Repairs

PLEASE CALL US WITH SPECIFIC REPAIRS OR BRING IN YOUR INSTRUMENT TO GET A TIME/COST ESTIMATE! WE SOMETIMES HAVE LIMITED AVAILABILITY DUE TO HIGH REPAIR VOLUMES.

NOTICE: WE DO NOT REPAIR ANY STEREO OR HI-FI EQUIPMENT!

gear we repair

  • Guitars, basses, & ukuleles
  • Band (woodwind & brass)
  • Orchestra (strings)
  • Guitar/bass amplifiers & pro audio (off-site repair)

the repair technicians

Todd Crawford – Head Repair Tech

Todd has been repairing instruments in Tucson, AZ for over 20 years. While working at Workshop Music & Sound, Todd apprenticed under Robert Taylor – a graduate of the former Northeastern School of Instrument Repair. Todd then went to work for the Colorado Springs Music Company as the primary band repair technician while attending Colorado College. After completing his undergraduate degree in Economics, Todd returned to Tucson where he opened Metro Gnome Music in 2000. He does repairs on band and orchestra instruments as well as bikes.

Av “Nick” Musiker

Av is a musician and teacher who has been repairing guitars and basses in Tucson for years. He’s in the store all day doing repairs and setups on Saturdays, and also stops in to repair instruments and provide lessons throughout the week.

Gary Insley

Gary is a very knowledgeable musician who plays guitar and bass. Gary can help you with guitar restrings, setups, and advice on setting up your rig to get the exact sound you want.

Phi Wolgast

Phi is a multi-instrumentalist and knows a lot about how to do basic repairs and setups on guitars and basses, set up a drum kit, and configure a home studio setup. He also does a lot of work with synthesizers, recording, and music production, and can point you in the right direction to get the sound you want.

John Markovich

All pro audio and amp repairs brought into Metro Gnome Music are done by Tucson’s own John Markovich. Among the best in the business, he has lots of experience and can get your amp into excellent playing condition. He does repairs in his own workshop rather than in our store.

music gear repair prices

We have a $15 minimum for any repair that is dropped off. This excludes repairs done while you wait.

Guitar/bass repair

  • General setup* – $45 – 60
  • Nut replacement – $30 labor minimum + nut
  • New saddle – $30 labor minimum + saddle
  • Bridge reset – $50 – 75
  • Neck reset – $150 minimum
  • Re-fret – $180 minimum
  • Electronics repair – $30 labor minimum + parts
  • Pickup installation** – $50 labor minimum + parts
  • Tuning machines installation – $40 minimum
  • Replace single string – $5 labor + string
  • Restring electric/acoustic guitar/bass or ukulele – $20 labor + strings
  • Restring classical (nylon) guitar – $25 labor + strings
  • Restring Floyd Rose bridge – $35 labor + strings
  • Restring 12-string guitar – $30 labor + strings
*setup price reflects the amount of work necessary. nut, bridge, or saddle work will affect the price. setups typically include truss rod adjustment, action adjustment, intonation, fret work, cleaning, etc. depending on what is necessary.
**conversions between active and passive pickups are not available.

Off-site amplifier & pro audio repair

  • Bench fee* – $45
  • Hourly rate – $80
*this bench fee is a deposit that will be applied to the total amount. if the total repair cost is less than or equal to the bench fee, only the bench fee will be charged.

Glasser bow swap*

  • Violin/viola bow swap – $30.98
  • Cello bow swap – $40.98
  • Bass bow swap – $50.98
*we do not re-hair any orchestra bows in-house, but we can swap out glasser fiberglass bows for a reduced price.
  • Minimum bench fee – $20
  • Hourly rate – $60

Clarinet

  • Replace single joint cork – $20 labor + $2 parts, $10 labor + parts for each additional cork
  • Recork all joints – $50 labor + $8 parts
  • Replace single pad – $10 labor + $3.27-4.27 parts
  • Full repad – $250 labor + $50-60 parts
  • Strip & clean – $50 labor
  • Strip, clean, & oil wood clarinet – $65 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Flute/piccolo

  • Replace head joint cork – $15 labor + $2.50-3.50 parts
  • Replace single pad, closed-hole – $10 labor + $4-6 parts
  • Replace single pad, open-hole – $12.50 labor + $4-6 parts
  • Washers – $0.18/ea
  • Repad & polish, closed-hole – $250 labor + parts
  • Repad & polish, open-hole – $300 labor + parts
  • Clean & polish – $60 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Saxophone

  • Replace neck cork – $20 labor + $2.85 parts
  • Replace D# & spoon keys – $60 labor + $25 parts
  • Replace single pad – $15 labor + $3.62-19.17 parts depending on size
  • Repad, alto/soprano sax – $500 labor + $150-170 parts
  • Repad, tenor sax – $500 labor + $160-180 parts
  • Repad, bari sax – $600 labor + $190-210 parts
  • Strip & clean – $150 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Trumpet

  • Clean – $45 labor
  • Clean + silver dip, polish, chem flush – $65 labor
  • Extract stuck slide – $10-25 labor
  • Solder brace/joint – $12 labor
  • De-dent bell flare & sides – $20-45 labor
  • De-dent backturn 1 to 2 – $20-40 labor
  • Lap valve – $15/ea labor
  • Water key cork – $1.75/ea parts
  • Water key spring – $2.50/ea parts
  • Valve felt – $1/ea parts
  • Slotted valve cork – $3.50/ea parts

French horn

  • Cleaning, single – $80 labor
  • Cleaning, double – $130 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Trombone

  • Cleaning, standard – $45 labor
  • Cleaning, F attachment – $70 labor
  • De-dent slide – $15-45 labor
  • Slide alignment – $40-150 labor
  • Strip & clean – $50 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Baritone/euphonium/alto horn

  • Cleaning – $85 labor
  • Other repairs – hourly rate

Tuba

  • Cleaning & repairs – hourly rate