Luthier tools

Testimonials

James and I had a great time planning the layout and construction of my Jazzmaster clone. His advice throughout the process was invaluable, and his superior skills as a luthier turned a collection of carefully chosen parts into a beautiful reality!

-Jason Caddell
The Dismemberment Plan


James has performed various procedures on my instruments and his understanding and sensitivity to my needs and his ability to do critical work with very small tolerances is stellar. I am a professional full time musician for well over 30+ years and have dealt with luthiers in and out of this country and James is one of the best. You can trust his work.

-John M. Corcoran


Old Town Lutherie has always delivered quality repair and set up services for my guitars. Being in multiple bands with different tunings can be a challenge to manage the preferred set up and intonation for each instrument, but James makes that a non issue for me. He has also saved the day on numerous occasions with emergency repairs. And his advice and guidence on custom builds is always valued.

-Todd Ingram
King Giant | Serpents of Secrecy


“I had a big crack in the body of my J-45 — the guitar I play every day. James fixed it up and it still sounds amazing. I get more compliments on that guitar than any other I play.”

– Michael Pearsall
Honor By August


“We’re huge fans of James’ skill and dedication to his craft. We have trusted him to care for our most valued instruments for years, prepping them for both demanding tours and studio work. Among the many guitars we’ve asked James to work on are various Gibsons (a 1974 ES-335, a custom shop Flying V, a custom shop 1960’s Les Paul Standard, and a pair of Les Paul Customs — one with some major nut/body work), Fenders (Tele’s, a Tele Deluxe, and an overhaul of an American Deluxe Strat including all new electronics), PRS (a particularly tricky job with a Hollowbody 2), and various acoustics (including a beautiful Hummingbird and a significant crack repair job on a Gibson J-45). We respect James’ ability, attitude and attention to detail and are excited that he runs his own shop now (NoVa’s loss is Baltimore’s gain!). We’ll continue to seek him out wherever he is to work on the instruments that we care about.”

– Evan Field
Honor By August