Fifth Avenue Fret Shop

As you may know, in 2021 I left the storefront I was in for 25 years and am seeing clients in my home shop in Central Clintonville. It was built from the ground up with improvements consistent with my 30+ years at the bench.

I work by appointment.  First, we schedule an evaluation/intake appointment where we would look over the instrument together and discuss a plan and an estimate.  All communications are via Text Message.

If it’s a routine job that takes an hour  or less (like a setup, or simple electronics work) you can bypass the repair wait line and I will do it while you hang out and we discuss what I’m doing. You can take it with you when we are done. I have found routine work takes less time when we can pass the instrument back and forth, and you don’t have to leave it for a period of time.

Usually a client can get an appointment within 2 weeks of contact.  That means you can get work completed while waiting,  with less than 2 weeks notice.

If the work is not so simple, or you don’t have time to wait, it would need to be checked in to get into the repair queue. Turn around time depends on how involved the work is and what’s in line already when you drop off your instrument. Ask for current wait times.

Introducing Fretshop version 2.0! After almost 25 years in a retail space on Fifth Avenue in Columbus Ohio, I moved the Fretshop into my home in Central Clintonville north of Downtown Columbus and as of April 2021 I am now taking client work again.

The several month overhaul gave me an opportunity to work from an almost blank slate, incorporating tools, fixtures, and procedures that worked well from the old shop and making new changes to create a cleaner more efficient work space in the new shop.

Instrument work will now be taken in and picked up by appointment. The full range of possible services remains the same. Setups, Refrets, Neck Resets, Nuts, Saddles, Infrastructure Repair, Electronics Repairs and Modifications, Lacquer Finishing; All with emphasis on vintage instrument preservation and restoration or custom tailoring an instrument to a player’s needs.

Thank you for your patience during the transition. I look forward to seeing you in the new shop.

Today the Fretshop has a special announcement. In the 1980’s, I began repairing guitars in my home shop.  In the late 80’s I began a 10 year stint as the repair man at Cowtown Guitars in North Columbus.  In 1997, I founded Fifth Avenue Fret Shop to build, restore, and repair guitars. I remained in the same location for 23 years. At the end of 2020 I find myself at the conclusion of a long term lease.

In this era of virus shutdowns and commerce restrictions, coupled with the changing retail landscape, I am choosing to leave that storefront and move the repair shop back into my home where I started. Retail operations will cease and the guitar repair and restoration work will return to being the top priority.  In moving I now have the ability to make long overdue efficiency upgrades in equipment and shop layout. This will make repairs move through the shop quicker. Instruments will stop being accepted in the storefront shop after October 31 2020.

November through February will be transition months with repairs being accepted in the new home shop in early March 2021.  Consultations, drop off and pick up will be by appointment. I do appreciate all my loyal customers and hope you’ll find your way into my Central Clintonville home shop in 2021.