Chris Camp - Camp Music - Testimonials - Letters

Some of my customers have been kind enough to share their appreciation of my services.  Below are their comments. Feel free to leave a comment of your own by filling out the form below.

  1. Rachel Nutter says:

    …I was so impressed with his expertise, and his superior knowledge of guitars in general. The questions that I asked him were answered to the fullest detail, which gave me a real secure feeling. There could be no doubt about the results should I permit the repairs. Believe me there was nothing left unsaid and I permitted the work.

    I must tell you that his workmanship is so superior. As I run my hands over the entire guitar I simply love the smooth touch I get, which is a credit to his unique lacquer work. Aside from the complete refurbishment of this instrument, the tone of the guitar is far superior to that when I first brought it in to him. Hard to believe but tis true. It has made such a difference to the quality of this guitar. I love my Martin and I am happier now then when I first purchased it! That is saying a lot!

    Sincerely,

    Rachel Nutter

  2. Brent White says:

    I would like to thank you for all your patience while working with me on the repair my guitar. I don’t think that there are many people that would have performed the repairs as if it were your own instrument. Your craftsmanship is impeccable – It looks, plays, and sounds great!

    Thanks so much.

    Brent

  3. Bill Glassett says:

    The Camp Magic has turned this moldy, rain soaked, stripped down guitar into a thing of beauty. I love the finish, pretty but still vintage and looks like it was loved forever. The sound is very throaty and much better than I had hoped.

    My Martin guitar is giving me worried looks afraid it may be case bound for awhile. The pickup and the tuners look original and also sound great.

    Thanks again for all your skills and care on this massive project.

    You’re the best.

    Aloha,
    Bill

  4. Greg says:

    I want to compliment you on your organization and the presentation of your shop. I have been in many service areas in shops in San Diego and other cities and yours is, unquestionably, the best. Most places have to push the old pickups and screwdrivers out of the way to make room to see the customers’ guitar and one leaves their prize possession wondering what it will be set down on. In other situations, I have brought in my own protective cloth and asked that it be used when handling my guitar.

    I really appreciate your concern for the instruments which is obvious by the care you have taken in laying out your shop. As a customer who values the appearance of his guitars, I want to thank you for that extra care and concern.

    Sincerely,

    Greg

  5. Dave Ogershok says:

    Hi Chris,

    I just wanted to let you know that I can’t stop playing my any of my mandolins now.

    Thanks again for the great work and workmanship. You’re an artist.

    Later,

    Dave

  6. Justin Shultz says:

    Thanks Chris!

    I love love LOVE the way my guitar came out. I played it for hours last night. Haven’t got to the pedal yet, but I’m sure it’ll be great. Thanks for everything, you have made a customer and referral giver for a lifetime.

    Justin

  7. Jim Swor says:

    I visited Chris Camp’s shop on Friday and he completed the repairs on my AT-17.

    I’m a picky guy and Chris did a phenomenal job cleaning up the finish issues on the fingerboard binding. You would never know anything had ever been wrong. Aside doing spotless work, Chris is great all-around guy and I had fun hanging out while he worked on the archtop. Looks like I’ve found my new go-to local guy for repairs. Thanks!

    Jim

  8. Ken Simon says:

    Hi Chris,

    I just wanted to tell you how happy I am with the work that you did on my guitar.

    I knew of your work before I met you but after spending time with you on the original assessment, I knew when I left it with you that it was in good hands and that there was no doubt that I was going to get a better quality instrument back.

    I really enjoyed getting to know you.

    Ken

  9. Tim Ryland says:

    The binding was coming loose on my 1983 Martin D-35. Being near the coast, I took it to another authorized Martin repair shop attached to a retail store. After three months of phone calls and being put off, I picked up my guitar and took it to Chris Camp. He went over the work to be done, explained how he would do it, and, at my request, made several recommendations as to other repairs that he thought would enhance my guitar-playing experience.

    Chris did a fantastic job. It took him only a couple of weeks, and his attention to detail was gratifying. I could tell he loved my guitar. He even went so far as to “age” the finish over the new binding so that it matched the yellowed varnish on the rest of the guitar. He hand-carved a new bridge and fine-tuned the saddle to fix a small anomaly in the harmonics. End result: my vintage Martin sounds and looks better than ever. And all for a reasonable price.

    I would trust Chris with anything with strings, and I expect to take more instruments to him in the future.

  10. Tom Coolidge says:

    My 40 yr-old D-28 came back from Chris Camp running like never before.

    In addition to several warranty items (hats off to the Martin Co!) Chris suggested a refret, which was beautifully executed. He also managed to salvage the original bridge, saddle and nut with his magic.

    I’ve had nearly a month now of experiencing the much-improved action, tone and sustain he coaxed out of this fine instrument, and am still dazzled by the difference.

    Hmmm, just think what this guy could do with my Tele…..

  11. Lyle Trager says:

    In 1998, My 1973 D-35 had the pick guard coming up around the edges. I knew from reading that I should get it addressed ASAP. I live in the OC and wanted to find an authorized Martin repair shop to take advantage of the lifetime warranty. I found Chris Camp on the Martin Guitar site so I called Chris up on the phone and made an appointment to drive 60 miles to the south for an eval of my D-35.
    As I meet with Chris, I am drawn to his attention to detail. Chris explained what to do now and what I could do later. Well, I wanted everything now so I gave Chris my prized D-35 and a deposit. When I picked up my D-35, the repairs all looked perfect and I was pleased. When I got the D-35 home and played it, it was like a whole new guitar. Unbelievable !!!
    Fast forward to 2014. I noticed that I was having some intonation issues with a couple of strings so I called Chris up. I was happy to find he was still around after all these years. I jumped in my truck and took my D-35 to Chris to take a look at.
    In an hour or so, Chris had lowered my action for playability and completely fixed my intonation issues.
    I cannot recommend Chris Camp enough. He cares for your instrument as much as you do and is shows in every way he does business.
    I just wish I could come by and see Chris more often because he is so much fun to talk to about guitars and generally life as well.

  12. Twenty years ago I purchased a 1938 Martin 000-18 from the original owner who bought it at the May Company in downtown Los Angeles.

    The owner sent a letter to Martin in Nazareth Pennsylvania to ask if it was still under warranty. They said “yes” only if she had the original sales receipt which by this time was long gone.

    With their reply they sent a list of authorized repair people in Southern California. I kept that letter for twenty years and since I was now in Escondido, CA I was surprised there was a a recommended luthier Chris Camp very close to my own home. The kicker came that Chris had the same phone number and address after twenty years and that says something for his longevity.

    Chris did an excellent job on my vintage Martin which included a neck reset, re-fret, fret ramp, new bridge rebuild and other bits of tender loving care.

    The guitar looks and sounds fantastic as is worthy of a vintage instrument that is over 75 years old. Thanks Chris and you are more than a wonderful luthier but a trusted and very good friend.

    Pastor Jim Park, PhD

  13. David Barten says:

    Chris,

    You have made many guitars of mine wonderful, historically accurate, restorations of the original fine instruments they are. Each end everyone tells a story from the Family Member Martin you brought back to life to the old Gibson that was a train wreck from the beach of Santa Cruz… In every instance your expertise and time honored work brings the amazing sounds, sweet playability and period specific restoration into my home every time I play the instruments you so caringly work on.

    From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU, your work is above and beyond a price as it is heirloom, it is a family member, it is timeless…

    db

  14. JIM JOHN says:

    I have a D35, and while playing with some friends the other day, one commented that there looked to be some warping on the top, that the bridge looked as if it was lifting. Called Martin and they gave me Chris’s number and had nothing but good to say about him. I arrived at this place at the appointed time…let me start off by saying, I’m always a bit “leery”…”skeptical” about some unknown person working with my guitars…but I figured he had to be good, otherwise he’d not be a Martin authorized repairman…not to mention upon initial contact, phone call with Chris I was immediately impressed with him by the way he handled my phone call. I arrived at the appointed time, yes he works by appointment only, and it’s easy to see why. After a lengthy, complete examination of my D35 he determined that there is a beginning problem with the X-bracing, that it needs to be watched, nothing so serious that requires immediate work. The then set about to perform, what I would consider a fret dressing, cleaned them, buffed them did a fingerboard cleaning…changed strings, gave me a lesson on how to string it. AWSOME !!!
    He also spent time schooling me on hydrating and dehydrating my D35…Chris is just a wealth of friendly knowledge and enjoys sharing it. I’ve found a “home” for my guitar work !!!!.

  15. Ed White says:

    I was originally steered in your direction when I saw the result of a repair that you did on a friends Martin. There was a crack on the top and when you finished with it I could not find any hint of that crack. Pretty impressive.

    When I came into possession of my mother’s Gibson L4 I knew I wanted to do restoration work on it and keep it in the family. As you know it was not only well worn, with machine heads that barely functioned, frets with deep groves, a tweaked neck, cracking on the sound hole near the neck, but also had a massive fracture on the top from being dropped on concrete when the strap came loose. To me the guitar seemed all but unplayable.

    I’ve had a chance to play the L4 quite a bit since you worked on it and I have to say that I just love this guitar now. It plays so much easier now, stays in tune forever and has a great sound. The new machine heads look original and fit the guitar perfectly. The way you installed the new frets, in the style that they were originally found on the L4 is amazing. The detail that you went to to hand file the binding around the ends of every fret is beyond what I would have expected. The past refret job just had the frets stick out to the edges of the neck. Oh, and that smashed area on the top – you got skills. The finish on the entire guitar is so much more alive now. You did an amazing job on this guitar, my friend. I could not have asked for anything more. Thank you very much.

    Now for the old Kalamazoo…

    Best regards,
    Ed

  16. I have a 1963 Martin 000-28c that I purchased new in 1964 at Johnny Thompson Music, Monterey Park, CA. After spending 20 years in Hawaii, then a few deadly years in Cathedral City near Palm Springs, the guitar was ready for a total restoration. I have been writing songs since 1964, most of which were written on this guitar.

    When I walked into Chris Camp’s studio, I could tell immediately that I had just entered a special place. On Kauai I spent several years as a luthier’s assistant, making about 15 koa ukuleles and prepared wood for a few guitars. Chris Camp’s Studio had that special feeling that is so hard to find.

    When I left the Martin with Chris, I felt like his studio had the vibration of a church (so to speak, it actually had a massive amount of spirituality). I told him the Martin was my ‘soul’, and it truly was.

    Chris had done some minor work on a new Martin that I recently purchased, he lowered the action. It was at that time that I knew he was the guy to work on the 000-28c.

    It took Chris about a year to totally restore the 000-28c, I asked him to go slow. He took the appropriate amount of time giving full respect to the guitar.

    Finally, it was time to pick up the Martin. When Chris showed it to me, I gasped, it was beautiful. He not only restored it, he ‘baptised’ it. When I held it in my arms it was like magic.

    Months later, I still gasp every time I open the case; it still feels like magic in my arms, it still gives me songs. There is no way I can totally thank Chris for what he has done. He has transformed the Martin into the best instrument that it has ever been. What more can I say? I’m a happy guy, Chris made it happen.

    Mahalo nui loa (thank you to the max), Dennis.

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