HighTide Guitars – Guitar Setups and Repairs in Surrey

Services

Repairs

Restring and Intonation – £15

Basic Setup

    • Fixed Bridge/ Tremolo – £50
    • Floating (Floyd Rose) – £60
    • Acoustic – £50
    • Bass – £50

Full Service

    • Fixed Bridge/ Tremolo – £80
    • Floating (Floyd Rose) – £90
    • Acoustic – £80
    • Bass – £80

Fret Dress (only) – £45
New Nut/ Saddle – £35
Machine Head Replace – £25
Acoustic Bridge Reset – £85

Mandolin Setup – £45
Ukulele Setup – £35

Electronics

Checkup/ Clean – £15
Pickup replace* – £30 (+£10 for each additional)
Jack/ Pot/ Switch replace* – £20 (+£10 for each additional)
Coiltap/ Killswitch* – £20
Shielding – £45
Custom Cables – £20

Acoustic pickup Install

    • Soundhole – £30
    • Undersaddle/ Soundboard transducer – £40

*plus £10 extra for hollowbody

Note: Prices DO NOT include parts

Electric Strings (Ernie Ball/ D’addario) – £9
Acoustic Strings (D’addario) – £13
Graphtech Nut – £10
Graphtech Saddle – £10
Jack Socket – £4
Barrel Jack Socket – £10
Endpin Jack Socket – £12
Blade Switch – £12
Toggle Switch – £14
Alpha Pot – £3
Cts Pot – £7
Push/Pull Pot – £11

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions And Answers

A setup is basically all about getting the action (string height) to a comfortable playing position. This can be a very personal thing and I always invite customers to test their guitar on collection.

Some blues or slide players like a slightly higher action so they can really dig in, where as the more shready metal guitarists usually like a low fast action.

A setup includes:

  • Truss rod and neck adjustment
  • Nut recut / Nut raise
  • Saddle adjustments for optimum playability
  • Intonation
  • Fret polish
  • Fingerboard clean and oil
  • Restring

If your guitar is becoming difficult to play, has excessive buzzing or doesn’t play in tune, it probably needs a setup. The action can raise / lower over time due to the nature of how wood moves, or if you change gauge of strings. If this happens, adjustments need to be made to compensate for the change in tension.

Usually, yes. Especially with more affordable guitars. Sometimes also fretwork is required to get the guitar reaching its full potential. Often factory setups haven’t had much care or attention, or they have been shipped halfway round the world and shifted.
With the change of season the woods can move with the difference in humidity and temperature, altering and compromising playability. You can usually tell if your guitar has moved, (see ‘Does my guitar need a setup’) but a checkup every 6 months – a year is a good idea. It might not need a full setup but a quick check from a professional can make sure no major problems are occuring.

A full service includes everything from the setup plus:

  • Light fret leveling, recrowning and polishing
  • Checking and cleaning electronics*
  • Servicing of hardware (Machine heads, Bridge parts)*

*additional costs if parts need to be replaced

Over time the strings wear down grooves into the frets, causing choking and dead notes. Even if you can’t see big dents in the frets some unevenness could be there. This can be common on new, more affordable guitars as not much care goes into the leveling of the frets. If you have ever played a guitar that plays the same note on different frets, this is an extreme case of a high/low fret. A fret dress is when we level all the frets so they are even, nicely round them and polish up to a smooth finish.
Our turnaround time is up to a week. It is usually quicker but can vary depending on how busy we are in a particular week. Please let us know if you need it quicker and we can see what we can do, but bare in mind we don’t like to rush work. We like to take care and do it properly to a high standard.
No, Assessments are free.

Cash or Bank Transfer is the preferred payment method

Yes, I have a lot of live experience and have extensively toured through Europe, Japan and Australia. I offer guitar/backline tech services as well driving and tour managing.

As well as doing live and tour support, I work for a guitar making company 2 days a week. This is why I am only open 3 days a week. 

Contact

HighTide Guitars
Stammerham Business Centre, Capel Road
Rusper, West Sussex RH12 4PZ

Opening Hours: 11pm-6pm, Mondays Tuesdays and Friday
Closed: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday

Please call, text or email to book an appointment.

Or Call or Text

07874354203