I have to take the opportunity to write yet another review of Domenic and Third Floor Guitars. I impulse purchased an extremely inexpensive partscaster Strat in candy apple red. I've always wanted a candy apple red Strat. The electronics were terrible, the nut was plastic, the action was way too high and the intonation was terrible, and the pickups were underpowered (they were crap, actually), but I knew from past experience that I could count on Domenic at Third Floor Guitars to turn it into a quality instrument. Once again, he didn't disappoint. He replaced the plastic nut with a Tusq nut, swapped out the pots with 3 CTS 250k pots, replaced the switch with a genuine Fender 5-way switch, replaced the jack with a Switchcraft jack, installed an Orange Drop 022 cap, and installed 3 genuine vintage1990s MIM Fender ceramic magnet pickups - and of course, a full setup. I played it tonight at my band's practive and everyone (including me) was amazed at how awesome it sounded. Honestly, it sounded as good as my 1978 Strat - maybe even better! read more

What an amazing service. Brought in a guitar that wasn't in the best shape and they did a magnificent job on getting it playing beautifully. 10/10 will always come back here for any work. read more

Domenic did a fantastic job setting up an acoustic guitar for me. Fast and friendly service at a great price.

Luthier insulted my regular luthier back home Without knowing anything about them, and, got a bunch of glue on my guitar from It dripping out while trying to reattach the binding. 6 months later, binding is popping off in same place. Stored in a case with humidifier pack so that is not the issue. Setup done poorly and argued with me over the strings I use normally. Just avoid No this is not a fraudulent review- my name has legally changed since I setup this yelp profile and you could not pay me to bring my guitar back here. read more

Tried to use YouTube to get rid of string buzz after changing the string gauge on my son's guitar. That didn't go so well. Wound up at Third Floor Guitars after reading all the glowing reviews and am so happy I found this place. Domenic got my boy's guitar playing like butter again and was super nice to deal with. I'll be back with my guitars so I can get back into playing. Thank you! read more

Domenic is great. He setup my 2 guitars and they play amazing. I even brought him a brand new Martin. Dom said it was perfect and no setup was needed. I really appreciated the honesty. Some here care about location or what the repair shop looks like. I care about quality of work. Dom, thank you! I am very happy with the result. I'll be coming back. read more

I've been playing in Boston for 20+ years and have been a customer of Dom's for the past 10 of those. I've tried all the others and have never been so consistently impressed - I play more budget-friendly instruments and he has always made my guitars feel like a million bucks (or at least a thousand). He turns jobs around usually within a week, does his best to educate the customer and meet their needs, and never tries to upsell. I never thought I would find myself looking forward to having to go to a repair shop, but he has me laughing the whole time with his old-school charm. Highly recommended, support your local luthier! read more

Important thing to know: Third Floor Guitars is not actually a shop, and rather just a room in a musty house without much ventilation and poor lighting. Work was poor, and he talks himself up through the whole process while putting everyone else down. According to him, everyone else does inferior work, especially the customer. He wants everyone to pay for full setups and wouldn't adjust simple things without charging a hefty fee. And his setup is one with high action despite requesting the opposite, and when asked to correct it, was told that was the lowest he would set it up as any lower would buzz with heavy strums. He doesn't understand that everyone's different, and with my light playing style, low action is far more comfortable. I eventually took it to a different luthier after paying the full price here, and got it adjusted to my liking. Several months later, no instances of buzzing. read more

Dom is absolutely amazing! He is no joke a master of his craft and an honest, very hard working guy and one of the coolest people I've met in ages. My boyfriend called him about taking a look at my old 1984 MIJ Fender Squier that I had sitting in a corner for nearly 30 years with a broken saddle while I played another guitar. Thankfully he was free at the moment (but not really because he's always working) and had us head right over, went straight to work on it and assessing the situation and didn't stop for a second. It was a pure delight to watch him in his element going through his process. We felt like we had already known him forever, too. Like we were visiting a friend. I love his energy! I have a particularly difficult and pretty rare case with this guitar neck. It is far far far beyond warped 6 ways from Sunday. In every direction you could think of. It's basically equivalent to the red ring of death for guitars. He still didn't give up working his magic on the thing and telling me what my options were. I seriously don't think there exists such a thing as "there are no options" in his mind. Still, miracles happened before my eyes. This is truly his passion and he's just amazing! I would fully trust him with all my guitars old & new! Nobody wants issues with their guitars but they're inevitable and I actually hope to do business with him in the future. If you're looking for a master of his craft, seriously, go to Dom!! Whether you're just looking for a tune up and adjustment for optimal playability or a serious modification or fix. read more

So - I called Dominic from 3rd Floor Guitars and he said I could bring my guitar to him the that day. Dominic had my guitar back to me the next day!!! This was fantastic!! The work Dominic did on the guitar was excellent. My guitar was a newer guitar that was in desperate need of a good set-up. Dominic made my guitar 1,000 percent better! Lastly - Dominic is a real pleasure to do business with. read more

5-star custom set ups and repairs from Third Floor Guitars! Love his work and his great customer service. Dom has done work for me multiple times and every time he excels at what he does. He has my business for life. My guitars have never been so well cared for. He listens to what you want, offers superb advice, and works hard to achieve your perfect set up, repair, or customization. He's done a great set up on my Stratocaster, repaired the heck out of my acoustic, and built me a Telecaster when I provided most of the parts. He does detailed work and asks many questions up front to understand what the job is and will call you with any additional questions. He's the best! read more

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Just had a great experience with Dom giving my beloved D'Angelico DC Premiere its first professional setup. First of all, Dom's a terrific guy who's fun to hang out with & who listens closely to what's happening with your guitar, how you play, action and strings you like, etc. He fixed my string buzz by adjusting the truss rod while I was sitting there, but then he did a thorough overhaul, adjusted the intonation, tightened everything, and even straightened out my pickups. The thing now plays and sounds dead-on perfect, in keeping with Dom's exacting standards. All in a 2-day turnaround for a very reasonable price. I won't go anywhere else. read more

Had a terrible experience with the luthier. He was extremely impatient and almost always angry. What's worse, my guitar was returned with fret buzz all over the neck when played with medium pick. So slightly raised my saddle height to remove the crazy fret buzz but it didn't help. When I called him to help fix the fret buzz, he was not willing to fix his problem at all. When he finally agreed to fix his problem, the attitude was bad. "I'm going to do this really quick". All he did was just raise a few saddle height and keeps giving the customer "lesson". Instead of listening to the customer and fix the problem, he called what the customer said lies and bullshit. In fact I brought the luthier beer as appreciation and gave him $20 tip instead as he revealed he doesn't drink. In the end I paid $160 fee including tip for the worst customer experience ever. read more

My first experience with Third Floor Guitars was outstanding! I wasn't surprised, however, because I had read all the positive reviews which is why I made the appointment in the first place! Dominic's extensive knowledge about guitars, his impeccable work, his fair pricing, quick turnaround and obvious passion for what he does are so impressive that I will bring all of my guitars to him whenever they need attention! Last but not least, Dominic's warm personality and wonderful sense of humor enhanced the experience even more! read more

Domenic is the best in the business! He's incredibly knowledgeable, competent, and friendly. He's also hilarious and fun to talk with. Additionally, his prices are very reasonable and he will return your guitar to you quickly. It's safe to say that Domenic has earned a customer for life, and I'll be sure to bring my other guitars to him for setups and repairs. Thanks again, Domenic! read more

Dom is a wizard at fixing guitars. Took my franken-hollowbody strat (gorgeous guitar but wouldnt stay in tune and action was not great) to him and he turned it into my favorite guitar. I also took my acoustic Yamaha to him when the frets started buzzing. it came back much better sounding and easier to play than when i bought it! read more

Third Floor Guitars - Franken-hollowbody strat - Musical Instrument Services Near Me - Malden, Massachusetts

Domenic is the sweetest. He knows what he's doing but, more importantly for me, he takes the time to walk you through everything so you understand, too. I took my husband's guitar here to be fixed and after showing up without an appointment (which he gracefully ignored), I didn't even have the vocabulary to tell him what was wrong with the guitar... That's how little I know. Domenic was friendly and welcoming in addition to doing a great job professionally. I would definitely go back. read more

Just got my Jackson Soloist 7 string back from Third Floor. I play in a pretty extreme detuning (Drop G#), and while other guitar techs tend to balk at this Dom didn't miss a beat. He corrected a bow that was forming in the neck, got my action right into the sweet spot and fixed all my intonation issues. And he did this not because we discussed each of these things individually ahead of time, but because that is simply what a professional does. On top of that, he's a sight cheaper than most of the other shops in the area and he had my guitar done in 1 day. I will be returning to him soon with both of my Schecters. Thanks Dom! read more

Five stars is not enough! Domenic is extremely talented, experienced, and knowledgeable. By far the best luthier I have interacted with and a real joy to hang out with. His focus on customer satisfaction is off the charts, and he obviously cares deeply about his customers and their beloved instruments. Great communication, and a wonderful result setting up my guitars that are not in perfect condition. I will be a returning customer and will be recommending him highly to my Boston community of guitar players. read more

Brought my LTD-mh400m here for a setup. It has a Floyd Rose, and a few of the guitar techs around the Boston area I called didn't exactly instill confidence in me when I told them about this. Domenic truly seems to be a pro when it comes to working on guitars. He does custom builds, plus he's a friendly guy who seems to care about what your concerns are. He lowered the action perfectly on my guitar and set it up beautifully. Plays great, and he got it back to me literally in under 24 hours. I'll be taking my Schecter to him soon as well. read more

I'm just learning the guitar and don't know much about set-ups, etc. So, I brought my new acoustic to Domenic to see if any improvements needed to be made. Domenic examined the guitar and said "there's nothing wrong with it" (no charge). Domenic was very honest and I really appreciated that. I also bought a used electric guitar that really needed a set-up. Domenic worked on the guitar: New strings, action was fixed, fretboard polished, etc. and it looks as good as new. If I ever need anything done by a pro for either of my guitars I will definitely go back to Third Floor Guitars without hesitation! read more

I went to Third Floor Guitars based on the great Yelp reviews and couldn't be happier. Dominic is super knowledgeable, a very nice guy, and, the most important part: he does GREAT work. My beloved Gibson Les Paul Junior developed cracks on both sides of the neck. Any much longer with string tension, and the headstock would've come off. Dominic fixed the neck amazingly and did a rush job for me so I could use it for a show that was in like 3 days from when I dropped it off. He also gave it an amazing set up: truss rod, action, intonation, etc. I like to think that I'm pretty good with setups, but when he handed me the guitar after he was finished, it never felt and sounded better. I will not take any of my guitars anywhere else. read more

You can tell Dom respects his craft--he's a music lover who has a ton of experience both as a musician and with repairs/maintenance. He's as honest as it gets, and will teach you the 'why' and the 'how' of what can be done for your guitar. Extremely knowledgeable and reputable. His attention to detail is a major strength. Given how much a customer can learn, I'm not quite sure there's a business like this out there. read more

The best place to get your guitar fixed is third-floor guitars. Dom does great work. read more

I brought an acoustic for the action to be lowered and Dom did a great job. Turn around time was 24 hours. I also took a lesson from Dom and will be back for more. read more

Dom is friendly and does a great job with excellent turnaround. Highly recommended!!!

I brought my newly purchased American Prof HSS Strat to Third Floor to give it some more power and versatility, improve tuning stability and switch to a higher string gauge. Domenic took the time to understand my needs and offer suggestions. He installed a complete set of Duncans, added a coil tap on the humbucker, locked down the tremolo and fixed some factory issues with the nut. He kept in contact with me during the process and when the Duncan HB required a couple of holes drilled in the pickguard he checked with me first. The guitar now sounds and plays like a beast. The price was very reasonable and the turnaround time fantastic. Domenic is a talented working musician, so he knows what a guitarist needs. Highly recommend Third Floor Guitars. read more

Great experience having my acoustic professionally set up. Reasonably priced and high quality work, would definitely recommend and happy to come back in the future. read more

Dom did a great job on my strat with a quality set-up and it plays better now than when I first got it. He knows his stuff and was even able to figure out a complicated issue with my acoustic. Highly recommend him. read more

I brought my new 7-string Ibanez to Dom last month and I couldn't be happier with the work he did. Dom was knowledgeable, professional and made my new guitar play like a dream! Turnaround time was incredibly fast as well -- I had it back in my hands in 24 hours. Bring your guitar to the Third Floor! read more

Dom is a phenomenal guitar repair master! He has an extensive knowledge of guitars and does a fast turn around. If you need a guitar repair, he's the guy to see! I highly recommend him! read more

Ever since I discovered Third Floor Guitars I realized there is no point in bringing my basses anywhere else for ANYTHING!! I mean, Domenic does it all!! I found Domenic and Third Floor Guitars through a friend who plays guitar (via Facebook) around the time I started building my first bass. I was posting progress of my build on Facebook and Domenic was nice enough to take a lot of his time to guide me through attaching the (undrilled) neck properly to the body so I wouldn't screw it up. At first I did not ask for his help, he just saw that I was most likely about to mess up my one shot at attaching the neck correctly and saved me from a potential disaster. He posted detailed pictures and instructions for me and I just thought that was the nicest thing considering he didn't really know me at the time. That's the kind of guy Domenic is. I finally brought a couple of my basses to Third Floor Guitars when my Sadowsky needed to have the frets worked on. They were a mess. Of course I was a little nervous because you don't leave a Sadowsky with just anybody. Let me tell you, when I got that Sadowsky back it played like brand new!! I also brought my bass build that he helped me with on Facebook and the setup he did for that bass was nothing short of PERFECT!! I probably still play that bass more than any of my other 10 basses because it just feels and plays so beautifully thanks to Domenic. I have since had him set up at least 5 or 6 more of my basses, as well as work out some grounding issues on my other bass builds that I was not capable of doing myself. He ALWAYS does stellar work with a quick turnaround for a VERY reasonable price. I cannot recommend Domenic and Third Floor Guitars enough!! Please give this guy a shot. He is a small business owner who actually cares about his customers and is not happy unless they are. Bring him one guitar or bass to have whatever work you need done on it and I am extremely confident that, like myself, you will not see a reason to bring your instruments anywhere else, ever again!! Third Floor Guitars ROCKS!! read more

Recently Dominic completed a set up for my yamaha acoustic guitar, and I am very pleased with the results. New strings with a lighter gauge and a lowered bridge have made the guitar much more comfortable to play and practice on. I took the guitar home and my wife immediately thought I "had gotten much better over the weekend." Ha. Dom completed the work in one business day, at a fair price, and even played some blues for me. Very nice guy, and I plan to return next time I need guitar work done. read more