I hate leaving bad reviews, but this one is warranted and I leave this in the hopes that others don't experience what I have. This place not only took forever with my guitar, but I got it back functioning worse than when I sent it to them. Just an unbelievably overall bad experience. read more

Throughout EVERY location of Peekamoose Custom Guitars and Repairs, owner-artisan-luthier Paul Schwartz has ameliorated all my guitars, acoustic and electric! Most recently, up in halcyon Rhinebeck County he worked once again on the first guitar I ever brought him in about '84, my Guild F-20 NT; adding a Piezo Pickup, Gold Locking Sperzels and new frets via the killer Plek Machine. Decades of experience and state of the art equipment in the hands of a master put this old guitar in terrific intonation over the whole fretboard and bring out its inner crackle. The little extra one pays is commensurate to the outcome. Without a doubt, the latest work makes my Guild acoustic more viable and play better than ever! The test of quality for me is that I can't stop playing it, and its treatment makes challenging playing inviting. If you want your instrument at its best, Peekamoose is where it's at. read more

Peekamoose Custom Guitars - Musical Instrument Services Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

I brought in my 2018 Fender American Jazz Bass for a set-up. Many frets were difficult to play, which made me realize my action was high. I looked around Yelp and Peekamoose had the highest reviews. They were great from the time I brought the bass in until I picked it up. The time estimate was accurate, they were very nice, and my bass guitar plays like new. I didn't notice how difficult it was to play my bass guitar until I received it back. read more

I brought my favor guitar to Paul - Gibson Les Paul Standard. I had some issues with neck and frets ... and some other issues that I was not able to assess. Less than two weeks later, Paul gave me back an unbelievable instrument. He identified all problems, fixed them, and gave me instructions how to treat this instrument. Certain things money can't buy... His service is such a thing. This guitar was set up before by good technicians but no one saw in my guitar what Paul was able not only to identify, but also to fix. read more

Peekamoose Custom Guitars - Gibson Les Paul Standard - Musical Instrument Services Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

I purchased a digital input online and when Fedex screwed up the delivery - I had to process a return. They worked with me to track the device back to them and issued a refund immediately. This transaction didn't go the way that we had planned but they went the extra mile to make sure that I was taken care of and I thank them for that. Classic old school customer service. read more

Hey, these guys are really great! I've brought two guitars in--one a new Tele for a proper setup and then an old B25 that needed a bridge reset, multiple crack fixes, and more. Each time they've been very consultative and helpful about what could be done to fix things/make the guitars play better. Easy process, and the prices always seemed fair to me. I'll definitely go to them whenever I need work done. read more

Paul repaired my guitars for 15 years and if I wasn't in LA, he'd still be doing it. He and anyone he hires/mentors are masters of detail, and if any guitar of mine needs a fret job or any other serious work, they're getting boxed up and sent to Peekamoose. That being said, his custom guitars are amazing. They sound great, feel great and look great. I remember when he first started letting his clients play the ones in the shop and they are sublime. I wish I had the budget for one now, but all in good time. Meanwhile, I'll track him down at NAMM and get a few minutes in on one. This is where you go when you want you guitar to make you happy again. read more

Upgrading my review to 5 stars because the first one sells him short...I got lazy and brought my bass to someone closer who completely messed it up. Big mistake. Paul took it in and made it sound better than before the other guy took it in. Can't recommend him enough; he's not the cheapest, but I saw what you get with the cheapest and Peekamoose is worth every penny. Did a great job. I bought a bass off of Craigslist which wasn't in great condition, needed a setup and frets needed work and he made it very easy to play. Also fixed a pick-up issue I didn't know it had (I only had the bass for a few hours beforehand) with no extra charge and in time. Not easy finding a good guitar tech so very happy to have found him. read more

I brought my custom strat to Paul as it just wasn't playing right. A few nagging things that kept me from picking it up and instead playing my cheaper guitars. Paul took the time to listen to what I was looking to get resolved, where I thought the problems were and he proceeded to do a check of the neck, frets and some other things before giving me a quote. I've had guitars repaired before at other places and am comfortable with the fact that one week probably means two, and that's fine with me. I'm not a touring musician and have other guitars to play in the meantime. Having said that, I was pleased/shocked that Paul said it would be ready in one week - same bat time, same bat channel. Sure enough he confirmed a day ahead, I showed up, Paul did a last minute check himself before handing the guitar over for me to check it out. The fretwork, new nut and bridge adjustments made this guitar sing like it should have when I first got it. Paul is an understated guy which belies the huge talent he brings to guitar repairs and from the look of his shop, guitar-building. I wouldn't hesitate to take my guitar there for repairs and if you've got a cherished axe you need fixed or fine-tuned, Paul is your guy. read more

I've had nothing but great experiences with Peekamoose. Two of my guitars have been there for repairs. Years ago, they brought my neglected Steinberger back to perfect playability. More recently a low end Telecaster with electronics issues was made into a beautiful beast. In both visits Paul spent considerable time with me going through options, offering (non-pushy) suggestions, and explaining his processes. More importantly, as opposed to lower quality guitar techs, he diagnosed problems before hacking away at a solution (being an engineer, I find this approach way more comforting). read more

I'm never going to deal with Paul Schwartz/Peekamoose Guitars again. I brought in my 60's Kay hollowbody for a SETUP on October 20th, and was told after evaluation that the guitar couldn't be set up without doing structural work and giving the guitar a refret. I don't remember what the estimate was for this because it was impossibly high. I rolled my eyes, as I've experienced this sort of thing from them before. The guitar played great, there were no issues that I could see or hear with the frets, no dead spots, etc. It was old and I believed that it could probably benefit from some more strength. Also, Paul had done quality work on instruments of mine in the past and up til now I had been willing to put up with his paying around 3x as much as I could elsewhere, and dealing with his generally condescending attitude because of the quality of the work. So I agreed to have only structural work done, the estimated cost of which was $600. I was told the guitar would be ready by Thanksgiving. So what really happened was another $225 was added to flush out the electronics (which didn't give me any problems before), and the guitar is only ready three days before my New Year's gig. So we're looking at $825. I go to pick up the guitar and notice that the middle pickup setting (both pickups engaged) is half as loud as it used to be. I mention this but Paul makes no offer to adjust it on the spot, or even to provide any solution. He simply denies that he is at fault, saying "the pickup is the same as it was before and I would have needed a Gauss machine to demagnetize the pickup." I am flustered and say I will be bringing the guitar back after my gig. The following day, the endpin that they replaced falls out and the neck pickup starts rattling around in its cavity. I play the gig with the guitar basically crippled. I bring the guitar back and say "there's no way I can pay full price for this." They say this is impossible and deny responsibility. Maybe I have high standards but I feel like checking the output signal of an instrument you're setting up is part of the setup, and that allowing the pickup and the endipn to be installed so precariously constitutes SHODDY CRAFTSMANSHIP. I don't see how this could be controversial. Their argument was that these simple measures were beyond what I had asked for. Additionally, Paul broke the seal and began to use profanity during this discussion. I left hoping they could at least correct these issues in their free adjustment (included in their 30-day guarantee). The fact that they were able to correct the pickup housing and endpin problems a few hours after I left indicates to me that these were simple issues that should have been addressed before returning the guitar to me. They had the opportunity to give the instrument another look after I mentioned the volume issue to them in their shop, but Paul chose instead to avoid dealing with it and let me walk out dissatisfied. Unfortunately, when I picked the guitar up again my middle pickup setting was a bit louder, but still noticeably quieter than the other settings, and to top it off I was treated with open hostility by Indira the customer service person. In the end, I paid $825 and waited over twice as long for a job that I am not satisfied with. I will ask another, more reasonable human being to try to correct this volume issue. Peekamoose is NOT the only game in town. Bring your stuff here at your own risk. They will hold your instrument hostage without apology, your estimate will surely be significantly lower and shorter in duration than what you will actually wind up dealing with (expect 25%-50% more in cost and twice as long in time). You will be treated without respect. read more

i haven't written an online review for anything before but i thought with a subject as important as your guitar i would warn anyone out there who cares about their instrument to be wary this "repair" shop. i took my guitar, which is a fairly inexpensive martin that i use as a "road" guitar so it's not vintage or irreplaceable which is why i made the decision to have them do some repair work in the first place. now, i usually take my guitars to a guy named steve sauve in massachusetts, but i thought it might be nice to have someone in the neighborhood who could set it up and make a small repairs here and there if needed. wow, was that a bad decision! i brought it in to have it simply set up for a tour that i was going on. i gave the office manager (and i use that title loosely) the dates that i would need the guitar back by and after she inspected it she said it shouldn't be a problem. a few days later she called and said that they would like to fix a small crack that they discovered and since this guitar is pretty beat up already and is mostly used just for work, i thought. why not give them the go ahead. i can't tell you how bad this job looks. how do i describe it, hmm? ok, do you remember your first project in 7th grade wood shop? that looked better than this. i guess these guys custom make electric guitars which may be what they're good at but these are certainly not the people you want to trust an acoustic instrument to. oh yeah, they missed the deadline that they said they could get the guitar back to me and when i did finally get it back, the battery pack for my gold thin-line that sits inside the guitar was missing! what makes these guys even more ridiculous is that they only have this crazy cat widow lady (office manager) speak to their customers while they hide behind a locked door in their shop as if what they are doing is serious work, which it would be if they had any skill. i equate the whole experience to that movie, "being john malkovich" - from the depressing, dimly lit office building that you go through to get to their shop to the pomposity of the owners who think they're "craftsmen" - when they are in reality hacks, to the lady they have working in their "office" sifting through her piles of receipts and paper work as if she's in some bureaucratic dystopian nightmare while all along ignoring the phone that's ringing off the hook. (i later found out that a friend of mine had his guitar worked on there and though his experience wasn't nearly as bad as mine, it was similar in so many ways. we laugh about these guys all the time now because of what an extraordinarely bizarre and dissatisfying operation peekamoose is.) anyhow, i would have really been sad about this experience had they ruined a guitar i loved, fortunately they simply added to character of a guitar that already has a lot of character. read more

The best guitar repair place I've been to...and I've been to many. Paul, the owner, chief luthier, and repair guru--along with his incredibly talented staff, including the always helpful and friendly Indira--will do everything they can to make your guitar better. Setups might cost you more than other places, but the quality of the work justifies the cost-benefit analysis. I consider myself fortunate to have found them and have been a loyal customer for over 6 years. Seriously, check them out: you'll be glad you did. read more

I have brought my guitars to peekamoose for 7 years. However, this last service was my last. Years ago their attention to detail and quality of workmanship was exceptional. Over the past 2-3 years the shop has changed dramatically. The shop is run with indifference and is production centered. An associate, who is not a luthier, evaluates guitars in the front part of shop, The owner and luthier, Paul, hides in the back and will not come out. They write down what you want and any requests on a service ticket. The luthier Paul never gives you 3 minutes of his time. They call you when it's done and what you get is what is inferred off the service ticket. Sometimes, they just do what they want regardless of the request The cost for the most basic, thing a guitar set-up, is about $150-225. That is not an exaggeration. More importantly, the work is done to their liking, sometimes, irreversibly altering the guitar. A recent example is I had a Fender Strat set-up. The request was for a simple neck adjustment, checking the intonation, and making the action lower. I explicitly told them I hate any guitar buzz and would take higher action over lower. I called them 10 days later; they never called me. I played the guitar at home and the action was beyond low. There was fret buzzing that was not there before. It was horrible. I paid $150 for this. I took out my tools and basically had to redo the set-up myself. Which turned out beautifully in the end. Before this they did a grind and polish on a well played 335. They grinded the frets so low the guitar is unplayable. I tried to be open-minded; they used to be so good. Now the work is beyond disappointing, especially since they are twice as expensive as others. I wrote this review not to be mean spirited to them, rather, to protect average consumer from ruining their instrument. read more

First off, let me say that everyone who works at Peekamoose is an idiot. Bunch of idiots that are really rude, angry at the world because they can't play guitar. Paul ruined my incredible Gibson 335 a few years ago. I wanted a simple set up...then without telling me he cut too deep into the neck when he put in a new nut, also took 2 weeks and charged me way too much money, despite cutting into the neck without asking me! He also set it up for a hybrid set of flat-wounds that I didn't want on the guitar, again with out asking me! He charged me for that pack of strings, then refused to set it up in front of me with the strings that I had provided for the original set up, saying it would take him a few days to get to and he would have to charge me. Also, don't get a fret job from him. He will use softer material that wears out faster. Peekamoose is horrible, don't go there. read more

Worst guitar repair in NYC. Kept my 335 for a month (told me it would take a week to fix) and charged me double what they quoted me. Also ruined the truss rod to my guitar which ended up permanently damaging it. If you are a real artist then you should not take your instrument here. Maybe if you are a loser musician who plays garbage music you would be satisfied with the low quality of work here but I can't recommend this place to anyone. Bottom line: don't go here. Place is still awful. read more

Exceptional doesn't even begin to cover it. Aside from some minor adjustments, it'd been years since I'd gotten my Taylor acoustic the professional TLC she needed. However, after botching a "deep cleaning" (ahem), I was in the market for a luthier that worked finishes - something of a rarity in the city. Enter Paul and the fantastic people at Peekamoose. Not only did Paul and co. do a phenomenal job fixing my errors (made even more difficult by the polywhatever that Taylor uses in lieu of traditional finish), but they also ran a full setup and restored my frets as well. While this isn't exceptional in itself, the way they handled it is. My guitar, however much I may love her, is not the most expensive instrument of all time; moreover, I can't afford much on a teacher's salary. That being said, Paul worked with my budget to figure out a way (grind and polish) to get my guitar playing top-notch without bankrupting me - for which I'm eternally grateful. I could go on and on about how beautiful my Taylor plays these days, but I'll spare you the mushy details. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't mention just how awesome Paul is himself. Although I think the word gets thrown around entirely too much these days (especially in the city), Paul really is a true artist. His knowledge, eye, and craftsmanship are second to none; one only needs to spend a couple of minutes with him to know that. He's intimately familiar with seemingly every aspect of guitar production and repair - from materials to manufacturers, even specific instruments' histories to the art of mixing finishes. Customer service-wise, Peekamoose seems to really stand by their work; they'll adjust your instrument for free a month or so after you take it home. Although I took advantage of this with my Taylor, it turned out that what needed adjustment wasn't even something they'd worked on in the first place (a loose nut). Regardless, Paul fixed it for me, for free, while I waited. Good people. I really can't recommend Peekamoose enough. If you need a luthier or are in the market for a custom guitar (like the beautiful pieces displayed on the walls), do yourself a favor and go see Paul at Peekamoose. read more

A mix between engineering, sensitivity to nuance, sophistication, and an almost mythical knowledge of the guitar. Paul is beyond a craftsman. He takes his time getting it right (to the point where it's best to schedule a big job when you leave for a vacation). The results are insanely good- he has straightened my steinberger composite necks, he has re-wired, re-finished, you name it. Recently I tried one of his own creations and WOW. Ask for it. read more

Top notch work! Cannot recommend highly enough. If you are looking for repair and set up work, your old guitar will be made new again, and you'll probably learn a lot in the process, because they take the time to explain and advise. They also make some amazing custom guitars, too! read more

Paul is an artisan, he breathes guitars, his work is impeccable and he is a true craftsman as well as incredibly precise. His work on my 24 year old stratocaster turned a moped into a Harley. Use this shop, you will not be disapointed read more

this was my second time at Peekamoose for a new guitar plek and setup. I find Peekamoose really friendly to deal with. Sure you can't talk to the owner behind the curtain of Oz, but I don't really care as long as my guitar is coming back a gem. They are a little pricey, but not for NYC, c'mon guys ;). They also give you 30 days of tweaking after a setup if you get home and want to come back for an adjustment. That rocks! I've had steinberger tuners put in, earvana nuts, fret Plek and 2 setup, and I haven't had one complaint. Except the action was too good and i needed it raised because I like high action lol. Peekamoose is on the ball. I'd go back again for sure. read more

Brought in an 87/88 American Standard Stratocaster for some serious neck work and setup. I couldn't be happier with the result. It took some time but that was expected because it wasn't a simple fix. They turned a barely playable guitar into a gem. It wasn't super cheap but it's never played this well in 30 years so it was worth it. read more

AVOID AT ANY AND ALL COSTS! Paul Schwartz/Peekamoose almost permanently destroyed my $3000+ Vigier Excalibur guitar and it had to be sent back to Vigier in France to be almost totally rebuilt. It actually took less time for my guitar to go to France and back than it did for Paul Schwartz/Peekamoose to destroy the guitar 40 minutes from my house. A supposed 4 week job took 4+ months and still wasn't even totally functioning when I picked it up. I ended up having to file a lawsuit in order to recover his fees. He takes absolutely ZERO responsibility for his actions or the damage he causes to instruments and will blame anyone/everyone but himself. DO NOT give Paul Schwartz/Peekamoose your money, let alone your cherished instruments. There are some truly masterful luthiers in the NYC Metro area like Norio Imai, Mas Hino, Larry Fitzgerald, the Rudy's crew, Flip Scipio etc...GO TO THEM, DO NOT GO TO PAUL SCHWARTZ/PEEKAMOOSE. Contact me for additional pictures of his work/damage as well as detailed information if you wish. Also, an additional edit after a while.... The other guitar I had done by this person before they butchered the one I wrote about in the review needs about $800 worth of repair work to function again (and that's for it to actually be great again, not be great by crooked Peekamoose standards). It's missing a piece of binding, the fret crowns are horrific and look like triangular speed bumps, among many other things. Bottom of the barrel here as per usual with this place, part of the purpose of a setup on a guitar is for it to be stable. If anything the shop is really good at making whatever instrument you have, no matter how great, completely unstable. I've also noticed that a lot of 5 star reviews are coming in out of the woodwork for this place, some of which are a day apart. I'm willing to bet now since word of the multiple honest reviews are getting around, in addition to the LAWSUIT, that there might be a bit of shilling happening... Bottom line is...as it was previously...avoid at all costs. If you want fantastic meticulous second-to-none work done on your cherished instruments look up Norio Imai. He's a savant-level luthier who doesn't try and buffer his "skills" by touting the machines he bought. And if anyone who posted a negative review keeps getting filtered...please write to Yelp and let them know. Every time a negative review gets swept under the rug in place of one of their shill reviews, it further allows them to prey upon people consulting Yelp before spending money with them who WON'T see the truth about this business. read more

do not go there if you care about your guitar and money . i was charged $1100 for plek job and new frets on my 1968 gibson es-335 , the new frets were lower then my old one string spacing was off ,the new nut was cut wrong ,and the guitar buzzed every where on the neck , and after all they were upset with me and said it was the best they can do . they gave me back 600$ back after i said that my lawyer will contact them . they are liers !!!!!!!!!!! i had to refret the guitar again and pay again with 30th street guitar , and wow i got what i was asking . i call them back to show them how it was sepouse be done and their answer was "please dont insult us" . dealing with them was an insult and they going to hear from my lawyer after all . read more

I wouldn't take my guitars here if I was you. I echo everything the 1st review said. Most importantly don't waste your time with the PLEK machine. This sounds like a good idea but it just doesnt work that well in the real world. The PLEK machine has no business being in a small shop like this. If you have a minor fret buzz there is no need to file all of them down to nothing just to fix it. This is a bad repair outfit. Don't go there with your precious guitar. Also, they took way longer than promised and expensive and rude! read more

Went here to have my Taylor 314-CE set. Was a featured guest on a national webcast in Nashville. Wanted to have my guitar looking, sounding, and feeling the wonderful way that it does after having work done. I requested that they set it asap because I was pressed for time, and they agreed to have it for me the next day. In hindsight I think that was why my guitar was set improperly. However, I wish that they refused to take the job rather than charge me over $200 for the set up. read more

Brought my new Breedlove to Peekamoose for a setup and to find an answer to an annoying rattle that could have been a high fret or something emanating from the inside. I never got to speak to Paul although I could see him in his glass enclosed office. Long story short, they did a Plek job on it, saying there were high frets and also scratched up the headstock on my brand new instrument. They even charged me extra because the Breedlove has a pinless bridge. After all this, the guitar was exactly the same. They told me to bring it back in but since it was new I wound up sending it back to Breedlove. They reset the neck and replaced the frets and redid the headstock. The tech there said it looked like the frets had never been touched. Peekamoose charged me almost $500 and pretty much did nothing to address the problem I brought in for in the first place. Paul may have started out as a craftsman but he now has inexperienced kids working for him. I would NOT recommend his shop for repair work. read more