Hanson & Crawford — Local services in Durham

I e-mailed Hanson & Crawford in January about my 1994 Taylor 710 guitar. When changing strings, I noticed some dings in the lower frets. Also I thought the guitar would benefit from a professional setup. Greg Hanson responded. He put me on a waiting list to bring my guitar in for service in 3 months (so I had the guitar for 3 months, instead of it sitting in their shop).

I brought Greg the guitar in early April as scheduled. He evaluated the guitar and recommended a fret dressing and a partial setup, and I asked him to perform this service for the quoted price. In late May, the guitar was available. The guitar plays great, there is no sign of any fret dings, and it was done for the quoted price. If I needed further guitar work done, I would contact Hanson &...

Greg and David are the go to guys for professional players in the triangle and surrounding areas. For a reason! From a cracked neck on a 1961 Melody Maker to fret dressings, levelings, and setups, they have worked on several of my older Gibson guitars. They have all come back playing like sweet dreams. Due to their well deserved reputation as masters of the craft they sometimes can have a pretty long turnaround, but it’s certainly worth the wait and they don’t seem to mind fortnightly calls for status updates. To be sure, no other luthier’s shop touches any...

I've taken two guitars to Greg Hanson – a 10-year old Martin and 50-year old Yamaha acoustic. His evaluation of each was thorough and concise. His recommendations were what you'd want from your physician – the least invasive "cure." Each guitar was returned with improved intonation and playability for a fair price. He also demonstrated the "Midwest Nice" of his roots, while telling how he developed his knowledge and expertise. I have to drive a distance to get there, but will...