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Photograph courtesy of SF Guitarworks.

Photograph courtesy of SF Guitarworks.

Geoff Luttrell perfects his craft.

March 2010

San Francisco Guitarworks Plucks a Good Business

By Mike Stillman

In the nine years that they’ve been in business, San Francisco Guitarworks has earned a reputation as one of the best repair shops in the City.  Operating out of a 750 square foot space on Potrero Avenue, SF Guitarworks’ four person team is equipped to take on any type of repair job. Whether they’re fixing a beginner’s first guitar, preparing a professional musician’s instrument for a lengthy tour, or in one recent case, rebuilding the body of an acoustic guitar that a customer’s wife smashed over his head during an argument, SF Guitarworks strives for perfection.

“We really do stand behind our work, you’re gonna get the best work that you can find here, and we’re willing to bite the bullet to make sure that that’s the case,” said owner and Potrero Hill resident, Geoff Luttrell. According to Luttrell, consistency in workmanship and customer service are the two main reasons why SF Guitarworks has been so successful.

Despite the slow economy, demand from customers from throughout the Bay Area remains strong. In addition to conducting top notch repair work, S.F. Guitarworks performs follow-up calls on every job, and back all their repairs with a money back guarantee, services that are not commonly offered in this business.  According to Luttrell, “What I’ve heard from other people is, if they go into a shop to pick up their guitar and it’s not how they wanted it to be, they get some reason why their expectations are not correct.”  Luttrell said SF Guitarworks’ policy is “If you come in and [your guitar] is not up to what we said we could deliver, we’ll either make it that way or you don’t pay.”

Chris Kendrick, a self-employed property manager and San Francisco resident, has been coming to SF Guitarworks for the past four years, and estimated that he’s brought in at least twenty guitars, many of which were rare, vintage instruments.  “They do great work, they’re really careful…I’ve never had to bring [a guitar] back in. It’s always done perfectly the first time, that’s pretty rare.”

Since opening in 2001, Luttrell has worked on more than 6,000 guitars. He started SF Guitarworks after being laid off from a technology industry job. Using his severance package, he rented a tiny warehouse space on Third Street, and began repairing guitars on his own. He moved to Potrero Avenue in 2003, and then moved next door into his current, larger, space in 2007.  In 2009 he hired two more employees, bringing the total number of staff to four.  “Everybody who works here is creative, responsible, and cares about their craft, and that’s nice to work around,” said Luttrell.

Woodacre resident Tom Young has brought in every guitar he owns to be repaired or modified at SF Guitarworks. “They did seventeen in a row, I’d bring one in as I picked up the next, sometimes I would drop off two or three at a time.” Because he’s a left-handed guitar player, Young regularly needs to have new guitars that he buys modified. “Jeff is a master at cutting [guitar] necks…I’m completely happy with Jeff and everyone he employs. It really surprises me how knowledgeable these guys are, very nice people too, he picks out really good employees,” said Young.

SF Guitarworks has helped Bay Area guitar players to, as shop manager Benjamin Strange said, “fall in love with their own instrument again.  The enjoyment infuses back into the music, [the guitar] becomes more of a mouth piece than a stumbling block.”

 

 

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