The 12th Fret Guitar Repair Shop

Awesome experience overall. Staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful… Highly recommend John — for guitars!

I’ve had three guitars set up there. One was done right the first time. The second guitar was done in 2 – 3 trips, after I paid for additional fret work that was not diagnosed the on the first trip. The third guitar came back unplayable. I gave up after multiple return trips and set it up myself, although I had another shop re-​cut the nut. I felt that the attitude there was a bit condescending on top of it all.

I brought my banjo in for a new skin (terminology?), the old one had split and peeled back. I was very pleased with the work. My banjo sounds so great! It took a while but I think that was because they had to order the replacement part.

I felt compelled to leave a review because I noticed a 3 star average and based on my experience that can’t be right. Reading through those reviews I see that there was a shift in personnel in the past few years and the majority of those lousier impressions were written before said shift.
The service was perfectly friendly and the work was accurately priced — I know this because they made my $ 300 G&L sound and play like a $ 1200 strat for $ 70. I also appreciate that the shop was clean and clearly set up for maximum organization and efficiency as opposed to other repair shops I’ve been that look like a bomb went off.
You should have no reservations about using the Twelfth Fret, I have tried a couple places and this is the one I’ll be returning to.

Well, I can confidently say that this is the only place I’ll ever be going for my guitar repair needs again. What an incredibly pleasant experience it was – the type that strikes you as you leave the shop and move on to your next set of errands.
I walked in on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a couple of minor issues on my guitar – the truss rod needed to be adjusted, a screw needed to be replaced on a tuner. I’m typically a little nervous about walking into smaller shops like this because I am not a serious musician by any stretch of the imagination – I feel like shops could easily blow me off for being a music simpleton. The fellow working behind the counter was so friendly and willing to explain what he was doing and what I might want to keep in mind for later on. Absolutely no hassle. Zero condescension. So incredibly appreciated. I will be recommending this place to anyone that asks.

this was my shop when i lived in portland circa y2k. they did all my custom hardware installations and turned my axe into a tone machine. don’t know how it’s like now, but i’m still quite happy with their work over 5 years since the last job. i can only hope to find a better tech in LA…

I recently bought a vintage 1962 Martin 0 ukulele. One of the strings was caught in the bridge slot and it needed to be removed. Fearing I would scratch the uke, I decided to let their luthier work on it. He did a superb job removing and replacing the string. I had the action set and it too was done with precision. The tuners were adjusted and the uke was returned with no scratches — very important to me.
Dan, who was working the counter provided courteous customer service. The promise date was met and the final bill was fair.
The only suggestion I have is that they would have a counter person working on Monday so that customers could pick up their finished instruments. The shop is closed on Sunday and Monday. They still get five stars regardless.
I would recommend the Twelfth Fret to anyone seeking care for their ukulele

took my guitar in to get a string replaced, the guy who did it was super quick and offered to fix other parts as well. and they are much cheaper than most other places!

I’ve had work done on three of my guitars at 12^th Fret. The fellows were always cordial and informative. Contrary to what I’d heard, the prices were not particularly high. I paid less than I expected in all instances.
I’m not a rich old guy, my guitars are not especially nice. They fixed my 7 string nylon (re-​attached the bridge, removed pick guards, general setup); they installed a bridge pickup for my Selmer-​style gypsy swing axe, and did a set up for my archtop. Perfectly satisfied in all cases. I encountered no surprising prices and all of their explanations were reasonable and fair. I’m an active musician and picky.
I can see how folks get an Old Boys Club feeling in there. It exists, I just don’t find it a damning indictment. Indeed, the only reason I’m not giving them more stars is because I have to wait a while if someone else is in there. They’re consistent about that, and incorrect in doing it, but when it’s my turn I get full attention. To wit, don’t take it personally. A-​OK rating fits.

Friendly, helpful staff. Brought sons 8 yr old Takamine acoustic guitar here for repair and tune-​up 2 yrs ago. Reshaped frets, lowered the action and repaired small body damage and other checks and adjustments for $ 150. Very happy with the work. Recently repaired turner (without needing to replace) and purchased strings for $ 10. Took all of 15 min. Happy with their staff and work so far. Will continue to use this store.

I’ve been in here a few times and always been happy with the result. They put a new nut on my SG and did a fret dressing and set up and put in a new Seymour Duncan pickup and it’s totally transformed the guitar into something exquisitely playable. Always personable in my experience and a pleasure to visit.

I have taken several of my guitars to 12^th Fret over the years and had a lot of work done including finish repairs, setups, pickups installations, electronics work, etc. I’ve generally had good experiences in the store and found the manager and clerks to be really nice people, but my last experience turned me off. To their credit, the work they’ve done in the past for me has been good. Because of the majority of good experiences I’ve had, it makes it hard to rate them one star. Unfortunately, my last experience there was bad enough that I can’t even muster two stars. I took a Stratocaster to them for fret buzz and neck issues. I was not pleased with the results — they charged me for a setup but didn’t actually work on my guitar. My hope is that my experience is the only one of its kind, as I know they can do great work.
After I dropped my Strat off at 12^th Fret I waited several weeks but didn’t hear anything from them about it. I didn’t want to nag them over the phone as I understand they’re a busy shop and I have other guitars, but I finally gave them a call and they told me it was ready and to come in and pick it up. When the younger gentleman working the counter gave me my guitar, I looked at it and was surprised to notice that the strings were installed in the same nonconventional way that I always install them (wrapped through the vintage style tuner slot opening twice). This is not how places typically install strings. I noted my surprise that the technician had copied my winding method to the clerk, and he said, «Uh, our technician is very attentive to detail.» I was impressed by this, but I soon became perplexed when I returned home and spent a few days with the guitar. None of the neck issues I had mentioned had been addressed. In fact, in addition to the strings looking exactly the way I previously installed them, the guitar didn’t play or feel any different than when I brought it in to 12^th Fret. I began to get the nagging suspicion they hadn’t done anything to my guitar, but wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt I told myself I was being paranoid.
My suspicions did not go away so I finally called the store and talked with the manager. I asked him if they typically replicate their customer’s non-​standard string winding methods in their setups and he said no – I began to sense my concerns were legitimate. I then told him the issues I was still having with the guitar and he told me to bring it back in. Upon seeing the guitar again, the manager told me that the saddles didn’t match the radius of the fretboard and needed to be properly adjusted, confirmation the guitar had not actually been set up. The other two clerks also took a look at the guitar. One clerk suggested putting more relief in the neck and raising the action, saying that he liked a really high action to avoid fret buzz. This is not how I like my action (I prefer it to be factory standard or slightly lower than standard on flatter radius necks), and I didn’t find this a suitable resolution to the guitar’s fret issues. I began to get the feeling they thought I was being nitpicky, or didn’t know what I was talking about (I hate to think that it could have to do with the fact that I’m female). The manager offered to adjust the saddles but I declined the service. I really felt I should have been offered a refund or a complete setup, especially as it was clear that my guitar had been lost in the shuffle and the $ 100 setup I’d paid for had actually never been performed. As a wage worker, I didn’t appreciate throwing my money away on a non-​existent repair. Soon after this encounter I took the Strat to Portland Fretworks and they confirmed that the frets needed leveling and dressing. I paid them to do the work and they did an excellent job — the neck now plays beautifully. Unfortunately I spent a lot of money paying two shops to diagnose a single problem. I would have happily paid 12^th Fret to do the fret work, had they suggested it. The positive side to this experience is that it’s led me to improve my own setup and wiring skills so I now only have to resort to a luthier for the most complicated guitar work. I’m sure that 12^th Fret continues to do plenty of fine work, but this one experience really ruined it for me.

Don’t even get me started…
I paid over $ 250 for a setup and some neck work, and they wouldn’t even actually «set it up». This means actually setting the string height at the bridge too. Basicly I got hosed for any real set up, and just paid for a fret dress and a nut, plus one other thing. The $ 90 I was charged for the setting of the action, or the «up» part of it was basicly my fee for walking in the door and getting straight up burned.
Yes, I declined it the first time, and the second time, the guy just took the adjusting wheels out of the bridge to where now it sits too low, and it has fret rattle. I was promptly looked down apon, and the tech suggested that I «go to a hardware store and buy some washers to put in there». Ok, if the tech didn’t want to complete the setup because of lack of money, or lack of the proper bridge, why didn’t I just get a call from them suggesting they need to install a different bridge to complete the setup? Nope. I’m the F’ing idiot.
Thanks guys. Zero interpersonal communication here. Now I’m out a good amount of cash, and I haven’t opened up my guitar case since I brought it home, as I’m so sick of the expirence I had at this shop. Honestly, I been burned up over this complete BS. If you love your guitar, and want a smooth expirence with good customer service, as well as getting exactly what you want done to your guitar in a timely manner, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
I had wanted to talk with the owner, but after two tries to deliver a setup to a customer, it was obvious that I was on my own about anything that had to do with the bridge.
So, whats the point? This review alone may eventually cost them $ 250, if not more, in lost future customers, but at the time they sure didn’t give a shit, or even think about what a less than satisfied customer will tell others of his unfortunate expirence, nope, they just wanted me and my guitar gone.

Really nice staff, very professional, very helpful. I really would love to keep going there.
However, all the work I have had done, I’ve had to take back for them to redo it. Every single time.
Maybe it has gotten better over the years, but for the price, it needs to be right.

I took my beautiful new Larrivee into this very reputable guitar repair shop on Belmont to have a pickup installed. I’m more of a player and less of a techie so I let the friendly service guy steer me towards a nice system for my new guitar. They finished the job in about three days and the pickup sounds fantastic. My only complaint would be that they left a bit of debris rattling around in my guitar.

These guys do great work, on time! There are usually a few other people waiting in line if you’re dropping something off. The guys that work there are friendly and willing to talk about options and walk through what needs to be done on your guitar (s). The prices seem a little bit more than some places, but on the order of $ 10-​$ 20.

i have gone here for years and i have stopped because i have been treated like a second rate customer. This place is great if you are over 50, and have a really pristine guitar. I am young and tour for months of the year and my equipment does not look nice. They had done a good job until recently, when they did not fix the electronics in my guitar. After this i figured i would take my business somewhere where they treated me better.

I recently picked up a used Baby Taylor for travel purposes. This is a small ¾ sized acoustic Taylor made as a real, quality guitar, not just a small kid toy guitar. It was also going to need to serve as a guest guitar so it needed to play as nicely as possible. I brought it into 12^th Fret for a tune-​up/​adjustment/​set-​up. It probably cost more than expected but this is something you should do every once in a while and if it’s done well it’s worth it. In this case, there was a marked improvement in action and tone. Another fine job.
Now if i can just convince a few others (you know who you are) to bring in their old, sitting in the case, inSTRUMents for a little tightening up, There would be more live music in the air. That would be a good thing.