The Guitar Doctor

The Guitar Doctor Repairs, modifications & Set up services for string instruments. HND Cert. Trained by Patrick Eggle.

20/04/2026

Closed tomorrow afternoon from 1pm as I have an appointment. Sorry for the short notice.

This was only in for a well needed setup (£2900 and it wasn't set up 😲), but it's such a lovely guitar it deserves a sha...
14/04/2026

This was only in for a well needed setup (£2900 and it wasn't set up 😲), but it's such a lovely guitar it deserves a share.

Ibanez J Custom. African mahogany gave it a good weight. Paired with Dimarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton it sings. It sustained for days. I'm very jealous of Chris, the owner, but it was nice to play for a little while.

It was set up with 9-46 Ernie Ball Paradigms and a super low action.


Dave Tinsley's strat. I've fought this one for a while, compensating for a neck twist, but it has gotten to the point wh...
09/04/2026

Dave Tinsley's strat.

I've fought this one for a while, compensating for a neck twist, but it has gotten to the point where a new neck was the only way forward.

Initially the wrong neck came through - 21 frets instead of 22 and the heel was too narrow to work with. The quality seemed good, but it just wasn't compatible.

Enter Allparts and their Fender licensed necks, which are a guaranteed fit onto Strat and Tele bodies. Dave chose the unfinished, Made in Japan, 22 jumbo fret, rosewood version.

These are delivered unfinished, undrilled (apart from primary tuning key holes) as a guide. The frets aren't even fully finished and often need a light levelling and polish, so out with the reamers and the drill bits and the neck was mounted and tuning keys locked in. A bone nut was chosen, the fretwork finished and the guitar was finally setup and restored back to life.

09/04/2026

Hello customers and prospective customers...

Just a bit of advice. If you call and I don't answer, it's not because I'm completely anti social or I suffer from telephonophobia (it's real 😂), it's because I work alone, apart from the voices, so I'm either with another customer, precariously balancing a guitar or on an undercover mission for MI5.

Text me or message me on my phone number or Facebook, then I'll see it when I get 5 minutes. I'll text back, just in case you're working or fighting off aliens and you can reply at your leisure.

07/04/2026

Just a heads up but I have a lot of work on at present, so if you drop anything off, you're looking at up to a week before I get to it in reality.

31/03/2026

Bear with me guys...I don't know if it's the fuel issues, couriers in general or the Easter holidays but everything I'm ordering is taking an average of 7-10 days to get to me. Not everything can be sourced from Amazon I'm afraid.

It's causing me huge headaches.in terms of delayed turnaround.

I don't know where the theory that flipping a pickup 180 degrees also reverses the polarity...but it doesn't. Sure, it'l...
31/03/2026

I don't know where the theory that flipping a pickup 180 degrees also reverses the polarity...but it doesn't. Sure, it'll change the tone a little but if you're out of phase with the middle pickup, it'll do nothing.

Anyway this customer came in with new pickups reverse wound, reverse polarity, in order to combat the issue, so I fitted those like for like and put the bridge pickup back the way it should be.

And...Whoever fitted the originals didn't do a great job. Messy soldering, melted insulation etc, so a bit of a tidy up was in order.

There's also 2 extra mods here, a neck pickup on mod and a single coil split giving plenty of tonal options.

Just a setup to do and it's good to go.

27/03/2026

Just a reminder that I'm closed until Monday, so if I don't reply to messages, it's because I'm out with FM this weekend and not because I'm ignorant 😂😂.

On that note, I should go to sleep really...

Jon Lusby's Gordon Smith headstock break.This one took a little longer than I wanted it to, but due to the state of the ...
24/03/2026

Jon Lusby's Gordon Smith headstock break.

This one took a little longer than I wanted it to, but due to the state of the break and the fact that it has been apart for a long time, meant that the reattachment of the headstock wasn't perfect as chunks of wood were missing and the joint had swelled somewhat.

Initially we explored the possibility of a headstock overlay veneer, but for some reason everywhere was out of stock of anything suitable. I even resorted to ordering from China and the piece that eventually landed was completely unusable. This caused a delay of several weeks, but luckily Jon was understanding and in no major rush for it back.

Eventually I decided to try and work with what was there, filling, sanding, spraying over and over until I was happy with the result. Jon sourced and supplied a new decal and the job was finally completed with a setup, 10s and a new wrapover bridge with G/B compensation.

Repaired the 2 "overly electrical taped pickups" as well as possible. Heat shrunk inside and outside, they're at least p...
24/03/2026

Repaired the 2 "overly electrical taped pickups" as well as possible. Heat shrunk inside and outside, they're at least presentable and work now, even the coil splits. The photos blurred because I've done a 12 hour day... 😂

Are these strings, or is it high end lingerie? I guess we're gonna find out how much my customers love me....
24/03/2026

Are these strings, or is it high end lingerie?

I guess we're gonna find out how much my customers love me....

There's a special place in Hell reserved for you people that wire in pickups in this manner...if you recognise your work...
24/03/2026

There's a special place in Hell reserved for you people that wire in pickups in this manner...if you recognise your work, please hand yourself in at the nearest Police station.

Address

Stuart House, 1-4 Arnold Street
Nantwich
CW55QB

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

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