ARC Guitar

Such a cool place. The owner is a real craftsman, making guitars as a passion. He was very helpful to me, because my 12 year old son needed a new string on his guitar, and the owner helped on the spot. My son is on the spectrum and loves loves loves music. The owner was patient with him and sold us a backpack guitar for a very low price. My son loves that guitar and uses it all the time.

This place is like an oasis in the desert. I spent one week learning guitar repair from Al and his patience, calm demeanor, and extensive knowledge delivered an incredible learning experience. Drop-in and returning clients equally treated with respect and welcomeness, his passion and skill is undeniable. If you have a guitar/bass that needs some work or if you have any desire to take an in-depth look into the guitar world, Al is the guide you want. Offering full-guitar builds or repair classes, the learning environment he creates with you allows you to absorb as much as possible at the pace you require. Definitely worth stopping in and introducing yourself if you're in the area, or just diving in to learn. Wonderful experience.

The highest compliment I can pay Al is that he is a geek about his craft. It's infectious when you meet him. I took in a Martin D-28 to get a basic set-up and intonation job. Al thoroughly inspected my guitar for blemishes, and then enthusiastically noted the quirks and features of the guitar for about fifteen minutes. Which brings me to the next compliment - he gives you his proper attention when it comes to your instrument.

He gave an accurate estimate of how long the job would take, and stood firm it would not be a quick task because it took patience to do right by me and my instrument. The results were phenomenal! The intonation is without flaw, and the setup has made it sound proper. He even took the time to leave a voicemail, yearning to know if I enjoyed the guitar! I absolutely did, Al.

Al is an absolute professional and is extremely knowledgeable at his craft. I built a steel-string acoustic guitar under his guidance and I couldn't have been more satisfied with the final product!

The owner is a really nice guy with a lot of knowledge of guitars. I took lessons from him when I first moved to winters and learned a lot. I will def be back if I ever need anything guitar related and love knowing I have this right at my fingertips. See what I did there? =

My acoustic guitar had developed 3 different problems, which had impaired its sound and playability over the past year or two. Al quickly and correctly identified and resolved each one for me. (And charged me very fairly.) The guitar has come alive now. It's a pleasure to play it again. Al is a great guy, very strong in his technical knowledge, and he follows through. What he does at ARC Guitar is very cool. I recommend him very highly.

I have been having my electric guitars Set up here for 2 years and get an outstanding setup every time. I have Been to all the guitar shops in San Francisco and this by far the best. A lot of guitar shops are very technical But don't have the same feel as Arc. I had a setup by AL my acoustic and Was just amazed how well it plays. AL At Arc is the Michaelangelo of Acoustic guitars. Do yourself a favor And get your guitar setup here. It's 10 minutes north of Vacaville. Joe Hembree

Fellow guitarists - do you need a proper set-up done on your beloved instrument? Fret work? Crack repair? Or in my case, a strap button professionally installed? Visit my friend Al Calderone, owner of ARC Guitar in beautiful Winters, CA. He also teaches guitar building classes. He's a kind man who does great work.

I had a vintage Les Paul with a nasty crack in the neck that Al repaired incredibly well and in a very timely fashion. Al is super friendly and knowledgeable, the pricing is great, and the location is great. Hard to beat ARC for all of your luthiery needs.

Al Calderone made some repairs to a dreadnaught body acoustic for me. The repairs are perfect and the guitar plays like it is new again. At the time of this review it has been a year and the repairs are still very solid and the workmanship is top notch. I attended his annual "Guitar Festival" and was nothing but impressed by level of instruction that came from the different workshops. If your a budding luthier, a solo artist, or just a hobbiest, you will definitely take away a ton of good stuff from this event!

I wish I could give Al more than 5 stars! We brought our Custom Martin acoustic in to have a pickup installed (which was a very reasonable price, and he threw in a discount). Upon inspection Al noticed it needed a little extra TLC, as well as some extra work to the mounting block in order to instal the pickup. He contacted me to authorize the extra services but I wasn't able to afford it at the time due to some major unexpected car repairs.

When we came in to pick it up, SURPRISE! Al had done all the extra work for free (a $205 value) and said "Merry Christmas"! He did an AMAZING job. Our guitar is perfectly set up, clean, polished, restrung, and sounding so nice! Thank you, Al!

Had a guitar refinished here and recently had a setup done. Had a guitar that came from the factory with sharp fret ends. Al cleaned them up and cleaned up the back of the neck to a silky smooth finish. I'll gladly take more guitars to him in the future.

Totally professional and friendly service. Al (the owner) is so helpful and knowledgeable about guitars and all things related to them. I wouldn't trust anyone else to do work on my guitars. He always does first-rate work and I'm a very happy customer!

I took two days of instruction with Al He was great and helped me through some ways to greatly improve various parts of my Luthier skills. He is a great guy and I had a productive and fun time

I contacted ARC GUITAR to help me with my 1976 Mossman Tennessee Flat Top. I've had it for 20 years and it just got harder to play. Al Calderone assessed the problem, it needed a neck reset and refret along with new tuning machines. It sounded great new when Al finished it sounded better than new. He really is a superb craftsman.

Al is really great. Very kind and good hearted man. Can not thank him enough for the work he has done on my guitars. A real professional.

Al seriously went above and beyond with my guitar. He is so passionate and humble with his work, it was amazing visiting his shop. I hope to be living the dream as he is, some day! Great place to go for help with a project, he gave me plenty of great advice too!

Al and Arc guitar are awesome. I had my Martin acoustic (that is my baby) suffer a crack and he repaired it for dirt cheap and it looks and plays like it's brand new!

Arc is the real deal, Al is a awesome friendly guy who goes out of his way to make sure you are happy, I have had a few guitars worked on by Al and always very straightforward and happy with his work! Highly recommend!

Al is one of the kindest, most helpful persons I know. I am building my first guitar with him and I have never had a more wonderful experience. His knowledge and expertise of guitars is exceptional and almost a lost art. It is a pleasure knowing Al and I know that I have made a friend for life.

I drop by this store every time I come to norcal but it's the first time I got here when it's open! Al was fantastic and welcoming, showing me around the workshop and all the fantastic guitars-to-be. Thanks for the great experience and I hope to be a student one day.

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.

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 disappointed 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 Cafe) and Best guitar shop!