Featured Guitar: Vintage 1958 Gibson ES335
This one is the real deal. A gorgeous "unbound" 1958 Gibson ES335. Take a closer look. This guitar was once part of Richard Gere's collection that was auctioned off in October 2011. It's a very early example of a 1958 Gibson ES335. The earliest ones from that year had...
Vintage Les Paul TV Jr. – Neck Restoration
Here's a Gibson Les Paul Jr. that suffered a bad headstock break and a repair that was probably worse than the break itself! It took undoing much of those old repairs, but we made it look right again. A client of ours spotted this TV yellow 1959 Les Paul Jr for sale...
Featured Guitar – James Trussart Steelcaster
A very interesting twist on a classic design. We've known about Trussant guitars for a while here and have seen them played by the likes of James Hatfield, Joe Walsh, Jack White, Steve Earl, Tom Morello, and even Bob Dylan. But this Steelcaster was the first time any...
Getting an Ampeg SVT Classic Back On The Road
This Ampeg bass amp needed to get back on the road quick. Here's how we did it. We got a Friday morning phone call recently from a band that was passing through Chicago when the bass player's Ampeg SVT Classic head started malfunctioning. There was all sorts of...
Special! – Handmade Souldier Straps – 10% off!
We've been carrying Souldier guitar straps practically since the day we opened our doors. We love that they're each handmade by our friends here in Chicago, often using remnant and recycled materials. But mostly we love them because they look so great. Worn by members...
Featured Guitar – Tiesco Del Rey EV-3T
Check it out! A very cool Tiesco Del Rey - made copy of the Vox Phantom. Re-fretted and set-up here at Chicago Fret Works.
Paul Reed Smith Headstock Rebuild
After a serious fall - or more likely, several serious falls - this Paul Reed Smith ended up on the auction block. Here's how we rebuilt the headstock and got it ready to rock again for the new owner. - This repair is becoming quite a specialty of Dan's! So you broke...
Marshall JCM800 Amp Repair
The Marshall JCM800 is a great rock amp, but this one didn't work at all when it arrived. We're lucky to have one of Chicago's best amplifier repair techs here and Pat got it cleaned up, re-tubed, and roaring again. One of our customers was given this Marshall head...
Vintage 1932 National Style O Neck Reset
Not all 1930's Nationals are created equal. We thought this 1932 Style O needed a refret and maybe a little neck tightening, but soon learned that a single design factor makes this one particularly challenging. The vintage National resophonic (or resonator) guitar is...
The Volume Cable – Acoustic Pickup Solution
Most of the acoustic guitar pickups we install don't come with controls for volume or EQ. Here's a solution we should have thought of years ago! When it comes to acoustic pickup systems, our favorite ons are simple rigs that run directly out through an endpin jack -...