John Carruthers Guitar Repair

I drove from Torrance,ca. to Carruthers Guitars in Camarillo. It took about an hour and a half. I wanted to replace a broken guitar neck. However, after meeting John Carruther i decided not to have the guitar fixed. He's a mean and disrespectful man. He quoted different prices and months to have the guitar fixed. Do not go here for service. more

Someone once told me Carruthers could clone a guitar neck easily so I called the shop. He said he would accept the job so I drove the 30-odd miles one way and dropped it off. John took care of me personally, as we examined the neck together. He was nice enough, and said to give him a couple of weeks and sent me on my way (but not before trying to sell me a guitar. Hmm). Well, after several calls and four months later, nothing was even started on my job. I finally said 'screw this' and went back to collect my original part. I have no idea how long it might have taken, but hey, if it's going to take six months or a year, say so! I'm sure he knows his craft but he could stand to improve customer service. For me, a waste of time and gas money. more

About 15 years ago I took my guitar in for a refin and refret. They assured me it would be done in ""six weeks."" For THIRTEEN YEARS of letters, e-mails, and hundreds of phone calls, they told me ""we're just finishing up now."" After THIRTEEN YEARS of playing nice, it clearly wasn't working. Funny thing (but not) after my last call to one of John's guys, ""tell John I look forward to seeing him in Court,"" they finished two weeks later. If anybody thinks I'm kidding, you clearly haven't done your homework. The 13 years it took to do my relatively simple job is NOT the longest they've taken. When you go in, do you NOT see a very curious number of guitar cases with dust on them? Use your head (unlike me). ALL those guitars are in the carruthers ""never never"" land. The upside is that John did great work, other than losing ALL my original parts other than the stop tail piece. They do great work, but before you have them do work, make sure your kid appreciates your guitar, because you'll be dead by the time Carruthers is finished with the work. Apparently, John was too busy ""building guitars before people's eyes"" to finish the work of we hostages for whom he wasn't done for OVER A DECADE. more

My 11 year old son and I have been trying to ""build"" a custom guitar for some time when we got referred to John Carruthers. After a brief phone call confirming that he could help us, we went down to John's Venice workshop filled with anticipation and a little trepidation that we were in way over our heads. We found John alone in his workshop. He spent the next few hours personally guiding us and educating us through every step as he BUILT OUR GUITAR BEFORE OUR EYES!!! From the routing, to the design, to the cutting and sanding. All the while allowing us complete access to the process and teaching us what his 45 years of experience allowed. It was like we both went to GUITAR MAKING GRAD SCHOOL. Throughout, John Carruthers was thoughtful and philosophical, funny and inspiring. We left his workshop with a sense that we had been in the presence of a master... And with a guitar that far exceeded our wildest dreams. Thank you, John. more

Met John in 1988; he'd handmade a Tele around a Fender Tele neck I'd given a friend who'd had his guitars stolen. John's work was striking and I just had a feeling Carruthers would one day make one for me. In 2001, John made a mahogany Tele with some Les Paul specs, Seymour Duncan p/ups, vibrato, etc. To me, it's a beautiful thing. So, I asked him to make a second Tele; based on the '51 Nocaster & Jeff Beck's Esquire. Players notice it and comments have been so favorable that one guy has me passing on it to him in my will. Thirdly, John made a Strat neck with Jeff Beck's ""baseball bat"" specs. Never, during the years I've been taking other players to his shop, has anyone spoken rudely to me; given a surly attitude; presented shoddy work; made me feel like I was a second class citizen. I'm only a high school English teacher and he treated me with more respect than California's present administration. I've always found John Carruthers to be an artist, a gentleman, and a class act. Pros: Superior craftsmanship to me Cons: Takes a couple of months more

I called Carruthers to get an idea what they'd want to do for my J-45 and got somebody on the phone who started by telling me he'd been doing his job for 45 years. I guess that means he started at 8 because he didn't sound middle aged. I asked for a quote on cost and turn around for a simple action setup with my guitar that had too much saddle height. The guy didn't listen to a word I said because he proceeded to tell me that I needed a bridge shave and a new nut most likely. At least a C note for this was the quote, when I asked about the turn around he snapped that he'd already said it was going to be at least a week. Venice. They can keep it. Pros: Alleged Reputation Cons: ROCK STAR MENTALITY WITH HUGE EGOS more

I brought my guitar in to get the intonation corrected. I was told it would be done in a few days and that they would call when it was ready. I called after a week, and they seemed annoyed . . . ""we'll call when it's ready."" I only called because I was told 2 days. I then noticed the repair ticket had a much wider time frame. Fine, no big deal. But when I eventually got my guitar after 2 weeks, the intonation was way off. I called and asked if they would take another look and was met with a clearly annoyed John Carruther. ""It's as good as it's going to be, but we'll take a look."" I brought it in and he worked on it for a minute . . . said he made a ""slight adjustment."" I asked . . . ""a truss rod adjustment?"" and he didn't want to acknowledge that it wasn't right in the first place and changed the subject. Bottom line, he corrected it in a half-ass quick and annoyed way, and my guitar is still not properly intonated. Wasted my money and time. I need to find somewhere else, this place suck. Pros: know about guitars Cons: annoying ""know it all"" personality and bad customer service more

Hands down, John Carruthers is one of the finest luthiers in America. He builds his own like no other and he fixes other company's instruments better than out of their own factories. When I heard my first Carruthers guitar onstage, I was hooked! It made the two other Fenders onstage that night sound like poor distant relations from Arkansas. I'm writing this review to disuade anyone thinking about visiting Guitar Center-DON'T. If you want to play better, the secret is to practice and buy a better instrument. That's why I've got two Carruthers sitting right here next to me. Pros: Best guitars and basses on Earth Cons: Gotta go to their shop; not in chain stores; but that's cool more