In short: Al is a super friendly guy who will treat your instrument like his own, do the work very well and quickly, and he also happens to be a walking encyclopedia of instrument care! Long version: I brought Al my brand new Gretsch G5422-12 twelve-string hollow body guitar for a proper intonation and neck setup. Like a doctor working with a new patient, he asked me what styles of music I play, where on the neck I play the most, and if there were any specific preferences I had for how I wanted my instrument configured. For a very reasonable price, and with a fast turnaround time from drop-off to pick-up (~2 weeks right around Thanksgiving), Al had the guitar ready to rock. Before sending me on my way with my tuned-up twelve string, he had me give it a 'test drive' in his workshop to see if there were any fine-tuning tweaks that it may still need, which it didn't -- fresh strings, super low action, no fret buzz at any position on the neck, fret-ends rounded, pickups adjusted to factory-spec heights, and spot-on intonation across all 12 strings from the 1st fret to the 22nd! It felt like a completely different and BETTER instrument, and has been playing like a dream ever since. Not only did Al deliver quality work (and quickly around holiday time!), we had a couple of great conversations about bass and guitar maintenance during which I learned more in 5 minutes than I would have in 5 weeks of my own research. Al also had spare parts on hand for other smaller-scale fixes on one of my other guitars (used chrome Fender bridge saddles to replace rusty bridge saddles on an old Squire Stratocaster), which he sold me for a very fair price. He also had great recommendations for folk instrument strings for my acoustic/electric mandolin, which changed its tone significantly for the better. Al is passionate about what he does, and is great at what he does, too! I'd definitely recommend him to other DC-area musicians. read more

I had an Audere Preamp installed into my Fender Jazz by another luthier and I started having issues with it. The luthier could not figure out the solution so I did a Google search and called Al's. He was closed and out of town for the day, but took the time to research the unit and go online to look up solutions. I dropped the bass of to him around 9pm when he returned that night. I figured he wouldn't get to it til the next day, but the following morning he texted me that he had stayed up and fixed it that night! He also found another issue and offered to take care of it. It was a more complex repair, but he contacted Audere, took care of the problem, and stayed In constant contact with me to keep me informed of what was going on every step of the way! The bass sounds incredible, and the annoying issues are gone! Excellent service, great communication, and amazing results! Definitely 5 star service! read more

Al just completed a rather extensive job on my Fender Telecaster. The communications throughout this project were excellent! Al helped me to make informed decisions and decide where to spend (and not spend) my money. The project was complicated by a "custom" wiring harness included with my new loaded pick guard and Twisted Tele pickups that was missing a wire. Again, Al kept me informed and simply moved through the diagnosis of the problem and provided a solution. I am extremely pleased with the finished work and look forward to spending time with this guitar and learning to explore the new tonal options. Al even threw in some complimentary shielding work. How great is that?! I confidently dropped off another guitar for work today when I picked up my Tele. Al will get all of my future work and I will guide anyone I know needing guitar work to his shop. Dave L. read more

Seriously - Do yourself a huge favor and skip the Guitar Center set-up for your guitar/bass. You really do get what you pay for. I've had guitars set up there in the past and the quality of set up, care, and communication is not nearly as high as Al's. He did 2 set ups on my stratocasters along with other mods: *bone nut replacement on one *pick up replacement on the other *tuner replacements on both (that required drilling into both headstocks) I honestly couldn't be happier. He cares about how your instrument ends up, and will even make tweaks to it if you're not satisfied with how it plays upon pick up. He responds very quickly via text message and even takes pictures throughout the servicing process telling you exactly what he's doing and why. An extremely honest and passionate service/business he's running. DO IT! -Tom read more

I cannot say enough good things about Al's Guitar Workshop. My experience was excellent from start to finish. Al is an extremely talented and details-oriented luthier, and just a good guy all around. I appreciated that he was mindful of Covid-19 and took the necessary precautions during hand offs. During the course of his work on my guitar, I received regular updates about it's progress along with pertinent questions about certain decisions that could go either way - Al was careful not to do anything major without consulting with me first. The quality of the work is extremely high, Al's care and attention to his craft is evident in the finished product that I received. I'd highly recommend Al's Guitar Workshop to anyone in need of top-tier luthier work. read more

My 2001 Fender American Deluxe Lefty Strat had never been professionally set up since I bought it new on line on a whim more than fifteen years ago, as a late in life very poorly self-taught senior citizen for personal daily enjoyment. Al is a very nice guy. He did a super job at a very reasonable price and quick turn around on cleaning and setting up my Strat with my requested open G tuning and no low E string for playing my short quite primitive one finger barre chord riffs while watching TV in my recliner. My cherry burst Strat plays Great, better than new. Al kept in constant contact via text, including texted photos of his work. I would highly recommend Al's Bass-ment Guitar Workshop. and I will definitely be a return customer. Thanks Al. read more

This is the 2nd time I've used Al's professional skills to bring a vintage Les Paul back to life. He did a refret, nut, bridge and set up on a '77 custom for me in 2021. Couldn't have been more thrilled with the results. So when I wanted to rejuvenate a '79 Les Paul Deluxe, AL was the go to luthier. He repaired a damaged Gibson Flower tuner, much to my delight, without having to replace it. Next, I needed to swap mini humbuckers for some p90s. He knocked all this out, plus setup in 2 days. What I love is Al gives you photo updates, options, prices and the workmanship is fantastic. He turned another neglected guitar into a can't put down player. Can't recommend him strongly enough. read more

I just picked up a Fender Standard P bass from Allen that I must say was quite a gem to find. It was overwhelmingly obvious that he puts lots of TLC into his instruments, is very precise about getting every detail correct, and truly making the instrument sing and shine in the greatest way it possibly can. He loves his craft and it shows. He's also a fantastic teacher and went above and beyond to impart a little knowledge on some care of the instrument to the extent I certainly wouldn't find elsewhere. I'm excited to use this instrument for the tv/film/artists I write, engineer, and produce for and Allen certainly made my life easier when I found him and this shiny new toy for my studio. read more

I had Al setup my Fender '62 Custom Shop Stratocaster. He changed the strings, adjusted the truss rod tension, replaced the Fender bent steel saddles with Gotoh block-type steel saddles, adjusted the action and intonation, polished the frets, adjusted the height of the pickups, checked to make sure all of the electronic components were working correctly and adjusted the tremolo so it stayed in tune. Al texted me several times to clarify several aspects of how I wanted the guitar set up. Al finished the job on the date he promised he would, his price for doing the setup was very reasonable and the guitar played great. I will definitely be a return customer. read more

Al is a fantastic craftsman, luthier, technician, etc. During the early days of Covid, he saved our sanity, while we rotated in my guitars and my kids' guitars for major overhauls and tune-ups. He managed to take my first guitar, a 43 year old Telecaster - which had never played great, and turned it into the beautiful instrument is was meant to be. Now, when our house is full of musicians, everyone reaches for my Telecaster before the Rickenbacker. The acoustic guitars sound better than when we had work done on them at guitar shops. I strongly recommend turning to Al, without any hesitation. He is our "go-to" guy, now. read more

I recently took my brother's subwolfer to Al to be repaired. I know nothing about electronics and I didn't want to trust just anyone with it. I read the reviews and decided that I would try Al's. I am so glad that I did. He gave me an estimate over the phone, he was honest and he took the time to explain to me what the problem was and how he intended to repair it. He communication with me to let me know how it was going and he finished the repair earlier than expected. He also ended up giving me a break on the cost because I was fixing it for my brother who's deployed. I highly recommend Al. read more

I'm torn about making this review because we all like to have our 'secret' tech, but Alan's work is so good he deserves a review so that everyone can benefit from his expertise!!! As a working musician himself, he's already in tune with what his customer's need are - quality and price! His enthusiasm is infectious and his value and standard of work are even better. Whether you're a beginner, hobbyist, semi or full blown pro, Al's the guy for you! From a string change and/or set-up to pick-up changes, troubleshooting or mods and repairs Al's your guy. read more

Work done as specified, on time, priced right, no hassles at all. Al listened to me list out what I wanted done, and he made some recommendations that improved the performance of my EP Les Paul Custom. Along the way, Al always explained the pros and cons of all options and choices. I'm very happy with the upgrade process and the results, and I'm happy to give a strong recommendation to Al and his work. read more

I take all my guitars to Alan for a setup or repairs. When he returns them, they sound better and are easier to play. All of them. There is no higher praise for a guitar repair wizard. If you have a guitar and it needs anything, take it to Al's Bass-ment. Acoustic or electric, he fixes anything. Nice guy, too. read more

Al did some big work on my Precision: Set up, new tuners, wiring, shielding, body work and buffed it up (pickguard too.) Terrific work, all at a reasonable price. It plays and looks great. Nice guy to deal with too. I'll take my work to him from now on. Now I'm going to ask him to work some mojo on my P/J. read more

Great and fast repair. Al is extremely professional, low key and competent. He fixed my PRS in virtually no time for a very affordable price. I'd strongly recommend you bring your repair work to him. read more