Stringed Instruments Restoration & Making

It's been a long road from bidding on a very poorly kept and unplayable violin to getting my violin restored, but I am so happy to have it now. Initially, the two piece back was split. There was excessive wear on the edges of the top, and a chipped corner. The neck was at an odd angle, and there were quite a few cracks. I brought it to Sal who was very kind and reassuring despite the fact that I am fairly neurotic. He was very patient and helpful, and the violin turned out so beautifully. His prices are very reasonable as well. Please see the before and after pictures. I highly recommend a trip to this shop! One day I will upload better after pictures...

Salvatore helped me right away and fixed my ukulele tuning knob quickly for a great price. It was also cool to see his instrument workshop. Thank you!

Been going to Sal for years. My children are violinists and have had all their violins worked on here. Sal does amazing work and at a fair price. We recently bought an old violin that Sal restored for our daughter. She fell in love instantly with it. If you’re a serious musician, going to see Sal is a must when it comes to having your instruments cared for.

Sal is thorough, fast and knowledgeable. He has gotten me out of several "tight" situations over the years, where I have needed a guitar set-up before a gig or travel. The quality of his work is exceptional and his high standards are the product of many years of working with fine instruments, and demanding clients. Sal is a super nice guy and will treat your instrument with respect.

I grew up in Old Metairie and would pass by Sal's shop always wanting to go in but never did thinking I would encounter a grouchy old guy yelling at me to get out of his shop. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong, Sal is a super nice, cheerful and very cool guy! He did a beautiful job on my guitar, fixing a bad ding on the headstock, cannot tell there ever was one, and an excellent fret leveling job, it never played better! Sal is an artisan, displaying old world craftsmanship!

Sal is the best!! A friend gave to me an upright bass that he thought was beyond repair with the finger board and head stock completely broken off. Sal repaired it in less than a week and it now plays great. I doubt seriously that anyone else, near or far, can beat his quality of work with super great prices!

Sal is amazing!! And you can't beat his prices. An absolute hidden jewel. I would definitely recommend this shop for all of your guitar needs.

Sal is the best luthier I have ever add the pleasure of dealing with --no question. He set up my acoustic guitar perfectly with low, low action and no fret buzzing and for a very reasonable price! Sal is THE LUTHIER to go to in the New Orleans area.

In 2007, I bought a Les Paul Sonex off of Ebay that had obviously never been in use for a while and needed work badly. For those who don't know: the Sonex is a cheaper version of the Les Paul that Gibson released in the early eighties. After just a few months, I soon realized that my guitar wouldn't even hold tune for more than a few minutes without going out on me. I mentioned my problem with the tuning on this guitar to a well respected musical compatriot of mine. and he recommended that I take the guitar to some guy named Sal, who had a little shop on Metairie Rd. He told me that Sal had been working from this tiny shop for years and was known for his amazing repair work on instruments that most would have considered to be beyond the point of restoration. When I showed Sal the poor state of the guitar, he quoted me $80 to do a setup and return the guitar back to descent working condition, which at the time I thought was way too high. Now 6 years later, I don't regret paying that $80 one bit, because unbelievably, I've never had to go back for another setup since and I play on that thing almost daily. Still holding perfect tune. This dude is worth every penny you pay him!

Sal is great! Very skilled in his trade and charges very reasonable prices for his services. Would recommend for any and all string instrument repair needs!