I just started a Yelp account so that I can write this review for Tim. Let me start off by saying that I've played the guitar for almost 20 years now and I haven't had the privilege of meeting that many great guitar luthiers. It seems when you go to these big guitar stores, you either know a lot or you know nothing at all. Most music store employees are pretentious and act like they know everything. I was in desperate need of a serious overhaul on my Martin guitar. I used to take my guitar to Peacock Music in the inner city, sad to say that Frank the owner, had passed away. He was a wonderful guitar maker and luthier who took much pride in his work. Luckily, I came across Tim Gates of Gates Guitars. In meeting with Tim, he was very down to earth and easy to deal with. He gave me an estimate just by looking at my guitar. Within a day, I received my guitar back and to my amazement it played better than the day I bought it! I will never take my guitar to a chain outlet store like Guitar Center again. Tim was fair on his price and even threw in new strings. If you're like me and you're tired of the a**holes at stores like Guitar Center or B Street Music- give Tim a call! My set up was $60 not including strings, but for the job - I would've easily paid $100! read more

I brought Tim my Martin 000c-16rgte that I had bought used from Ohio, sight unseen. I knew it needed some fret work and possibly a neck reset, but did not realize how expensive it could be out here in the city! After taking it to the Martin Certified techs in the area, and being quoted a price that was more than the cost of what I paid for the guitar, I brought the guitar to Tim. Not only did he recommend the same work as the certified techs, but was also quoted me a price that was less than half the cost. Not to knock those larger establishments, but you really are just paying for their overhead costs. Tim did really fine work, and now the action on my guitar is almost like new. He even offered to re-level some frets way high up on the neck for me for free because he "just wanted me to be happy with the finished product". I would absolutely go back to him with any other guitar work I have. read more

Just moved to San Francisco from NY and was worried I wouldn't be able to find a decent guitar tech out here without paying out the ass. Did some research and ended up giving Tim a shot. Couldn't be happier with his work! Brought him the 93 MIJ Tele I recently bought on Reverb. Guitar was in good shape but had a bit of fret wear and needed a setup. When I met Tim he talked me through everything he would do and took the time to answer all my questions. He's an awesome guy and doesn't make you feel dumb when you ask questions. When I picked up my guitar a few days later it was good as new. Frets show absolutely no wear and the neck feels great. Prior to bringing it in there was a really muddy sound when I picked an E chord...well, no more! I highly recommend bringing your guitar to Tim. Great guy, excellent work, fair price. read more

I purchased my first guitar from Tim, a vintage Yamaha FG-150. Being new and naive to the whole guitar world, I greatly appreciated Tim discussing the various attributes of the guitar. I quickly decided to pick up a second guitar to keep at my office and found a cheap FG-75 on Ebay. As one would expect from an Ebay find, it needed a little work to be playable. Tim replaced the strings, lowered the action and got it to a place where my lunch hour is more enjoyable with a guitar that I can continue to learn on. If any additional work needs to be done or if any other acquisitions are made, I'll be giving Tim a call. read more

I have brought a couple of guitars to Tim now as well as my amp that was acting up, and I am very pleased with the work that he has done for me. Tim does a fantastic job, has very reasonable prices, and gets your guitar back to you quickly. He is thorough and has always been very upfront and honest about what things need to be done. I absolutely recommend Tim for all of your guitar setup and repair needs. He is a pretty cool guy on top of it all too, so give him a shout! read more

My guitar was not sounding good to me so I took it into Tim and he made several adjustments and put on some new strings. After that my guitar had a lot more action in the strings and I am very pleased with the result. The price was fair, the result was very good and I will return again when I need another tune up. Thanks Tim read more

Tim did a great job on my Fender Strat; fixed a variety of issues and now it sounds great. He's very knowledgeable and upfront with all the issues. Cost was very friendly as well. I highly recommend Tim for all guitar service needs, plus he's local small business. I'll be back soon with the next guitar! read more

I brought my J-45 to Tim expecting to pay hundreds for new Waverly tuners & and a custom nut. Instead Tim chose to work on the existing nut & old tuners. He did the work in about an hour & charged me $30.00. I highly recommend him. read more

I have a new Fender acoustic guitar that I bought several years ago but never played. The bridge was high for me. The adjustment was quick, the work was professional and the charge reasonable. read more

Tim does great work at a fair price and in a timely manner. And his studio is a cool, funky space that's one of the last SF holdouts from total gentrification. read more