Hackl Guitars

Justin is the only person who I trust to work on my guitars. He’s always been super helpful with suggestions, flexible with turnaround, and is very cognizant about warning you about changes that will affect resale value.

My Martin jumbo cutaway badly needed some t.l.c. and I had the rare opportunity to drop it off with a pro in Denver for a couple of days (I live about 4 hours away with little access to guitar techs). I followed the recommendations here at Unilocal and am glad I did.
Justin was upfront about what he thought should be done without pressuring me to do anything that I didn’t feel was necessary. I followed his recommendation and had him provide a full set-​up, fret leveling, and replacement of the bridge and nut with custom-​cut bone fixtures.
I have it back now and am thrilled with the work. It plays better than ever with the neck and frets exactly where they need to be. Also, the bridge and nut upgrades have noticeably improved the tone.
He also charged a very fair price and I was happy to have paid it for such quality work.
He runs a garage shop out of his residence and it was easy to find on Google Maps. Him and his wife were both really friendly and it feels good to support a talented entrepreneur over a huge chain store. I will definitely look him up next time I need guitar work and I hope he stays in business for years to come.

q: What do you call a metal guitarist that works on guitars?
a: Luthifer.
I am very happy the service I got at Hackl. The only funniness is that it’s run out of a garage at a home so you have to make sure you call in advance to ensure that the luthier is in. He’s done great work on two of my guitars now and they plays beautifully. I don’t think you can beat Justin’s work for $ 50 a set-​up.

Highly recommend Hackly Guitars!
I recently had Justin install a set of pickups for me on a Stratocaster. They had a bit of a strange wiring pattern, due to the S1 switch and the fact the guitar was put together from many different parts. He took the time to research the best way to setup the electronics and perfectly set it up for me. My Strat plays 1000x better after his setup than it did before.
Justin is a great guy and a very talented luthier. I highly recommend him for any repairs you may need, especially guitar setups!

Justin’s real knowledgeable, and runs a nice little shop out of his garage. Prices are extremely reasonable and he’s a guy you feel good about supporting, as opposed to guitar center or whatever. He did a nice job cleaning up my electric, swapping the strings and realigning the neck. An excellent find.

Justin has worked on my telecaster a few times and there won’t be anyone else working on it from now on. Being the great guitarist that he is, he knows exactly what you need. The last time I was there, he changed the pots on my tele and threw in different capacitors for the tone pots. I had good tone, but now its great. Had a great time recording with it. He’s a very cool and friendly guy, and very professional. I strongly recommend you check him out and his custom made guitars.

I should’ve left this review a long time ago. A little back story– I’m fairly new to Denver and had no idea where I should start when I saw my Gibson Flying-V’s neck separating from its body. I’ve also had pretty crummy experiences before with experts who have «fixed» different issues with it. I read some reviews and saw an interview somewhere about Justin. Seemed legitimate and looked like he was in business for the love of it and not to make a dollar. Justin is phenomenal. Not only kind, professional, and friendly, but the guy is good at what he does. Full setup, new strings, and fixed in what. A day? The guitar plays better than ever and actually fixed what was «fixed» by others who had been in business for 30 years. So, in essence, I wish I could leave 10 stars for Justin instead of 5. Oh wait! Let me back up– his pricing is also awesome! I’m very very impressed with Hackl Guitars and recommend to ANYONE. Oh, and if you pull up to a residential address… it’s because his shop is in the back. Just to alleviate any confusion for you… Keep doing work Justin!

Pretty much a one of a kind. Justin is very flexible, with great rates, service, and craftsmanship. Whether you are looking to have a one of a kind custom built, it just need some neck work this is the place to go!

For some time now, I’ve been looking for a place that could do basic tune ups, set ups and repairs on my guitar, both quickly and cheaply. I had gone to a couple other places in Denver but they typically took way too long and it was hard to get anything turned around quickly. I did a quick search on Google and found that Hackl guitars was pretty close to down town where I work so I decided to take my guitar there. I kept breaking strings on my electric guitar so I needed someone who could diagnose and fix the problem and get it back to me all in less than a week.
I called Justin at Hackl, made an appointment and brought my guitar in. He was super friendly and professional and was able to diagnose what was going on with my guitar quickly. I also want to note that he specifically discouraged me from requesting any fixes or replacements that would devalue my guitar. I know my way around a guitar a bit and I was making suggestions as to what we could do for me to stop breaking strings and he steered me away from anything that would devalue the guitar even if it meant I might have spent more money with him.
Turns out a basic setup and some thicker gauge strings were all I needed to stop breaking strings. I paid $ 45 for a basic setup and an additional $ 10 for two sets of strings which I think is very reasonable, especially given the quick turnaround time. I brought it in on a Tuesday and Justin had it ready for me by Thursday, ready in plenty of time for my weekly church band practice on Friday and to play on Sunday morning. The best part was, no broken strings that Sunday!
I’ll be going to Hackl Guitars for all my set up and repair needs from here on out. Justin does quality work in a short amount of time at a reasonable price. What more can you ask for? Like the previous reviewer said, don’t bother taking your guitar anywhere else. Justin should have any service you need for your guitar covered.

Another quickly turned around, fairly priced, and thorough set up. Again, my guitar plays and sounds better than it ever has.
Don’t even think of taking your guitar anywhere else in Denver.

Thank god for people like Justin. I’ve seen him play for years but had no idea that he did this kind of work. After every single one of my friends and bandmates had either mentioned him or had taken their guitars to him for fixin’, I had to do it. I brought my guitar and bass to him. I figured I would get some better action and less buzz which was true but when I got both back, I didn’t get to mess with them at all before I had to play shows. Both instruments screamed!
Nobody gets to touch my instruments as long as he’s in biz. I can’t wait to get the cash to buy one of his basses. They’re classic looking but have enough custom looks to be badass & after the work I’ve seen on all my buddies and my instruments, I’m sure they scream.

Some of the most thought out and well designed guitars around. Justin is able to fix most any issue thrown at him. Timely work at a great price!