Lay's Guitar Shop

Dan Shinn, the owner of Lay's Guitar is a very knowledgeable man when it comes to guitar repair. The prices he charges are very reasonable considering that they're known around the country. Good people. Don't hesitate to call.

The Lay's team refinished an Gibson Les Paul 57 gold top for me and I am very happy with the results. The old top was really messed up before they applied their craftsmanship and expertise. The new gold finish is outstanding and true to the classic Gibson gold color.nnAlso had a complete set up and fret polish.nnTrust your guitar to the staff at Lay's, you won't regret it!

I recently brought my Martin in for a neck reset. I am not usually one to complain and always try my best to support local businesses but I don’t want this to happen to someone else.nWhile it was getting the neck set, I also paid extra, to get a set up done so it would be all ready to go when it was finished.nAfter 2 months I finally got it back. I have to say I was excited to get it back, that excitement quickly faded once I started to look over my guitar. The fit on the neck to body joint was not done well. I can fit a business card under parts of the joint on all 3 sides of the neck heel. Various small dents and scratches all around the neck and body by the neck heel. The fret board had file marks from crowning the frets and the fret board was high gloss polished while the fret work was being done, I did not ask for my fret board to be polished. Also high e side looks like the fretboard is slightly scalloped now, probably from some kind of big buffing wheel. The dot inlays on 15 and 17 now are sticking out enough to easily see. I asked for the saddle and nut to be replaced during the set up and told him they were in the case. The nut was not replaced and the saddle was only thrown on when I picked it up, because I said something. He had glued a piece pick guard to the bottom of the old one and it was not sitting square in the bridge before he put on the new one. The neck relief was set way to low causing buzzing, the intonation was not adjusted on the saddle, and the nut was left so high that notes on the first 4 frets play sharp.nI will say that he did offer to correct the set up, but I felt like the damage had already been done and did not feel comfortable bringing the guitar back. Also I feel like he already had an ample amount of time to complete the work. I asked for a refund for the set up that was not completed but he refused. So now I am left to still do the set up after I paid him to do it. Playability and tone are #1 for me. But I didn’t even get playability.nSo he may be great a working on electric guitars, I don’t know, but I would say if you value the condition of your acoustic maybe look elsewhere.

Sorry this reposted somehow, this is a response from an old review.nnWhile we don't usually worry about negative reviews and we feel our reputation stands for itself, I feel the need to clarify one of the comments made. We feel that it is not fair or appropriate to speak with out all the facts. We have many happy customers and most are repeat customers that continue to come to us, not because they don't have other choices, because we always try be fair and reasonable. While we don't claim to be perfect and anything can happen, we always try to do what we can to make a customer satisfied. So times it is not always possible.nnWith that being said, the post regarding the Les Paul with the pickup swap need some facts added to it.nn1) The whole guitar ,while it may have been a gold top at one time, was unprofessionally refinished with what appeared to be gold paint from a rattle can ( not finished correctly with bronze powder as an original LP would have). It came in with other nicks on the body as well. The guitar was in need of a restoration before any work had been done and this was discussed with the customer.nn2) This guitar has been in the shop before (about a year ago?) for a head stock break. Gibson gold bronze powder was used on this after the glue up. It did not match. This was discussed before hand that our hands were tied with trying to make it match. This was an except-able repair for the customer at this time even though it didn't match. You can't match a rattle can finish!nn3) The electronics had been modified unprofessionally before we proceeded. If I am not mistaken it originally had p90s. When it came in, it had mini humbuckers to be switched out with full humbuckers. The person who did the work looks like they used a chisel and drill bits to modify the neck pick up pocket to open it up to mount a base plate( from a different guitar) to the bottom of the pickup rout so the mini humbuck could be mounted to it. The mounting plate was to big and was stuffed/pressed into the pocket and would not come out. This was done again by someone else unprofessionally. We removed the pickup, then inserted the pickup mounting screws into the plate so we could try to pull it out. It had to be wiggled out. It was a super tight fit. As the tip of the plate came out it grabbed the edged of the poorly finished guitar and a piece of finish the size of a pencil eraser head flaked off. The body doesn't appear to be sealed properly, thus the gold paint peeled off easily. Probably the same reason the guitar had other nicks on it (also down to the wood). This would have happened to anyone who would have attempted to remove the plate. Due to the amateur mods done and an improper base plate,the paint flaked off. It was not caused by any neglect by us.n4) When the customer picked it up this was discussed with the customer. He was informed that it would be better to worry about it when the guitar would be restored (since this had already been talked about). Attempting an exact color match would be unreasonable. The customer was so bothered by the nick and wanted color to be filled in (yet none of the other nicks and imperfections were to be fixed). That was done. Did it match perfectly? NO! We already knew it wouldn't and the customer knew as well.nnThe work contracted was done professionally and turned out great. The only real complaint from the customer had to do with the nick. Out of courtesy the color was filled in.nnAgain we try to be reasonable and make every attempt to have a satisfied customer. We go out of our way to make things right!

Good group of guys. I have always had good service and with them except for one time. I recommend a friend to bring his Martin in for a top crack repair. The repair was good but the finish looked like they used a peach color spray paint to blend it. Other than that one incidence great work.