# Help! Looking for Luthier in Ottawa



## BR183 (Apr 20, 2006)

I hope someone can help. I am looking for a good acoustic guitar tech in Ottawa. I used to deal with Marc Warren who used to work out of Metro Music....he was awesome but he no longer does repairs. I know that OFC and most other music stores have repair services but I would like to get a reference from somebody who really trusts their guitar tech. I would hate to experiment and find out the person does sloppy work. I hope someone has some info.

Thanks,

Stewart


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## WarrenG (Feb 3, 2006)

Terry at Long and McQuade on Bank St seems to really care about his workmanship. He used to work with Brian at the Ottawa Folklore Centre but since leaving tends to work on a lot of electrics. An acoustic guitar is a welcome change for him... 

I used to go to Brian but he pissed me off with some of his "repairs". Although he will do good work if you're "somebody".

These days I go to Gord Mylke at the Kingston guitar shop. Former apprentice of Oskar Graf's. Wicked work and worth the trip (to me).


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## BR183 (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks for the tip. I had similar experiences with Brian at OFC.


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

to the north of you, a place called Rockingham is an excellent tech, Kevin Hall of Timberline music. Excellent work if you can get a hold of him. Bit of journey for you though.


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## Luthier (Jan 11, 2007)

Hello!
If you are looking for a good Luthier in the Ottawa area, just take a look at this guy site!

http://www.germainfortin.com/


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## radapaw (Jan 10, 2007)

I worked in the OFC shop with Brian and Terry in '97, both are awesome guys to whom I owe a great dept for getting me into the luthier game. I've watched Terry spent full days to get a stubborn ukulele playing to absolute perfect perfection, and seen Brian rebuild a shattered harp by the splinter which looked brand new when he was done. They are both capable of INSANE work.
Brian
OFC
L&M

I've also been hearing great things about Mike Ktenas repair work
LINK

I mostly build, but do some repair too. 
LINK

As far as 'questionable repairs', I'd just say find out exactly what your repair options really are before you leave your guitar on any bench. I would expect in any high volume repair shop, that the choices made for each repair are often based on the cost of the instrument (ie: "is a neck reset worth it on a used $100 Epiphone" ). This may seems obvious, but if you want the job done 'right', like a restoration or heritage repair, always (always) make sure to get that across... Crazy glue doesn't come off, but it does hold wood together really well.... perfect for that epiphone, but not so great on your 20's Gibson.

If your guitar is worth more than $5000 I would contact the factory (assuming it still exists) and ask them if they have any recommendations or a repair division for that matter.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I do most repairs with Brian, I like him a lot, but it took half a dozen visits before I felt comfortable with him. The key with Brian is spending a few minutes to tell him exactly what you want.

I had Terry do some wiring work on my Les Paul, it took a over a month, he charged me $100, and he put the pickups in backward (screw poles to the middle of the guitar), so I had to take it all apart, and reinstall them in the right direction. No biggy, but a bit of a pain.

For the big stuff, especially Martins, Twelfth Fret in Toronto is the best. All of their techs are good (they have 5) Doug Harrison did a neck reset for me that was flawless back in 2004.


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## STGuitarworks (Jul 19, 2008)

*Ottawa Guitar Repairs*

Looking for an Ottawa area luthier?

I operate *STGuitarworks*; an independent guitar building and repair business in Ottawa, ON, Canada, since 2007.

I worked for the Godin Guitar Company from 2004 to 2006 as the head of the guitar repair department. 

In 2003 I attended the Summit School of Guitar Building and Repair's Masters Course on Vancouver Isl., BC.

I'm a member of the Guild of American Luthiers and have attended their 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011 conventions.

My workshop is at 1296 Cedarcroft Crescent, K1B 5C7, my residence (please call ahead).

Cheers!!

Sean Thompson 
613-698-8832 
www.stguitarworks.com 
[email protected]


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## timberline (Nov 22, 2008)

PaulS said:


> to the north of you, a place called Rockingham is an excellent tech, Kevin Hall of Timberline music. Excellent work if you can get a hold of him. Bit of journey for you though.


I know it's an old thread, but I just found it. Thanks for the boost Paul. I'm still in Rockingham, 100 miles west of Ottawa. Still doing repairs and restos as long as the instruments are interesting.
KH


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## Brian Dubbeldam (Aug 26, 2009)

*Hello*

I just read Warren G's previous post and I am concerned that he was not happy with a repair he had done by me a few years ago. I would like to encourage any one who is not satisfied with my work to please let me know as this is the way I can learn and improve. I haver enjoyed working with stringed instruments for many years and have completed thousands of instrument repairs and setups but I am still looking for ways to improve. 
Thanks, Brian 
Ottawa Folklore Center


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## Terry Calder (May 11, 2010)

*Hi there,*
This may be a dead thread, but I thought I would add my two cents.

First, let me pose a question: how much time do you spend on an activity you are passionate about? Whatever figure you arrive at, compare it to 40+ hours per week times 50 weeks per year. That's the kind of work experience one accumulates as a full-time luthier in the guitar service industry. Multiply again by years in service and the picture becomes clearer. 

In a busy shop, like the one I run at Long & McQuade-Ottawa, I see around 750-850 instruments in a calendar year. Currently, I personally attend to all repair work that comes into the shop, as my employer's business model does not include an assistant or apprentice position. It seems that setting a standard of high-quality work as the prime goal has had a positive effect on business, as there is a constant flow of instruments from both new and repeat clients. Negatives include the loss of direct contact with customers and a slower turnaround of individual jobs than is truly ideal. It is, in fact, the daily struggle to maintain a balance between quality and quantity that adds stress to this line of work, yet I still love my career. 

As of Summer 2010, I've been repairing and adjusting stringed musical instruments for 15 years as a full-time professional, with an extra 18 years of playing and messing around ahead of that. Having worked on ten's of thousands of acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, violins, etc. over those years, I consider myself still to be a student of the processes relating to the craft of adjustment, maintenance and repair. After all, regardless of experience, one can never know everything. 

Helping people make music; one instrument at a time,
Terry Calder
Stringed-Instrument Technician
Long & McQuade Music
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
Long & McQuade
[email protected]


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## Ian Weston (Apr 30, 2012)

Hello,

Sorry to be bumping a really old thread, but it still shows up on the first page on google. I'm just another Luthier posting himself in this thread. I was trained in England, spent 4 years at Lutherie MF in Montreal and I now have a full service guitar repair and fabrication shop in Ottawa. I have a little over 5000 repairs under my belt and and somewhere around 20 builds. You can find out a lot more on my website and even learn about the physics in guitars and their setups.

Cheers,

Ian Weston
www.ottawaguitarrepair.com


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