Rob Matthews Guitar Repair

24/08/2026

More neck reset fun.

Lowden are often regarded as a difficult neck to remove. Luckily this one played nice.

After correcting the neck angle I glued in a new set of tight, hardwood shims and reattached the neck with hot hide glue, for both the fingerboard extension and the dovetail.

It now has a healthy saddle(s) height, with low action.

Great sounding guitar.

02/08/2026

This 1970s Mosrite Avenger arrived with a non-functioning truss rod and too much back bow.

After careful fingerboard and truss rod removal, I prepped the slot for the new rod and installed it under a maple filler strip.

I levelled the surface to remove a subtle twist along the length of the neck before re-installing the fingerboard and the binding.

I then re-fretted the guitar with appropriate sized fretwire. Guitar has a zero fret so we kept he original nut.

The end result is a guitar with a functioning rod, proper relief, new frets and a superior setup than when it arrived.

Sounds great. Nice pickups.

Now booking big and small repair jobs in for August. Email to book an appointment: [email protected]

09/07/2026

2 Ibanez Blazers in for tweaks. These things don't quit!

Slots available next week for: Setups, re-frets, neck resets, bridge regluing, electronics, pickup swap, broken headstocks, replacement nuts and saddles, and more.

Message or email to book: [email protected]

14/06/2026

This ‘90s Fender ’62 AVRI Jazzmaster was in the workshop last week for some mods.

-Original red tort guard replaced with an Anodized Aluminium pick guard from Herad Co.
-2x new pickups from Curtis Novak Pickups
-Mastery OMV Vibrato and Mastery M1 bridge with Mastery thimbles.
-Very light neck de-gloss. Not sticky any longer.
-Re-glue loose nut and minor setup.
-Guitar has been re-fretted previously to a high standard. No fretwork required.

A great sounding and playing guitar.

06/04/2026

On the bench last week: A stunning Mandolin made by Peter Madill in Auckland, 1981.

This has seen a lot of gigs but is still in great shape. A great sounding instrument.

After a fret dress/level/crown, deep setup with Thomastik flatwounds and some TLC it's ready to go for another 40+ years.

15/03/2026

Back in the workshop today after a busy weekend as Guitar tech for Villainy. Last 3 shows all within an 18 hour stretch.

1. Auckland - Big Fan
2. Hamilton - Homegrown
3. Hamilton - HG After party at Last Place
4 + 5. Under the Harbour Bridge - Tauranga

Nice to see so many clients, friends, familiar faces and guitars.

08/03/2026

A pleasure to prepare, tune and tech for the incredible Julia Deans last night at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts

14/01/2026

Happy new year.

Slowly easing into a fresh round of repair work after a short break over the new year period.

A few weeks ago marked 10 years of full-time repair work under my own name. I celebrated by finally commissioning a logo (no A.I. here). Artwork by Dan from

Limited run of merch now available.

Bookings currently available from Tuesday 20/1/2026.

Thanks to all the clients over the last ten years, and here’s to the next 10.

17/12/2025