Where to buy

Dealers:

Here you will find a list of all the dealers that carry Weston Instruments. This list will get longer over time. Dealer enquiries welcome.

United Kingdom (UK):

The Acoustic Music Company LTD. 
39, St James St 
Brighton 
BN2 1RG 
United Kingdom 

Phone: 01273 671841
From outside the UK: +44 1273 671841 

Website: http://www.theacousticmusicco.co.uk/

Custom guitar parts

Sometimes, a broken part hapens to be one of those parts that is out of production. These things happen, like the bridge assembly of a Gibson EBO bass. These bridges were notorious for bending, and many of them need to be replaced. Unfortunately, the Gibson EBO bridge is not available, not is a tune-o-matic bridge for an electric mandolin. These parts need to be made from scratch.

Here is a picture of two custom made tune-o-matic bridges for electric mandolins. I use these on the instruments I build. I was unable to find anything pre made on the market, so I had these made.

When it comes to wodden parts, I can make anything in the shop. One of my friends had a very cheap mandolin that he baught at a garage sale for 20$. It had a broken bridge, but anything off the shelf would have cost him more than the mandolin its selfe. Since the botom part, thumb wheels and threaded posts where still good, I simply made the bridge out of stronger, more durable ebony.

It was a nasty break, and fixing it would have been futile, as the grain direction made the entire thing prone to splitting under the incredible tension of an 8-string mandolin.

The new part didn't match the base, I know, but it's now much stronger than it used to be. 

Serious repairs

For up to date pictures of serious repairs and restorations, visit the Facebook page, it's updated several times a week with the latest jobs from the shop. You don't have to have a Facebook profile to view the page.

Every now and then, a guitar, bass, banjo or mandolin will need some more serious work. As this guitar did, and the Les Paul that had a broken headstock (pictures below). It camt to me with a split, unglued bridge, worn out frets and a broken headstock. It's owner loved this guitar very much. So, even though it was not made by a prestigious brand, and a new one was about the same price as the repairs, it's owner wanted it back in playing condition. Sometimes, repairs are even tougher. See here how I fixed a broken truss rod on a 1969 Gibson EBO-L.

I don't care what brand your guitar is. If it's the guitar that maked you happy, and you want it fixed, I will do the work for you.

  The frets on the first guitar were worn our from years of use. The notches in the frets were so deep, that I couldn't salvage the frets by levelling them and re-crowning them. I had to replace them. When replacing frets, you have to consider either replacing only the ones that have to be replaced, or replacing all the frets. I will always advocate for replacing them all, as it allows you to level the fingerboard (see bellow) and have a consistens fret job throughout the playing surface.

Here, I'm lavelling the fingerboards. I start out with a block plane, then radiused sanding block, followed by a machined straight edge.

As the years go by, you wil also need to have the bridge re-glued. Because there is a very high probability that it will come un-done. This same guitar also had this problem. Some guitars will need a neck reset, which is a complex operation reserved for treasured or valuable instruments. Pictures of this operation can also be seen bellow. This process involves removing the neck from the guitar, re-shapping it's heel for the new, appropriate angle, and finally reinstalling it.

When re-glueing a bridge, it has to be completely removed, the surfaces prepared, and finally reglued. If you only pack the crack with glue and then clamp it down, it will come undone as soon as tension is re-applied to the bridge. This happens because the glue is seeping n between two surfaces with old adhesive on them, and wood glue needs.... wood, in order to stick.

 Here is a good shot of the bridge being re-glued. I make sue the alignment is the same by drilling two pilot holes under the saddle before removing it. Then, I know exactly where it has to go when ready for re-assembly, and I pin those pilot holed with tiny dowels.

 The last part of this job was glueing the headstock. It had obviously been dropped. Luckily, the heastock was still very much a part of the guitar, and I simply needed to glue it back together. This is done by prying the crack open, filling it with glue and then clamping it down. You have to control the adhesive when applying pressure, or it will spill all over the place. But all went well in the end.

Warranty / Legal notice

Weston Instruments is a registered business in the province of Ontario, based in Ottawa. Weston instruments offers stringed instrument repair and fabrication. All instruments are insured to their full market value while under the care of Weston Instruments. 

Any and all setups are warrantied for 30 days after the payment of the invoice. Due to environmental differences between my guitar workshop and the instruments residence, it is possible that some components will move after the guitar, bass, mandolin or banjo settles in its home.

Delivery times:

Quoted delivery times are a guideline only. Even though I will always strive to deliver fast and efficient service, delivery times are affected by type of work commissioned, the total shop workload and job specific factors such as, but not limited to: Curing time for finishes and adhesives, the type of work being performed in parallel with a commission and human factors.

Maintenance work such as setups, fretwork, electronics, minor structural repairs and refrets are given a priority in the work schedule. Restoration projects, custom commissions, major aesthetic and structural work is performed once priority work is completed. The work load is scheduled as such because of the irregularity in the amount and type of major projects that are commissioned by customers on a yearly basis.

Payment terms:

Weston instruments accepts cash, certified check, money order, wire transfer payments, credit card and interac. Non cash payments must be made out to Weston instruments. All services must be paid prior to the instrument being survived/repaired/built can leave the workshop. In the case of fabrications, payment terms are 40% dawn with the order and the balance due upon completion of the instrument.

If this happens within the 30 day period of warranty, I will reset the guitar to what you want, and need it to be.

All custom built instruments have a lifetime warranty (for the original owner) against manufacturing defects. All components not manufactured by Weston Instruments ar warrantied by their respective manufacturers. These warranties may vary, depending on the component and its manufacturer.

Completion:

On completion of the Requested Service Work, Weston Instruments will attempt to notify the Customer by phone, email or text. The Customer will have 15 days to pick up the completed Instrument, after which a storage fee of $5.00 per day will be added to the bill and any responsibility for its safety will expire. Any instrument left over 90 days without notification and further storage arrangements being made by the Customer, will be subject to sale to cover the cost of repair, after which Weston Instruments will bear no responsibility whatsoever for the Instrument or its value.

RETURNED GOODS.
No goods may be returned without our prior written authorization. All transportation costs for any returned goods are for the account of Buyer and to be paid prior to shipment. Any goods otherwise returned may be refused by us. Under no circumstances will we accept a return of goods manufactured to Buyer's specifications.

CANCELLATION.
No order may be cancelled except with our prior written agreement. We retain the sole and exclusive discretion whether to do so. If we 
permit Buyer to cancel an order, we will impose a cancellation fee and restocking charge to be determined by us, which amount shall be in our sole discretion.

What is not covered:

In order for the warranty on repairs to be valid, the guitar, bass, mandolin or banjo in question must be returned to Weston Instruments without having been modified. If the instrument in question has been worked on, modified or damaged by it's owner, or a another repair person, the warrantee will be void.

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