Steve Mason Luthiers & Violin

I decided to take my prized 1.4yr old Takamine in to Steve to get an action setup and just overall evaluation on the guitar and condition. It is a G series dreadnaught acoustic/electric with split bridge and a natural finish. I had (neglectfully) let the action & intonation get quite a bit off and was in dire need of a tune-up. He sat with me for 30-40 minutes and did a thourough consultation in the front room of his home which is lined with instruments from fiddles to guitars to banjos. Some I assume to be made in his shop while others are in for repair and retail sale. He asked how I play, tunings, styles, preffered strings etc. and by the end I had learned more about my guitar and the nature of it than I ever found in online research. I also found out that the luthier at the big shop in town had given me some false information regarding properly setting it up. To be fair your schedule has to be fairly flexible as he will have it for a few days and his services do cost more than the other shops in town but man-o-man is it worth it. My guitar has never sounded better, played easier, nor looked better and felt happier. I will never take it anywhere else. He discovered that the truss rodd is a unique type that doesn't take a standard allan wrench and had the proper tools to make the adjustment. He informed me of a few little quirks that this guitar has and filled me in on how to make some home adjustments when needed. Maybe best of all when we were done he gave my 2yr old daughter who went with me to pick up a shirt and just made her day. Steve is a talented and great luthier. Beyond that he is inviting and warm and a good soul. I highly reccommend his services and products to anyone seeking quality goods from a quality shop.