Truthfully, I can't comment on Mark's work, but I want to express frustration that he had me pay $75+tax before he would tell me that repairing the bridge on my acoustic guitar was going to be ~$800. I paid the fee because I would've been able to put it towards the overall repair cost and given how minimal the repair appeared to be, I never would have guessed an $800 quote. On top of this, it took him give or take 15 minutes to assess the damage and recommended via email after I had left the shop that I just replace my guitar with a used model for ~$400. I understand his advice I just wish he had been kind enough to know he was about to make me pay him $80 without having to do any work on the guitar. His tone supported that he knew it was unlikely I would move forward with the repair. Overall this just felt like a bait and switch, with me paying $80 for nothing. I recommend trying to find a quote elsewhere before going here just so you can ballpark if spending $80 is worthwhile. read more

I urge you not to buy guitars from the swindler. He sold me an instrument that was unplayable in an area and when I didn't feel comfortable owning his guitar that he advertises on his website is playable upon shipping. He's more than happy to charge you a 20% restocking fee, not just for the value of the guitar as well as as the shipping costs if he's willing to cut those corners to make a dollar what is he giving you as an instrument? read more

Over-rated, Charged me extremely high price and my Vintage guitar sounded Terrible after he was finished.

I brought Mark my '69 guild d35 with high action thinking I'd need a neck reset. Mark told me he could make it play better without it. He could have easily charged extra for the neck reset, instead he worked his magic by lowering the saddle, adjusting the bridge pin slots and the truss rod. He also did a nice job on some fret work. I got my guitar back in just over a week and it played 100x better with a much lower action. Couldn't be happier with the work. I was very hesitant about getting a neck reset on my guild and I'm happy he was able to extend the life of the guitars playability before getting the reset done. It wasn't cheap, but I'll pay extra for the assurance. Thanks Mark. read more

Erlewine Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Austin, Texas

I am so thrilled with the repair that Mark did on my Martin. He fixed a side crack top side and it's perfect . I recommend him 100 %! I will be bringing him the next patient. G Worth read more

If Willie Nelson trusts him with Trigger, then you can too with your guitar! Mark did a fantastic job with a neck reset and bridge replacement on an old Martin D28 I have made in the 1960's. Plays like a dream again and I think is set for another few decades. Very nice guy with an impressive resume and storied history. Some cool memorabilia in his shop to look at, too. Took him a few weeks after I initially reached out until I had my fixed guitar back. Highly recommend if you have a nice guitar you want an experienced luthier to work on. read more

I have a Martin D28 that's over 30 years old. The frets were buzzing and some of the trim was coming off. Mark recommended having the frets refinished and the action lowered, along with the trim work. I had always felt the action was a bit high but just lived with it. He said it would play better than ever when he was done. He was so right. So much easier to play with the lower action. And no buzzing frets. It wasn't cheap but totally worth it because it's a great guitar that will last a long time. Can't recommend Mark highly enough. read more

This best in town and probably elsewhere! My Gibson Hummingbird sings again! Thank you Erlewine Guitars! read more

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Mark Erlewine has built and repaired guitars from his Austin shop for over 30 years. He's soft-spoken and humble, so if you just walked into his shop, you probably wouldn't know unless you'd checked out his website that he has worked with a plethora of professional guitarists. To drop a few names: Billy Gibbons, Bob Dylan, Sting, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter, and Joe Walsh. Wondering how Willie Nelson's treasured acoustic manages to stay together? Mark Erlewine regularly performs magic on it in the back room. Closer to home, he's also set up and/or repaired several of my husband's guitars, and did an incredible job. His repair fees may be a little higher than having Joe Weekender slap on a new bridge between customers at McMusicland, but he's not that much higher, and he does it right, with quality materials and artistry, the first time. Chalk that one up in the Worth It category. Mark also builds custom guitars, and he plays a mean pedal steel. A great guy with amazing talent. Just go check out his shop. read more

I took my guitar to Mark to; make me a new saddle, a cleanup , and install some new tuners. I had heard about him years ago and I can tell you the work he did on my 68 Epiphone Classical Guitar is amazing. The affect on the playability is simple amazing. Worth every damn penny. I feel like I got a new guitar back. Let Mark tap into the potential of your instrument. Simply the best, no one else will ever work on my guitars again( I can see why he has the clientele he does) . He was fast in his turnaround and an all around nice guy. I appreciate the humble demeanor and great customer service. So impressed. read more

I brought my guitar in to get some pickups swapped out. Mark is very polite. He called me a day later to say that he couldn't wire them with the current selector switch. No problem. One day later the guitar was ready. The big surprise came with the bill. The installation cost more than the pickups did. I can appreciate charging for good work, but I think it's a good idea to let the customer know this in advance as this price was about 200 dollars more than my previous tech was going to charge. So, I believe judging by the quality of his work that he is the go-to guy. If you make your living playing music or are just very serious and you want your guitar to be right, this is the guy. And the price reflects that. Pros: Friendly polite prompt expert quality repairs Cons: Ferrari mechanic prices read more

It was just luck that I stumbled upon this genius. I guess Google helped too. I brought Mark a Telecaster with a solid rosewood neck that I loved and a Variax JTV-69 with a lousy neck but awesome electronics. I asked Mark to make a copy of the Telecaster neck for the Variax. He did just that, a carbon copy, all the way down to the frets and the finish. Mark's neck is just a little better looking than Fender's. I am amazed. read more

I took in my Hamer T-62 electric which was 25 years old into Mark's shop for repairs. The guitar had not had any service in all the time since I bought it new all those years ago. It had some fret wear and was starting to show it's age when playing. Mark brought it back to like-new playing condition and I am VERY happy! Mark is a master and I would highly recommend him. Thanks Mark! read more

Mark has a reputation and pedigree pf the highest order. So let's get this out of the way: he is pricey but his work is top notch. I dropped $1000 getting 2 electrics and an acoustic set up but I want to know that my instruments are in the hands of the best. They play great and any little problems, concerns or tweaks I had after the set up, he told me to drop back by and took care of them immediately. He's very communicative via email and just a great guy as well, which is also something important to me! read more

This is the second time that I have used Erlewine Guitars to upgrade and repair a guitar. I brought Mark my Epiphone Lucille for an upgrade (can't afford the higher price Gibson version). Mark checked and repaired all the electronics. He leveled,dressed and polished all the frets. Replaced the pickups with Gibson 57 Classic at the neck and a 57 Classic Plus at the bridge w/ matching gold covers. Adjusted action and intonation. My guitar now plays and sounds like it's much more expensive brother. As mentioned, the cost may be a little higher than most, but the workmanship is top-notch. Not to mention that Mark has a great personality and is just a nice guy! It is no wonder that many pros entrust Mark with maintaining and repairing their instruments. Erlewine Guitars will be my first call if I ever need any of my other guitars fixed. Trust me, it should be yours too... read more

I have a vintage Martin whose tuning pegs were falling apart and needed help after looking around a bit and searching online. I reached out to Mark to see if he could help me out. He responded quickly and directly by email and asked me to bring it in for service. Before I got there, he'd located and ordered the parts and by the end of the week -- the day before he went on vacation he had it all done and ready for pick up. I can't say enough good things about Erlewine Guitars. Top notch in terms of knowledge, quality, service, timeliness, professionalism. The list goes on and on. Austin is lucky he's still here and doing great work. He'd done work on a couple of my guitars over the years, at the old shop on Guadalupe and the one on Burnet Rd. My only complaint is that he hasn't yet designed and produced an acoustic travel guitar like his Chiquita electric model! read more

I've had all of my guitars worked on by Mark Erlewine for a few years now, and was always intrigued by his custom-built guitars on display in the shop. I finally decided I had to have one of these gorgeous instruments, and so worked with Mark on the specs for a custom-built Erlewine Automatic. I picked up the guitar just recently, and cannot put it down! I can say without hesitation that this is by far the finest guitar I've ever played, and I've owned and played some great guitars over the years (Gibson custom-shop guitars, Fender custom shop guitars, etc.). The workmanship on this instrument is just phenomenal, and the woods and electronics are all absolutely first-class. The guitar looks, sounds, and plays absolutely amazing! Thanks Mark! read more