We’ve been carrying Souldier guitar straps practically since the day we opened our doors. We love that they’re each handmade by our friends here in Chicago, often using remnant and recycled materials. But mostly we love them because they look so great.

Worn by members of Wilco, Aerosmith, Phish, and many many others, Souldier guitar straps make a great gift for the musician in your life or for yourself! They’re locally made, comfortable, and available in tons of eye-popping colors and patters. We love looking at them and pairing them with our customers’ special instruments. 10% OFF UNTIL JANUARY 15, 2012!

Check it out! A very cool Tiesco Del Rey – made copy of the Vox Phantom. Re-fretted and set-up here at Chicago Fret Works.

After a serious fall – or more likely, several serious falls – this Paul Reed Smith ended up on the auction block. Here’s how we rebuilt the headstock and got it ready to rock again for the new owner. – This repair is becoming quite a specialty of Dan’s!

So you broke the headstock off of your nice Paul Reed Smith? No problem, just bring it in and we can reglue it for you. Just make sure you don’t try to slap it together yourself with bondo or plaster or …

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The Marshall JCM800 is a great rock amp, but this one didn’t work at all when it arrived. We’re lucky to have one of Chicago’s best amplifier repair techs here and Pat got it cleaned up, re-tubed, and roaring again.

One of our customers was given this Marshall head because it didn’t power up at all. Once Pat opened it up, it was clear why that was the case. It was a mess of rust, dust, missing parts, and the likely victim of at least one spilled beer.  Here’s a look at how he got it not only working again, but sounding better than ever.

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Not all 1930’s Nationals are created equal.  We thought this 1932 Style O needed a refret and maybe a little neck tightening, but soon learned that a single design factor makes this one particularly challenging.

The vintage National resophonic (or resonator) guitar is undeniably one of the most striking-looking guitars ever. This Style O model that came into our shop went a step further with a Hawaiian tropical scene etched right into the back plating. But there were a few important areas that needed work so it would actually play and sound as beautiful as it looks.

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Most of the acoustic guitar pickups we install don’t come with controls for volume or EQ. Here’s a solution we should have thought of years ago!

When it comes to acoustic pickup systems, our favorite ons are simple rigs that run directly out through an endpin jack – doubling as a strap button. These systems (like the K&K Pure Mini) sound great, but usually lack any controls for volume or EQ. Our feeling is that you don’t miss the EQ controls since you can conture bass and treble at the amplifier (or have it done for you by a sound guy in a club or concert setting.) But the one control that is nice to have at your side is volume and the Taylor V Cable is a great solution to that problem.

That’s a volume pot right there on a right-angle plug of a 10, 12, or 15 foot cable (longer lengths are available by special order.)  You can easily adjust your volume or turn it all the way down when switching guitars. They start at just $60; don’t require cutting a hole in the side of your guitar; and if you have multiple acoustic/electrics you only need to buy one! What a great solution. We should have thought of it ourselves, but Taylor and Rapco Horizon beat us to it. Big thumbs up on this great product.

Affordable pickups, hand-wound in the USA? We found ‘em. Welcome Porter Pickups!

You’ve got yourself a nice electric guitar that feels comfortable, looks great, but sounds… meh…  The thing to do is get some new pickups in there.  It’s an upgrade we love to do here, but we’re not big fans of those big mega-store brands. We prefer the workmanship, relationships, and above all superior results we’ve found with smaller pickup companies. But the price can admittedly get pretty steep. So what would you say to a USA-made, hand-wound pickup that doesn’t make you smash your kids’ piggy bank open? Check out our newest line of Porter Pickups!

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Three years ago, Steve and Dan opened a one-room guitar shop. This summer we doubled the size of  the shop and welcomed two new faces to Chicago Fret Works.  Allow us to introduce Joe Swierupski and Patrick McKeever.

This winter, we found ourselves stepping over guitar cases and telling our customers that a set-up would take more than a week.  It was time to get some more space and some help. Luckily, the space adjoining ours became available and we decided that if we didn’t take it now we’d probably regret it down the road. It happened to be big enough to house an amp repair station too. Continue »

You don’t saw the neck off a 1952 Gibson Les Paul without fully considering WHY one might do such a thing.  Lots of thought and care went into this repair and the outcome made it all worthwhile.

The 1952 Goldtop is where it all began for the Gibson Les Paul. Guitars from this first year of production have an obvious historical importance and, as with all vintage pieces, the conscientious repairman does not make an irreversible alteration to one without just cause. This one was sold to the current owner with full disclosure of some previous repairs to the headstock. Those repairs were well done, solid, and the guitar sounded amazing (vintage P90’s really are something special.) But they simply did not look right and that’s where we come in.  It took heating, sawing, chiseling, filing, and painting to get there, but this is how we made this vintage classic look and perform the way it’s supposed to. Continue »