Underwood Lutherie: guitar repair, setup, intonation and restoration in Dapto, Wollongong NSW
Guitar repair, setups and restoration, plus most other stringed instruments.
Dapto · Wollongong, NSW
Guitar repair, setups and restoration, plus most other stringed instruments.
Instrument repair, setup and restoration. Trained musician and audio engineer, nearly twenty years on the bench.
Most of what I do, day to day: instrument repairs and setups, rig and effects work, and fixing the electronics when something stops working. I take one job at a time so it gets proper attention.
Set the action, level the frets, repair cracks, reset a bridge or neck. The hands-on work that makes an instrument easier and nicer to play.
Set the intonation so it plays in tune all the way up the neck, not just at the open strings. A background in audio engineering and acoustics means a careful ear for how it actually sounds.
Dial in pedals, effects and signal chain for the stage, from a single pedal to a full board, through to programming patches on an amp modeller. Whatever the rig, gig-ready and sounding the way you want. The audio-engineering side of things.
Track down the fault and fix it at component level, on amps and other audio gear: replacing failed parts and re-soldering tired connections to get dead electronics going again. The fiddly work that brings gear back to life.
Restrings & cleans · pickup and electronics work · bone nuts & saddles · hardware & tuners
Guitars are most of what I see, but I'll happily take on just about any acoustic or electric stringed instrument.
acoustic · electric · classical
electric & acoustic
violin · viola · cello
soprano to baritone
& its close cousins
wooden-necked
Get in touch and ask.
I can often bring damaged, neglected or just plain old instruments back to good playing condition. Crack and seam repair, neck resets, refinishing, replacing worn or missing parts: the slower, more involved work a standard repair doesn't cover.
I'll look over and quote every restoration before starting, so you know what's involved and what it'll cost up front. Bigger jobs I document with photos along the way.
I'm a Wollongong-based musician and audio engineer, trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
I've been working on instruments for nearly twenty years, including ten years at Engadine Music doing setups and repairs day in, day out: everything from first guitars to players' main instruments. These days I'm in wholesale distribution for music gear, which keeps me close to the trade and the parts that go into good work.
What I take on covers both sides of an instrument, the wood and the wiring. On the lutherie side: setups, repairs and restoration. On the electronic side, from my audio-engineering work: amp and pedal repairs, programming modellers, and putting live rigs together for the stage. It's not a combination you see often, and it means most of what you need can get sorted in one place.
I'm a Dapto local and I work by appointment. If you've got something that needs looking at, get in touch.
Mostly guitars and bass, but also violins, cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, banjos, and most other acoustic or electric stringed instruments. If you're not sure about yours, just ask.
Yes. Setups are a big part of the day to day: action, intonation, nut and fret work, so the guitar plays the way it should.
Yes. Amp and pedal repair, component-level electronics, and rig and modeller setups are all part of the work, on top of the instrument side.
Dapto, in the Wollongong and Illawarra area of NSW. Work is by appointment.
It depends on the instrument and what it needs. Send the details through the contact form and you'll get a price before any work starts.
Yes. Older, damaged or neglected instruments can often be brought back to good playing condition. Restorations are quoted up front, and bigger jobs are documented with photos.
I book repairs and setups one at a time, so each gets proper attention. Send me a note about your instrument and what it needs, and we'll sort out a time.