Richard Johnston co-founded Gryphon Stringed Instruments with Frank Ford in 1969. He later shifted from repairing vintage guitars to writing about them, and has contributed to dozens of magazines and several books, the most recent being Inventing the American Guitar. He appraises musical instruments for Antiques Roadshow on PBS.
Inflation is rough on the guitar market, but to those who are old enough to have been guitar shopping in the 1970s, the current price hikes won’t seem so surprising.
Covid caused a huge uptick in guitar sales and repair requests. If you're considering trying to fix it yourself rather than wait in line, here's a simple rule of thumb to keep in mind.