Geoff is great. 1920's Gibson mandolin? Now it is an instrument thanks to Geoff Benge. And his guitar work is best in the city.

Been playing for many years and I am very particular about how the work on my instrument. In my experience his work is of the highest quality. He's done significant repair work for me as well as set-ups, both were done to exceptionally well. He is the best. read more

Geoff if the real deal, which is why some of Chicago's more famous musician residents trust Geoff to get them set up for tour. Fair pricing and quick to finish work, If Billy Corgan doesn't stop by with 20 guitars, anyway ; ) read more

Geoff just recently transformed my '97 Affinity Series Squier into a massive player of a guitar. Not to mention, it's pretty sweet looking too. This was a sentimental project and I was prepared to put up some cash. Geoff got the guitar sounding and looking amazing at a fair and reasonable price. It was pretty much half of what I thought I was going to have to spend for what I wanted done. I really like that he's up front and honest. He'll never try to upsell you and will tell you if something doesn't need changing. He also cares about the materials he works with and will re-purpose whatever he can, which I think is pretty cool. Sometimes you gotta be a little patient, but he always comes thru. He does great work that speaks for itself but he goes the extra mile. The guy is clearly passionate about what he does. I'm loving this guitar! I highly recommend him. And not just for guitars. Last time I was there he was working on a small stringed instrument I never knew existed. read more

Geoff is definitely the best in town! I have used him not only for my personal guitars, but also for my father's and my father-in-law and I can testify that he is a not only a great guitar repair Luthier but a musician and person as well I definitely highly recommend him in the Chicagoland area for his reliance on never compromising the quality or delivery of his work. I can do say he's the best! read more

I am delighted with my experience with Geoff Benge's Guitar Shop. I contacted Geoff and made arrangements to drop off my acoustic guitar, which had developed playability issues. Because of Geoff's Covid 19 protocols, I dropped off my guitar at the door, Geoff and I exchanged information, and we set a tentative date when I could pick up the guitar. I called on the appropriate day. Geoff updated me on the work he completed on the guitar, and we scheduled a day to pick up the repaired guitar. We conducted the transaction at the door. I received my guitar which Geoff returned to me in great shape, and it is ringing out true to date. Geoff was clear and professional throughout the enterprise; moreover, he provided valuable instructions for my acoustic guitar aftercare; I greatly appreciate the competent and efficient service Geoff provides. I'm pleased to have found someone I can trust with my valued instrument. I recommend Geoff if you are looking for someone who offers quality luthier services read more

Does anyone remember High School and that feeling of dread whenever you were around the "cool" people? Remember, the ones that would snidely comment on anything you had to say or did? Well, we ain't in High School no more Brother, AND we don't have to deal with jerks like Geoff. Some people, I suspect, no actually I know, can be absolutely unpleasant, uninviting and just plain rude because they are masterful at something. Geoff's work is average at best, costly compared to others and personally, I never trusted the guy. The two week job ended up taking nearly eight weeks and had I not called and/or stopped in I would have had no idea where we were or weren't. The work was completed and I will never return. I would strongly suggest referrals from people you know and trust, get to know your repairperson and, if possible, prior to any work commencing ("like at the see-ment pond Uncle Jed") I was loath to deal with him after a previous bad experience at Chicago Music Exchange (where he used to work, go figure!), when he tried to wheedle me into a costly adjustment of an acoustic guitar that was not warranted under any circumstance. Anyway, and long story short, a few months ago I was able to purchase a very valuable vintage guitar at 70% of market value due to it needing some electronic work. I consulted with a few other repair facilities and even tried to take it to one but, alas, after waiting 45 minutes past when they were supposed to open I gave up and called a well-known Chicago vintage expert and shop owner I know quite well. Mr. Vintage (who, by the way, employs his own repair guy) flatly told me that Geoff is the only guy he would trust the job to and to disregard the fact that he is an A-Hole. Look, the bottom line here is that it's extremely difficult to find quality guitar repair/set-up in Chicago. If you're lucky enough to, please post here and be sure to let everyone know. read more

It seems like night or day at Geoff Benge's place. You can put me down in the "night" column as my experience reflects "BenoitTro" and "Dave K." almost exactly. I couldn't have said it better than "Do you remember that feeling in High School?" I live near 5000 W. Belmont so any guitar shop i go to is going to be a chore (and i HATE driving east in the city, why are they all on Lincoln?). I made sure to do a bunch of research on places before picking one because A) the previously mentioned distance & B) I had a very rare archtop from 1954 that needed a neck reset. I was ready to lay out the cash because this guitar was beautiful and Geoff had good reviews on some other site (i can't remember where). I called him beforehand because i know musicians and those that work on instrument have pliable hours and i didn't want to burn an hour of my day showing up with no one there. Once i finally did catch him on the phone i took my guitar in, he wasn't there so i left it with someone else and they took down my info. A week later he called and walked me through all the stuff he was going to do, i agreed to what needed to be done, and he warned me it could get messy. I was ok with that. He also said it would be a week or two before he could get started. I was ok with that too. 3 weeks go by, no call. I decide to check in. "Oh i haven't gotten to it yet. Check next week." Fine. Another week. "Oh i've been _______". Ok. Rinse and repeat. Stopped by a few times when i was nearby: closed. I think 5 or 6 weeks later he finally calls with the work done. "Man. I had some problems with it." I'm still fine with it. As it turns out, it was a difficult reset and some of the wood was damaged around the heel and he felt bad about it. That still didn't bother me. He did a decent repair on the damaged wood and the neck was indeed reset. I am mostly bothered by the lack of progress and having me "check back next _____". I go in to get the guitar. There are probably 4 guys in there. I can't tell if they work there or are just hanging out. Keep in mind, i have never met Geoff because he was never there when i stopped by originally, or subsequently. Since he called me to come get the guitar i came in and said "Are you Geoff? I'm Jef Lastname." What followed was some bizarre Abbot and Costello "Who's On First" with some serious attitude out of nowhere. After that surreal exchange i figured out who Geoff was, and got to finally get my guitar back. He did an OK job but i will never truly know if he screwed up or not since there was only one chance to do it. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was a tough job and he did try to make up for it by repairing some minor cracks that he found and explained why it was so difficult. I believed him. At the end of the day i had a great playing guitar with minor damage but i just couldn't get over the awesome guy attitude, weeks of waiting, having to call, and weird elite clubhouse vibe in the shop. read more

Geoff's a good guy, fun to talk to, but he runs on his own time table, and I don't think he did a better job setting up my Martin 000 than the other guy I used the 10 months later. I know a set up is nothing special work, and I wouldn't go out of my way to use him for it. read more

Brought in a 35 year old Alembic bass for a set up and he suggested a (very fairly priced) leveling of the frets. It was done on time and feels fresh and new again. So easy to play, I can't put it down. Just picked up another setup of a 5 string Jazz and it's perfect as well. Don't know why I put up with the crappy setup that came from the factory. I can only part with one instrument at a time, so next up is my Strat. He's a fun guy to chat with and I'm looking forward to joining one of his classes one day. Thanks Geoff! read more

I needed a new 'nut' on my '63 Fender Duo-Sonic and Geoff came highly recommended from some very reliable (and famous) players. I also decided to swap out an old pickup and get some other minor work done. He also recommended some fretwork, which I agreed to. A week later, Geoff called me to let me know the work was complete. Everything was done perfectly, the new pickups matched my vintage guitar perfectly (despite being new) and my guitar sounds the best it's ever sounded in the 25 years I've owned it. My only 'complaint' was when I picked it up, Geoff plugged it into an under-the-dash amp and ripped off a few leads that made my mediocre playing seem woefully inadequate. ; ). I'm strictly rhythm, man. He has some great 'homemade' Lucite guitars for sale as well. read more

I just opened an yelp account, hopefully so Geoff thinks I'm not Dave K., the guy who gave his shop one star, since I'm also a Dave K. I just dropped off my busted distortion pedal a few days ago and I'm supposed to pick it up today, so I'm not totally sure how I feel about his service, but if it works than that's that. I'm down with the set up of the shop though, his work is not in the back, it's right up front so everybody can see. I also like the show posters up on walls. Overall, I'm going to respect anybody who has their own business and makes it work as hard as they can, and this guy seems cool. read more

I first met Geoff Benge (pronounced "BENJ") a couple of years ago when I walked into his (new) shop on Damen & Addison here in Chicago; I liked him right away. It's a long story, but after getting to know him a bit - he's a very busy/talented guitar repair tech and musician - Geoff ended up doing some custom inlay work on a Washburn guitar for a songwriting contest prize I'm involved with (Ghost Writers In The Sky, www.GWITSContest.com). The winner's name was inlayed on the fingerboard - pretty cool prize (THANK YOU GEOFF!). In addition to repair & custom work, they also offer lessons, sell new & used guitars, amps, etc. Geoff tells me it's one of his goals to know (and serve) every guitar player in Chicago; If someone was looking for a guitar player for their band, they'd be smart to ask Geoff who he could recommend... read more

Geoff does great repair work, set ups and upgrades related to guitars. His reputation matters so he takes great care in what he does

Brought a Martin 12 string to have the action worked on. Plays like a different guitar entirely, flies, really flies. This man walks on water, nice to find solid craftsmen still doing great work! Thank you Geoff. read more

Geoff has done my guitar work for the last 25 years. He did a refret and setup on a 1976 Guild D-25, and many people who have played it say it is the easiest playing guitar they have ever experienced. He has installed various pickups for me over the years, and recently setup my 10-year-old Martin HD-28. I trust him! He will tell you what is and isn't a good idea, and draws from a great wealth of experience. It is rare in this day and age to find a craftsman like Geoff. read more

Pretty late about this review. had a guitar that needed to be set up and the intonation was off as well. came to geoff. set up was priced fairly at about 40 dollars. to get the intonation right he had to adjust the saddle and move it on the bridge. i also requested to put a bone nut and saddle in. all this took about a week but it was a great job at a fair price. read more

Cannot say enough great things. Geoff got my jaguar - that had been abused from my own neglect over the years after getting other guitars- up and working great. He made the first guitar I ever cared about playable again. Great work and fair pricing. read more

I'v had my My guitars worked on by Jeff many times. Absolutely the best in town. No nonsense approach to service and unparalleled skill and experience. If your guitar has issues or you simply need a set up, he is simply the BEST. read more

Geoff does all the repair work on my guitars. Ive tried others but i only go here now. He is affordable, honest, and does great work. I am surprised to see that there is 1 bad review here on Yelp about his shop because i have never gotten a bad vibe or bad service from Geoff Benge's Guitar Shop. keep Rockin Geoff read more

I dig it, man. It's true: Geoff is a master, and he has a solid apprentice in Charlie, who seems welded to his craft even as he gives you the low-down on any number of music subjects. I trust these guys, even though I've only had some minor needs. I'll be returning because the service is top notch and they care. One note: the store is small. If you have valued equipment, make sure it's kept out of the way of any traffic areas. I saw a dude put a Cello on the floor and I worried about it. read more

Geoff was super helpful, got me fixed on time and stayed way under my budget. I picked up a used Epiphone LP a couple years ago and it seemed like a good deal at the time, but a few months later it was unplayable with electronics problems. I wrote it off for almost a year, but finally got tired of looking at it and took it in to see if it could be salvaged. A week later and it's better than when I bought it, not to mention Geoff took the time to explain to me everything they did and ensure I was happy with it. Not sure what problems other folks ran into; I'll be taking all my instruments to Geoff as long as I'm in Chicago. Also, he has a hammerhead shark in his living room. read more

I highly recommend Geoff for all your guitar and amp needs. He's exactly what you'd want when your instrument needs something. Honest, professional quality work at a fair price. read more

One winter afternoon, I was just there in my apartment practicing my beautiful new Portuguese guitar, an ancient and beautiful instrument that captures the essence of Portuguese "saudade." Playing sad European songs even in an amateur fashion was making me feel good about my life. That is, until... [Polar Vortex enters the room]: "AAAARRRRRRR! WHO DARES LIVE LIFE UNHINDERED BY MY SENSELESS WRATH?" [smacks my guitar with the back of his hand] My guitar was cracked from the "prision" almost all the way up to the sound hole. It did not look good, but the guitar was still playable, so I carried on with a haltingly amateurish take on the classic "Ai, Mouraria," mumbling Portuguese just softly enough for the mispronounced words to be muffled by my own beard before reaching earshot of all save one of my neighbors. [Polar Vortex re-enters the room]: "THRRREEEEAAAAHHHXXXXX! WHO BE FOOL ENOUGH TO THINK THEY COULD IGNORE ME THE FIRST TIME?" [smacks the back of my guitar with the front of his hand] Now there was a crack on the back of my guitar, big enough to drop a pick into. It did not look good. "My Portuguese guitar is ruined!" I shrieked. Well, the next day I asked around and got a few names for guitar repair experts. Geoff Benge picked up his phone on the first ring and told me I could bring my guitar on by later that afternoon. When he saw my guitar, he shook his head in dismay. "This is not good. Do you understand why this is not good?" He patiently explained to me that the soundboard had started to shear horizontally, that I should have loosened the strings once the crack got bad, and expressed his general frustration that many guitarists (myself included, though he didn't say that) didn't realize the importance of a humidifier (it's the dry air, not the cold, that cracks guitars). Then he explained how he was going to humidify my guitar in his "tent," and explained in detail how he was going to repair the guitar. Somehow he explained all this without making me feel like an idiot, even though I had to just trust him because the likes of Jorma Kaukonen and Andrew Bird did. At the same time he seemed excited about the new challenges of repairing a different kind of guitar with an unfamiliar tuning mechanism, and a small sound hole that would require mirrors. He said it might take a few weeks, told me to check in with him in a week to check on his progress anyway. Given his illustrious client list, I didn't expect him to turn it around too fast. "It's done," he told me after my first call just a week later. As expected of a busy professional, he was juggling another commitment, but I was able to pick it up soon enough. When I got back to his shop, he patiently explained the repairs to me, adding that he had added some bracing perpendicular to the crack for additional support. He even had to ask me to remind him how much he charged me... and generally speaking the whole interaction felt more like a labor of love than a business transaction. It cost some money of course, but was surprisingly reasonable. [Polar Vortex re-enters the room]: "GGGRRRROOOKKKKK! YOU THINK THAT CAN STOP ME?" [smacks my guitar again] "AAAAAIIII!" [he shrieks, holding his hand and grimacing, then departs] My guitar, now humidified and expertly repaired, was and is still intact. read more

I asked on some guitar forums for a recommendation of a good guitar shop guy in Chicago and Geoff came up. I called him for a quote on a setup and some electric work.. I come in to the shop and the first thing he does is criticize my guitar, "oh these are bad! None of them are good. Gibson made a bad run on all these marked with 1960... etc". After he's done criticizing it, he quotes me a price for the setup and offers doing a better job (filing the frets for twice the amount, I know it takes time). Since I just got the guitar, and I like playing guitars that are setup well, I give it to him. He said, "come back a week from today and it will be ready". I had read a review here before dropping off the guitar that alluded to his poor "on-time" performance, so I called him two days before it was supposed to be due. Not to my surprise, he said, "oh I don't know when the parts will come in, i just ordered them yesterday" - keep in mind I dropped off the guitar last week!! So he said he couldn't guarantee the guitar would be ready. I needed the guitar exactly that day, and when I spoke with him in person he gave me his word, and even said, "I'll mark down a day earlier in this sheet so it's ready by then". After having called him and asked him for the guitar on time, I go to his shop the day he promised the guitar and my guitar is setup well (I think he did a good job with the setup), however, the guitar has horrible scratches and it's not even clean! I mean, not even dusted off, it doesn't look good at all. The frets are scratched from when he filed the frets. He definitely did not use masking tape to protect t he frets. The body has deep scratches. when I brought the guitar in, it was in pristine condition. When I picked it up it looked terrible. In summary, the guy might do good work, but treats the guitars and customers poorly, does a sloppy job, does not have good business skills, and you have to be on top of him to make sure the job is done on time. I would not trust this guy with any of my other guitars. Look for someone else to fix your expensive guitars OR stay there and supervise all the work he does so it's done correctly. read more

Not only will Geoff talk down to you the entire time, your guitar will actually be worse than when you brought it in. I get the feeling Geoff only cares when you bring in an expensive rare guitars. For those of us with regular run of the mill american strats that just need a setup and fret file is just not exciting enough for him to care. I thought I would give him a try because his shop is really close, but I would rather drive 100 miles to avoid this place next time I need something done. read more

Like many of the other reviewers, I've taken guitars to Geoff for years. Unlike many of Geoff's customers, however, I don't have expensive "collector's item" guitars, and I'm not an internationally known musician (still trying to figure out why that is). Geoff has consistently set up and repaired my mid-range guitars to play well. It's one thing to get a great guitar to play great, but Geoff can get my "OK" guitars to play great. Geoff has also helped me out a couple times when I was in a real jam and needed emergency repairs to play a gig. Even though I'm not Bobby Broom or Hubert Sumlin, Geoff treats me and my guitars with the same care as if I were. read more

A lot of Benge for the buck... Geoff's small scale guitar shop means you'll get a local, trustworthy repair without the hassle of dealing with a Big Box guitar store. I recently took my tweed Fender Blues Jr. amp to Geoff to have it fixed. As a performing musician, I explained that I really needed the amp back in a week for a gig. Geoff made no guarantees, but offered to loan me out his Fender Blues Jr., just in case my amp was not serviced and repaired in that time frame. A week later, with 2 whole days to spare for the gig the amp was fixed and working in fine form. I felt like the pricing was fair for the speed in which the amp was fixed. Great service, fair pricing, no b.s. read more

I have tried all the "name" guys in town. I have used Geoff & then tried others. I always come back to Geoff because of his superior work & willingness to try just about anything. He has done some unusual work for me. He has worked on vintage electrics, vintage acoustics, banjitar, & done a lot of electronic upgrades for me. All reasonably priced, & in the time he said it would take. Do yourself a favor, let Geoff work on your guitars. There are a couple of guys in town that do great work, Geoff is one of them, & he is more reasonably priced. I can't say enough about his work ! read more

Look...if you want your somebody to tell you how awesome your expensive guitar from GC is, then you should probably go somewhere else. If you want top notch customer service with good communication and work delivered on time every time you should probably go somewhere else. BUT, if you want a guy that will tell you what you may not want to hear in the interest of getting your guitar to sound its best, will bend over backwards to accommodate you in an emergency situation, will educate you every time you walk in the door, and most importantly will do the best quality work in the city of chicago for very reasonable prices, then there's only one place to go....Geoff Benge. I can easily see why people give him bad reviews...he IS the popular kid in high-school in the fact that everybody wants him. he's very busy so that's why he doesn't drop everything when you walk in to greet you and make you feel at home. That's why he doesn't give a hoot if you take offense to him criticizing your guitar. Unfortunately it's also why things don't get done on time. This business is not one where you can just hire more people to help with the load...you need experience and skill and there's only so much he and his assistants can do. Sure they could be better communicators/customer service friendly but I'd rather they spend their time honing their guitar skills. The way I look at it, it all comes down to this. Good, Fast, Cheap Pick two. I'll pick good and cheap and pick Geoff Benge every time. read more

I had an initially negative experience, but the owner made a considerable effort to rectify the situation.

I've tried everyone in town & highly recommend taking any guitar/bass repair work to Geoff. I've had guitars glued back together, old frets dressed up like new, switches replaced, pick-ups installed, set-ups that made my instrument play like a dream, & fret boards repaired and not once have I been disappointed. Work usually takes a week. Make sure to call & check in on your repair as he's a pretty busy guy and sometimes doesn't call you when your work is complete. He doesn't do amplifier repair work, but he's got a guy, Radar (who works for Deltronics on Halsted), who does amplifier repair work for Geoff on the side. BEST IN THE CITY! read more

I normally do all the repairs and setups myself, this is until I had to replace the neck on my Strat, I decided to go the mighty might route and then realized it needed a fret leveling job, which I am not comfortable doing. Called up Geoff and he said no problem, scheduled a time for drop off, and a week or so later I got it back playing and looking like new. Cant say enough good things about his skills as a luthier. read more

Please know that this is a one man shop & generally to survive as such this individual does excellent work & has built a reputation amongst enough Chicago musicians that he can survive while competing against the larger - corporate institutions that offer similar services. I travel from the Beverly / Morgan Park area up to Belmont & Sheffield because I have vintage Fender guitars & I don't trust anyone else with them. He was recommended to me as the best Fender guy in the city and after 4-5 years of using him I believe it to be 100% true. I like to call him to see his turn around time before heading up because at times he does get busy. However, I would expect this from someone in this predicament. Rarely I find I want to eat a a restaurant with no line. read more

On the recommendation of my teacher, I brought my new (used) guitar to Geoff for a setup. After spending some time looking over the guitar, Geoff gave an honest assessment, pointed out a fairly gnarly hump in the fretboard and offered several options to resolve it. Having heard about Geoff's fretwork I opted to have him do a full leveling/fret job. I cannot be happier with the decision - the guitar plays incredibly well all over the fretboard. It's clear from examining his work that Geoff is a master of his craft. This type of work takes time, but the turnaround was more than reasonable, prices were very fair, and Geoff was courteous and easy to get ahold of. Can't recommend him enough. read more

Geoff installed a Fishman pickup into my nylon string guitar. Not only did he do a great job. When I had issues with the pickup he fixed the problem for free. As a professional musician I can always appreciate a good tech and I definitly appreciate his work! 100% recommended! read more

I recently purchased a guitar at an antique mall which needed a lot of work. I had heard good things about Geoff benge's guitar shop and luckily I happen to live just down the block. I dropped off my guitar which needed 4 or 5 repairs. Within a week it was ready and sounding amazing! Not to mention it was done at what i consider a very fair price. I would definitely recommend this shop. read more

I am so glad I stumbled upon Geoff Benge. Reviews for his work seemed favorable, so I stopped by. I had him setup up my Jaguar baritone guitar and install new pickups. He was very helpful with answering questions and helping me figure out what I needed to do to my guitar (and respectfully assuring me what I did not need to do) to get my guitar in best shape. His prices were very fair and his turnaround time was very reasonable. Excellent, excellent work! My guitar sounds great. I could not recommend him more and will without a doubt turn to him for future work. Thank you Geoff. read more

Geoff has been in and around the scene for quite a while. I remember when he was running repairs for Chicago Music Exchange and then he had a shop on Damen. Recently reconnected with him through a local luthier: Koentopp Guitars to have some work done on 2 guitars of mine. The CMI ES 335: Japanese made Lawsuit guitar. Bridge was ALL sorts of a mess, which Geoff reseated into with bigger studs and now she plays like a CHAMP! Cleaned up, recrowned and all is good. 48th Street Custom Strat: New whammy bridge needed to be set-up, fret recrown/ polish and all that. Since it was an eBay Special, there were some strange "Gold/ Sparkle" drips of, nail polish? Guitar plays great, but were still a few "gold flakes" (one of which he knocked off) and still found the other that I can take care of. Also, pickguard screws weren't properly screwed in. Geoff is a knowledgeable guy and does pretty good work. The CMI work was a hit, wish the 48th didn't have these little niggling issues like the gold sparkle not taken off as asked. You can expect an average fret crown/ polish/ setup to run around $70 plus the cost of strings. read more

Geoff has worked on dozens of my guitars (I stopped counting at 90) over the past several years. I think I started going to him in the mid 90's when he was at Guitar Works. His work is always top rate and he knows what I like in guitar set ups. The guy is a true professional and artist. I have been always happy with his work and honesty. A great resource to the Chicago-land guitar community. read more