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    Gary Brawer Guitar Repair

    4.5 (151 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    There it is. The volume knob I asked to have deleted.
    Shawn R.

    I brought them two guitars. A 7 string Ibanez RGR752AHBF and a 8 string Skervesen Raptor. I asked for the pickups in the Ibanez to be changed out to Lundgren M7's and to have the volume knob removed and plugged and have the tone made into the volume. There was also some buzz on the first through fifth fret that needed to be addressed. Well there is still buzzing on those frets. The bridge pickup was installed way to low towards the high string where the low B string is just over the pickup pokes and I still have a volume and tone knob even though I asked for the volume knob to be deleted and plugged. The Skervesen came back playing exactly the same. They even noted in the receipt that they didn't change the strings. Yet still charged me $90. For what? IDK. I never contacted them about any of this. But why would I? It's too long a drive for me to bring them back to be setup right. And it should have been done right the first time so why would I trust them now? It is what it is. I had no problem waiting a month to get my guitars back. But I wish they'd come back to me like that time was well spent. If you are thinking of making a long drive based on their reputation think twice. They get Two stars because they didn't break anything.

    rock n roll baby!

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    2 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Gary set up my guitar expertly, including milling down the extra-super-jumbo stainless steel frets.

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    1 year ago

    Gary is the best in business, bar none! 100% recommend for any guitar work... He is nothing short of amazing.

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Been going here since I was a wee one... their techs and knowledge are without comparison in the b area.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Gary's the man. Been at it a while, probable address whatever your concern is many times. Good value.

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    The best at what he does! His work is impeccable, and everything he's ever done on my guitars has been top notch.

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Gary is the best. Period. Full stop. End of story. There isn't a better place to take a guitar for some TLC.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Be patient and your instrument will play better than before! Gary is truly a master and has a love for what he does!

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Gary and company have worked their magic for me on several occasions. I'll ship a guitar from NJ to CA rather than trust it to anyone else.

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    8 years ago

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    6 years ago

    I love these guys! Amazing work - have been buying and getting my guitars repaired with them for twenty years!

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    20 years ago

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    17 years ago

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Gary Brawer Guitar Repair

    Review Highlights - Gary Brawer Guitar Repair

    I was surprised when Fernando called me early both times to tell me my guitars were ready to be picked up.

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    Musician's Mall

    Musician's Mall

    (16 reviews)

    $$$

    Downtown Berkeley

    Wonderful people work here. I needed help with some of my tablas and these staff very friendly and…read moreaccommodating. Highly recommend...

    I've been a musician my entire life and worked in the music industry in Nashville for many years. I…read morenow live in UT. I play many instruments and I have always wanted to pick up the Sitar since childhood and obsession over George Harrison. For whatever reason I waited many years and moved through many other instruments but now the time has come to explore sitar. I made a trip out to Berkeley specifically to get guidance in choosing a sitar and perhaps even deciding if the instrument was right for me. Upon visiting MM we met Ben who was more than happy to make introductions to the instrument and even an impromptu first lesson with a student sitar. There are a handful of places where one could obtain a Sitar online but I knew this instrument demanded a bit more care. Ben and the other folks at MM provided exactly that. Once we knew we were bringing a sitar home Ben helped us make the better choice of shipping the sitar instead of driving back with it. We also decided we needed a set of Tablas and Ben sifted through a surplus of them until we found the ones that spoke to us. He tuned them up and once again provided a level of care and expertise that IMO is just required for sophisticated nuanced instruments like sitar and tabla. This morning two giant boxes showed up at my door back home. I blew off work and spent the day getting more acquainted with our new instruments. By the end of the day I was actually making some sounds that qualified as "musical". After 30ish years of guitar, bass, piano, cello, synth, etc. etc. and feeling a bit uninspired I have to say that the sitar has me pretty excited about creating some new things that are really unique. By end of day I was mustering my way through some obvious pop sitar tunes (Paint it Black, Lebonese Blonde, Norwegian Wood). There's clearly a great deal to learn about this esoteric instrument but I was actually quite surprised and relieved to find that it wasn't quite as intimidating as I expected. I attribute this once again to Ben for spending the time to teach me proper posture for the instrument. Holding the sitar in a way that your left hand is free to move about the fretboard is a bit tricky to the uninitiated. Thanks to Bens instruction, I had this figured out pretty quickly. I could imagine wrestling with the sitar for days trying to figure out how to handle it. In addition to Bens help, the various tutorials on the MM website were also super helpful. I'm really really excited to see where the sitar takes us both in our kirtan music and in western pop music. Such a cool texture. I knew that the sitar would be really special and I wanted to make informed decisions and make sure I was getting a quality instrument and the knowledge to do it right. I purchased a harmonium for my girlfriend a couple years ago through an Amazon store. I won't go into all the details but suffice it to say the experience was subpar, I received a damaged used instrument that was supposed to be new and the store was unresponsive to my questions. Harmoniums, like sitars and tablas are delicate, nuanced instruments. You might save a few dollars rolling the dice on Amazon or similar but if you're serious at all about your instruments, just reach out to MM and get the right instrument, the right setup, and the right information. MM surpassed my expectations and as best I can tell is likely the most reputable source within the US for these special types of instruments. Truly a very special and super cool business with a genuine passion for eastern instruments. I just wish I lived closer so I could drop in there more often and maybe take some individual lessons. I'm sure we'll be back soon for more toys and maybe even that beautiful black pro sitar once I'm worthy of it ;). I highly recommend MM to anyone in the market for Indian/Eastern instruments, supplies, and education. Many thanks!

    Gary Brawer Guitar Repair - musicinstrumentservices - Updated May 2026

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