About Us
Who We Are
Founded by Chris Saunders, Guitar Tech who has worked for such artists as IV - Sleep Token, Those Damn Crows, Gloryhammer, Casey, Punk Rock Factory, Jamie Sefton (Kylie Minogue), Bad Nerves, Venom Prison, and Many More. CJS Guitars offers only the highest quality guitar repair and luthier services in South Wales.
With over 20 years of experience in the music industry, we have worked on many thousands of instruments in our workshop just outside Newport. Specialising in Vintage and Modern instruments, both Acoustic and Electric, we can do just about anything guitar-related and will always put you and your needs as the customer first.
Whether you’re a world touring superstar or an absolute beginner just getting started on your musical journey, we guarantee to get your instrument into tip top condition to keep you rocking.
OUR SERVICES
From Restringing to Refretting and Everything in between.
Standard Setup - From £60
Your Instruments M.O.T.
Having your Instrument setup regularly is a crucial step in maintaining its quality. Manufacturers, Guitar Techs and Luthiers all recommend getting your instruments setup every 6 months. This is in order to maintain playability and to avoid causing permanent damage to your instrument.
Our setup service is a 5-step process that we use to make sure your instrument is playing well.
1. Neck adjustment - Using the truss Rod, we check and adjust neck straightness.
2. Bridge Adjustment - Here we set an appropriate saddle height and radius for maximum comfort and playability.
3. Nut Height Adjustment - We check the height of the strings at the nut and alter accordingly using specially designed Nut Slotting Files.
4. Intonation - Using a combination of Poly-Chromatic and Strobe Tuners, we get the overall tuning of your guitar to the best possible standard in the desired tuning for the instrument.
5. Electronics setup - Lastly we’ll carefully set pickup heights to ensure even volume across all pickups
*Step 5 only applies to Electric Instruments.
Guitars with heel access truss rods that require removing the neck to adjust: +£10
Floating Tremolos (Floated Strat, Floyd Rose, Ibanez Edge etc) +£20
Evertune Equipped Guitars:+£30
Price does not include Strings.
Please note that if an instrument has never been setup before, or if it has been many years since the instrument has had work, it may be necessary to do a Fret Level, Crown and Polish before it is able to be setup to the best possible standard.
Deluxe Setup - From £90
A little bit of TLC.
Our Deluxe Setup service includes everything in the Standard Setup, but there's just a little bit more!
1. Fret Clean and Polish - We clean the frets to a shine for the easiest bends and the best tone your instrument can produce.
2. Fretboard Clean and Conditioning - Using specially formulated cleaners we remove any build-up on the fretboard and condition it with an oil or wax-based product of your choosing.
(Lacquered Fretboards can't really be conditioned, but will be cleaned and then polished)
3. Electronics and hardware cleaning - Here we clean and shine up all the hardware on the guitar, as well as cleaning any pots and switches with Switch cleaner and lubricant.
4. A final polish - Lastly we go over the whole body and neck of the instrument to ensure a smooth shiny finish.
Guitars with heel access truss rods that require removing the neck to adjust: +£10
Floating Tremolos (Floated Strat, Floyd Rose, Ibanez Edge etc) +£20
Evertune Equipped Guitars:+£30
Price does not Include strings.
Please note that if an instrument has never been setup before, or if it has been many years since the instrument has had work, it may be necessary to do a Fret Level, Crown and Polish before it is able to be setup to the best possible standard.
Fret Level , Crown and Polish (+ Setup) - From £160
Do your frets look like a train has been driving over them?
Or do you ever get a nasty buzz, notes fretting out that you just can't get rid of?
Even without any of those problems, the vast majority of guitars or basses that are under £1500 brand new are almost guaranteed to have uneven frets from the factory!
This may be down to neck or fretboard deformation, frets not being seated correctly in the factory, frets that have popped up over time, traumatic damage or just general wear from playing.
Unless your frets are spot on (or incredibly close), you will never be able to get your instrument to play as well as it could.
This step is one of the things that makes the biggest difference between budget and higher-end instruments.
Fret Reseating comes at an extra cost depending on how many frets need reseating. Price includes a Deluxe Setup.
(+£20 for Floating Tremolos)
(+£10 for Heel Access Truss Rods that require neck removal for adjustment)
Price does not Include strings.
Nut Installation -
From £50 + Materials
Buzzing around the 1st fret?
Or an open string?
It's probably time for a new nut.
Tusq/Bone pre cut nut - From £50
Tusq/Bone pre cut saddle - From £50
Tusq/Bone custom carved nut - From £90
Tusq custom carved saddle - From £70
Bone custom carved saddle - From £100
Brass Custom Carved Nut - From £110
Instruments may require a setup in order for Nuts and Saddles to be installed correctly.
Price does not include Parts.
Pickup Installation - From £30
Looking for something a little bit different?
In the world of guitar pickups, there is an almost infinite amount of options and tonal varieties.
1 Pickup - From £30
2 Pickups - From £50
3 Pickups - From £60
Series/Parallel, Coil Splitting, In/Out Phase modifications come at extra cost.
Feel free to message us for advice on choosing a new or custom made pickup.
Restringing - From £25
If it’s not something you’re up to doing, that’s no problem at all. We can get you rocking with some fresh strings in no time.
Please note that it is not always possible to just change strings. For example, if you’re changing string gauges (either going thicker or thinner), you will need to have the instrument setup rather than just a change of strings.
Fixed Bridge (Hardtail, Tune-O-Matic, Tele Style, Bass) - £25
Non-Floating Tremolo (Non- Floated Strat, Jazzmaster/Jaguar) - From £25
Floating Tremolo (Floyd Rose, Ibanez Edge) - From £40
Classical or Other - From £40
Price does not include strings.
Full Refret - From £300 + Materials
There comes a time in an instrument's life when a Fret Level doesn't help anymore.
Either because the frets are too low, there's a problem with the neck or fretboard, or you just want wider, thinner, or taller frets. In this case, they will need replacing.
If you don't have any specific preference for fret wire, we will find new fret wire that is the closest in width to your existing frets but with just more height.
Then we install new frets into your instrument, in order to bring it back to its former glory. So that it can play even better than when it came out of the factory!
After most Refrets it's usually necessary to also change, shim, or fill the slots in the nut since adding more fret height means that the nut slots may be the incorrect depth. On Acoustic guitars this usually means changing the Bridge Saddle also.
Bound Fingerboard/Hidden Fret Tangs - Additional £75
Stainless Steel Frets - Additional £100
Maple Fretboards may require levelling and refinishing which comes at an extra charge, however these are case by case.
Contact for information on partial refrets.
Electronics, Woodworking, and other Technical Services - Charged at a £30 an hour bench rate.
If you can't see what you need above, feel free to message us to discuss your needs.
Whether this is making Wiring Looms for you to install yourself, regluing acoustic guitar braces, Hardware replacements, or anything you may need.
We can do just about anything guitar related, and even if we cant we'll make sure we point you to the best person we know for the job. So please make sure to get in touch.
CONTACT
Based in Abercarn, South Wales. (About 15 minutes from Newport)
Full Address given upon Appointment Date and Time arrangement. Pickup and drop off services also available.
To get in touch, either fill in a contact form or call Chris: 07538112270.
All instruments require an in person inspection to assess what work is required, and as such estimates are only available following an in person inspection.
Inspections are done for free, provided that we are able to carry out work on the instrument. If the work is determined to not be suitable or possible a discretionary inspection fee may apply.
We aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours. So if you haven’t received a response within a day, please make sure to check your spam folder!
Abercarn, Newport, NP11
07538112270
