Expert Vintage Instrument Restoration
Specialized Fretwork and Customization
Artisanal Custom Builds and Restorations
Trust your most prized possessions with someone who understands vintage. Keep your collectibles from getting into the wrong hands and becoming “player grade”. Contact us today for a quote (including return shipping).
Extensive Restorations
Complete Rebuilds
1960’s Gibson Hummingbird Restoration.
1) Neck carefully removed to correct geometry. 2) New bridge, compensated bone saddle, and bone bridge pins. 3) New era-correct frets and bone nut. 4) Closeup of the frets, perfectly installed around the natural wear of the fingerboard
1930’s Epiphone Archtop Rebuild
• Neck Reset
• Refret
• Bone Nut
• Binding Replacement w/Finish work and Patina
• Multiple Structural Repairs
Customization
Fretwork
It’s all about the frets. Anyone who is serious about playing guitar will tell you that. While there are standards and best practices that must be maintained, it’s important to keep in mind that fretwork is not a one size fits all scenario.
Our trademark fret ends are faceted to maintain the most surface area possible without causing discomfort in the hands. Frets look and feel like they’re melting into the board.
Top: Absolutely unplayable original frets and nut of this 1958 Fender Stratocaster. Bottom: Carefully refretted with era-correct frets. No modifications to the fretboard were needed, so none were performed.
New frets and matched finish on this 1974 Fender Stratocaster.
1959 Fender Stratocaster refretted without making adjustments to the board or removing original finish. Very difficult to do. A great example of maintaining the vintage.
Monster 6000’s perfectly seated on this 70’s Telecaster with a 7.25” radius. Again, the vintage integrity of the board is maintained.
Bone Nuts and Saddles
Add the sonic superiority and aesthetic beauty of bone to any instrument for an instant upgrade. We use only carefully selected unbleached bovine bone, and fossil mammoth ivory sourced from Siberia.
Left: Perfectly Intonated Bone Saddle. Top right: Mammoth Ivory Nut. Bottom right: Bone vs. Plastic.
Custom Builds
Sometimes our clients want something unique, but familiar. In those instances, a custom piece is usually the answer. With exclusive finish techniques, immaculate fretwork, and extreme selectivity of woods and components, an Artifact is born.
Custom Esquire-Inspired Artifact
• 1-piece Quartersawn Maple Neck w/Oil Finish
• Alder Body
• Cracked Milk Paint Finish on Body
• Callaham Bridge w/Copper JR Kohler Saddles
• Dimarzio Pickup w/Bourn’s Pots
Custom Jazzmaster-Inspired Artifact
• Quartersawn Maple Neck w/Macassar Ebony Board and Block Inlays
• 1- Piece Alder Body
• Cracked Milk Paint Finish on Body
• Staytrem Bridge
• Fralin Pickups