Nuke’s Guitar Setups

Excellent work on my two beloved acoustic guitars by Nuke. Just great service, friendly man, and your guitars will sound better than they ever have after his fine work.

Mark is a pro. He has done A+++ work on 3 of my guitars. A complex re-​wire and install of a set of Antiquity pickups in my #1, a Telecaster that the previous owner had gone crazy under the hood and had a rats-​nest of wiring problems and a non-​working neck pickup. As well as some awesome neck work. Put together a Strat part by part, and did a install of pickup on a archtop. (anybody who has attempted this knows what a exercise in frustration that is). All three he ace’ed. All three play and sound mucho better, his set up has keep tune stability and intonation 100x better, and just as importantly have had no recurrence of problems he has rectified. And all this at sane price points and work done in a timely and friendly manner. Highly recommended. Do yourself a favor. Go to his site and check out his reviews, look at the pros he has worked for, and peruse his price list. This fella has been doing this for decades at a high level. This kind of experience usually comes with a hefty price tag, but I think you will find his pricing very reasonable. Especially when you consider he uses top notch parts. Another thing to think about is how quickly he accomplishes the task at hand. This is important when the labor cost is folded into the bill. If you entrust your guitar to somebody who is not proficient and lacks experience and skill your labor cost will be higher because it will take the knucklehead longer to «fix» problems. And you don’t want problems with your axe down the line. A little knowledge can do a lot of damage in this business. Pick the guy that has a ton of knowledge and do your guitar, your wallet, and yourself a favor; forget the rest and go with the best!

Mark has worked on two of my guitars including a treasured Les Paul that I bought as a student 25 years ago. He’s a great guy, very professional, and his rates are very reasonable for the top quality work he does. Highly recommended!

Back story: So I purchased a brand new 2014 Fender American Standard strat from Guitar Center last December. Now, how fender allowed my guitar to leave their factory in the condition I received it, IMO, was total BS. The guitar was not on the showroom floor, as I watched the salesman pull it out of a packing box from fender. Maybe it was roughed up a bit during shipping???
So right from the start I had some gripes about the guitar after purchasing… the biggest gripe being that the neck was obviously NOT lined up correctly/​or in spec, which then trickled down and began causing a few other noticeable issues.

With limited quantities of the exact finish, neck and pickup combo I wanted on my guitar, I wasn’t left with a whole lot of choices when purchasing, so pick from ¹⁄₁ and figure everything else out later.
Thank the guitar gods for Nuke. I called up Nuke, who is just a really cool cat. Very accommodating and reasonable. After we figured out the logistics, I dropped off my precious, we talked for a few minutes, I got to see his shop and workspace (specialty tools galore), and with all that put together, it really allowed me to put my mind at ease. I didn’t like the idea of leaving my new axe behind, with anyone, but after our chat I definitely got the feeling NUKE knows WTF is up! My worries quickly turned into excitement.
FFWD to after I picked up the guitar, after Nuke did a proper setup, fixes, and more, all at a very reasonable price and turnaround, and my guitar has finally woke the EFF up and come to life! I cannot thank Nuke enough for making a good guitar GREAT and allowing it to become everything I knew it would be!
It’s now been at least a couple months of jamming, and I couldn’t be happier with his work.

I ended up taking the guitar in to a reputable shop made of brick and mortar.

found Nuke’s online and so happy I did. Am getting ready to sell my Guild acoustic and wanted it cleaned up, re-​strung, etc. Mark is a total PRO. Just brought the guitar back to me and it looks and sounds AMAZING. Couldn’t be happier with the service + Mark’s just a super nice guy!

I found Nuke through Unilocal and I read all these amazing reviews about him. Honestly, it sounded too good to be true. But after meeting him and seeing the quality of work he produced was simply amazing. You can tell he paid a lot of attention to detail and just loves what he does, which makes his quality of work even better. He is very thoughtful and listens to what you want to do. All his suggestions are helpful and well intended for the customer. I would definitely recommend Nuke for any of your guitar needs.

Nuke has tremendous experience with guitars and and takes great pride in his work. He has a love for music and knows that the proper setup and care of a guitar is essential to deriving maximum performance and pleasure from the instrument.
When I called Nuke I complained to him that my Les Paul seemed to be playing «flat». He took great interest in all aspects of my guitar including its history. When he was done with the restringing, cleaning and adjustments, it played and sounded as a Gibson guitar was designed to perform. His work breathed life and tone into my Les Paul which has allowed me to derive the optimal playing experience which all guitarists seek.
Having experienced Nuke’s first rate transformation of my guitar, I would not even consider letting a guitar shop tech touch it!

I called Nuke to do a setup on my Strat. He spent a lot of time talking to me about it on the phone, and when he came over to pick it up. He convinced me to go with a lower action, and said if I didn’t like it after giving it a try, he would adjust it at no cost.
Two days later Nuke arrives with my guitar. Wow! It looks beautiful. He mentioned that he would clean it up (and it was in dire need of it), but I did not expect it to arrive looking pristine. As for the setup, he was right on the mark — the lower action is much better. It has never played, sounded or looked this good since I bought it (used) in 1999.
It’s obvious that Nuke loves what he does and takes great pride in his work. He’s got a ton of experience and skills that show it. I also really liked that I knew exactly who would be doing the work, unlike guitar shops that employ a number of techs. He’s a fun guy to to talk with as well. Told me about a long road trip in a town car with Robin Trower. Very cool.
Thanks Nuke!

Mark has rewired and set up a couple of my guitars, a solid body and an archtop. His work is perfect. Wiring is super clean and setup is great, excellent job on frets and fretboard. Nice guy too! Would recommend him to anyone.

I am so happy I found Mark. I have played guitar for 30 years and gone to a few less-​than-​stellar techs that did poor work for the money. With Mark, his prices are reasonable and easily worth twice what he charges for the quality you receive.
Mark has worked on most of my guitars, from a cheap travel guitar, to a Telecaster, to a higher-​end Strat. Each one of them has come back sounding better than I could have imaged, so much so that I hung onto to a guitar I was planning to sell. Having a great setup by a professional like Mark makes all the difference in the world.
Mark’s also just an all-​around good guy, super nice, no ego and willing to go out the way to do the job right. I can’t say enough great things about the guy. Seriously, if you live anywhere at all in the Bay Area it is absolutely worth it to have Mark work on your guitars.

I emailed Mark (otherwise known as Nuke) with a last minute emergency. I was going into the studio to record this morning and my guitar had developed a nasty buzzing! Having never messed with the mechanics of my guitar, I didn’t want to run the risk of damaging it by tweaking the truss rod with crossed fingers, so I needed a shop that could turn this around for me same-​day. He returned my email first thing this morning and arranged to meet me as early as he could. I showed up and he fixed the issues straight away while I waited, going the extra mile to ensure that the intonation had remained true after his fix and showing me a thing or two I didn’t know about keeping my guitar in fighting shape. Nuke is a real cool cat who oozes guitar knowledge, is super friendly, and will even tell some war stories as he tinkers. I’ve found my stop for Bay Area guitar maintenance and repair. Thanks man!

I’ve wanted to learn to play the guitar for a long time. And, finally, I decided to go ahead and just do it. I ordered a guitar and accessories from Amazon (after researching, of course).
Friends who play all recommended having the guitar setup before I started. I had no idea what they meant, so I checked into it. After looking into it, it made sense that having the guitar properly set up made sense, especially for a newbie. I turned to Unilocal for recommendations and found Mark. I took my guitar to him and he told me what he was going to do. He also recommended changing the strings to make it easier for me.
While I’m still at the beginning stages, I’m grateful for the service and advice that Mark gave me. And when I get a bit farther along, I might take a lesson from him just to have him check my progress.

My Wife came here with her first guitar. This was an accoustic model and nothing high end. (passed down from her Dad). Mark took his time and cleaned the sh*t out of it, tuned it and added new threads. This guitar really got a ton of love! It was really dirty and Mark treated it to some awesome kindness.

I took in a ten year old acoustic to be set up. I wasn’t expecting a lot because I had been told by some guy in a music store that it would have to go back to the factory to be adjusted.
Mark took a look at the guitar and did a quick rundown of what he thought it might need. I said yes to everything, including the fretwork.
When I picked the guitar up, Mark said «It’s like you have a whole new fretboard» but honestly, it’s like I have a whole new guitar. The work included getting the action a bit lower up the neck, and now I can play anywhere on the neck without undue stress. Also, I have to say that the price was very fair — for the amount of pleasure I’m getting out of the guitar now, the price was really decent.
I’ve got a few more guitars that I think could play better, and Nuke’s Guitar Setups is where they’ll go when the time comes to get them to their best.

Just got my guitars back from Nuke today. My tele has never played so good and my Gibson Dove feels like a brand new guitar again. He does a great fretwork and i would recomend him to any of my guitar pickin buds. Look forward to dropping off some more of my guitars with Nuke.

I am a songwriter and I’m in the process of recording an album with my band, Little Buffalo. I brought Mark my 1964 Gretsch Tennesean which he brought back to life, plus a tele and strat copy that I’m using for the sessions which he turned into great sounding, very playable instruments. I’ve been at a loss since my former guitar tech switched careers, so finding Mark is a true blessing! He’s at the top of his game and super friendly and reasonable, to boot. I learn something new about guitars every time I work with him. I’ll be taking my acoustics to him, as well. Bravo! to Nukes Guitar Setups!

If you need your guitar setup go to Nuke’s.
I’m starting off and know nothing about guitars. Mark was very patient with me and took the time to ask what type of music I was into to anticipate the best beginner setup to suit my needs.
I picked up an old Stratocaster that had some pretty horrendous fret buzz. I bought it not really knowing what to look for in a used guitar. Mark set me up with some new strings and a basic setup. He even swapped out a couple of worn frets at no additional costs.
After a few days there were some additional adjustments that I wanted him to take a look at. He was able to set up a time for me to bring the guitar back and made the additional adjustments for free. He provides this service for all his setups.
If you want to go to a guy with decades of experience who is personable and cares about his work, you can trust Nuke’s.

Mark (Nuke) is amazing! He’s setup two acoustic guitars for me so far, I am planning on bringing in my 12 string for him to fix. Great guy, amazing work, prices that CANNOT be beat for the level of pure awesomeness that he brings my instruments to, they never played so well, even when I first got them!!!
I wish I could give him more than 5 stars, I won’t be taking my guitars anywhere else… ever… If you love your instruments, you are doing them a disservice by not taking them to Nuke’s.

What a great service Mark provides for guitarists that need work on their instruments. I went in to change a pickup, and now my guitar plays o so sweet, just the way I like it! Just talk to him about what your guitar needs are and he’ll come up with a solution. Mark is a pro at what he does, and he’s an all around great guy. I’m definitely going back for all my guitar tech needs. And by the way, the price is always right.