Frog Level Guitar Shop

Frog Level Guitar Shop We are a full service repair shop specializing in, but not limited too, a variety of stringed musical instruments.

A little glimpse into the journey of this 1972 Martin D-35. It came in needing a good bit of TLC from bridge and multipl...
12/11/2025

A little glimpse into the journey of this 1972 Martin D-35. It came in needing a good bit of TLC from bridge and multiple brace repairs, a refret, and new bridge, nut and saddle.

Here's a look at the bridge repairs that were done. Unfortunately this guitar had seen previous work in the past, and the bridge repair was done with super glue. You can see the aftermath of that in slide 2. The top had developed a pretty severe belly, so after a whole lot of cleaning that out with a chisel I used the TJ Thompson belly reducer to bring the appropriate radius back into the top. And from there I fitted the new bridge to the top, prepped the surfaces and glued it up.

Big thanks to my brother in looth .petty.18 for milling out this new bridge. Beautiful work!

Gearing up for a big weekend. More to come on this renegade!

Saturdays are for setting necks and gluing braces with the boys. Shout-out to for the tool that keeps on giving. ...
10/25/2025

Saturdays are for setting necks and gluing braces with the boys. Shout-out to for the tool that keeps on giving.

Another day another bridge reglue. This time on a '79 Martin D-28. 🤌
10/23/2025

Another day another bridge reglue. This time on a '79 Martin D-28. 🤌

Throwback to a job I'm still proud of to this day. Full restoration of a Steve Wariner Takamine. The top was very warped...
10/16/2025

Throwback to a job I'm still proud of to this day. Full restoration of a Steve Wariner Takamine. The top was very warped from water damage causing multiple loose braces. I remember it as one of my first big "restoration" jobs that I took on, and it certainly was a tedious and slow process.

That was some six and a half speedy years ago, and I've had all sorts of basket cases on the bench since then, but I'll always remember all those "what have I gotten myself into!?" moments that came with this job.

Here's a glimpse of some of the jobs that have ventured through the shop recently. Frog Level Guitar Shop has been keepi...
10/14/2025

Here's a glimpse of some of the jobs that have ventured through the shop recently.

Frog Level Guitar Shop has been keeping the music alive and going for 43 years and counting. Whether its a refin, refret, restoration, or you just need setup and strings we got you!

Another day, another neck reset. This time on a 1974 Martin D-28. I hope you enjoy the stank face action shot of me dril...
09/19/2025

Another day, another neck reset. This time on a 1974 Martin D-28. I hope you enjoy the stank face action shot of me drilling into the cavity of the heel. Cleaned up all that old glue from the mortis and tenon, now I'm just going to let it rest over the weekend, as I go enjoy this weekend! More to come on this beautiful beaut.

Broken headstock repair on a '72 D-28 that wandered into the shop recently. Pretty happy with how it all came back toget...
09/11/2025

Broken headstock repair on a '72 D-28 that wandered into the shop recently. Pretty happy with how it all came back together.

How I do love it when new tool day arrives. This one's been a long time coming for the shop, and a huge upgrade for any ...
08/25/2025

How I do love it when new tool day arrives. This one's been a long time coming for the shop, and a huge upgrade for any future finishing touchups and finishing work. Thanks to for the final push.

Tip to all you guitar builders out there. Don't glue your bridges on over top of a finish. It never bodes well in the lo...
07/10/2025

Tip to all you guitar builders out there. Don't glue your bridges on over top of a finish. It never bodes well in the long run.

Don't fret... Re-fret
07/02/2025

Don't fret... Re-fret

Had a conversation with a customer recently about the types of glue I use for different jobs. I use a wide variety depen...
07/01/2025

Had a conversation with a customer recently about the types of glue I use for different jobs. I use a wide variety depending on the repair at hand, but my first choice in most scenarios where it's applicable would be hide glue. It's been the go-to adhesive for luthiers. Going back to the dawn of time, and is still widely used today by myself and many of my peers. My go-to brand is hands down . Their products always provide more than enough strength to get the job done right (plenty of grip and longevity). I typically use the 200 grain strength. Give em a shout if you're a craftsperson or looth.

I'll be using it on this 2014 Gibson Advanced Jumbo this week. More to come on that.

Scraping and chiseling off the finish of this old dilapidated Stratocaster. Planning on getting creative with the refini...
06/30/2025

Scraping and chiseling off the finish of this old dilapidated Stratocaster. Planning on getting creative with the refinish. Anybody know any wood burning artists in and around the Bristol area?

Address

10077 Dean Allen Drive
Bristol, VA
24202

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+12769796523

Website

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