Best Musical Instrument Repair Shop Ann Arbor Near Me

Eric Janetsky: Dave Collings installed a Bigsby on my Tele. He did a masterful job and the guitar plays beautifully. I live an hour away from AA Guitars, but will gladly make that drive again to have Dave or Hesh work on my guitars.

Heckler Collector: David and Hesh just baptized my Lester and blessed her. All around great guys with over 40 years of combined experience. You might find a good luthier, but you will never find a better one. I usually don’t write reviews, but these two…always knock it out the park…Thank y’all!

Dennis Marr: I trust Dave completely, with working on my guitars.

Vitaliy Peker: For a first time I took my PRS to get setup by a professional and WOW this guitar has never played and sounded better! I thought I had a nice guitar and figured that having to mess with the tuning here and there was normal. Nope, not normal. I have a rekindled relationship with my guitar again - just like when I first got it about 15 year ago. I can't wait to take my other guitars here. Oh, and the turnaround time was insanely fast - 2 days later! I called Elderly first and they told me to drop my guitar off for weeks... I say skip that and go to Ann Arbor Guitars!

Steve Synan: Ann Arbor Guitars is an absolutely wonderful place!I have been wanting to review this place for awhile because Dave has been so helpful in the past, but up until now I hadn’t actually become a customer since my only interactions with him had been over the phone, where he was so helpful that I didn’t even need to come in!I bought a brand new Telecaster (Fender Player), and normally I do my own VERY basic setups, but I was having issues with the nut right out of the box. I tend to leave this type of work to the pros who have the right tools and expertise, I’m more of a “set neck relief, intonate, set action” type of guy, who more or less hacks it.Within 10 seconds after pulling out my guitar Dave had already identified the problem before I could explain it! He knew right away that my E string was probably buzzing around the 5th fret, which was exactly the problem I was having. I asked about the neck relief (since I did do that part and was curious), he did say that it was really close, but I actually did have little bit too much relief, so it was nice to get feedback on that, which will definitely help me in the future.Dave is one of those guys who you know you can trust right away. It’s very obvious that his keen eye has looked over many thousands of guitars. More than that, Dave is just a pleasant person to deal with. He took his time with me, we shot the breeze for a few minutes, and at no moment did I ever feel rushed or uncomfortable.Turnaround was super fast. Dave was also very accommodating after the transaction. I thought I was having a problem, gave him a call, and he was very professional, giving me plenty of time slots where I could have come in, even that day to do some final tweaks to match my play style, however after a quick lesson it turned out that it was a technique issue, not a guitar issue (I’m brand new to guitar, been playing bass for years). Furthermore, Dave knew who I was when I called, which is always nice.The guitar feels great!

Jesse West: David setup my Martin M-36 and brought this baby to life! Quick turnaround, I’m thrilled! These are good people. He’s got my 28 now.

Erik: After having been burnt at a different shop, I can happily say I full endorse Ann Arbor Guitars.Even before the work was performed I felt very comfortable as the experience and professionalism of this shop is immediately apparent.My guitar finally sounds how it is supposed to and plays very comfortably. The pricing was fair and what I expected for this type of work.

Kyle Green: I'm won over.Have you noticed how hard it is to get just about everything right now? There's a good chance if you want something it's either sold out or you need to go on a waiting list. Talented and well known techs/luthiers of SE Michigan (e.g. Tom Pellerito, Mike Koontz) are booked solid and you'd be lucky to even get them on the phone. Kind of a bummer if all you need is something relatively minor. Who wants to wait three months for a setup?I brought them a beautiful but problematic second hand Jazzmaster after asking around on the internet for luthiers with offset experience. I couldn't be happier that I did!The neck pitch is right, break angle over the saddles is good, nut is slotted perfectly. It's not rattling or buzzing or sounding dead on the upper frets and the strings are no longer jumping out of the saddles. I've never pulled a new offset off the rack that played and sounded this good.What Dave and co. are doing at Ann Arbor Guitars is a service to the community. Limiting big projects in favor of pro setups lets them be laser focused and have fast turnaround times. Having high level luthiers be available to do this kind of work is immensely valuable. An expert setup really makes or breaks a guitar.I met Dave at the shop and he was friendly and a pleasure to talk to. Extremely knowledgeable without being condescending or in-your-face. I feel like I could have sat and talked for a long time if I wasn't trying to be respectful of his time.Lastly and most importantly, they have a dog. I got to pet her. Five stars.

Jeremy Storer: David did a great setup on my electric bass with a quick turnaround time. A great shop to do business with and i'll be bringing all my guitars to Ann Arbor Guitars whenever they need a tune up or repair.

Tom Egel: Excellent service! Dave really knows his guitars!

Joe Mitchell: Ann Arbor Guitars is my first choice for instrument setup and repairs. Dave and Hesh are legit.

Lucas Campeau: Did a great setup of my tele with a quick turnaround. Definitely bringing my other guitar in the near future!

cyndy wulfsberg: Amazing professional service and expertise. Only negative is the narrow stairs up to where the magic happens.

Brian L: Dave has been doing this for a long time, has impeccable training and know-how. I don't think twice to take him any of my instruments. A2 is blessed to have him!

Laurie Lounsbury: Hesh and David wonderful about the repair and maintenance of guitars! I've entrusted my Martin to them several times and they never fail me.Their pricing is fair and they attention to detail is meticulous. I would never take my guitar anywhere else.

Ken Laberteaux: Living in Ann Arbor, you will discover all sorts of exceptional people. David Collins at Ann Arbor Guitars is exceptional. I encourage people to find his videos on YouTube. They can give you a sense his knowledge and see some of his self-made tools in action. HIs explanation of equal temperment is the best I have heard. My impression only improved after meeting him, discussing options for my guitar, and inspecting his work. He also did a great job communicating with me. I told him about an upcoming gig, and he called a few days before, letting me know it would be tight, but he planned on my guitar being ready the afternoon of the day before. That day, he called at 10 a.m. and told me he had finished the major work, but still needed to do the setup, saying it would be ready by 1 pm. I arrived, and he was true to his word. A great experience with a great professional!

Jeremy Brown: I have had nothing but exceptional experiences with Ann Arbor Guitars. All the work they have done on my instruments has been superb. In our interactions, they have always treated me with the utmost respect, professionalism, and courtesy and have gone above and beyond to educate and encourage me.One time I inquired about a repair they were unable to do out of respect for their neighbors, and they referred me to another shop they knew would be able to do the work at the highest level. I greatly appreciated their honesty, concern for their neighbors, and for referring me to the right place.My instruments all play better than ever since discovering Ann Arbor Guitars, and they will always be where I go for everything from setups to major repairs.

Dan G Hacker: Positive:Professionalism,Quality,Responsiveness,ValueGreat work on several repairs over the years. Installed pickup in acoustic flat top, new bone nut and saddle on flat top, neck reset on flat top, adjusted cones in round neck resonator for more volume; always with final setup. Top notch!

sam corbin: These guys are great! I’ve had them work on multiple guitars over the years, including a refret on my vintage Martin D28 which plays beautifully now. Thanks, David and Hesh!!

Terry Gordinier: Hesh and David did grade A work replacing the well-worn frets on my '79 Strat, which was long overdue. The neck was redressed along with the frets, and the truss rod and intonation were set up just right, plus an additional spring was added to the tremolo block to assist with stability. Plays at least as well as when I first purchased it at Nalli's Annex back in '80. Like buttah.

Ira Strickstein: Tom has been.blessing my basses damn near 100 over the past 30 years. And I wouldn’t have any other tech touch them. Known all over the us for his professionalism and quality. I trust him as a true friend.

David Smith: Ya that young dude can sure make me sound better every visit, I need to go more often. He’s number one.

Matt Smith: This man is a true talent. My SG is a true delight after recieving Mr. Pelleritos attention.

kenneth mckeith: Mike is an excellent technician. One of the best I would imagine

monica holbrook: Positive:Professionalism,Quality,Responsiveness,ValueTom is truly a master of his craft. My guitar is perfectly dialed in!

Brian Coker: He's the best in the business, and a genuinely great guy.

Beth Mavin: What a great guy! And he does excellent work too!

Matias Sturla: Positive:Professionalism,QualityHe might be hard to get a hold of sometimes but that's only because Tom is a master of his craft and will get your instrument to play as well as it possibly can. I've taken instruments to other places before but I have never gotten the attention to detail I get from Pellerito Guitars

Marty Costello: Great guy doing great work. I've been going to Tom since I started playing in 1985 when he was in a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop on Joy Rd in Plymouth and he's done magic with the basses I've taken to him. Impeccable work, both set-ups and repairs, and he's given me great advice as well.

Steve L: Tom’s great, I’ve had him perform basic setups on my 8 string, weird carbon fiber neck guitar and a fret leveling/polishing plus setup on my stainless steel fret guitar. Two of the guitars had floyds. I think he’s seen it all, really fortunate to have a luthier of his skill in our area. Oh, and really the nicest guy you can have work on your guitar.

Jacob Gibbs: Recently brought in two guitars to be restrung and restored for my brother as a gift. Tom's character, detail, pricing, and outcomes are well worth everything.

Troy Lipan: Tom is amazing. I have him a difficult bass to repair. The luthier at a guitar store couldn't eliminate the string buzz on this instrument. Tom did a fret level and a full set up. Not it plays better than any of my other instruments! He's the only person I trust.

Doug Montgomery: Positive:Professionalism,Quality,Responsiveness,ValueTom fixed up my Seagull G60 and it is playing like butter now. Superb sound now and now that the action is correct, plays much easier. Tom is very personable and made me feel at home from the get go. Highly recommend to anyone needing work done. Thank you Tom

Nathan Slabey: Just dropped off my guitar to get fixed. Tom is a cool guy and I feel secure with him fixing my guitar... I will let you know next week after I pick it back up

Steve Rhodes: The shop very nice and well maintained, Tom the owner makes you feel at home when you walk through the door. He seems very knowledgeable about repairing guitars, visits are by appointment only, but if you have a guitar in need of repair I highly recommend Pellerito Guitars 👍👍👍

William Marino: Tom has the best craftsmanship and hugs in the game.

Eric Houston: Personalized service at its finest. As long as Tom is doing work he will be the ONLY person to setup my guitars.

Brandon Cochran: Tom is a nice guy and does awesome work

Ryan P (Lithos Global): Truly the only place I would take my guitars for repair and maintenance. Tom is courteous, reliable, and always does impressive work.

Steven Strudgeon: Excellent luthier