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Guitar Workshop

From expert installation of factory parts to custom modifications, the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop can handle it.

  • Check iconSetups
  • Check iconUpgrades & Mods
  • Check iconRepairs
  • Check iconPleking

Let's talk guitar. Email or call (800) 222-4700.

Our staff of the finest luthiers in the industry gives us the ability to confidently handle even the most in-depth jobs, creating your perfect guitar. Whether you need a simple adjustment, want the unmatched playability of a Plek setup, or are ready to customize an instrument you already own, contact us at guitar_shop@sweetwater.com.

Our Team

At the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop, we handpick luthiers with an undying passion for stringed instruments. They have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to make every instrument play flawlessly. From your old standby to your brand-new beauty, Sweetwater's full-service Guitar Workshop will bring out the best in your guitar.

Guitar Workshop team

Restoring a Family's Treasured Gibson L7 Acoustic Archtop

How to Solder: A Musician‘s Guide

What Our Customers Say

Pricing Guide

Pricing is for labor only and does not include the cost of parts. Depending on the task, parts costs may also be a factor (strings, pickups, Emerson kits, etc.).

Combine and Save!

Nothing beats the feel and comfort of a custom set up performed by the luthiers and guitar technicians at Sweetwater’s Guitar Workshop. Contact the Guitar Workshop today to get started or for custom pricing on multiple services.

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Setups

There's nothing like playing an instrument that has been expertly set up just the way you like. From strap button to headstock tuner, every possible adjustment is expertly dialed in to your custom specifications and tailored to meet your playing style.

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A Sweetwater custom guitar setup includes:

  • Tightening all hardware
  • Electronics cleaning
  • Lubricating Nut Slots
  • Polishing the instrument with minor buffing
  • String Installation (stretched and tuned for stability)
  • Truss rod adjustment for optimum playability unique to each instrument
  • Action adjusted to customer spec and fine-tuned to mirror the instrument’s radius
  • Nut slot height finalization for matched radius, comfort and ease of playability
  • Pickup heights adjusted for even output
  • Intonation accurately set
  • Thorough play test for the customer’s custom setup requests

Every guitar setup gets the attention it deserves with a thorough evaluation of the instrument which includes testing the electronics functionality, instrument’s playability, fret and hardware check as well as nut slot height assessment. To learn more about the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop’s custom guitar setup, or the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop. Show Less

Basic Setup Rates $99 - $159

Plek

With its computer-guided precision, Sweetwater’s Plek Pro machines provide the most precise and flawless fret level available. After a thorough scan of the instrument, our Plek Pro will assess your guitar’s fingerboard, frets and string positions. It will then analyze the neck relief and fret height to level and dress your guitar’s frets for maximum playability, sustain and intonation.

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Sweetwater’s Plek Pro services include:

  • Sweetwater Guitar Workshop custom setup
  • Before and after Plek Pro fret profile scans (upon request only)
  • Bone or Tusq nut upgrade
  • Fingerboard hydration (if applicable)
  • Precision fret leveling
  • Perfectly crowned frets
  • Polished frets to a mirror-like shine

Nothing beats the feel of perfectly leveled frets coupled with a custom setup, meticulously dialed in to your specifications. To see the Plek Pro machine in action and learn more about the Plek services, follow this and or the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop. Show Less

Pleking $299 - $379

Nut & Saddle Installation

To bring out the best feel and comfortability your instrument is capable of, a professionally fitted and installed nut or saddle is an absolute must for the serious player. Whether it’s a solid body, acoustic, banjo or mandolin, an expertly slotted nut or perfectly compensated saddle will transform your guitar from good to great. We painstakingly file our nut slot heights and radius our saddles to ensure that your instrument is playing smooth and in tune from the bridge to the nut.

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A Sweetwater nut and saddle upgrade includes:

  • Custom fitted nut or saddle
  • Precisely filed nut slot heights for maximum comfortability
  • Perfectly radiused saddle to match your fingerboard and frets
  • Compensated saddles for the best possible intonation
  • Available materials include bone, Tusq, buffalo horn and brass
  • Shiny, matte, bleached or unbleached nut options available upon request
  • Discounted nut and saddle upgrade available when sold together

To get the best possible action, intonation and feel out of your guitar, you can rely on a masterfully crafted nut or saddle to get the most out of your instrument. A reliable and consistent sounding instrument starts by getting it into the hands of our Sweetwater Guitar Workshop luthiers by giving us a or sending us an . Show Less

Nut & Saddle Installation $99 - $149

Electronic Mods & Upgrades

Whether you’re looking to hot rod your guitar or gain some added functionality with more switching options, an electronics mod or upgrade is a great way to give your instrument a sonic facelift. We’ve done everything from pickup rewinds to kill switch installations and everything in between. Whether it’s something as simple as replacing a faulty output jack or we’re doing a custom re-wire to split your pickup coils, our attention to detail can’t be rivaled and you can rest easy knowing that your instrument will be ready and relied upon for the next gig.

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Some common Sweetwater Guitar Workshop electronics mods and upgrades include:

  • Pickup swaps
  • Acoustic preamp installation
  • Battery box installation
  • Component installs
  • Custom re-wire jobs
  • Active electronics installation
  • Pickup rewinds and potting
  • Taylor ES2 upgrades
  • Custom routing for pickups and electronics cavities

Whether you’re scoping out some inspirational new sonic capabilities or you just want to do some basic component upgrades, we have decades of experience at your disposal to turn your guitar into something completely new and unique. Got some ideas? Give us a or send us an so that we can turn those ideas into a reality. Show Less

Electronic Mods & Upgrades $49 & Up

Repairs & Restorations

There’s nothing more gratifying for a luthier than to breathe new life into a damaged instrument or long-forgotten family heirloom. Every ding, crack or break on a guitar tells a story and it’s our job to ensure that your instrument can write its next chapter. Headstock breaks, bad neck sets and accidental damage are bound to happen but we’re here to help get your guitar back into your hands and ready to make more music.

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Some common services that require the expertise of a luthier are:

  • Neck resets
  • Crack repairs
  • Bridge reglue
  • Broken headstock reglue
  • Broken headstock splining
  • Binding repair or replacement
  • Finish touchup
  • Pickguard replacement
  • Inlay replacements

For anybody that has experienced the heartbreak of a broken headstock or the shock of an unexpected crack running along the top of their favorite acoustic guitar, we can relate. Before you give up all hope and assume your prized possession has played its last chord, give the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop an opportunity to give you a repair estimate by giving us a or . Show Less

Repairs & Restorations By Quote Only

Re-frets

There are certain inevitabilities in life and one of them is that if you’re going to play your guitar, you’re eventually going to see some fret wear. Sweetwater’s Guitar Workshop specializes in re-fretting all stringed instruments, no matter whether the fingerboard is ebony or a finished maple neck. Whether you’re past the point of a level, crown and polish or you’re just looking to upgrade to stainless steel fret wire, we have you covered.

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Here is what you can expect from a re-fret in Sweetwater’s Guitar Workshop:

  • Plek and custom setup is included
  • Available fret wire options are standard nickel-silver, stainless steel and EVO gold
  • Large variety of fret-wire sizes including medium and jumbo
  • Precision fretboard planning for proper radius
  • Installation of new frets with a perfect crown and high polish

Excessive fret buzz or choking notes are some of the signs that it’s time for fret work. Whether we can revive your guitar’s playability with a Plek or it’s time to consider a re-fret, let’s talk about how to get your guitar into the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop. Give us a or send us an so that we can get your guitar singing and sustaining the way it should. Show Less

Re-frets $649 - $749

Hardware Upgrades & Replacements

Strap buttons, strap locks, locking tuners, Bigsbys and Evertunes… the list goes on. There’s nothing better than the glean of newly upgraded hardware on your guitar to make you fall back in love. Whether you’re after the ease and quickness that locking tuners offer or you need to replace some outdated or broken components to get your guitar back to its former glory, we have the know-how and inventory at our disposal to get you taken care of.

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Browse through some of the links below to see what we can do for you:

Sweetwater’s Guitar Workshop is dedicated to delivering outstanding quality and care with every guitar we bring to bench. Regardless of whether we’re installing a strap button or routing out a guitar body for a Floyd Rose, our professionalism and expertise is seen in every job we do. Allow us to earn your business by giving us a or sending us an today. Show Less

Hardware Upgrades & Replacements $49 & Up
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