Home -- Guitar Repair, Stringed Instrument Repair

We are regularly referred customers by other stores in San Antonio, other luthiers and other shops throughout South and Central Texas. In house luthier John Thurston has gained a reputation as the most able stringed instrument repair and restoration person in South Texas.                                                     Frequently we get in an instrument that has been repaired or evaluated at another shop where the advice or the repair attempted was simply all wrong. When you have an instrument that is valuable to you & one you need to depend on, your money is more judiciously spent by using professionals. We've seen valuable guitars deemed basket cases, & good solid utility guitars shunned & insulted because a salesman wanted to sell a new guitar (OR UNSCRUPULOUSLY GET THEIR HANDS ON YOUR GUITAR FOR A PROFITABLE RESALE!). When you bring in your guitar for evaluation we will respectfully inspect your instrument, after which we will give you an estimate on the repairs needed. We never recommend repairs that are beyond what is truly needed or repairs that will compromise the value or integrity of your guitar. We're an equal opportunity repair shop, being as respectful of your workhorse utility guitar as we would a priceless custom or vintage guitar.                                                                                                                                                       ################################################################

We will glad to advise you on your repair needs, however we cannot give accurate quotes on repairs without seeing the instrument and exactly what is needed. We are often called to ask what a specific repair might cost and upon seeing the instrument, realizing that other things need attention. We will never try to talk you into work that is not needed or wanted, or tack on extra fees. We may be able to tell you what a specific repair will cost, but final evaluation can only be done upon seeing the instrument and having it in our hands. Pictures can be very helpful, so please send them on and we can give you analysis on that basis. We are here to make your guitar, mandolin, banjo, uke, etc. play its best and we want you to be happy and tell your friends about us.                                                                                                                                                      

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John Thurston is handling all major repairs. He's got great skills & many years of experience. John has moved here from the D.C./Baltimore area where he's well known among discriminating players. We've been fortunate to introduce John to the South Texas music community. We can state with assurance that John's skills & knowledge of guitar & bass repair are unsurpassed in South Texas. With over 40 years experience on fine & vintage instruments, John is the go-to guy for expert repairs, and among the few repair persons in the area who can honestly call himself a luthier. We have a number of players from Austin, Dallas, Houston, Corpus Christi & all over the state who bring their guitars to John for service

Bass players take note: John's primary instrument is the bass & he therefore brings special insight that bassists will appreciate whether your style is funk/slap, the aggressive pick styles that many modern players use or anything in between. 

We offer all aspects of guitar & stringed instrument repair; from simple adjustments & set-ups, pickup installation & modifications to major restoration of fine vintage instruments. 

Shop rates are based at $65.00 per hour.

NOTE: A few times a month we'll get an email from some distraught musician from the Baltimore/D.C. area who misses having John around. You should have been nicer to him when he was there. Seriously though, it's great to have him here & Baltimore's loss is Texas' gain.

LINDY FRALIN PICKUPS NOW AT GUITAR TEX!

If you need an appraisal, bring your instrument in. We provide written appraisals for $35. If you want advice on what you should ask for your guitar that you are selling, you may use our referral books free of charge. Please don't call to ask what your guitar is worth.

The acoustic market is hugely diverse, covering many tastes and styles, but the standards for the a fine instrument are the same regardless of what style of music you play. We offer a great selection at great prices.

Come on in. We look forward to visiting.

A WORD ABOUT ACOUSTIC GUITAR PICKUPS:

A lot has changed since I first began installing acoustic pickups & I've tried just about every pickup for acoustic guitar available. Recently, with innovations from L.R.Baggs like their Anthem system & Fishman's Aura system we've moved much closer to the warm, organic plugged in sound we've all been seeking for so long.  Either one is minimally invasive & can provide excellent stage sound, giving the player on-board control without the ugly hole in the side of your guitar.

The K&K pickups can be a good choice for solo players wanting to maintain as natural tone as possible, especially so for classical players but I've had great results on dreadnoughts, too.  Perhaps not so good, though, for the ensemble player who needs lots of volume & a high threshold before feedback becomes a problem.  

We do lots of pickup installations & we'll be glad to advise you on your choice. However, the choice is yours & we encourage you to do your homework & make your own decision. One particuarly positive aspect of all the choices I've mentioned is that they're all reversible if you should choose something else or just to go back to pure acoustic.