*BUYER BEWARE* *SCAM ARTIST* My wife had this guy "custom make" a tom delonge replica guitar for me…read moreas a surprise gift. (For around $1000) (we live in arizona so he probably thought he could get away with it) within minutes of receiving it in the mail, I was Horrified! I contacted him on every platform I could and barely got a response..I gave him a huge list of what was wrong with the guitar ~~(half tightened screws,missing screws,stripped screws,loose pickgaurd, loose & uneven pickup, loose neck plate, loose backplate, protruding & bent volume knob, filthy and scratched bridge with crap all over it & missing parts, only 3 strings,loose, paint was chipped on back, old backplate with hole in it, only 1 spring inside guitar and it wasn't even connected, he used some random neck that he already had and put that on body, the tuning pegs were rusted, and had a stain on the back of head stock, no strap buttons, cable wouldn't fit into output jack, bad soldering job,all metal pieces were scratched up)~~ as well as sent photos and videos. Out of about 26 emails, he probably responded 5 times. When I asked why certain things were messed up or not done at all!? He just wouldn't answer me , would just tell me how he "knows the guitar was perfect". The only thing he answered to was when I said he's trying to just give me the run around and he said "I promise I'm not giving you the run around, if you have questions on something specific, ask or send pics of vids." To which I did, MULTIPLE times! He was just stalling.. I even asked for a refund and he never responded to that. He did however say "I'll just send you some strings and screws" (since the strings were missing! And my wife paid to have it stringed.and screws were either stripped, missing, wrong size, or not even screwed in all the way) in 1 email he said "I could send it back to him to fix" but for $1000 it should have already been ready to go! why would I send the guitar back to him if that was a half ass job that was done in the first place?? My wife even paid 100$ for fast shipping!, which he was LATE on sending! And when my wife asked why he didn't send it on time ( because she saw with the tracking number exactly when it was sent) he sent her pictures of his "deceased infant" saying how he is a trustworthy guy and wouldn't lie about something like that. (which who the hell does something like that anyways???) But we found out that was obviously a lie! She also paid for a brand new guitar for him to go pick up and customize in the first place, ($250) but not 1 thing on the guitar was original! It was all used parts! So not only did he do a completely horrible job but he didn't even use the guitar that was bought! he kept the new guitar! *THIEF* and just put used parts on a already finished body (he claims he painted the body but after taking it into somebody who has been in the business 40 years, he told me he most likley bought a prefinished body and just put on used parts, and just kept the new guitar) I Had to pay another $300 to have everything fixed that he didn't do correctly. And got told it shoulda been $450 because it was more complicated than he thought after getting into fixing it. we've already reported it as fraud through venmo (the app we paid him through) I have no idea why somebody would risk their own buisness to do such an awful thing but this guy has no moral fiber in his body and will say ANYTHING to scam you. DO NOT BE A VICTIM! (I have photo and video evidence of all claims made) I just can't wait to forget about this guy. Karma is real.

Had the headstock snap off a guitar after a fall and found my first Luthier, Dan. The short version…read moreis he did quality work and my son is enjoying the very first guitar he purchased with his own money. My son's teacher originally considered the guitar not salvageable and was later impressed with Dan's craftsmanship. Dan is passionate about guitars, and he's a talker who can be disorganized. He also seems a bit OCD. This is great for repair detail, but leads to so much detail you start to question if he's really fixing your guitar, or has sold it on the black market and is stringing you along. He fixed the guitar, and it looks and sounds great. Be specific with what you want. With any Luthier, repairs vary in time, and work. Be specific on your price range, and how any decisions you make may impact the cost. Dan will stay in contact with you, mostly about your guitar, and his progress. He's a musician, and the better musicians think in a style that us common folk can misunderstand. So be clear, be patient and place structure on your needs to help the process if you're a task master.

It seems like every time I try to do business, there are issues. Nothing is ever in stock, and has…read moreto be backordered. People buy stuff, use it for 45 days, return it and GC sells it off as new. Better off buying off Sweetwater or Amazon.

Guitar Center in Ocean has a pretty good inventory and odds are you'll find what you're looking…read morefor. The sales people are friendly and if you're in the market for a musical instrument they probably have it. Check it out.

I write to extol and celebrate the virtues and amazing craftsmanship of Michael Virok, the owner of…read more@theGuitarRescue.com and a Luthier extraordinaire. This review has been a long time in coming, due to several serious family medical issues combined with a move to another state, and it is a review that I am grateful to finally write. Michael graciously and kindly helped me to complete the final (and most important) phases of mods on my 2006 Gibson SG Standard. My overall goal was to switch the colour-scheme of the hardware to Black, and so that it also had the "Doom" affinities of my previous guitar, an ′86 Jackson Custom made in the San Dimas workshop. The first phase of mods began with the installation of new tuning pegs and control knobs. I was able to get some Grover 102BC Original Rotomatic Black Chrome tuning pegs to replace the original faux-ivory white ones, the latter of which have really thin attachment posts (which I have seen break due to desiccation a few times). I always loved the control knobs on my Jackson, so I got a set of four Proline Back Chrome Textured Dome ones, which feel like home to me. The next phase of mods involved replacing the Gibson pickups with something more suited to my style of playing. I decided to go with the EMG Zakk Wylde 81/85 Humbucker Set in Black. Both of these are active pickups, like the one in my Jackson. I went to one of the big-box stores for the installation and when I picked it up, the tech (i.e. not a luthier) said that since the electronics cavity of an SG is notoriously small, he was unable to fit the battery inside of the cavity, and it was returned to me like this. He suggested that I find a luthier who could rout out a battery-box to ameliorate this situation, because the store didn't even have the proper tools for the work. I was, like...WTF. So, I found a real Luthier in Michael Virok. He was able to discard the splitter connecting the new pickups and wired them directly together so that a battery could actually fit in the cavity - without having to rout out a battery-box to the side of the cavity. While this setup may use batteries more quickly, there was no need to do any invasive procedure to install something by doing it this way (which I thought was a great idea!). He did this while I waited. Gratis. The final piece of the puzzle was the installation of a proper tremolo system, and I asked Michael if he could put a Kahler whammy-bar on it, because I absolutely adored the Kahler on my Jackson. Michael acted as a de facto consultant on this, and he graciously helped me to determine which Kahler model would be the best-suited for my SG. Bear in mind, that literally no other luthier in a 100-mile radius said that they could do this...not even in Philly. He installed the Kahler 2200 and it works perfectly! Taken together, I offer my highest recommendation, without any reservation, for Michael Virok at The Guitar Rescue as the regional go-to Luthier extraordinaire. If you live anywhere within an hour-or-two of Lawrenceville, NJ and have the need to do something, anything with/to your guitar, PLEASE let him work on your axe! I drove all the way from King of Prussia (PA) based on his reputation alone, and was so impressed with him. He is kind, affable, and a consummate professional whose only concern is customer satisfaction. Thank you so very much, Michael, for literally everything, and humble apologies for the exceedingly long delay in submitting this review. Namaste...

Took my guitar in yesterday and got it back today. Full rewire and setup. Sounds perfect! Provided…read moreme with some history on the 1983 Fender Fullerton Stratocaster I brought, which I always wanted to get confirmed. I would highly recommend.

I ordered a new bass guitar from Sweetwater and I brought it in and the luthier / owner was nice…read moreand I just wanted new strings and a setup. I picked it up a few days later paid him and everything was fine until I went to adjust the trussrod and the rod head was broken and over tightened. I call the moron up and he denies everything and he said it came that way, I said why didn't you tell me? You took my money?! Come to find out he has done it a few times to musicians I know. Stay away from this lying, weirdo. Go to Russo's in AP. This guy sux and is a weirdo!!!!

Chris fixed the issues on my strat and set it up perfectly for my playing style. Nice guy and great…read moreservice!

I'm not sure if it's fair to call this place a guitar shop. It's more of a guitar museum... that…read moresells its art pieces. If you want something very specific or mainstream, then you're better off going to a Guitar Center. Because they stuff they have here is an amazingly curated smorgasbord of rare, quirky, or otherwise vintage instruments. I stopped in just to check out their acoustic room in the back. Played some guitars, the lone banjo they had, and an acoustic bass. Then went back around to look at all their oddball guitars (in a good way). The guy manning the front desk and helping people out in between doing a guitar setup was super cool to talk to.

This is the kind of independent guitar shop we should all be so lucky to have nearby. We need more…read moreshops like this and less of the utterly devoid of character and corporate mega-store monstrosities like Guitar Center. Personalized attention, friendly and knowledgeable staff. They helped me set-up a new guitar and install locking-tuners, two things I am not confident enough to do myself. The prices are more than reasonable and the turnaround is fast.

Dick is a great guitar teacher and I look forward to my lesson every week…read more I have also had guitar repair there, as well as buying a gig bag and a few books. The prices were extremely reasonable. Wouldn't go anywhere else

I hate to be "that guy" that complains endlessly about the state of the economy and always longs…read morefor the way things used to be, back when every business was privately owned and the proprietor treated you with the respect you deserved. It makes no sense for me to be that guy, because I was born in '83---I never knew such a world. And, yet, House of Guitar is the business "those guys" are always longing for. In a world filled with guitar super centers, The House of Guitar keeps things simple. The business? A small shop built into the back of owner Dick Serota's Feasterville home. He carries about twenty guitars at a time, and he probably sells four or five a month. But the bulk of his income comes from guitar lessons, which he offers in the shop for the most reasonable price in town. (Last time I was there it was $15/half hour. That may have changed.) And Dick and the two other teachers that work there are great. For those prices, you would expect some college kid who can teach you to play "Stairway to Heaven," not much else---but these guys are real working professionals.