About
Wesley and the shop
Reno’s most experienced stringed-instrument repair shop, in business since 1999.
Photo: Mario La Pergola / Unsplash
Your luthier
Wesley Wilkerson
Raised in Richmond, Virginia, Wesley found his calling as a teenager building and repairing stringed instruments.
He graduated from the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, was lead stringed-instrument repair technician at Wholesale Guitars in Richmond, then spent more than five years as a Final Assembly finishing repair technician at Gibson USA in Nashville. Since the summer of 2016 he has run Reno Guitar Repair, now The Strings of Reno.
- Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery
- Wholesale Guitars, Richmond VA
- Gibson USA, Nashville TN
- Licensed & insured in Nevada and Washoe County
History
From Reno Guitar Repair to The Strings of Reno
Reno Guitar Repair was founded in 1999 by Robert Fear of Folkmusician, and grew to serve customers from all over the world.
Since the summer of 2016 it has been under new ownership, with a new name and a new shop: The Strings of Reno, at 960 Matley Lane. Robert is no longer an owner, but he found someone to pass the torch to.
Today the shop serves local musicians and players throughout the United States and abroad. If you’re not within driving distance of Reno, call or email with what your instrument needs.
The shop
A health spa for your instrument
The shop is climate- and humidity-controlled at all times.
We’re licensed and insured in Nevada and Washoe County. We have never damaged or lost a customer’s instrument, and should the worst ever happen, you’ll be taken care of.
Our job doesn’t end when you walk out the door: we’re your back-end support system.
At the bench, Matley Lane 
An SG on the bench 
Taping the binding before finish work
Finish work
Out with the old, in with the new
Have an instrument you love but want a new look? Bring it in and we’ll make it happen.
Wesley spent more than five years in finishing repair at Gibson USA’s Nashville factory, and there isn’t a paint job too complex for him: spot repairs, top and back refinishes, complete refinishes with bursts, shading or pinstripes, and relicing.
In the press
15 Minutes with Wesley Wilkerson
Reno News & Review sat down with Wesley in August 2022 for its “15 Minutes” interview: “Wesley Wilkerson, luthier and guitar savior”.
If it has strings, we can fix it.
Bring it by, call, or send a few lines about what it’s doing. Estimates are always free.