard Dumble amps, and if you don’t know what your
doing, DON’T TRY TO FIX IT!
I met Reinhold Bogner at a NAMM show, and went to his shop in L.A.
I called him, and told him the problem I’ve been having with finding some one that knows
how to work on Bogner amps, Reinhold said he would look into it, and get back to me, but
if he can’t find any on I should ship the head to him, and they would put it back in
working order.
Through out my life, I’ve never taken on a job that I couldn’t do even though people trust me
with what they need to do.
I just help them find the right person that can do the job right, so they feel comfortable when
the job is done and have peace of mind about the work that was done.
I will never refer this place to any one!
To the owner.
P. S. Don’t respond with your sorry about what happened, I don’t need you response, I need
my amp fixed!

Brought my eBay spalted top telecaster for adjusting and installation of P90s. I bought the guitar because I wanted the P90 tone and I liked the spalted top. I didn’t have high expectations for this instrument but SF guitarworks turned it into a gem! With fret work and neck adjustment and installation of my P90’s, the guitar has the lowest and fastest action I’ve ever played with great tone. I will slowly bring them all my guitars. Great work but be prepared for a two-​three week turn around.

I should have updated this years ago. But I just want to reiterate that I never hesitate to recommend these guys to anyone needing guitar repair done. The work is top notch & they are very friendly. In the future, I might make sure to be more clear about expectations as far as turnaround time, but I also get it. This shop does great work & has a great rep. If your repair isn’t high priority (my band was on hiatus at the time my Rickenbacker was in the shop), it might not rise to the top of the to do list.

I have a very beat up Guild D-​50, and the neck needed serious work. SFGW did a marvelous job, at a reasonable price, and on time. This guitar has *never* played as well as it does now, and I am thrilled. I’ve also had minor repairs to other guitars, and am very pleased with SFGW.

These guys are a joke, literally. Sorry but gotta say it. Should’ve written this review long ago, right after the really bad experience I had.
Had a several hundred dollar fret job done and couldn’t have been more unhappy. Took my ’05 LP Std in for what I thought would be a good idea– as it was billed to me as a quick and easy fix to the worn fret lines I’d had. They ask you all kindsa spec crap like how low you like your action– like I don’t know how to adjust that to be exactly where I want it myself. Anyhow: the real crime here was that these dummies took the brand fricking new Graphtech Tusq XL nut that I had painstakingly installed and finely sanded myself to right where it needed to be, and sanded it down to almost NOTHING– and worked the strings into the grooves like they were supposed to go through the thing, rather than over it– like strings are supposed to do over the nut of a damned guitar. As a result, the guitar WILL NOT stay in tune b/​c the strings aren’t allowed to roll over the nut string slots– they’re freaking embedded in them. WHO DOES THAT? Someone who’s never set up a guitar before, making $ 11.50 an hour, that’s who.
And the fret job? Gimme a break. Some of the poorest work filing down fret wires I’ve ever seen, into a damned trapezoidal shape (??- this does not work as well as rounded– let me tell you). The tone isn’t as good, the comfort isn’t as good– the guitar now isn’t as good. Thanks, SF Guitar Works.
Again, sorry, not tryin’ to take anyone out here or just rant about something I don’t really know about– just tellin’ it like it is, finally as this was a couple years ago. The one guy who took me in, asked me what I wanted was so obviously NOT the same guy who did the WORK: big mistake, huge. They need to learn that this is all wrong when it’s something this serious.
So now I’ve gotta (finally) get a new nut and do the nice job I’d done myself all over again– and spend a lot of money and an entirely new fret job and have all the wires replaced. Guess I should have just opted for that in the first place and would have saved myself an enormous headache.

For clarity, this review was for work Geoff at SFGuitarWorks did quite some time ago. Probably around 2009. I posted this review because you can see how the Review for Rob at Axis above is related! Two of the best!
Geoff is hands down the world’s best luthier. SF Guitarworks set up my MIM Reissue Stratocaster with paper thin action and added some Alnico 5 Jimi GFS reverse spaced pickups. and they upgraded my import Korean Hamer Explorer with Gibson 80’s Large Magnet pickups while adding micro switches for polarity switching and coil tapping. The setup on both guitars was meticulous and well-​worth waiting for. The quality of the work and the results of both guitars meeting SF Guitarworks was like taking planks and turning them both into Ferraris. Both guitars sing almost practically on their own. They both make playing a joy, and they are both awesome guitars, in large part due to the attention to detail SF Guitarworks put into them both. Definitely a five star guitar heaven and worth every penny. Geoff and staff will make sure they know what you want, and they deliver for the price quoted, informing you of any changes if needed.

Just learned that the amp tech who serviced my classic ’55 Gibson GA-​20 put it back together funky. These issues were found: 1) 6V6 tube was not operating properly because the Grid to ground reference resistor (220K) was missing! This was easily noticed with 6V6 voltage checks and with the oscilloscope — any Tech should have caught this. 2) the SF Tech returned the 6V6 Cathode ground return way back to the early Preamp Ground – this is the highest current ground point and should ALWAYS be returned near the Power Supply. 3) The original Gibson Biasing Cathode resistor is 200 ohms. Raising this value a little (220 to 250) is OK to run the 6V6 tubes cooler, BUT – the SF Tech has installed a 350 value — MUCH TOO HIGH to maintain it’s «Class A» beauty.
½/​16 the repairs were made by the second amp tech (Dave @ A Brown Sound) and it sounds fantastic. I am working with the owner Geoff to make this financial outlay ethically right and will revise my review when resolved The situation is further aggravated by the amount of money I spent to get this «repair» serviced in the first place and the money I have spent at the store overall on other repairs.
Geoff has made good on the repairs which says a lot about this service facility. 5 Stars for Geoff.

I had my Roland Ready Strat set up by SF Guitarworks recently. I had them put Classic California 50’s pickups in it and set it up. Now my relatively inexpensive Strat plays like a dream! I had one problem with the guitar afterward and they were nice enough to take care of me free of charge even though it was unrelated to their work. Monique is a pleasure to talk with and SF Guitarworks is a classy shop. This was my first experience with SFGuitarworks and it was kind of a test run, but they certainly passed and I’ll be back with my nicer guitars.

The best place for your guitars besides with yourself of course. Good pricing. Clear communication. Very talented folks. I will always take my guitars there.

Excellent service and excellent work. I took in a Tacoma acoustic-​electric on which the battery compartment had failed. Geoff quickly assessed the situation. Replacing the pre-​amp and battery back was not going to work because he probably wouldn’t be able to find this particular unit anymore. So he suggested re-​wiring the pre-​amp to a new battery bag that they would install.
He gave me a quote and a timeframe. They finished the work on the dot and on quote. Guitar sounds great again.
Compared to some other experiences I’ve had a other guitar repair shops in SF this experience was a pleasure from start to finish. Thanks.

Brought my Gibson SG in for a setup awhile back. Got it back with a buzzy string. Brought it back and got a ton of attitude. It still has a buzzy string. Lame.
Update: Geoff got back to me regarding my experience and offered to rectify the situation if I was willing to bring the guitar back in. Class act. Thanks Geoff!!!

Jeff and his team are fantastic and friendly. Their depth of knowledge, ability to problem solve and superior repair chops have never failed to amaze me. They restored my 1915 Uke to perfection, set up both my David Gilmour Strat and Les Paul Standard and totally reconstructed my 1955 Gretsch from a broken piece of wall art to a daily player that sounds and feels amazing. The Gretsch required almost everything: Braces reglued, Neck reset with neck pocket reconstruction, fretboard reshaping and refretting, complete electronics rewiring… I wouldn’t take my guitars anywhere else!

Not that these guys need any more 5 star reviews judging by their superb rating already, but I recently had the finish on my Collings guitar redone and I must say these guys are the absolute best at the craft. Their customer service is outstanding and I highly highly recommend them to anyone. Absolutely fantastic job!

Just wanted to drop a review for these guys after attending the Guitar Setup Workshop with Geoff. I LOVED it. Can’t wait to take the advanced class. Brought in my P Bass (which already played decent) and came out sounding and feeling WAY better. Geoff was very patient with me as i asked stupid questions throughout the day. He did an excellent job providing objective feedback and being patient.
Some quick notes about what i liked in the course:
— Small class size. Their were only 4 of us which was great. This leaves more personal attention from the instructor. I hate going to courses where there are a ton of people and not enough instructors.
–Provided a concise checklist of stuff to do in a setup. This really helps for repeatability and consistency.
–Tools! An excellent selection of tools to work with. It’s nice to have the right tools to do the job and Geoff definitely provided every tool you can imagine.
–Stayed after class to show us the PLEK fret analysis system and answer more questions. Very generous with his time.
What i would like to see in the future:
–A manual or syllabus outlining the specs of a setup, descriptions of what we did, and some measurement guidelines would be nice. I know that a lot of setting up a guitar is an art just as much of a science, but as a newbie, it’d be nice to know some basic reference measures, notes, things to look for, troubleshooting tips, etc. Maybe they will arrange this in the future.
All in all i’m super stoked to attend and can’t wait for the next one!