Our Services

At St. Paul Guitar Repair, we provide comprehensive maintenance and repair services to ensure your guitar is always in optimal playing condition.

With a focus on service over sales, we keep our full attention on your instrument.

a custom Michele Beardsley lap steel, with striped inlays, and intricate details.
A shot of tools at the workbench

We follow a
clear process to make things easy

We are passionate about instruments and our customers, and believe clear communication, smart planning, and solid follow through leads to successful projects and happy customers. Contact us today to get the ball rolling!

Contact Us
A detailed shot of the back of guitar headstock, with ornate metal tuning pegs.

We Examine & Assess

When your instrument first comes in, we’ll talk with you, listen to your needs, & assess the work that needs to be done for your instrument to sound and look exceptional.

Estimate + Action Plan

After our detailed assessment, we provide the most accurate time + cost estimate possible to you, and clearly communicate the work to be done.

We Carry Out The Work

With your approval, we begin work on your instrument. We will always contact you should any questions or anything unforeseen arise along the way.

Contact You On Completion

We contact you after the work is done, and payment is due upon pickup. We encourage questions, and stand fully behind our work and process. If you aren’t 100% satisfied, bring your instrument back, and we’ll always take care of you.

Some of the Services We Offer

We can handle any task, from large to small

Restring and tune
Strap button install
Pickup installation
Complete set Up
Bridge reglue/replace
Guitar electronics
Modifications
Broken peghead repair
Fretwork
Neck reset
Make nut/saddle
Inlay design/install
Crack repair
Loose brace repair
Restoration
Finish touch-up
Intonation adjustment
Custom builds

Our Custom Work

Home to Ron Tracy Custom & HepCat Lap Steel

HepCat Lap Steels

Specializing in quality handmade lap steel guitars

Hepcat Steel Guitars is a one-woman operation. Michele Beardsley makes everything from scratch (except bridges, tuners and electronics), and does all of the finishing work by hand. Hepcat focuses on bringing exotic woods, custom inlays, and creative design into an excellent sounding lap steel custom creation.

a shot of a Michele Beardsley lap steel guitar peghead, inlaid with HepCat logo in mother of pearl.
a radiant purple, HepCat lapsteel guitar
View more work here

Ron Tracy Custom

Maker of the T92, and electric & acoustic custom builds with the player in mind

Drawing upon decades of experience crafting and repairing instruments, Ron makes exceptional instruments that cater to players.  By combining technical aspects that optimize sound and playability with classic looks, Ron Tracy Guitars deliver a highly enjoyable experience for musicians of all styles.

a cropped shot of a T92 peghead
A photo of a custom, dark stained T92 telecaster by Ron Tracy.
View more work here

Case Studies

Some step by step examples of our work

Neck Repair

Repairing a badly cracked peghead
a peghead, freshly glued, ready for further restoration work
First step, glueing the peghead back into place as close as possible.
peghead being sanded after filler inserted
Sanding the glue joint to get a uniform scoop out at the seam.
one side of a guitar neck sanded
Results of the sanding process at the seam, so far so good.
a photo of sanding a piece of filler wood on a belt sander
Making a block of mahogany to fit where the seam material was removed.
photo of fitting the filler wood to existing guitar neck
Sideview of the mahogany block in place. This must be a perfect fit.
photo of a guitar peghead being clamped with a black inner tube
Gluing a multiple surface area with old inner tube as a clamp.
a sanded guitar peghead
Filing and sanding to the original neck shape.
sanding a piece of filled inserted for repair of guitar peghead
Ready to do the other side. Then preparing for new finish.
fixed peghead photo
Minimizing the seams where the wood grains meet is crucial.
fixed peghead with tuning pegs all installed
Done! Up to pitch, stable, holding tune, smooth to touch, and sustain to die for.
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Fingerboard Repair

Restoration process including detailed inlay work
a photo of removal of frets in preparation for repair
Starting the work by removing the very worn, uneven frets.
prepping a fretboard for repair
Removal of the very thin mother-of-pearl inlays to save for later use.
gluing the binding back for a fretboard
Replaced the missing binding.
a fretboard being prepped for further repair
Trued up the fingerboard.
photo of fretboard on the workbench
Reinstalled the inlays, making one from scratch.
finished guitar fretboard, with detailed mother of pearl inlay work
The finished refretting!
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Before

damaged seemingly beyond repair...

a broken guitar headstock

After

...like nothing ever happened

a now fixed guitar peghead

At St. Paul Guitar Repair,  you can trust us to take on a wide variety of tasks, all handled with the same care, no matter the size or complexity

Don’t hesitate to reach out  and discuss your next project with us!
a detail shot of hands filing down the fretboard on a guitar
Detailed shot of Michele Beardsley, working on a guitar
a photo of hands cutting in frets on a guitar on the workbench, with details of the St. Paul Guitar Repair workshop in the background.
a detail shot of bandsaw and the workshop of St. Paul Guitar Repair.