These two basses launched more conversations than any others that have hung on our walls.

We see a lot of interesting guitars around here, but it’s pretty rare that we see something we’ve truly never seen before. But a customer recently brought in two fretless basses that stopped us in our tracks. How can we describe them? -Unusual? Rough-hewn? Quirky? The woodworking is quite good at times and, um, hurried and homemade looking at others. They seem to be made from a combination of  exotic wood species like purple heart and odd driftwood-looking domestics.   Both instruments buzzed quite badly and required heavy fretboard leveling. But once that was done, it became evident that the builder had done something right. They actually sounded great and the owner was soon using the 5 string, which he nicknamed “Big Nasty,” in a recording session.

The pricetag for both of these USA handmade instuments? Less than $500 apice! The manufacturer? A North Carolina maker called Wishbass. Take a look at more photos below and see what you think. Continue »

This online auction purchase made a layover at CFW for a body refin, before heading to its new home in France.

The buyer lives in France and the seller lives in Chicago. So before it shipped, the new owner of this vintage Guild Jetstar Bass asked that it be brought here so we could remove a clear refin, and restore its original 3-tone sunburst look.  The trick, was to make the new body finish blend in with the original burst finish still on the neck. Continue »

Have you got a guitar, bass or piece of equipment you don’t use anymore? Join us in supporting Chicago’s Intonation Music Workshop by donating it through our shop. We’ll fix it up nice and pass it on to some kids who will put it to good use!

You’ll find a new page on our website starting today, titled “Guitar Recycling.” It marks the beginning of a new endeavor here at Chicago Fret Works. We’ll be accepting donated guitars, basses, or other musical equipment (in working or near-working condition please) for Chicago’s own Intonation Music Workshop. We’ll clean them up, restring them, and pass them on. When you think about it, every time you repair a guitar (or anything else,) you’re recycling and reusing.  But this is even more exciting; you can put your under- or un-used instrument back to work making music and help out some great kids at the same time.

To quote our own most recent blog post, guitars are meant to be played and enjoyed. And here’s another truth; not everyone can afford to take up our favorite past-time.  If you’ve got an instrument that you don’t use anymore, how about putting it back to use and donating it to the kids at

Intonation Music Workshop!

Click here for a nice video story about this project from Northwestern University/Medill News Service.

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Sometimes we have to get a little creative with refinishing. Here’s what happens when someone wants an unusual color for their guitar.

We had a couple of unusual projects recently that required some creative work with color. The owners of both this 70’s Fender Precision Bass and a modern Gibson SG knew they wanted to refinish their instruments, but wanted to do something a little more unique than just choosing a standard Fender or Gibson color.  Interestingly, both ended up with colors more reminiscent of  vehicles than other musical instruments. Continue »

Thinking of tattooing the name of that special someone on your arm? You might try inlaying a fretboard instead. At least it won’t hurt when it’s time to move on.

The owner of this bass had the Guild custom shop inlay his wife’s name on the fretboard several years ago.  And they did a great job. The bass sounds terrific. The only problem is that they are no longer married. It seemed like time to move on, so in a relatively pain-free procedure, we replaced the fretboard and inlaid some slightly less specific fretboard markers.

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