Went through my guitars before repairs with explanations on why certain repairs were needed and which were optional. Top cracks, neck resets and refretting work was exceptional. I have sent seven guitars through the shop, each returned as new. I have zero regrets and nothing but praise for the work done. read more

Aaron did a great job replacing bridge and refretting my Taylor Acoustic as well as setup with nut and saddle work on my Fender 12 string. Worth paying for quality work! read more

Poor communication and really awful repair work. Brought them a 66 and 93 Gibson acoustic. They charged me a premium but botched the repair on both guitars. Now I get to pay for the same work somewhere else. read more

Hoffman does first class work. There is a reason why all major guitar companies rely on them for warranty work. They did a wonderful job repairing my 1968 Martin D18 read more

The owner was very rude and condescending towards me. I found this establishment entirely unlikeable. This was the least personable and most belittling business owner I have ever encountered and I was very upset by my experience there. I highly recommend going anywhere else for your guitar needs. If you need am actual Luthier, try my friend Jason Lawson at 763-221-2885, if he still has that number. I really am not sure why the owner acted the way he did and treated me with such disrespect. I haven't been this upset by an interaction at a store for many years. read more

I had two guitars in need of repair. Asked them to fix one, and sell it for enough to cover repairs on both. The fixed it, and sold it for enough to cover the repairs to that one. So now I have one guitar in need of repair. There are honest repair people in this town. Find them! read more

They installed a new pick guard on my Yairi guitar 20 years ago and it is still there doing its job! Lasted much, much longer than original

I had a kind of a mixed experience with Hoffman Guitars. I took a guitar in for a repair (minor crack on the top of my Martin) and for a set up on my mandolin. Their repair work would get 5 stars. The crack was adequately repaired, and Kevin's set up really helped some intonation problems I'd had with my mando. The work itself was good. Unfortunately, a few issues had to mar the experience. First, I found a sticky substance on the inside of my guitar case when I got it home. This got on the back of my guitar as well. I was able to clean it off my guitar easy enough, but it was not easy to get out of the felt lining of my guitar case. To me, that's a serious lack of professionalism to let that happen to a customer's guitar. Secondly, when I first brought the guitar into the shop one of the employees took a real "Comic Book Guy" attitude with me, lecturing me in a condescending way about the humidity of my guitar. Yep, the guitar was a little dry, but I've been playing for almost 20 years and I don't need to be spoken to like an idiot. So as happy as I was with the actual work done on my instrument, I've got to say that I'll be hesitant to return. There are more than a few fine luthiers in the Twin Cities, I'm more likely to go to the one who makes me feel valued as a customer. read more

I highly recommend Hoffman for anyone needing work done on a acoustic instrument. I've brought several mandolins here for set ups and repairs and have never been anything less than satisfied. They even worked a "miracle cure" on a carved top mando whose top face caved in over the winter! Kevin and Aaron have both been highly professional and helpful, I honestly won't take my acoustic instruments anywhere else at this point. They are also really good about making sure you're only getting what you need-I came in recently prepared to do a complete refret on an old Gibson mando, and Aaron very kindly asked to let him start with a set up and some clean up work and see how it went. Other stores might have taken the money and ran, but Hoffman's made sure I only paid for what I needed! Very much appreciated! read more

These guys are great. I've been in several times for guitar setups or modifications and have always gotten exactly what I asked for at a reasonable price. There's nothing I would hesitate to trust Hoffman Guitars with, they are the experts. I have not purchased any of their custom instruments, they have a great reputation but I can't speak to them. All I can say is that I've taken repair, setup, and modification business to just about every shop in the city and Hoffman is where I've had the best experiences. read more

I waited and waited and waited for a guitar from Gibson-Epiphone, like 3 months that began as a repair by Hoffman Guitars; however, during that painful period of waiting Hoffman Guitars helped me to cope with my dilemma. Finally, the guitar arrived brand new on my wife's birthday and we went to pick it up. It was nicer looking than the original and seemed to play better than when I bought it last summer. All in all, Hoffman Guitars gave me good service and a good deal. For guitar repairs, I would go there any day. Also, Charlie Hoffman is a luthier and he makes beautiful sounding guitars, one which if I had $3,500 I might be inclined to buy one day. read more

Brought in my Larrivée for some much needed TLC and these guys set her up on the spot. I could tell the work was done with care and consideration and I received some good advice on protecting the wood from humidity. Wish I could say I bought one of their crafted guitars but it wasn't the right time. Try them for tune ups! read more

CUSTOMER BEWARE I had a neck reset that was covered by warranty done on my guitar by Hoffman Guitars, a factory authorized warranty service center. After 1-2 years, it developed a hump in the neck at the 12th fret and is now considered unbuyable by many reputable guitar shops in town. I should have known something was wrong because even when I originally got the guitar back, because there was dried glue that had been pressed out and never wiped away. It just looked sloppy. I've had multiple guitar shops to look at it and all they say it looks like a job done "on the cheap". Hoffmans seems to have a history of poor craftsmanship on warranty repairs. From what I understand, they don't get much money from the guitar companies for warranty work, so they understandably try to push them out as fast as possible. I have, however, heard reports of even their paid repairs being overpriced and again showing signs of poor craftsmanship. When I asked Hoffmans for options about how to fix the hump, they suggested to file down the frets! I've contacted Martin guitar support and other guitar shops and they all agreed that would be the worst possible solution. Why file down the frets when the real issue is a bad neck reset? I have not worked with Charlie Hoffman himself, but multiple of his employees. These employees think it's a good idea to put a bandaid on work was done improperly, instead of fixing the root issue. Because of this, I would be very wary of taking expensive guitars to people with that mentality. You usually only have one shot to repair something properly, otherwise you've just caused damage. They didn't repair my guitar, they damaged it. This may have been a great guitar shop at one point, but that time has passed. I would recommend Brown's guitar factory for any of your Martin warranty repairs. It's certainly worth the extra drive. read more

I had these guys repair the broken headstock on my 65 SG jr. I was surprised when I picked it up. It was so much better than I expected. The finish matched as close to perfect as you could get and played as good as ever. That was three years ago. read more

I went to this guitar shop needing very quick help with what i thought was an issue with my Fishman acoustic guitar pickup and Ron was very helpful, thoughtful, and honest. Turns out it was a battery issue, and instead of trying to charge me hundreds of dollars and change the pickup, he instead figured out the root of the issue was the battery connector and fixed it for me right away. Highly recommend this store! Great people and we'll be back next time through the cities. read more

I was refered to Hoffman gutairs to put a new nut, and saddle on my martin gutair. I droped it off on a Friday befor close and it was done the following wed. Ron Tracy worked on my gutair and did a fine job. My gutair came back just how I asked it to be and plays better then new. Ron took the time to answer my questions and it was an all around great experiance. read more