Rates and Information
Customer pays all shipping. I generally use UPS regular ground and ship on Monday, although if you want to pay for 3-day select or better, that's fine, too. Work identified as "Hop-Up" carries some risk and I am not responsible for accidental damages incurred during or after this work is done. Feel free to contact me for more information.
Brace scalloping: Scalloping of a non-scalloped guitar will produce more bass and a warmer, fuller sound. If you have a 70's Martin that sounds "nasally", scalloping can really help it out. I'm not an aggressive scalloper, though- I do just enough to get a better sound and then stop. I don't want your guitar blowing up in 10 years! Still, this is an option to consider, especially in non-scalloped D-18s with that tight "nasal" sound. This is important: You will hear some difference right away, but the sound will really start to develop about a year or so after the braces have been scalloped, and the full sound will take 2-4 years. I would much rather under-scallop and see the guitar again in a year for a little more, than over-scallop and cause problems. $100. This is a Hop-Up item.
Bridgeplate replacement: The huge rosewood bridgeplates in 70's/80's Martins are tone-killers. In addition, the grain runs perpendicular to the top grain and doesn't offer much bellying support- the bridgeplate simply folds up. If you have belly problems, the bridgeplate is going to be high on my list of suspects. It's tough pulling bridgeplates and there's some potential for damage to the top. This is easily the riskiest job that I do. The most common problem is that the top seam will separate a little from the heat required to pull the plate. This will happen on 1:10 guitars, usually due to a dry top. I can often humidify it and close the gap up, but it's something of which you need to be aware. I personally like maple or black locust bridgeplates for the tone. I like to run the grain about 45 deg to the top's grain, and I'll often add a small stiffener strip to the plate to further keep it from warping and twisting. The bridgeplate on pre-war Martins is notched into the brace and my replacement will be notched, too. Because this is such a time-consuming and relatively dangerous piece of work, I charge $75. I consider this a Hop-Up item.
Bridge slotting and Bridge pins: Bridge slotting produces a much stronger bridge/ball end contact and will really help cut down on chewed up bridgeplates. I include it for free with purchase of a set of bridge pins. On Martin guitars I typically slot the A and low E string slots only partially, and cut relief grooves in the respective pins. If I cut the E and A slots full depth, I feel that they get too close to the saddle and create an undesirable sharp angle. So, I cut a relatively shallow groove for these two strings and cut relief grooves in the pins. If your guitar comes like that, make note of which pins go where and reinstall them the same way that I did. The E pin will typically have a deeper and longer groove cut in it and the A will be shallower and shorter. Most of the relief occur at the top of the pin and the ball in both cases is still pressed into the bridgeplate.
Bone pins will increase treble and overall sound over stock plastic, and are a great economical alternative to fossil walrus ivory pins. Water buffalo bridge pins are perfect for D-18 replacements. Water buffalo sounds a little crisper than ebony, and almost as bright as fossil ivory. On some guitars (non-scalloped D-18's in particular), bone will be too jangly and water buffalo too thin, and in that case, I recommend ebony for a woodier sound. No matter which pin I use, I will fit them so that they're not sticking up like stock pins. If you want a really low profile, I have a trick where I shave off the collar of the pin, thus letting the pin sit down evern lower- these can be a little tricky to remove, but they give a low profile and still look cool. Prices are: water buffalo- $55, Bone pins- $50, ebony- $30, slotting alone is $20.
Correct Intonation: The saddle slot of many 70's-80's Martins is off by up to 1/4". This'll make the guitar play sharp. If I can, I'll fill in the slot and recut it in the right place. I recommend a long drop-in saddle for better sound. In some cases, though, the new saddle slot will come too close to the bridge pins. In that case, I need to make a new bridge and if I do that, I strongly recommend angling the pin holes so that they follow the angle of the saddle- this will give a more balanced sound and help prevent cracking in between the pin holes. $75 to fill and recut, $125 for a new bridge. Both prices include new bone saddle. If you do a new bridge, you'll also need a new bridgeplate.
Fretting: (same for bound or unbound): Includes fretboard preparation (re-planing if necessary to fix relief). I use hide glue on the frets to seal air gaps and give a nicer sound. If the fingerboard ends are chewed up, as many older D-18s are, I use superglue and crimping to hold the fret ends down. I also have Martin "compression" frets available for really bad fret slots. If necessary, I'll use superglue and dust to rebuild the entire slot. I don't "dress" frets, but prefer to remove worn frets and install new to keep all the frets at full height. I will re-crown and polish frets if I can do this w/out losing much height. I typically only re-fret out to the 15th fret, to save time and effort, and because frets past that are rarely worn, but if you want all the frets replaced, we'll do that, too. $195 to the 15th fret, $225 for a complete refret. $15/fret for partial, $40 for a crown and polish (included in full re-fret price, of course).
Saddles/nuts: Bone saddle/nut, truss rod adjustment, I usually work with bone as I feel that it gives the best sound/dollar, but I also have fossil walrus ivory (FWI). Compared to FWI, Bone generally gives a slightly rougher, bassier tone that sounds "older". FWI is extremely clean, bright, and more "modern" sounding. Setup prices: bone saddle or nut- $40 each, add $20 each for FWI.
Neck resets: Includes new bone saddle (but not a new nut- you may or may not need to add the price of a nut) and general setup. I use either hide glue or LMI white to put things back together, depending on which was originally used. I shoot for a saddle height of .150"-.180" over the bridge, with a 12th fret action of .096". This gives you some room to move both higher and lower. Neck resets are guaranteed for 1 year. $250, add $60 for fossil walrus saddle/nut. I like to do neck resets and I typically always have one (or more!) in progress and do about 30-40/year.
Popsicle brace removal: The popsicle brace is a long flat brace under the fingerboard (See one!) that was added in the late 40's to help prevent cracks where the fingerboard lies on the top. However, even with the brace, many tops still crack and this brace inhibits vibrations coming down the neck from working the upper bout. I also think that many cracks are due to the neck block rotating forward and I take steps to prevent this (although only time will tell). Removing the popsicle brace will give you an "airy" and more complex sound. The most common comment I get is "my guitar sounds 10 years older". This work goes hand in hand with the tuner work.
Just as with bridgeplate removal, there is some risk involved with removing the popsicle brace: There may be some small gouges and scrape marks. If chips occur I will touch them up a little, but I prefer to do as little sanding as possible inside the guitar to avoid thinning the top any further. Most of the time, the braces will come out quite cleanly. Other risks include potential for cracking in years to come. It's worth mentioning that pre-war Martins, Collings Clarence White, 1995 Martin D-18 GE, and many modern guitars do not come with the popsicle brace at all. Plus, I have seen lots of cracks in guitars with popsicle braces and NONE in guitars w/out them. Go figure. If the guitar has the modern truss rod cover, I leave it in place and if not I install a brace of my own design that will add support w/out damping the upper bout.
I charge $75 for popsicle brace removal. Removal of the popsicle brace WILL void your warranty and I am NOT responsible for future cracks. This is a Hop-Up item!
Tortis pickguard: These are mostly cosmetic changes (and they sure look good!). I use double-sided sticky tape and I cut each pickguard for each guitar. $50. See Pickguard page for color choices.
Tuner Replacement: If your Martin has Grover Rotomatics, I'd like to replace them with the much lighter tuners. I prefer Gotoh open back tuners. Besides being lighter, the replacements have the advantage of having a lower string shaft. This will pull the string closer to the peghead, resulting in more sound to the neck and thus the soundboard. In addition, the physical balance of the guitar will improve a lot with all that weight off the peghead. You can expect to hear a clearer, punchier sound. The Grover grommets are larger than the vintage sized replacements, and the wood underneath will not be as faded as the wood above, thus you'll get some "eyes" where the old grommets where. On some guitars this is noticeable, on others it's not. Also, the finish will have dented. I buff these dents out and overspray a little if I have to. All in all, a tuner swap is well worth a slight cosmetic blemish. Finally, the new tuners require one new screw hole. The open back Gotohs are not as smooth as Waverlies, but they're good tuners, in my experience. $85, includes tuners and conversion bushings. I have not had very good experience with Grover 18:1 but I'll be happy to install them for you. They will run $65 installed w/ conversion bushings. I can also install Waverlies, but they are expensive- check with me on prices. Link to Tuners for pictures and more options. One other option is to fill the old tuner holes with a wooden bushing so that the tuner shaft makes contact with something besides air. This will result in a more "solid" sound, but it will also require more force to turn the tuners, and when you de-tune, the tuners will have more backlash. This is because the shaft is being gripped by the wood and the string doesn't pull it around. So, consider these disadvantages before requesting wooden plugs.
I do quite a few complete overhauls on Martins from the 1970's. These guitars typically have a lot of "problems" that hold them back from their full potential, including a saddle slot 1/8" out of position, non-scalloped bracing, Indian RW bridge, a large Indian rosewood bridgeplate, heavy Grover tuners, and a popsicle brace.
Total: $1045
Not all guitars will need everything, but this is what "everything" costs. I am usually willing to cap the overhaul cost at $950 and just do whatever's necessary (.ie cracks, loose braces, binding glue back, etc- small stuff) to the get the guitar in optimum condition. If you're buying a 70's Martin for this purpose and you can get it for < $1000, you'll end up with about $1900-2000 in it and it'll sound like a punchy 30 year old D-18 V. I don't like to overhaul guitars in good, collectible, condition but if you have one with cracks, dings, or etc., you can end up with a really nice guitar. Here's an example.
Contact me for other work. At this point, I do not do refinishing on a large scale, vintage restorations, or major repair jobs such as serious cracks or trauma damage. I'd be happy to point you to some luthiers that are, though.
Link to Warranty and Disclaimer
