New York Acoustic Guitar Repair, Restoration and Setups

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Whether your prized possession is an early Martin or Gibson, a more recent Taylor or some of the finer instruments made by D'Angelicos, D'Aquistos, Ramirez, Fernandez, Epiphone, or other beloved acoustic guitars, madolins and more, an experience luthier will make all the difference. David's years of repair and restoration work on fine acoustic guitars will prove significant to the end result. Trust the hands that have worked on instruments for some of the most noted musicians of the past few decades, as well as those local musicians who covet their acoustic guitar.

Simple click any of the below repair and restoration images to view them larger.

1953 Gibson J-200 Guitar Restoration

Pick-guard was nailed on (WOW). Filled many holes with Spruce. Neck steamed off and reset. Fingerboard and bridge reset. Loose braces repaired or replaced. Lacquer touch up.

Gibson L7 Guitar Restoration

Preivously butchered with a plywood top. Newly carved Spruce top and new binding. All back cracks were repaired. Neck reset. Match the vintage yellow lacquer. New custom pick-guard.

1940's Martin 000-28 - Complete Restoration

Back removed. Repaired a large hole in the left side of the body. Re-glued loose braces. Reset neck. Reglued bridge and pick-guard. New frets. Completely restored finish.

30's Gibson Archtop Guitar Restoration

Back removed. All cracks were repaired and cleats were installed. Loose braces were glued. Installed new back and new binding. New frets. New black lacquer finish. Complete guitar setup.

1966 Martin D18 Acoustic Guitar Neck Repair

Original action incredibly high. Steamed off and reset neck. New frets. Glued bridge. Custom made pickguard (missing). New bone nut and saddle. Complete guitar setup.

1933 Gibson L00 Guitar Restoration

Kept in a barn for many years. Neck steamed off and reset. There was a large hole in the soundboard. The bridge had a pencil for a saddle and was falling off. Top and back braces re-glued.

1959 Ramirez Guitar Neck Repair

Action TOO high. You can't steam a neck off a Ramirez. Steam off old fingerboard, replace with a custom fingerboard angled back to lower the action.

1974 Ramirez 10 String Guitar Restoration

Restored soundboard and back cracks. Frets were sticking out past fingerboard. Nut cracked in three pieces. Complete guitar setup. A very rare guitar that sounded incredible.

40's Martin 2-30 Madolin Restoration

Only 64 made between 1936 - 1942. The soundboard was carved too thin near tailpiece from the factory (a common thing with this model) and caved in. The back had to be removed. The soundboard had to be rebuilt with complex bracing around tailpiece. The back restored and installed with hot hide glue. Part of the tailpiece was missing along with the pickguard. Then, a complete setup. What an awesome tone!!!

1961 Ramirez Guitar Restoration

This came to me in the 80's. Segovia's road manager brought this guitar into the shop complete with photos of Segovia with the instrument. Was in a car accident and hurt badly! In dire need of open heart surgery. Removed back and repaired all loose braces. Had to replace all the back binding after the back was glued on. Stripped and refinished with Nitro lacquer. Was a great way to "map" the entire guitar.

Other Acoustic Instruments that Dave has restored, repaired or setup over the years

It's been 30 years of acoustic guitar setups and more. Here are some of the finer acoustic instruments that Dave has worked on in the more recent past. Simple click any of the below images to view them larger.