I recently took my favorite guitar, a Gibson SG, here for a setup. My band had an important show coming up, and my guitar was feeling out of whack. They set the guitar up for me just as I requested, and got it back to me the next day. It felt great. Just two days before the show, there was a huge heat wave, and my guitar started buzzing severely. I called up BL in a panic, and they said to bring it right in. They made the necessary adjustments at no charge, and the guitar felt great for our show. Great work! read more

I was in a crisis when my guitar was dropped and suffered a crack. After a recommendation to visit Brooklyn Lutherie was immediately pleases with their customer service. They inspected the guitar, told me exactly what needed to be done. There were no surprises or random charges. They completed it in just one day and were the sweetest humans. Kind, friendly people who care about what they do. If you have anything wrong with your guitar, I suggest you seek them out! read more

I entrusted them with my first, oldest, and most beloved guitar: a 1960's Decca Tulip I've played since 1994. It came back fast, and setup exactly as I needed. Really a joyful experience to re-connect with the instrument. Strongly recommend them, and will be bringing more guitars their way. read more

I have been guitarist since the 1970's (geez I'm almost an OG). Suffice it to day I have patronized quite a few luthiers/repair shops in my time. Brooklyn Lutherie is now my go-to for repairs, set-ups and upgrades that I can't do on my on. Super cool people, highly-skilled, quick to respond. I definitely recommend this business. read more

We're lucky in the metropolitan New York area in that we have a large collection of expert, well respected and world renowned guitar techs and luthiers here that artists from all over the world call "home" for their precious guitars. No list of these notables would be complete without Brooklyn Lutherie. Yes, precisely because of this fact, they are busy. You often need to make an appointment for your instrument that's 1 to 3 weeks out. But that inconvenient fact is accepted because when you take a guitar here, no matter what's wrong with it, you can trust that it's going to come back playing perfectly! I can go anywhere to get my guitars set up or fixed. And I have through the years. But when time permits it, I will gladly bring them here. The service is excellent. read more

I've never felt the need to leave a review so this is my first. I recently acquired a 1968 Yamaha AE-11 which the seller failed to mention was barely playable. most of the frets were worn out and in really bad shape and the neck had a hump or two in it. I would have returned the guitar but there was something about it that made me want to do everything i could to "save" it. after doing a little research i found out about Brooklyn Lutherie and decided to take it there. The guitar came back in the most incredible condition, beyond all my expectations. the fret work is impeccable and the neck is straight with no humps, twists, or dives. and the sound is gorgeous, big, and beautiful. They were upfront about the cost, and detailed about the work they would have to do to get it back in "like new" condition. all my emails were answered quickly. you cannot go wrong with Brooklyn Lutherie and i HIGHLY recommend them. I will never take my guitars anywhere else. oh, and the price was fair and the turnaround quick, they said about two weeks and it was done in two days!! read more

Very nice and professional operation. I brought in my violin after it sat in my car while being transported to Brooklyn from out of state. About 7 hot days in the sun in transit and when I got it, the strings were like a bunch of spaghetti, the tailpiece had become detached, the bridge of course was just lying there and who knows what the state of the sound post was. They put it all back together, new strings, trimmed the tailpiece, and repaired a small separation in a seam. Beautiful work, done in 3 days. Highly recommended. read more

These guys are the best. I've taken my guitars to other places and have literally paid for disappointment. I brought one guitar to Brooklyn Lutherie and was so impressed buy the work, price and professionalism that I brought 3 other guitars there. They installed kill switches me and did setups for me. My guitars were ready in no time and and their price are MORE than reasonable. Chloe is the best and my new favorite person. She even waited for me when I was running super late to pick up my guitars. I will definitely be bringing my other guitars in soon. read more

Mamie was super helpful and communicative, wonderful to work with. I dropped off two guitars for a cleaning and setup and they were done a few days before I'd expected. The price was really fair and they even stayed open for about a half an hour after closing because I hit a ton of traffic on the way. If they'd decided to have closed, it would have been a nightmare to turn around and go on another day, so I thank them for that "small business" mentality. Also, the shop is what you want out of a guitar shop. Tons of workbenches, guitars on the walls and tons in cases, makes you feel right at home . read more

It is difficult to find quality shops who perform quality work especially if you own very high quality instruments, such as custom guitars from Collings, Fender, Gibson, Fodera, and small shops. Over the years, I've found myself having to turn to Brooklyn Lutherie who I've found to be mostly marginal, requiring close monitoring of work if it is to be anything close to what one hopes for.. Mamie, one of the proprietors of the shop, is capable of good work at times. But I've found the quality of her work uneven and more than once had to ask her to make adjustments to the work she had performed after having made it clear I wanted something else. She is headstrong and becomes defensive, which results in unprofessional and awkward interactions. As I've stated, she is capable of competent work, but don't expect exacting work from day to day. read more

I took my favorite guitar for a refret last spring. After 30 years, there was significant wear on the first 4 frets. Understanding the challenges of the pandemic, I was happy to find someone local who was well regarded to do the work. Time was not a factor for me. About a month alter, and upon returning home from picking up the guitar, I detected a buzz whole playing. When I let BL know, they were very accommodating and said I should bring it back for an adjustment. I knew when I was told "if you look for a buzz, you'll find a buzz" things were headed in the wrong direction. Some adjustments were made and I returned home...still buzzing. At this point I decided to live with it, despite having paid hundreds of dollars for the repair. Maybe it WAS me, I rationalized. I have other guitars to play but this one was my favorite. Sure enough, I grew frustrated enough to have someone else look at it. The diagnosis was the nut was too low causing a buzz on the low E string at the first fret and should have been replaced or at least raised (and brought to my attention) and the frets were uneven up the neck--4, 8, 13, 14 low E, 16, 18, 20...was the guitar even worked on, I wondered? On the advice of a few knowledgeable people, one of whom is a professional touring musician who makes his living playing guitar, I decided to cut my losses and find a new repair person, who validated the poor work. I proceeded to pay to have the guitar properly repaired--frets needed to be dressed and nut replaced. I thought long and hard about writing this review, but in the end, I wouldn't recommend Brooklyn Lutherie: the service was ok, but I didn't like the food. read more

Superb customer care and quality work... Mamie and Chloe are gems! Your instruments are in great hands.

I brought my Yamaha APX600 in for a setup. It sounded a bit off to me: intonation probably, but there was also slight string buzz. Mamie did the intake, asked me how I wanted the guitar to sound, what style of music I liked to play, etc., which showed me she wanted to get the guitar to sound the way I wanted it to, not the way it's "supposed" to sound. I've gotten setups at Guitar Center and Sam Ash and they've never asked me questions like that. I got it back fairly soon after I brought it in. I brought it home and played that night and it was noticeably better sounding than when I first bought it, and she adjusted the action so it feels great too. These things have made a big difference in inspiring me to play more. I highly recommend this place. read more

Excellent one on one customer service at a fair price in a super cool historic building with a dungeon for a basement! Trying to wave someone down at Guitar Center or wait a super long time at for a repair at Retrofret is for the birds (Don't get me wrong - I shop at both of those places). I've brought 2 acoustics and one electric here. Chloe and Maime are quick responders via email and do great work. Park at Whole Foods across the street. read more

I've been bringing my guitars to Chloe and Mamie for quite a few years now. and they're wonderful. I have a '49 00-17 Martin, '47 L-7 Gibson and a '68 Ovation Balladeer. Even though you have to schedule an appt a month or two out now, they still provide a quick turnaround, they're still very reasonable, and they still do impeccable work. I absolutely recommend Brooklyn Lutherie. read more

I reached out to multiple guitar repair shops in the area to ask about a setup for a guitar with kind of uncommon hardware. Even though they weren't able to work on it, they were the only shop that even replied, and were kind enough to give me a recommendation for another shop that might be more suitable. read more

After Mandolin Brothers closed I needed a place to take my guitars. Wish I found this place sooner. Six guitars in and Chloe and Mami continue to impress and educate me. read more

It's simple, they do fantastic work (and usually on instruments worth more than me) at a completely affordable rate!! I've had my two most delicate and prized guitars worked by both Mamie and Chloe... And don't want anyone else ever to touch them again. I'm struggling to find a con for this review, but I guess I would say that the only draw back is the location of the shop. Subway is a bit of a walk and parking is impossibly hard in the area ... But that's not gonna stop (or even slow) me down from going back over and over. I do fear that eventually everyone will lean of their amazingness and I'll no longer be able to schedule a set up or afford their services. read more

I needed my acoustic fiddle pick-up looked at at the the very last minute before a pretty loud gig at the Bell House. Chloe said to bring it in- even though the gig was that night!!!!! She worked on it for a bit- and thought it sounded better. Wow- is all I can say. When I plugged it in that night- it was like playing on a new instrument. We have needed a place like this for sometime. I am so happy they are in business. Talented, lovely, brilliant artists and craftspeople. Thank you Chloe for making my night!!! I will send people your way always! read more

Beautiful work and super nice people to boot. Have been shipping my acoustics to different luthiers in New Mexico and Nashville, just hadn't found anyone I could trust in NYC area. (In fact, some I spoke to had no idea of how to do a correct neck reset!) After seeing examples of Chloe and Mamie's work, I decided to try then out with neck reset, new saddle and nut on a early 60's ladder braced guitar. The work was done faster than their estimate and was beautiful done. Just outstanding work, and at a great price too! I couldn't have asked for better. read more

I just brought my guitar back from getting repaired at Brooklyn Lutherie. When I initially brought it in to consult with Mamie, she took the time to fully explain the problems with the guitar. She then went through the options available and she explained exactly what would be done. We decided on a plan and left another problem for later. Mamie fixed the problems that we spoke about and she even attempted to remediate the other issue (which really improved things). The guitar was repaired in a very timely manner and with great skill. I am quite happy with the work and would not hesitate to recommend Brooklyn Lutherie to any one I know. read more

Wonderful. When I walked in, I knew I was in the right place. I brought my ukulele to them and they took the appropriate time and care to get it up and running. Highly recommended. read more

Excellent work on my Spanish classical. I took it in for a bridge repair and general tuneup and it's now better than ever. A great experience from start to finish. Although I hope never to have any more significant repairs on my acoustics, when they happen I'll be a repeat customer. read more

I was given an old banjo from the 1920s. The tuning pegs were not working. I brought it to Brooklyn Lutherie. They replaced The tuning pegs. The banjo works very well. I did a very good job. read more

Chloe and Mamie are super skilled and super nice! Chloe fixed up my viola really well!

The strings on some of my guitar frets were buzzing, and when I first took it to Guitar Center, the guy told me they'd need to keep my guitar for several weeks - plus it would cost a minimum of $200. When I took it to Lutherie, Chloe glanced at it, tightened the truss rod in the neck, and 100% fixed the problem in about a minute! When I asked her how much I owed her, she said "Nothing!" (Although she accepted a cash tip after I said "PLEASE let me give you something!!") Brooklyn Lutherie will be where I go from now on for all repairs. read more

My favorite repair shop in Brooklyn! Mamie and Chloe are incredibly knowledgeable and skilled They do fantastic work at very reasonable prices read more

I've taken my guitar to Mamie twice now, once for a set up and once to fix a tuning peg. She's done a great job both times, was very quick about it, very reasonable rates. Very professional, very easy going. I'd strongly recommend this shop! read more

Update: also got my '84 Stratocaster back from refret (and some wiring) and it is PERFECT. Better than new. This has been my main guitar since 1984 and it has a shit ton of mojo and character. Over the years the frets have finally pooped out but oh my God let me tell you that Mamie totally NAILED IT. I mean, she didn't use nails, but this refret job is perfection itself. Plus the set up was exactly how I asked it to be. I couldn't be happier. read more

This is just a quick note to let others know what my experience was. I really wanted to like this place but...They had my guitar for four days. I brought my guitar in which is a Flamenco Blanca guitar with a LR Bags dual source pick up system. I was told that string balance was something that could be attained and adjusted at the shop. When I picked up my guitar a completely new element pickup had been installed (Grateful to excellent folks at LR Baggs) however the string balance was beyond unsatisfactory. There was no string balance whatsoever between the low A string and high E the only string with output was the low e string. When I took the guitar home and took the saddle apart I noticed three shims, uneven adjustments, completely improper set up, (the saddle never touched the element pickup) and a broken volume control. After the shims were removed, a new saddle cut and adjusted/fitted,replacement volume control I was able to obtain perfect string balance. Don't take your guitar here unless you want a headache. You need to find someone else who knows what they're doing. These are nice people but nice people who screw up your instrument is not nice or worth it. Read others reviews they have what looks like fans who just say they like them, that however is not a review of their work. read more

I just bought a 40 year old vintage guild guitar and wanted to have it looked at to assess its condition and get a set-up. Being a relative novice to vintage guitars, I wanted to see if there were any issues not noticeable to my novice eyes and get the instrument set-up so it would be tip-top. Mamie looked it over thoroughly, gave me her assessment of the instrument and said "honestly, it doesn't need a set-up, it's great. Good find!" So refreshing! Mamie could have taken the instrument in and charged me whatever she wanted to do whatever work didn't even need to be done, but she gave her honest assessment and me sent me out without taking a dime. She definitely earned my patronage for the future. read more

Playing guitar and making sure I eat food to not die are almost of equal importance in my life. Very frequently does guitar take priority over sleeping, for me. My one and only--2009 black Gibson Les Paul--has been faithful to me for years but has had issues with staying in tune since I bought it. I took my guitar to Brooklyn Lutherie, chatted with Mamie, she told me what we could do and then I left my guitar with her for a few days. Not only did she turn it around more quickly than expected, but she 100%, without a doubt has made my guitar sound better than it did at factory settings. Maybe its just me being sentimental, maybe its the new strings, but I truly believe that she worked some magic on it because it plays incredibly. New nut, action properly adjusted, restrung, and set back up at MY custom settings--the thing sings. If you need any help on your guitar, please do yourself a favor--skip the chain guitar store's overhurried tech shop, go to Brooklyn Lutherie, chat with the wonderful women there, and pay for professional, artist-grade, stringed instrument maintenance. read more