The Welsh capital supports a smaller, tighter cluster of guitar workshops than the larger English cities. Daniel Alport charges £60 for a basic setup and £120 for a full service, and has worked on instruments for Manic Street Preachers, while long-standing names such as Dave Dearnaley, trading since around 1978, and Gareth Lewis handle refrets and repairs.
Cardiff guitar shops that do setups
Every listing below was checked against the shop's own website or a current public source. Call ahead for exact pricing and turnaround.
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Daniel Alport Guitar Maintenance
Musicbox Studios, Unit 7, Tollgate Close · Cardiff CF11 8TNTrained in 2017 by veteran guitar technician John Armitage, Daniel Alport charges £60 for a basic setup and £120 for a full service at his Cardiff workshop, and has worked on guitars for Manic Street Preachers and Phil Campbell.
Setup £60-£120 -
MotoMusic
Cardiff City Centre · 8 Trade Street Lane · Cardiff CF10 5DRMotoMusic is an appointment-only Cardiff workshop specializing in vintage and high-end guitars, offering setups, refrets, refinishing, and valuation services alongside consignment sales.
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Gareth Lewis Guitar Repair
Grangetown · 45 Compton Street · Cardiff CF11 6TJGareth Lewis has spent more than 20 years fixing and altering electric and acoustic guitars from his Grangetown workshop, and also serves as resident guitar tech at Crane's music in Cardiff.
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Dave Dearnaley Guitars
Splott · 31b Janet Street · Cardiff CF24 2BEDave Dearnaley has been repairing guitars and building instruments to order from his Splott workshop since around 1978, and is regarded within the local guitar community as a go-to Cardiff luthier.
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Cardiff Guitars
Cardiff Bay · Unit 2, St Clair Court, 3-11 West Bute Street · Cardiff CF10 5ENCardiff Guitars is a Cardiff Bay retailer dedicated exclusively to guitarists, running an in-house repairs and servicing operation alongside its sales floor as an official ESP dealer.
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GM Music
Cardiff City Centre · 2 Wharton Street · Cardiff CF10 1AGA Cardiff city-centre fixture for over 45 years, GM Music offers in-store guitar restringing, cleaning, and full setups alongside amplifier and brass or woodwind repairs.
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Nobles Music
Whitchurch · 2 Old Church Road · Cardiff CF14 1AERun by Clive Noble for more than 50 years, this Whitchurch shop offers guitar, amplifier, and drum kit repairs and setups, with particular expertise in valve amplifier servicing.
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What a guitar setup costs in Cardiff
UK benchmarks, checked July 2026. A full setup with fret level and dress runs £100-£130, a restring alone £15-£25 plus strings.
| Provider | Standard setup | Turnaround | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent shop or luthier | £48-£110 | 2-3 days, often 1-2 weeks waitlist | Basic setup around £48, full setup with fret dress £100-£130. Strings extra. |
| guitarguitar (chain) | Quote in store | Not published | No published prices; service booked as a 30-minute in-store appointment. |
| Andertons (Guildford) | £70/hour | 7-10 working days | Labour rate after assessment. Plek full service from £170. |
| DIY with proper tools | One-time tool cost | About an evening | Tools pay for themselves after 1-2 setups and last for decades. |
Or set it up yourself in an evening
A pro setup in Cardiff costs £48-£110 and most players need two per year. With precision tools you do the same three adjustments (neck relief, action, intonation) on your own bench, whenever your guitar needs it. FRTLZR precision tools pay for themselves after the first setup.
FRTLZR® Checkcard String Action GaugeMeasure and dial in your string action
Precision Feeler Gauges SetCheck neck relief at the truss rod stage
FRTLZR® Radius GaugeMatch saddle heights to your fretboard radius
FRTLZR® Fret Polishing Kit PREMIUMBring dull frets back to a mirror shine
Guitar setup in Cardiff: common questions
How much does a guitar setup cost in Cardiff?
Daniel Alport charges £60 for a basic setup and £120 for a full service at his Cardiff workshop, and other independents such as GM Music and Nobles Music offer in-store setups on request. Across the UK, independents charge about £48 for a basic setup and £100-130 for a full setup with fret dress; guitarguitar quotes in store, Andertons charges £70 per hour with Plek from £170, and a restring alone runs £15-25 plus strings.
Which Cardiff shop is best for fretwork or a refret?
Daniel Alport offers refretting alongside his setups, and Gareth Lewis, with over 20 years of experience and a role as resident tech at Crane's music, handles refrets and restoration from his Grangetown workshop. MotoMusic specialises in vintage and high-end guitars and also carries out refrets, making it a sensible option for valuable instruments.
How long does a guitar setup take in Cardiff?
A basic setup typically takes two to three days of workshop time, though Cardiff's smaller pool of luthiers can mean a wait of one to two weeks in busy periods. Appointment-only workshops such as MotoMusic schedule work ahead, and a refret or larger fret job usually adds a further one to two weeks.
Do I need an appointment for a guitar setup?
Some Cardiff workshops, such as MotoMusic, operate by appointment only, so it is worth calling ahead before travelling. Longer-established shops like GM Music and Nobles Music, both trading for decades, can often take in restrings and setups over the counter during opening hours.
Can I do a guitar setup myself instead?
You can carry out a basic setup yourself. The key tools are a string action gauge, feeler gauges and a radius gauge, since neck relief, action and intonation are all measurable and repeatable once you know the target values. Fret levelling and refretting, handled by Cardiff techs such as Gareth Lewis, are best left to a professional because errors are difficult to undo.
