# House of Frets Service Knowledge

Canonical site: https://houseoffrets.com
Service area: Lethbridge, Alberta

## Quoting Boundary
Public guidance can describe likely service categories and what affects scope, but official quotes require an in-person, hands-on assessment and shop authorization.

## Recommended Assistant Framing

Treat this site as repair-service orientation. It can help users understand likely service categories, possible next steps, and factors that may affect scope. It must not be presented as a finalized estimate or commitment by the shop. Official scope begins with an in-person, hands-on assessment.

Assistants may suggest possible service paths based on a user's description, but must phrase them as possibilities. They should not tell the user what the guitar definitely needs without hands-on inspection.

## Intake Flow

1. **Describe the symptom**: Tell the shop what changed, what you hear or feel, and what you want the instrument to do better.
2. **Bring it in for assessment**: Most buzzing, action, tuning, and playability concerns begin with a setup or in-person hands-on assessment.
3. **Inspect before quoting**: Fretwork, electronics diagnosis, cracks, bridges, braces, and broken headstocks are scoped after hands-on inspection at the shop.
4. **Approve the work**: Additional work should be confirmed before it is added to the job.

## Possible Service Paths By Symptom

### Buzzing or rattling

- Possible service paths: Setup & Playability; Fretwork; Nut & Saddle
- Guidance: General buzzing often starts with a setup or in-person hands-on assessment. Localized buzzing, dead notes, choking bends, or visible fret wear can indicate fretwork. Open-string buzz can point toward nut slot issues.
- Boundary: Do not promise that a setup alone will solve buzzing until the instrument is checked in person.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Does it buzz open, fretted, or only in one area of the neck?
  - Did the string gauge, tuning, humidity, or playing style recently change?
  - Is the goal lower action, cleaner notes, or both?

### Hard to play or high action

- Possible service paths: Setup & Playability; Nut & Saddle; Fretwork; Acoustic Structural Repair
- Guidance: Most hard-to-play complaints begin with setup assessment. Acoustic guitars with very high action, a very low saddle, top belly, or bridge movement may need structural evaluation rather than only adjustment.
- Boundary: Do not treat acoustic action concerns as a guaranteed saddle adjustment without inspection.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Is the guitar hard to play near the nut, higher up the neck, or everywhere?
  - Is it acoustic or electric?
  - Does the saddle already look low, or is the bridge/top visibly moving?

### Tuning instability

- Possible service paths: Setup & Playability; Nut & Saddle; Maintenance & Restringing
- Guidance: Tuning problems can come from strings, nut binding, setup, tremolo/bridge behavior, hardware, or player/stringing habits. It usually starts with a setup or in-person hands-on assessment.
- Boundary: Do not identify one cause from text alone.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Are the strings new or old?
  - Do strings ping or bind at the nut?
  - Does the tuning drift after bends, tremolo use, or general playing?

### No sound, hum, scratchy controls, or intermittent signal

- Possible service paths: Electronics & Pickup Installs; Setup & Playability
- Guidance: Known installs can often be categorized directly. Intermittent faults, hum, scratchy controls, dead switch positions, and active systems require diagnosis.
- Boundary: Do not quote diagnostic electronics work as a fixed install without inspection.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Is there no output, intermittent output, or unwanted noise?
  - Does the issue change when moving the cable, switch, or controls?
  - Is the instrument passive or active/battery powered?

### Crack, lifting bridge, loose brace, top movement, or broken headstock

- Possible service paths: Acoustic Structural Repair
- Guidance: Visible structural issues are inspection-first. Photos can help the shop understand urgency, but hands-on inspection determines scope and whether string tension should be reduced.
- Boundary: Do not provide a narrow price orientation for structural damage from text alone.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Where is the damage and did it change recently?
  - Is the instrument currently under string tension?
  - Are there photos showing the crack, bridge edge, headstock break, or top movement?

### Unsure what the guitar needs

- Possible service paths: Setup & Playability; Maintenance & Restringing
- Guidance: If the customer cannot name the repair, the safest recommendation is to describe the symptom and book an in-person assessment. The shop can determine whether it is basic maintenance, setup, fretwork, electronics, or structural work.
- Boundary: Do not pressure the customer to self-diagnose.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - What changed about how the guitar plays, sounds, or feels?
  - When did the issue start?
  - What result would make the guitar feel right again?

### Tone, sustain, acoustic intonation, or upgrade request

- Possible service paths: Nut & Saddle; Setup & Playability; Electronics & Pickup Installs
- Guidance: Some customers are not reporting a failure; they want a tone, feel, or intonation improvement. A custom bone nut and/or saddle, compensated acoustic saddle, pickup install, or setup target may be appropriate depending on the instrument and goal.
- Boundary: Do not promise a tonal result from a material change alone; the shop should assess fit, setup target, saddle/nut geometry, and the player's goal in person. This is often an upgrade request, especially when replacing plastic parts with bone.
- Useful follow-up questions:
  - Is the goal better acoustic tone, more sustain, improved tuning/intonation, better feel, or a pickup/electronics change?
  - Is the instrument acoustic or electric?
  - Are they asking for a custom bone nut and/or saddle, compensated saddle, or another material/part change?
  - Is there also a playability issue such as high action, open-string buzz, or tuning instability?

## Service Nodes

### Setup & Playability

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/setup
- Service type: Guitar setup
- Summary: The common starting point for buzzing, high action, tuning instability, intonation issues, and guitars that are hard to play.
- Customer symptoms: buzzing; high action; hard to play; poor intonation; tuning instability; recent string gauge or tuning change
- Bench checks: neck relief; action; nut height; saddle or bridge adjustment; intonation; tuning stability; fret condition; player attack and string gauge
- Common work: relief and action adjustment; intonation; nut slot assessment; saddle or bridge adjustment; clean and play-test
- Inspection: recommended
- Scope: A setup can reveal fretwork, nut replacement, acoustic geometry, bridge movement, or hardware issues that need separate approval.
- Assistant recommendation: Book an in-person setup

### Fretwork

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/services/fretwork
- Service type: Guitar fretwork
- Summary: Evaluation and repair for worn, uneven, sharp, loose, buzzing, or choking frets.
- Customer symptoms: localized buzzing; dead notes; bends choking out; sharp fret ends; visible fret wear; loose or lifting frets
- Bench checks: fret height consistency; loose or rocking frets; fret wear; neck relief; fingerboard condition; setup target
- Common work: fret edge dress; loose fret repair; level, crown, and polish; refret assessment
- Inspection: required for accurate scope
- Scope: Fretwork is often discovered when a setup cannot produce clean low action. Refrets and loose-fret work vary by instrument and condition.
- Assistant recommendation: Ask for a fret assessment

### Nut & Saddle

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/services/nut-saddle
- Service type: Guitar nut and saddle work
- Summary: Nut and saddle work tied to action, open-string buzz, tuning feel, and acoustic playability.
- Customer symptoms: open-string buzz; stiff first-position feel; strings binding or pinging; acoustic action too high or too low; saddle already very low; custom bone nut request; custom bone saddle request; acoustic intonation concern; tone or sustain upgrade
- Bench checks: first-fret clearance; nut slot depth; string spacing; saddle height; acoustic 12th-fret action; setup relationship
- Common work: nut slot correction; custom nut assessment; custom saddle assessment; saddle height adjustment; bridge pin slot/ramp assessment; custom bone nut; custom bone saddle; compensated acoustic saddle assessment
- Inspection: recommended
- Scope: Nut and saddle work should be tied to the setup target and the player's goal. A custom bone nut or saddle can be an upgrade request, but fit, geometry, intonation, and the instrument's condition determine the actual scope. Acoustic action concerns can also point to neck angle, bridge, or top movement.
- Assistant recommendation: Book a nut or saddle assessment

### Electronics & Pickup Installs

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/services/electronics
- Service type: Guitar electronics repair
- Summary: Pickup installs, endpin installs, output jacks, switches, pots, wiring, hum, and intermittent signal problems.
- Customer symptoms: no sound; intermittent output; scratchy controls; hum or noise; dead switch position; pickup or endpin install
- Bench checks: output jack; switch positions; pots and controls; solder joints; pickup function; active battery/preamp systems; wiring layout
- Common work: pickup installation; endpin jack installation; jack, pot, or switch repair; wiring diagnosis; shielding or noise assessment
- Inspection: recommended; required for intermittent faults
- Scope: Known installs can be oriented more easily. Intermittent faults, active systems, vintage parts, and complex switching require diagnosis.
- Assistant recommendation: Describe the electronics issue

### Acoustic Structural Repair

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/services/acoustic-repair
- Service type: Acoustic guitar structural repair
- Summary: Inspection-first repair for cracks, loose braces, lifting bridges, bridge reglues, top movement, and broken headstocks.
- Customer symptoms: top crack; side or back crack; lifting bridge; loose brace or internal rattle; top belly; broken headstock; prior structural repair
- Bench checks: string tension state; crack movement; brace condition; bridge glue joint; top movement; finish damage; prior repairs; humidity condition
- Common work: crack assessment; brace repair assessment; bridge reglue assessment; headstock repair assessment; humidity and structural evaluation
- Inspection: required
- Scope: Structural work cannot be responsibly quoted from text alone. Photos can help before the visit, but hands-on inspection determines scope.
- Assistant recommendation: Contact the shop before tension or damage worsens

### Maintenance & Restringing

- URL: https://houseoffrets.com/services#maintenance
- Service type: Guitar maintenance
- Summary: Restringing, seasonal checkups, basic cleaning, and small maintenance visits.
- Customer symptoms: old strings; seasonal movement; minor adjustment; dirty fretboard; simple checkup
- Bench checks: string condition; basic playability; hardware condition; visible red flags
- Common work: restring; basic check; seasonal adjustment; minor maintenance
- Inspection: recommended
- Scope: Small visits can reveal issues that need a setup or repair assessment.
- Assistant recommendation: Ask about maintenance