ARC Guitar

What a disappointment! We heard such great things about the guitar lessons so booked an appointment with Al. We arrived on time and the shop was closed with a «Be Right Back» sign – so we waited. Anyhow, 15 minutes pass and nobody arrives. I decided to call the shop to leave a voicemail asking about the status of our scheduled session. FINALLY at 4:17 Al shows up scatterbrained admitting he had forgotten about our appointment for my 10 year old niece. We waited outside for him to open up the store. When he let us in he said, «I didn’t like your tone in the voicemail – you sounded frustrated and I don’t like that. I’m sorry but I don’t think I can work with you.» This was said right in front of the kid. I found his behavior incompetent and left. About 10 minutes later this Al guy actually calls us back – provoking us to reiterate how he didn’t appreciate our call again! Seriously? Completely unprofessional – let it go, man, let it go. Some serious bad vibes and hostility at this place. Buyer beware.

Arc guitar is one of those fantastic places that makes this country great. The place is run by an exceptionally friendly guy who clearly loves his craft of making precision instruments, and repairing them.
Keep in mind this is not a standard guitar shop. Instead, it is a relatively small wood-​working studio with a front-​entrance reception area for guests, who will see the luthiers making custom guitars to-​order, and fixing them.
The guitars that come out of this place are top-​quality instruments, made with the finest woods and great precision, but also done entirely by hand, so you get a unique instrument each time. Because of this, the guitars are not cheap ones such as the $ 500 Yamahas you can find at Guitar Center. Expect to pay around $ 2K starting, for an instrument from this shop. While this might seem pricy, for the quality of instrument you get this is an EXCEPTIONAL deal.
While this place offers guitars, repairs, and lessons, one of the greatest benefits it offers the surrounding community is its weekly guitar building workshop, where the owner instructs students on how to build a dream acoustic guitar (or Ukelele) of their choice, with the woods, styling, and decorative patterning they wish. While this might seem like an art that requires years of experience, the owner guides you from start to finish and students do not require a single bit of prior wood-​working knowledge. You only pay for the cost of the materials ($ 700‑1000), and then $ 50 per weekend session until the guitar is done (about 20 – 25 sessions, depending on skill and experience). Then you can outfit the guitar with additions like pickups, extra inlay, professional polishing, and other details to make it absolutely glisten so you walk away with a fine instrument you made all by your own hand.
Without a doubt, this shop is a priceless location to have around, and its services and craft are something we all should take pride in having.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS.
i’d heard about this place from a friend who raved about it, who’d heard from a friend who’d raved about it… so that should be an indicator.
i’d brought my guitar in because it needed to be set-​up/​optimized.
the first thing that he did, that i appreciated very much, was that he admired my guitar. i don’t think i have a particularly fancy or nice guitar (Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat) but i always appreciate someone showing love to something that i love, y’know?
immediately he spotted all kinds of things to fix… new frets, lowering the action. upgrading the nut and saddle to bone. he made recommendations to make the guitar sound better, which i very much appreciated.
he told me he’d get it done in a week and he got it done in less.
guitar came back sounding magically delicious.

The best place in winters to buy your guitar and they also have guitars lesson check them out

DH from Travis is an idiot. I have had Al at ARC do work for me and I have attended his guitar making school. Al has the most pride and integrity in his work. To say that he did shoddy work and was anything than honest is not possible. Only an idiot would think so.

I have visited Arc Guitar for guitar repair several times over the past 3 years. I do not ever remember a negative interaction. Nor have I ever been diappointed with the work that was done. Just recently I started attending Al’s Guitar bulding class. This is an opportunity to build your own quitar from start to finish. Awesome!

This shop is a hidden Gem… Not only do they do great repairs but they have a Guitar building school! That’s right… they teach you how to build your own hand crafted guitar. Don’t take me wrong I’m a fan of learning online… but hands-​on learning is always better =)
Staff is friendly and the owner is a true craftsman and very humble. The shop is located in a town just 30 minutes from Sacramento. I don’t know what they have in the water but the business in this town is top notch, best Bike repair shop (Velocity), Best Steakhouse (Buckhorn), best breakfast (Putah Creek Café) and Best guitar shop!!!

Al and his wife are good people! See Al for all your guitar needs!