Steel City Guitar Works LLC provides guitar and stringed musical instrument repair, maintenance, and restoration services performed with precision and passion.
“I seek to delight my clients by helping them get the most out of their instruments. I am committed to providing world class service and quick turnaround times.” -Luthier/owner Chad Gerbe
With almost 20 years experience maintaining and repairing tens of thousands of instruments across the country for some of the biggest names in the music industry, luthier Chad Gerbe is thrilled to return to his home state to offer his expert services to Pittsburgh, Western PA, and beyond with
STEEL CITY GUITAR WORKS LLC
SCGW is happy to offer repair services backed by the shop’s Plek Station!
The PLEK Station is a computer controlled device designed to perform extremely accurate fret leveling and crowning, fingerboard preparation for new frets, nut and saddle work, as well as a variety of other functions to help make our guitar repairs as high quality as possible. This upgrade to the shop will help me serve my clients with more efficiency, repeatability, and a higher level of service.
Learn more about Plek technology by following this link: http://www.plek.com
Schedule an evaluation to see if your guitar would benefit from the Plek Station’s services! I am so thankful to all of the clients who have helped to make this possible.
-Chad Gerbe, Steel City Guitar Works LLC
"Chad has done amazing work, restoring old guitars that I've brought in, making them sound and play like they are supposed to. Always appreciate his attention to detail and love for instruments!"
I cannot recommend Chad Gerbe highly enough.”
"Chad has done all kinds of work on my guitars, from installing pickups to setup and restoration work. When he’s done with them, they always sound sweeter and play easier.”
SCGW is proud to be a factory-authorized warranty service center for the following brands
Member of the Guild of American Luthiers
Mission Statement
“I know how frustrating it can be to be limited in my playing by a poorly maintained instrument. I’ve seen too many young players get discouraged and ultimately give up playing because they were suffering through high action, sharp frets, excessive buzz, and noisy electronics. My mission is to provide highly personalized instrument repair and maintenance services for every type and style of musician to help them achieve their creative and performance goals, from reknowned players at the height of their craft to beginners first getting to know their instrument.”
-Chad Gerbe, luthier/owner, Steel City Guitar Works LLC
Heard this quote and knew I had to post it in a prominent place in my shop.
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I love my clients, but next time someone asks me how repairing their broken headstock on the guitar will affect the way it sounds, I’m just going to point to the sign.
Offering pool side fretted instrument repair services was not a business model I would have come up with on my own but I’m having fun with it so far this weekend!
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I’m at the Ice Jam Bluegrass Festival at the Beaver Falls Ramada Inn today and tomorrow offering free evaluations, restrings, and minor adjustments for the fretted instruments of attendees.
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#pittsburgh #bluegrass #luthier
Wrapped up the refret on this exceptionally cool 1965 Fender Precision Bass. Just the coolest! It had a rough rise at the end of the neck that had rendered it virtually unplayable, and with that thin veneer board, I had to be very judicious about the amount of material I could remove from the face of the board to create a level surface.
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Thankfully, the Plek gives me a really high capacity for precision with leveling boards in preparation for new frets, allowing me to remove as little material as possible. Now, with some new fret wire, this bass thumps!
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicians
I’ve got to give a shoutout to Nick at @1929pickguards. The old celluloid pickguards for these vintage Gibsons had off-gassed and deteriorated too much to continue to be usable. After removing and shipping them out to Nick to use as references, he whipped up some really nice reproduction guards that suit both of these old Gibsons really well. Thanks so much for your help, Nick!
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Also! Reason #348 I love having a 3D printer and the chops to use it…I had to make a replacement riser block for the underside of the L4 pickguard, so I quickly drew up a design in Fusion 360 and sent it out to my BambuLabs printer, which made quick work of this job!!
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#guitarrepair #pittsburgh #vintageguitar
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy new year to all my friends, family, and especially my clients who have helped get Steel City Guitar Works off to such a spectacular start this year. I thought it would take an entire year to get as busy as I have been with repairing all your guitars, mandolins, banjos, and even a few dulcimers, and I’ve only had the new shop open since August! I am so deeply grateful for your trust, support, and business! You’ve all clearly been spreading the word about me and I’m thrilled beyond words to be so warmly received in the Pittsburgh musical community. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
I hope you’ll join me tomorrow, Saturday Nov 15 at @cobblehauscoraopolis from 4-6pm for the bluegrass jam I will be hosting! Bring an instrument to pick a little, or just yourself to sip a little, and tap your foot a little!
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Also, huge shoutout to @acousticmusicworks for hooking me up with my new Northfield mandolin. I’ve been having a blast breaking it in, even if this fresh wood is still getting used to being a mandolin! Hit them up for your next instrument!
This one was a great instrument to come across my bench, a Stelling F style mandolin from 1997! Geoff Stelling was renowned for making high quality banjos starting in the 1970s until his retirement in 2022. This is the only Stelling mandolin I have ever seen and it really is a very nice instrument. The top had sunk over time a bit and the original bridge was overextending its threaded bushings to push the saddle up high enough to have the action be playable, so my friend Erik at @cumberlandacoustic made a really nice, extra tall replacement bridge+saddle that I got the bottom of to fit really nice and tight to the carved top of the mandolin. Now it’s playing just swell! Thanks for your help on this project, @engebretson_gtrs!
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicscene #bluegrass #bluegrassmusic #mandolin #smallbusiness #luthier #guitartech
I’m about to install the frets above the tongue extension on this Guild F50R. The old frets were worn down so deeply after decades of playing that there was no way to achieve a level playing surface by leveling and crowning the existing frets, thus, all new frets are going into this board to achieve the best playability possible. I had the opportunity to plane the face of the board true using the Plek station prior to the installation of these new frets. The red fret buck by @stewmac_guitar helps to support the area under the tongue extension when tapping in these new frets with a hammer so that the frets get seated nice and clean while avoiding accidentally cracking the thin spruce top on either side of the fretboard.
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@getplekd @guildguitars #pittsburgh #pittsburghsmallbusiness #bellevuepa #guitar #guitartech #guitarrepair #smallbusiness #luthier #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusician #pittsburghmusicscene
The world reknowned luthier Ken Parker taught an eye opening clinic at the Northwoods Seminar that I attended in 2014 hosted at the luthiery school I had graduated from 2 years prior. It was my first time meeting some of the top talent in my industry, and needless to say, I was pretty star struck and a bit nervous. Ken was so kind, open, and warm to me, and was incredibly encouraging as well. He made me feel like I could earn a place for myself in this industry if I stuck it out for the long term. He even took several hours out of his time that he could have spent with his friends and equals within the industry to teach me how to play straight pool.
He was an inspiration to me and so many others for his innovations, techniques, and contributions to the field of guitar design and construction, but personally, he inspired me to stick it out in this industry so that one day I can have the opportunity to be as encouraging to young technicians just entering the field as he was to me. Rest in peace, Ken Parker.
The old replacement nut on this PRS wasn’t flush to the sides of the nut slot and had a string spacing that was tighter than it needed to be relative to the width of the first fret. My client opted to have me make him a new bone nut to address these issues. I don’t always polish nuts and saddles up to a high gloss like this, but sometimes the overall aesthetic of the guitar calls for it. A well crafted, properly adjusted nut is a critical component of any setup.
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghlivemusic #pittsburghmusicscene #guitarrepair #guitartech #fretwork #smallbusiness #pittsburghsmallbusiness
Come on out to Cobblehaus At The Falls Taproom to do some bluegrass picking! We’ll be here till 5. Go past the food truck and the fire pit down the gravel path, the pavilion will be a very short walk down and on your left hand side. Come play, or just listen!
I’ll be hosting the last bluegrass jam of the year at @cobblehaus_atthefalls in Mercer County this Saturday from 1-5pm. I’ll have my mandolin and my dog Livia hanging out with us. Hope you can make it, whether you bring an instrument to jam or just to enjoy the music, some beer, and the scenery! This is a family friendly event so feel free to bring your children to come check it out.
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicscene #pittsburghmusician #mercercounty #brewery #bluegrass
All wrapped up on this replacement bridge for the Martin 0-15 that I made. The saddle slot was routed using the shop’s Plek Station (learn more about it at @getplekd) and I sought to match the traditional specs of the original style Martin straight bridge as close as possible. All strung up, setup, and ready for pickup!
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicscene #pittsburghsmallbusiness #guitarrepair #guitartech #vintageguitar #luthier
A quality fret dress (making sure the tops of the frets are leveled, crowned, and polished to ensure even tonality and eliminating dead spots across the fretboard) is preceded with important prep work. I always make sure to inspect and tap-test each fret to make sure they are seated properly in their slots as well as glued in place. I love using the Fractal Fret Press designed by @jedwardsguitars loaded into an arbor press to help seat each fret in place as I glue them down in their slots if the fret is loose at all. I don’t need to fuss with different radius cauls using this ingenious tool, and always get even pressure distribution across the top of the fret.
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghlivemusic #pittsburghmusicscene #guitarrepair #guitartech #fretwork #smallbusiness #pittsburghsmallbusiness
I’m getting the hide glue mixed up right now to get this replacement Brazilian rosewood bridge glued down onto this @martinguitar 0-15 from 1958. The old bridge had been awkwardly shaved down and the saddle slot had broken, been repaired, and broke again. I will be routing the saddle slot using the Plek once the bridge is glued on and then will make the saddle and dial in the setup + fit the bridge pins. I got the Brazilian rosewood for this bridge from @stewmac_guitar and made it from scratch for this guitar.
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@getplekd #vintageguitar #vintagemartin #martinguitars #pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicscene #westernpa #luthier #guitar #guitartech #guitarrepair
Smooth, freshly leveled, crowned and polished frets will not only help eliminate buzz and dead notes, it will also elongate the life of the strings since they will come into contact with a less abrasive surface as the player frets the notes. Additionally, the guitar’s capacity to allow the musician to play more in tune increases as the strings contact point is more defined at the top of the frets crown.
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When paired with a setup that addresses the string’s contact points at the nut and saddle along with making sure the truss rod is adjusted properly for the guitarist’s playing style, good fretwork can make the difference between a forgettable guitar and one that doesn’t want to be put down.
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicians #pittsburghsmallbusiness #pittsburghpa #pennsylvania #guitar #guitarist #acousticguitars #guitartech #guitarrepair
I got an initial quality scan of the fretwork on this old @gibsonguitar L-00 before setting the parameters of the final fret dress I’m looking for, then I went ahead and let the Plek do its thing on these frets. This machines cutterhead is accurate within .0002” which leaves as good a level playing surface on the frets as I could have hoped to ever achieve during my many years of doing fret work by hand. Knowing what goes into a good fret job definitely gives me the confidence to run this machine so I can give my clients the best playing guitars I possibly can. In the last picture, shop foreman Livia is ensuring things run smoothly around here.
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#guitar #guitartech #guitarrepair #luthier #pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghmusicscene #pennsylvania #pittsburghsmallbusiness #music #technology @getplekd
Glued a loose bridge down on this old Martin. Hot hide glue is the way to go with bridge reglues, it dries hard and resists creep in the joint over time. Lots of glues have their place in my shop, but if it’s good enough for 4,000 year old Egyptian artifacts, it’s good enough for me.
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#guitartech #pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghlivemusic #guitarrepair #guitar
Now booking appointments!
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Learn more about @getplekd as well as the rest of Steel City Guitar Works LLC’s services by heading to the website. Link in the bio!
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghmusic #pittsburghlivemusic #pittsburghpa #steelcity #steelcitymusic #smallbusiness #plek #guitarrepair #luthier #pittsburghguitarist #music
NOW BOOKING APPOINTMENTS!
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Contact me directly via the email or phone number listed on my website, or DM me here to bring your instrument into the shop for an evaluation. I’m looking forward to serving you!
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#pittsburgh #pittsburghsmallbusiness #westernpennsylvania #steelcity @bellevueforward #pittsburghmusic #bellevuepa