5 compelling reasons why you need a Guitar Luthier.

Many guitarists (particularly experienced players) have gathered enough knowledge and tools to negate the need for a guitar luthier/tech’s assistance. Why do you need one?

1. A Guitar Luthier will save your guitar.

How many times have you given up on a guitar because of an issue with it you couldn’t solve on your own? It’s happened to me many times over the course of my electric guitar history, sometimes on guitars I otherwise loved. So why didn’t I simply take it to a guitar luthier? Partly because some of them were inexpensive and I thought repair fees would almost equate to the guitar’s value. As it turns out, the vast amount of issues I’ve had over the years have been down to worn/uneven frets, or a badly cut nut, which is a sub £100 job for any reputable guitar luthier.

Long story short, I should have spent the money, and perhaps my guitar history list wouldn’t be half as long.

2. A Guitar Luthier will save you money.

Let’s look at the costs of embarking on guitar repair on your own. At the very least you’ll need a set of nut files and a fret crowning file, which won’t get you much change from £100 for even the cheapest tools. However, I’ve come to the opinion that, unless you’re repairing a lot of guitars on a regular basis, this is a false economy. What about a suitable workspace? measuring tools? and we haven’t even discussed electrics yet. The bottom line is, in reality, you’ll need a lot of kit to the value of a high-end instrument, and then some.

Do the sensible thing and take it to a guitar luthier.

3. A Guitar Luthier will save you time.

Even if you’ve gone all in, you’ve set up your own workshop in your shed, what then? How many man hours will it take to build up your chops? To be confident enough to level and crown frets, to master soldering?

Save yourself the time, a guitar luthier has more experience than you and they’ll do a better job. Use their skills.

But there’s something else. When there’s an issue with a guitar, no matter how small, it’s hard, for me at least, to get the issue out of my head. If it’s buzzing on the high frets for example and I play something, I’ll subconsciously navigate to those frets, just to see if the issue is still there. The end result is it hampers my playing, and I feel I can’t progress with the guitar until it’s sorted.

I’ve heard this is common, honest. Better to get it sorted and move on.

4. A Guitar Luthier will maximise your guitar’s potential.

I’m going to use my Fender Player Stratocaster as an example. After a couple of minor issues with the nut and higher frets (a sub £100 fix), it plays like a dream, way better than what I could have done with it. Beforehand it was a decent guitar, but now I don’t think I will ever bother upgrading to US spec, it’s that good.

Without a guitar luthier’s eyes and hands on it, perhaps you’ll never know how great your guitar could be.

5. A Guitar Luthier will preserve your guitar’s value.

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, and when it comes to resale value you might regret your own bodged efforts at guitar repair. Guitars are pretty tough (particularly Fenders), so as they don’t need servicing that often, it makes sense to have it done professionally. Repairs? Well, that’s a minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing or have the tools.

Take it to someone who does and hold onto your asset, or even have it make money for you.

Conclusion

If you’ve just spent decent money on a guitar and there are issues with it, get it sorted under warranty if you can. If you can’t, before you start to eat into your finances and time, take it to a guitar luthier. It’s easy, quick, and cheap. You won’t regret it.

What’s your view on guitar luthiers? Do you do your own repairs?

Drop me a message in the comments below.