Guitar Bass and Amplifier Repair in New Hampshire

Blackbird Guitars - Repairs and Custom Mods on Acoustic, Electric and Bass Guitars and Amplifiers

Blackbird Guitars - The sound of your Spirit in Flight

Custom Pearl Inlay - A White Blackbird

You and Your Guitar

Sometimes the repair service has EVERYTHING to do with your playing style. A musician can have many musical influences, but eventually developes his or her own style. Blackbird Guitars will setup your instrument to accomodate your playing style. For example, if you strike the strings forcefully, you need more relief set into the neck than a gentle player does. Maybe you do a lot of blues note bending. If so, your fretboard should have a compound radius. Your guitar or bass can be setup to factory specifications, or tailored to your own preferences, whenever it is technically feasible.

The same goes for your vintage guitar amplifier. Tube amps can be adjusted and modified to give you increased volume, sweeter tone, and greater sustain characteristics. If you want it to look as good as it sounds, we also do exterior restorations, to include vintage speaker cloth, Tolex cabinet vinyl, and hardware.

Guitar & Bass Repairs and Mods

Personalized Service
"Whatever type of service your instrument needs, it will get the attention it deserves. Only the highest quality parts, materials and professional tools are used. All work is done with precision and the utmost care.
As the owner of Blackbird Guitars, I make sure of this." - Tom Bleakley

Estimates
In most cases, estimates are written in a matter of minutes when you bring your gear in. Sometimes a little exploratory surgery is required before a good estimate can be written.

More on Repairwork and Fees

Service Department
On Repair Work:
A thirty day guaranty on workmanship comes with every repair or custom modification.
Major electronics parts, like transformers and effects modules, come with manufacturer's warrantees, and we inspect and test every part before installation. Any defects in workmanship or parts within those time frames will be corrected.
On Custom Modifications:
Mods on any type of gear will be done only if all standard modes of operation are fuctioning correctly. If they aren't, they will be fixed before the modification begins. This obviuosly provides a reference point on performance. The owner should take into consideration is that a modification may affect a manufacturer's warrantee that is in place. Another thing to consider is the effect a modification may have on the value of the instrument. Values are highly subjective, so please read the paragraph on
Modifications and Values

A few Customer Comments

On a custom made pickguard:
"This is awesome. It looks even better than I imagined it would"!

From a Telecaster owner:
"This guitar sounds great now. The cavity shielding has really quieted it down. Good call"!

From a Fender Champ owner:
"Tom, I just wanted you to know that I played a couple of different guitars through the Champ, and (even though you are aware) the amp sounds great. Good Job"!

Fender Bassman owner:
"Tom: The new grillcloth looks fantastic! Thanks so much."

still more - - -

"I recently got my 12 string back from you and I am very pleased with the results. The workmanship was excellent. I will send you more of my guitars in the future."

"The Jazz Bass is playing great! Thanks again."

"After having Tom work on my Telecaster, it plays better than it did when it was brand new."

"My Ovations play great now. Top quality work"

Tube Amplifier Repairs and Modifications

A Vintage Amp Restoration:
This late '60's Vox Buckingham is a genuine time machine, but it wasn't always. All it needed was a new trolley tilt-rack with safety clamp for the head, new Tolex, new speaker cloth and piping, reconed Bulldog speakers, custom-made speaker panel, new (vintage) effects pedal, new hardware, and we are back in the '60's. Interestingly, this amp from "Back in the Tube Days", features solid-state and tube circuitry, and sounds great! View this Restoration Project

Guitar Refinishing

A new finish on an old Classic:
The Gibson Les Paul Junior TV model was introduced over 40 years ago in several colors that were popular in home decor at that time. Imagine that! But it just wasn't the color that the owner wanted. We refinished it in a Vintage color for that model, called TV White.
See More on This One.

The Co-Build Program
Building your own guitar is easier than you may think. If you have a drill, a soldering iron, a few basic tools and the desire, you can do it. However, if your project is more complex than the scope of your resources, just let us know. We offer professional assistance or complete execution of your guitar or bass building project. Just let us know what you have in mind:
Send an Inquiry

The three crucial factors on your project are:
1. The NECK - The neck of your guitar is your third hand. This is something every guitar player feels when playing totally connected to the guitar. Neck radius, neck shape and fret size should be suited to your playing style.
2. The SOUND - What comes out of the amp starts in the guitar. Pickup type, body material, bridge style and mass, potentiometer and capacitor values, shielding and assembly technique determine the sound as much as the amp does.
3. The SETUP - Blackbird guitars provides the best possible setup on your guitar, GUARANTEED.

Blackbird Guitars has the experience to help you maximize these three crucial factors, and achieve success in building your DREAM GUITAR.

We're ready when You are: Send an Inquiry