Guitar Repair Price Index 2026
Prices collected September 2026. We check them again every September.
Most guitar repair shops don’t put a price on their website. We checked 515 independent repair shops and 121 chain store locations across nine U.S. city areas, and only 102 of the independent shops posted a price we could use. None of the 121 chain store location pages posted a price, though one chain, Music & Arts, publishes a single national repair price list.
At the shops that did post, a standard electric guitar setup typically cost $88. That number comes from 69 shops. It also moves with where you live: $70 was the typical setup price around Chicago, and $98 around Los Angeles.
Where we have prices
- 9 to 11 shops posted prices
- 12 to 16 shops
- 19 to 20 shops
- In a city area, no prices posted
- Not covered yet
- City area we checked
See the numbers behind this map
| State | Independent shops that posted prices | City areas |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 20 | Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston |
| California | 19 | Los Angeles |
| Illinois | 16 | Chicago |
| Oregon | 15 | Portland |
| Washington | 12 | Portland, Seattle |
| Tennessee | 11 | Nashville |
| Colorado | 9 | Denver |
| Indiana | 0 | Chicago |
Look up your ZIP code
Type a ZIP code to see the closest of our nine city areas, what a setup typically cost there, and repair shops near you in our directory.
We only use the first three digits of your ZIP code to find the general area. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. ZIP locations come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (2023).
What we found
Four out of five shops make you call. Of the 515 independent shops with a website, 413 didn’t list a price for any repair we could match to a specific job. Of the 121 chain store locations (Guitar Center, Music & Arts and two regional chains), none listed a price on its own store page. Music & Arts does post one national price list that covers its stores: $96 for an electric guitar or bass setup and $72 for an acoustic, strings extra. Guitar Center describes its setups online but doesn’t post prices.
See the numbers behind this chart
| City area | Independent, posted a price | Independent, no price | Chain stores (none posted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All nine areas | 102 | 413 | 121 |
| Los Angeles area | 19 | 110 | 18 |
| Chicago area | 16 | 67 | 13 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth area | 7 | 43 | 28 |
| Nashville area | 11 | 51 | 6 |
| Portland area | 16 | 39 | 4 |
| Seattle area | 11 | 30 | 15 |
| Houston area | 4 | 25 | 24 |
| Denver area | 9 | 26 | 7 |
| Austin area | 9 | 22 | 6 |
$88 is the typical electric setup. Most of the 69 shops that posted one (43 of them) charged between $70 and $100. The lowest was $40. The highest, $199, was for a same-day setup.
See the numbers behind this chart
| Setup price | Shops |
|---|---|
| $40 to $49 | 1 |
| $50 to $59 | 5 |
| $60 to $69 | 5 |
| $70 to $79 | 12 |
| $80 to $89 | 12 |
| $90 to $99 | 11 |
| $100 to $109 | 8 |
| $110 to $119 | 5 |
| $120 to $129 | 8 |
| $140 to $149 | 1 |
| $190 to $199 | 1 |
Chicago runs lower, Los Angeles higher. Four city areas had at least eight shops posting a setup price, enough for a local number:
| City area | Typical electric setup | Shops that posted it | Lowest to highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago area | $70 | 12 | $40 to $120 |
| Los Angeles area | $98 | 12 | $65 to $125 |
| Nashville area | $90 | 8 | $50 to $110 |
| Portland area (incl. Vancouver, WA) | $90 | 11 | $50 to $125 |
Eight shops is the fewest we’ll use for a city number, and Nashville has exactly eight, so treat its $90 as a first look.
In the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston and Seattle areas, only three to seven shops posted a setup price. We don’t give those areas a local number. The combined figure for all nine areas is the better guide there.
Typical prices for common repairs
Independent shops only, all nine city areas combined. “Typical” is the middle price: half the shops charged more, half charged less.
| Job | Typical price | Shops that posted it | Lowest to highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric guitar setup | $88 | 69 | $40 to $199 |
| Acoustic guitar setup | $85 | 12 | $40 to $125 |
| Bass setup | $90 | 12 | $57 to $125 |
| Fret dress (level and crown) | $175 | 49 | $80 to $350 |
| Nut replacement | $100 | 51 | $40 to $235 |
| Saddle replacement | $80 | 17 | $30 to $160 |
| Pickup install (labor) | $60 | 46 | $30 to $150 |
| Electronics and soldering | $40 | 42 | $20 to $160 |
| Full refret | $488 | 40 | $200 to $650 |
| Amp repair (per hour) | $100 | 10 | $60 to $140 |
| Amp diagnostic fee | $75 | 7 | $35 to $100 |
A few of these come from a small number of shops. Acoustic and bass setups (12 shops each), the amp hourly rate (10) and the amp diagnostic fee (7) are rough guides, not firm numbers. The diagnostic fee is what some amp shops charge just to find the problem, so we kept it separate from the hourly rate. Parts usually cost extra.
Download the table (CSV). The download leaves out any price based on fewer than eight shops, so the amp diagnostic fee isn’t in it.
Chain service menus vs independent shops
Two national chains post repair prices on a national service page instead of on each store’s page: Music & Arts, which has stores in our study, and Sweetwater, which runs one mail-in workshop. Their setup prices land close to what independent shops post. Small electronics jobs cost more at Music & Arts, and Sweetwater sits at the top of every range, though its prices often bundle in more work.
| Job | Independent shops (typical posted price) | Music & Arts (national price list) | Sweetwater (mail-in, labor only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric guitar setup | $88 (69 shops) | $96 + strings | $99 to $159 |
| Acoustic guitar setup | $85 (12 shops) | $72 + strings | $99 to $159 |
| Bass setup | $90 (12 shops) | $96 + strings | Not listed separately |
| Small electronics job | $40 (42 shops) | $61 output jack, $65 pot, $70 pickup switch | $49 and up |
| Full refret | $488 (40 shops) | Priced by estimate | $649 to $749, includes a Plek fret job and setup |
- Music & Arts: fretted instrument repairs and setups, one price list for all stores. Setups include a restring; strings are extra. Prices seen October 2026.
- Sweetwater: Guitar Workshop pricing guide. “Pricing is for labor only and does not include the cost of parts.” Ranges, with a $100 bench fee for non-warranty work. Prices seen October 2026.
- Guitar Center: stringed instrument maintenance describes its Signature Setup, Platinum Setup and restring services, with strings included, but lists no prices and asks you to contact your local store. Checked October 2026.
- Nut, saddle and fret level prices are left out because the chains bundle a setup into them, so they don’t compare fairly with independent shop prices. Brook Mays and Murphy’s Music, the two regional chains in our study, post no repair prices.
Where shops post prices most, and least
This is the share of independent shops with a website that posted at least one price we could use. Chain stores are left out here, since none of their store pages posted a price.
| City area | Independent shops checked | Posted a price | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland area | 55 | 16 | 29% |
| Austin area | 31 | 9 | 29% |
| Seattle area | 41 | 11 | 27% |
| Denver area | 35 | 9 | 26% |
| Chicago area | 83 | 16 | 19% |
| Nashville area | 62 | 11 | 18% |
| Los Angeles area | 129 | 19 | 15% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth area | 50 | 7 | 14% |
| Houston area | 29 | 4 | 14% |
Portland and Austin are effectively tied at the top. Austin’s share rests on 31 shops, so one or two shops changing their websites would move it.
Chains matter here too. Around Houston, 24 of the 53 repair shops with a website were chain stores. Around Dallas-Fort Worth it was 28 of 78. None of those chain store pages posted a price, so in those two areas a player looking online is even less likely to find one.
Quotable findings
- Only 102 of 515 independent guitar repair shops in nine U.S. city areas posted a clear repair price on their website, and none of 121 chain store location pages did, although Music & Arts publishes a national price list (String & Amp, September to October 2026).
- The typical electric guitar setup at independent shops that post prices was $88, based on 69 shops, and 43 of those 69 charged between $70 and $100.
- The typical setup cost $70 in the Chicago area (12 shops) and $98 in the Los Angeles area (12 shops).
- A full refret typically cost $488 at the 40 shops that posted one, more than five times the typical setup.
- Portland-area independent shops were the most likely to post prices (16 of 55); Houston-area shops were among the least likely (4 of 29).
- Where amp shops posted an hourly rate, it was typically $100 an hour, based on 10 shops.
How we did this
- Where: nine U.S. city areas: Austin, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Portland and Seattle. Each area follows the Census Bureau’s official boundaries, so it takes in the suburbs and nearby towns (Portland includes Vancouver, Washington; Chicago includes places like Naperville and Aurora). That’s 281 cities and towns in all.
- Which shops: every guitar and amp repair shop in the String & Amp directory in those areas, 668 in total. 636 had a website. Of those, 515 were independent shops and 121 were chain store locations.
- What counted as a price: a dollar amount for a specific job, posted on the shop’s own website or price list. A line like “setups from $65” counted, and we used the starting price. For a range like “$80 to $120” we used the middle. “Call for a quote” didn’t count. Neither did forum posts, prices mentioned in reviews, or anything we’d have had to email a shop to get. Every price was checked by hand against the shop’s page.
- Chain service menus: in October 2026 we also checked the national repair pages of Guitar Center, Music & Arts and Sweetwater, plus the two regional chains in the study. These prices are shown separately and are not part of the independent shop figures.
- Websites that didn’t load: 61 of the 636 didn’t load properly when we tried. We counted those shops as not posting a price.
- How “typical” works: for each job, we lined up one price per shop from lowest to highest and took the one in the middle. When the middle fell between two prices, we used the halfway point and rounded to the nearest dollar.
- City numbers: a city area only gets its own price for a job if at least eight shops there posted one.
- When: prices collected September 2026 (September 22 to 24). Shops change their prices, so treat these as what shops were posting at that time.
- ZIP lookup: uses the first three digits of a ZIP code and the Census Bureau’s ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (2023) to find the closest city area. Distances are rough, measured to the middle of that city.
How to cite this
String & Amp. "Guitar Repair Price Index 2026." Prices collected September 2026. https://stringandamp.com/guides/guitar-repair-price-index/
You’re welcome to quote these numbers, use the table or embed the charts. The data is licensed CC BY 4.0: use it however you like, as long as you credit String & Amp and link back to this page.
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Updated every year
We check shop websites again every September and publish the new numbers on this page, with this year’s figures kept for comparison.
Looking for a repair, not the numbers?
If you’re trying to figure out what your own guitar or amp repair should cost, and what a setup usually includes, read our guide to guitar setup and repair costs. To find a shop, browse guitar repair shops or amp repair shops.
