Rick is great. The shop is a treat and a hidden gem with vintage gear. RIck is personable and it's a joy talking equipment with him. Rick and Tech's do honest work and prices are better than anyone around. Had my amp repair turn around in 1 week and they are busy! No shenanigans here just a an honest business. Nothing else to say. Creamer Guitarworks is the best and then there are the rest! read more

This was my second time having work done by Rick. This time it was a fret level and crown/ set on some raised frets. Absolutely incredible work. I'm able to get the action freakishly low without any fret buzz (lower than I would ever actually use). Fret ends are perfectly rounded. Very reasonably priced and worth every penny. read more

Amazing work on my electric guitar! Really the most playable it's EVER been! Lowered action, and clean. Rick knows guitars and can info dump on any guitars! So he knows how to fix em up and set em up. I'll bring all my guitars here to be setup perfectly for much more easy playability. read more

One again, Rick did an outstanding job on my guitar. This time he upgraded a new guitar of mine to have a bone nut, bone saddle and he installed unslotted bone pins and slotted the bridge. He also fine tunede everything and, once again made a good guitar a great guitar. This is the third guitar Rick has worked and his work is incredible. He's clearly a perfectionist. If there's any downside it's that he's in such demand that you may have to wait in line for work to be done but that just demonstrates how highly his work is thought of. read more

Mr. Cremer gets my highest recommendation. Brought in a 64 Gibson B-45 12 string thinking I needed new tuners - as the instrument did not stay in tune. Mr. Cremer quickly diagnosed that it was not my tuners, and that I needed three new frets. Turned out that he was exactly right. He replaced the three frets with vintage Gibson materials - so that the new frets match the old ones. The guitar now stays in tune, and sounds better than ever. Good to know there's a place around where they understand their craft, and are also good to their customers. Nice shop too - a lot of interesting guitars and equipment to check out. He also did a great job on my Larrivee D03 (at a very fair cost), fixing a bridge that was lifting. He also adjusted my K&K pickup on the Larrivee (which was too "hot), so that I now have better control over the volume without the previous feedback problem. In short, he's an expert in guitars - and very personable. read more

If you're serious about building and/or repairing your guitar, Rick and his employees will be very helpful. I've built 3 guitars and Cremers Guitarworks is the place to go if want to talk to real professionals. His guitar repair skills are amazing and if he can't fix your issue he will connect you to someone who can. read more

I stop into Cremer Guitarworks here & there because it's an incredibly cool place with a lot of rare, vintage guitars & gear. I'm always treated well by the owner, who is very knowledgeable & friendly (even though I don't always purchase something). I'm getting my first guitar setup from Cremer this upcoming week (which is the service I understand they are the most well regarded for) & the owner has been helpful in helping me choose new replacement pickups (DiMarzio Model J's) & communicative in answering any questions I've had via email. So far my experience has been 5 out of 5 and I expect that will go higher (in theory) after my bass guitar is setup. read more

I have been playing live for 41 years. I spent many years bouncing from one Luthier to another. That was till a friend told me about Rick and I have never takin my guitars anywhere else since. The work Rick has done to my guitars over the years is pure magic! He is extremely knowledgeable and honest. In my own opinion and personal experience there is no one better! read more

I was referred by a guitar player friend to Cremer. I brought my most prized acoustic guitar in for a new internal pickup and new setup. The guitar plays amazing now that i have it back. Better action without any loss of tone or volume. Very happy so far and will definitely go back. read more

By far my most favorite guitar shop in the world. The selection is a pittance and the store front is tiny, but I'll be damned if I've ever been to a better shop. They do guitar and amp repair, customization and sell a select number of great instruments. If you're looking for a variety of faceless strat clones and Squiers, by all means: go to guitar center. Rick prides himself on a selection of vintage guitars and amps and high quality guitars. The guitars that he does carry new are some of the best you can get your hands on, especially the Blueridge line he carries. The repair work they do is also top notch. They reset the bridge on my old Martin, refretted my old Stratocaster and Les Paul and also customized another Stratocaster with a custom cut pickguard and pickups, they've also done work on my vintage Kustom Amp, Marshall JCM and Vox AC-30 and I was more than pleased with the results. The atmosphere is great and the shop has the best staff I've ever met in a guitar shop. It's the perfect place for seasoned veterans, amateur guitarists and novice players. Any guitar set up by these guys plays like butter and I can't say enough good things about their work. The turn around times are a little long, but it's worth the wait. read more

Just a great guitar shop. Rick has done a great job on every guitar I brought in for repair, and has an enthusiasm and passion that is seldom matched. The only downside of going to his store is that I always find out that the guitar I just purchased (which I thought was vintage USA) was actually made in Japan in 2005 or something like that. The guy knows too much. Trust him with your prized possessions he won't disappoint! read more

Rick did some new pickups for my strat. The quality of work and the end results were outstanding. This was my first time using his services and people highly recommended him. He is quite busy and backlogged so plan ahead. Just a wonderful and knowledgeable person. I highly recommend him. read more

Cremer is a god of Guitar Tech! He is amazing. I take my guitars to him to set up. His waiting list says everything you need to know about him. He has enough business to create a 6 week waiting list for set ups. But he's amazing! I had him set up one of my guitars and then a year or so later I wasn't really digging it. He re-set it up for me. And, I had to force him to take money. It was not at all his fault, just my style changed a little and that set up wasn't perfect. He is honest too. I played a 1930's Gibson Acoustic there, and he saw me and asked what I though... I said I didn't like it. He said "neither did I". We talked about just because it being vintage does not mean it's good. But he wanted to sell it to a collector. Which makes sense. They don't always play. All the guitars that he sells though have gone through his set up process. And he sells just as many used as news. It's a tiny shop so getting around is not always easy, but it's always worth it. read more

The best place to have any work done on your guitar. Rick is fantastic to deal with, have trusted my Kramer EEpro with him since 1991, for set ups that play like fire after, to a re wire and pick up change , fret work and more. never a disappointment. My only regret is I moved out of state and have yet to find a luithier in Augusta Georgia I trust with my guitars if you need a vintage guitar worked on this is your guy, if you need that cheap guitar center Jackson or japan strat re worked to actually play like a decent guitar they can do that too! read more

I couldn't of asked for a better experience from a guitar shop.... stopped by there today looking to sell my PRS SE custom 24... Not only did rick give me a good deal on the guitar he also EDUCATED me about details I woulda never noticed. I traded the guitar in for a Gibson melody maker that Rick also took the time to tell me all about the guitar and the history behind the guitar. You do not find this type of customer service in today's world. You can either Go to a guitar center and have some kid on commission BS you or have their "guitar tech" too bothered to help you OR go to this shop and get educated by a very knowledgable man.. I am Going to be recommending everyone I know that plays to give this shop a visit. Couldn't be happier with them! read more

Rick knows a lot about everything. I bought a used late 80's Ibanez RG750 which needed a bit of work, so I brought it to Rick. Rick replaced the bad frets, level, crown, polish, fixed a stress crack in the headstock (a common occurrence in this model), repaired the tone pot wiring, and the guitar was set up with super low action, exactly how I wanted it. Rick understands the needs and demands of people who play heavy metal music and is able to set up guitars to meet those needs. Don't misunderstand; he can set it up however you want. He's not a metal only guy, but he's a great resource if that's what you need. And he can scallop fingerboards. It's hard to even find someone who will do that! My father has an old Gibson acoustic. Rick made a repair to the bridge over 20 years ago that is still holding up today. The only negative is that he sometimes has a long waiting list, but that's actually sort of a positive because it means he's in demand, and he's in demand because he's awesome. Note: email or call him if you need work done to get an idea of his schedule. If you just show up with your instrument he might not even be able to work on it soon. I'm just mentioning this in case you haven't been here before. He also has some amps and guitars for sale. It's a small shop but there's some cool stuff there. I drive over an hour to get to his shop when I need guitar work done. It's a bit of a drive but I know I'm getting the best quality work available. read more

I have been bringing my quality guitars to Rick for many years and there is no one better. His work is always superb. As far as I'm concerned, there is nowhere else to bring your guitar for set ups, repairs, recommendations or anything else you might need read more

I am a bit of a perfectionist so when it came to my Martian D35 I don't let anyone mess with it I had picked up some PBE Pins and some stock to make a saddle and hared good things Cremer guitar works so I brought my D35 to him to have the pins fitted and the saddle made As well I wanted the action lowered a bit, well I thought My D35 was good and this one was handpicked at the Martin factory Well I left it with Rick OMG when I got this guitar back I had to check the SN# this dam thing was so good I thought he swapped with some special guitar At one point I was thinking of getting rid of the D35 guitar and I even bought a Guild D55 before I had Rick work on it now it is killer I have now setup an appointment to take the Guild D55 in for him to work his magic on it cant wate to see what he can do with this one Any of my friends that pickup my d35 says it feels like the best Taylor and plays / sounds like the wonderful martin that it is These days it is hard to find anyone that has this kind of passion and capability to excellence as Rick Cremer This guy is awesome and a 5 star plus in my book Thank You Russ read more

I took Rick my 2002 Les Paul Standard for a re-fret. A job like this makes any guitar owner nervous, but I knew I could trust Rick with the job. I decided to go with stainless steel frets. Not every luthier will even work with stainless, but Rick did a masterful job. Every fret is set perfectly and perfectly rounded on the edges. The finishing/dressing on the frets is also flawless. Rick takes pride in his work and it shows. I trust Rick with any job, large of small, to do the finest work. read more

I've purchased a couple guitars from Rick. Never heard of the brand before and he recommended both highly. He is right. They are very nice guitars and not expensive. Rick's main business isn't selling instruments, it's repairing them, and that's why he knows so much about them. He gets into the internals of instruments and really knows how they work. Rick has some nice used / vintage instruments from time to time, so it's very worthwhile to check out what he has if you are in the market. Before letting me take the guitar he changed the strings, dressed the frets, polished the frets, re-oiled the fingerboard and bridge, verified the neck was OK and checked the action at the 12th fret to verify it met specification. He did all of this beginning at 4:45P because I live an hour away and he didn't want to inconvenience me by having to come back. You just don't find this kind of personal service in most places. read more

Wonderful guitar shop. Rick has a great selection of guitars, banjos and mandolins. He has worked on several of my instruments and always done a first rate job. To top it off, he is friendly and informative. read more

Have purchased a ukulele (for a granddaughter) and another guitar (for a daughter) since my original review. Great store, great repair, great setups, great instruments. read more

I agree with all these other rave reviews. Years ago he built 2 strats for me and I've had him work on a multitude of others. To start, he is just a super nice guy, who knows a ton about instruments and wants everyone else to learn as well. He takes pride in his work and cares immensely that customers become return customers. I lived in Denver for 10 yrs and actually could not find anyone that I trusted like I do Rick. I actually planned months in advance to make appointments to bring instruments back for work. Bottom line, I'm sure there are a few guys in the Chicagoland area that do work like Rick, but you will never find anyone better than Rick, and probably they won't care as much as he does. I will never go to another luthier if humanly possible... Enough said. read more

horrible. i've used them twice. 1st time went way over on estimate and took a really long time (about 3 months). i read so many good things about this place i thought maybe it was a fluke. 2nd time cost be double the estimate and took about a month longer than promised. there's not a lot to choose from in the western suburbs but i won't be using Cremer again. that's for sure. read more

Cremer Guitar Works offers the finest guitar work I have ever experienced in my 30+ years playing. Rick paid the strictest attention to my playing needs (rock, fusion, jazz, psychedelic), and is absolutely articulate and painstaking in his work. All work is discussed beforehand and he explains all details when the finished work is performed. I traveled all the way from Chicago to have my neck worked on and pickups changed (which required a very accurate routing in the body) and everything turned out flawless. I'm so glad I found someone I can trust with my instruments! Rick is the benchmark for all serious players that need that special attention and articulate detail for their instruments. Professional. Punctual. Perfect! Oh, and btw...he is very funny and extremely personable, the kind of guy that you could talk shop with for hours! He is very dedicated, so it is imperative that you call and book early...you get what you pay for, and exceptional work takes time. read more

Been going to Rick since i was a baby with my father, he has fixed/ modified every guitar that I have had over the past 15 years, and built a few of them as well! One of the premier fret dressers in the state, and a fantastic craftsmen. Great service! read more

My wife and I have known Rick for a number of years (like 15 or more) and consider him a friend. He and his staff (Juel Ulwen) do all the work on our instruments (and we have a lot of them). I have a 110 year old Gibson rose pickguard mandolin that was missing the tuning grommets. They found brass stock of the correct size and manufactured them to suit! My wife got a 1930's era Gibson Century of Progress Expo guitar last year, and Rick spent about 10 solid hours of work getting it back into playing condition. Fantastic - she loves it! read more