Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — restrings and setups are offered for electric, acoustic, classical, bass, and Floyd Rose guitars.

Absolutely. Bring any brand and the same gauge set the guitar currently has for a restring, or any preferred gauge for a desired setup. It saves me a trip into town, but if you'd prefer, a quality set can be supplied for an additional fee.

One thing to bear in mind if interested in trying a different string gauge set:

Changing to a heavier or lighter gauge set of strings will require a setup to compensate for the increased or decreased tension on the guitar neck and tremolo (for tremolo-equipped electric guitars), any action adjustments required, and to correct the intonation altered by the change in string thickness, core mass and tension.

Changing the string gauge during a routine restring without proper setup will not yield the best results and may make the guitar worse to play. Heavier strings on an acoustic guitar in standard E tuning will put more tension on the top which can lead to it curving up over time, especially if left unattended at string tension in a warm or humid environment. This affects the angle of the neck plane in relation to the bridge, causing high action which can't be sufficiently lowered, is expensive and difficult to fix, and the repair may not be permanent.

Most setups are completed within 1-2 days, depending on the workload. If it's a busy week and I have a queue or a complicated job taking more time it might be 1-2 weeks max. You'll get a clear estimate of pickup time at drop-off, and I'll be in contact if I think it will take longer due to extra work or parts required.

No, Guitar Wellness is a private, home-based guitar setup service, not a retail store or commercial space with walk-in trading hours.

Hamilton East near Steele Park in Hamilton, New Zealand. The exact address is shared in your booking confirmation.

Yes — bookings are required. The online booking flow takes about a minute. Answer a few quick questions about your instrument, enter your contact information, pick a date and time that suits you.

The booking will add to my calendar and I'll be notified so I can expect you and prepare for our meeting.

Times are available during the day after 10 am, Tuesday–Saturday. You'll receive a confirmation email with the booking details and address.

After a quick look in the workshop, you'll get an honest, no-pressure note about anything extra. Sometimes playability issues won't present themselves until the baseline maintenance and setup are complete. Issues may include uneven frets causing buzzing or dead notes, a seized truss rod preventing neck relief adjustment, or faulty electronic components that can't resolved with cleaning or a soldering iron. Replacement parts may have a delivery time of 1-2 weeks from overseas if available and will require a deposit of the cost to order. Nothing additional is done without your approval and a quote will be given for the work and parts required.

No — Guitar Wellness is a guitar technician service focusing on maintenance, restringing, setup adjustments and soldering of standard electronic components. A luthier builds and repairs stringed instruments from scratch (focusing on woodworking, joinery, and acoustics) and is best for structural damage, neck resets, major crack repair, broken headstocks, and building custom guitars from scratch.

Luthiers have extensive woodworking workshops for custom builds and advanced repairs.

Guitar Wellness keeps your instrument in optimal playing condition for live performance, studio recording, practice, and enjoyment.

I prefer to communicate via email to keep accurate records and respond to enquiries in detail which may require time to research a problem to find the best solution. It's a lot easier to inspect an instrument properly and unrushed in-person than try to diagnose a problem and estimate a cost over the phone without seeing it.

In some cases, structural issues caused by age, environment, build quality, or damage, can prevent a guitar restring or setup from being worth attempting or possible entirely. People who bring me old, uncared for, or cheap guitars with those issues usually aren't aware of them and how they affect the desired outcome. If the strings are extremely high, it could be too much neck relief or a neck angle issue, a raised or "bellied" top on an acoustic guitar, or something else. Not all problems are fixable or otherwise require the skills of an experienced luthier and expensive specialised guitar tools. Replacement parts may need to be ordered or be no longer available for certain vintage instruments. Sometimes the best and most cost-effective solution might be to buy a new guitar that doesn't have major issues and can be setup properly, accurately and easily.

By booking an appointment at least a day in advance we can both plan around it and I can have a proper look at your instrument before proceeding with the service or making any recommendations.

If you aren't ready to book an appointment to drop off a guitar for a service, and just need some advice or a price estimate, send me an email to [email protected] and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.