Stringed Instrument Repairs & Servicing
Free, no-obligation assessment • No appointment required • Open 6 days
Call: 01355-244562 • email: Repairs@villagemusic.co.uk • Or swing by with your instrument
|
Restring Service |
Mini |
Setup & Service From £75 + Strings |
Performance Setup & Service From £120 + Strings |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Fresh strings and basic care | Guitars already playing well that need routine maintenance | Improving playability and correcting common issues | Players wanting the best possible performance from their instrument |
| Fingerboard clean & conditioning | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fret polish | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Body clean & polish | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Machine head service | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| New strings fitted | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Neck adjustment | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nut lubrication | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nut adjustment / recut | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Saddle adjustment | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Truss Rod Adjustment |
✘ | Minor adjustments only | ✔ | ✔ |
| Intonation adjustment | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bridge adjustment | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fret inspection | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fret dressing / levelling | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Detailed playability optimisation | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
Meet Craig, Our In-House Stringed Instrument Wizard
Craig has been servicing and repairing guitars, basses, ukuleles, mandolins and violins at Village Music for over 20 years. But not everyone knows he's also an accomplished guitarist, singer and songwriter, with music featured by global brands including FIFA and Swatch. Over the years he's shared the stage with artists such as Chvrches, The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs, Ian Brown and many more.
When he's not writing absolute bangers, or performing live, you'll usually find him in the Village Music workshop giving customers' instruments the care and attention they deserve.
Having trained for many years under the late, great Tam Stevenson, Craig combines traditional craftsmanship with decades of practical experience. Whether your instrument simply needs a fresh set of strings or requires major structural repairs, you can be confident it's in safe hands.
Simply pop into the shop with your instrument and we'll happily assess it and provide a free quote before any work begins.
Call: 01355-244562 • email: Repairs@villagemusic.co.uk • Or swing by with your instrument
Every Guitar We Sell Comes With Our 1-Year Service Promise
Buying a guitar from Village Music doesn't stop at the till.
Every new and second-hand guitar includes a free one-year service plan worth £95:
- 1 x Free Restring
- 1 x Free Setup
Giving you peace of mind that your guitar will continue to play at its best long after you take it home.
Servicing Price Guide
Restring Service
Best for freshening up your guitar
From £20 + Strings
Includes:
• Fingerboard deep clean & conditioning
• Fret polish
• Full body clean & polish
• Machine head inspection & lubrication
• Professional restring using your chosen strings
• String seating and tuning
12-String Guitar ........ £30 + Strings
Floyd Rose Tremolo ........ £30 + Strings
Mini Service
Ideal for guitars that have previously been professionally set up (within a year) but need routine maintenance to keep them playing their best.
£35 + Strings
Includes:
• Fingerboard deep clean & conditioning
• Fret polish
• Neck adjustment
• Nut lubrication
• Full body clean & polish
• Machine head inspection & lubrication
• Professional restring
• String seating and tuning
12-String Guitar ........ £50 + Strings
Floyd Rose Tremolo ........ £50 + Strings
Full Setup
£75 + Strings
A professional setup is one of the best ways to improve the playability, comfort and performance of your guitar.
Every guitar is unique. Changes in temperature, humidity, string choice, preferred tuning, playing style and general use can all affect how an instrument feels and performs over time.
A proper setup brings everything back into balance, ensuring your guitar plays comfortably, stays in tune and performs at its best.
Our Full Setup includes:
• Fingerboard deep clean & conditioning
• Fret polish
• Neck adjustment
• Nut inspection, adjustment and lubrication
• Saddle adjustment (acoustic guitars)
• Bridge adjustment to optimise action and intonation (electric guitars)
• Full body clean & polish
• Machine head inspection and lubrication
• Professional restring using your chosen strings
• String stretching, tuning and final playability check
12-String Guitar ........ £85 + Strings
Floyd Rose Tremolo ........ £95 + Strings
A setup can transform the playing experience of an older or heavily used instrument, but it is also beneficial for newer guitars. Even brand-new guitars can sometimes require adjustments after leaving the factory, as instruments are affected by storage conditions, transport and changes in climate.
At Village Music, we take pride in preparing our guitars before they leave the shop, ensuring they are playing their best when they go home with you. We also include our free one-year service plan with every new and second-hand guitar purchased from us.
This includes:
✔ 1 x free restring
✔ 1 x free professional setup
(Available within 12 months of purchase. Worth £95.)
Performance Setup
For players wanting the best possible performance from their instrument, or for instruments that have been heavily played
£120 + Strings
The Performance Setup is our most comprehensive setup service and is ideal for players who want to get the absolute most from their instrument, as well as older or heavily played guitars that need extra attention.
Alongside a full setup, it includes detailed fretwork to correct uneven fret wear, improve consistency across the fingerboard and help restore the feel and playability of an instrument that has seen many years of use.
This service is particularly recommended for guitars with worn frets, uneven notes, buzzing issues or instruments that have become difficult to play despite adjustment.
Includes:
• Fingerboard deep clean & conditioning
• Comprehensive fretwork
• Neck adjustment
• Nut recut and lubrication
• Saddle recut (acoustic guitars)
• Bridge adjustment for optimum action and intonation (electric guitars)
• Full body clean & polish
• Machine head inspection & lubrication
• Professional restring
• String stretching and tuning
12-String Guitar ........ £145 + Strings
Floyd Rose Tremolo ........ £145 + Strings
Need It Back Quickly?
Ask about our Queue Jump Express Service.
Priority turnaround from £20 (subject to workshop availability).
Fretwork
Fret Dress
£65
Refrets (Unbound Necks)
(Stratocaster®, Telecaster® and similar)
Partial Refret ........ £120 to £200
Full Refret ........ £250 to £295
Refrets (Bound Necks)
(Les Paul®, SG®, ES® and similar)
Partial Refret ........ £280
Full Refret ........ £350
Nuts & Saddles
About Nut/ Saddle Replacement
Nuts and saddles may look like small, simple components, but they play a crucial role in the playability, tone and performance of your instrument.
Replacement parts are not always a direct drop-in fit. Most nuts and/ or saddles require careful shaping, fitting and adjustment to suit the individual guitar, including the neck width, string spacing, string height, action and playing style.
A professional replacement involves accurately fitting the part, cutting and adjusting string slots where required, shaping the saddle or nut to achieve the correct height, and ensuring the instrument plays comfortably and stays in tune.
The cost of this work is therefore not just the price of the replacement material itself, but the precision craftsmanship and time required to achieve a proper fit. In many cases, a follow-up setup is recommended after a nut or saddle replacement to ensure the guitar is performing at its best.
On lower-cost instruments, we are always happy to advise whether a replacement nut or saddle is the best option, or whether the cost would be better invested towards another instrument.
Plastic Acoustic Saddles
From £2.99 + £13 fitting without set up
Graphite / NuBone Saddle
From £10.99 + £13 fitting without set up
Plastic Nuts
From £1.99 + £13 fitting without set up
Graphite / Bone/ Corian / NuBone Nut
From £6.99 + £13 fitting without set up
Custom Made Nuts/ Saddles
From £45 - Ask in-store for more details - or email repairs@villagemusic.co.uk
Electrical Repairs
Electrical Service ........ £35
Jack Socket Replacement ........ £35 + Parts
Switch Replacement ........ £35 + Parts
Potentiometer Replacement ........ £35 + Parts
Please note: Semi-hollow and hollow-body guitars without rear electronics access panels (such as many Gibson ES-335, ES-339, Epiphone Dot and Gretsch models) require significantly more labour, as all electronic components must be removed and reinstalled through the f-holes.
For these instruments, electrical repairs are priced individually. Please pop into the shop or contact us for a free quotation - or email repairs@villagemusic.co.uk
Pickup Installation
Passive Pickup Installation
From £35 per pickup
(Discounts available if pickup purchased from Village Music.)
Active Pickup Installation
From £45 per pickup
(Discounts available if pickup purchased from Village Music.)
Woodwork Repairs
Neck Break / Crack Repair
£80 to £160
Includes setup and new strings.
Severe Neck Break
(Requiring reinforcement)
£150 to £280
Body Crack & Structural Repairs
£60 to £150
Refinishing
Quotation on Application
Email: repairs@villagemusic.co.uk
Important Information
Pricing
All prices shown are intended as a guide and include labour unless otherwise stated.
Some instruments require additional time due to their construction or complexity, including hollow-body and archtop guitars, twelve-string guitars, instruments fitted with Floyd Rose tremolo systems, and specialist vintage instruments.
Extensive restoration work, structural repairs and custom modifications may be charged at our standard bench rate rather than a fixed price.
Estimates & Additional Work
Estimates can be provided at drop-off but may be subject to change following inspection.
Quotations are provided following the technitian's inspection of your instrument.
Occasionally, additional faults only become apparent once work has begun. If further work is required, we will always contact you before proceeding. We never carry out additional chargeable work without your approval.
Turnaround Times
Broken a string? No problem. Individual string replacements are often completed while you wait, depending on how busy the workshop is.
Restrings are usually completed within 1–3 working days, although many are finished sooner. Turnaround times can vary depending on workshop demand.
Most standard workshop repairs are completed within 5 to 10 working days, with many completed sooner.
Repairs requiring specialist parts or manufacturer-ordered components may take longer.
Structural wood repairs, neck repairs and refinishing typically require 10 to 20 working days, depending on complexity and curing times.
Need your instrument back in a hurry?
Ask about our Queue Jump Express Service.
We’re musicians ourselves, and we understand that sometimes repairs can’t wait.
Whether you have an upcoming gig, rehearsal, recording session, or a lesson, our Queue Jump Service is designed for those occasions when your instrument needs attention sooner than our standard turnaround allows.
For an additional £20, your repair will be moved ahead of standard workshop bookings and scheduled as a priority.
Please note that Queue Jump does not guarantee same-day or 24-hour completion. We will always do our best to help, but some repairs require time to complete properly, may require parts to be sourced, or may uncover additional work once the instrument has been assessed.
If you have an upcoming deadline, please let us know when booking your repair and we’ll advise on the best option.
Need urgent help? Call us on 01355 244562
Parts & Strings
Unless otherwise stated, service prices do not include strings or replacement parts.
We stock a wide range of quality strings and replacement components to suit every budget.
Where appropriate, we are happy to fit customer-supplied parts, although we cannot guarantee the suitability or performance of parts not supplied by Village Music.
Our Workmanship Guarantee
We stand behind every repair we carry out.
Our workmanship is guaranteed for 90 days from the date of collection. This guarantee covers the repair performed only and does not include normal wear and tear, accidental damage, misuse, environmental changes or faults unrelated to the repair undertaken.
As wood naturally expands and contracts with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity, occasional setup adjustments may be required after collection.
Collection & Storage
We understand that your instrument is much more than just wood, metal and strings. As musicians ourselves, we know how much these instruments mean to their owners, and every instrument entrusted to us is treated with the same care and respect we'd expect for our own.
Due to limited workshop storage space, we kindly ask customers to collect completed repairs promptly.
Please collect your instrument within 10 working days of being notified that your repair has been completed.
A storage charge of £4 per week may apply after this period unless alternative arrangements have been agreed in advance.
If you need a little longer, or would like to discuss spreading the cost of a larger repair, simply let us know. We're always happy to help wherever we can.
Uncollected Instruments
If an instrument remains uncollected for more than three months after completion of the repair, despite reasonable attempts to contact the owner, Village Music reserves the right to dispose of or sell the instrument in order to recover any outstanding repair, storage and associated costs, in accordance with applicable law.
Questions?
If you'd like to discuss a repair, request advice or obtain a quotation, we'd love to help.
Or simply pop into the shop during opening hours. No appointment is necessary.