Fretted Instrument Repair by Marguerite Pastella

Background

Owner, Marguerite Pastella

I opened Fret Not April of 1998, shortly after the closing of Isle of Wight Instruments in Smithfield Virginia where I worked with the late Bill Colgan and his staff.

For more than 15 years now I have been repairing fretted instruments for local pickers, recording musicians and clients throughout the U.S. and abroad.

I know from personal experience how nerve racking it is to find businesses that truly care about quality. I don't like to pay someone to repair something only to regret I did not do it myself. And while no one, including myself, can make the assertion that they are perfect, I can say that my continual effort to perform professional quality repairs has blessed me both personally and professionally.

Age 5, in my dad's repair shop.
I was pulling things apart from
the start.

In my 20's I worked on
cars and managed a body shop.

Building highly detailed model cars
gave me patience and an eye for detail.

Contacting Me

Obviously being a one person shop creates incredible demands for my time. When you phone you are likely to get my "secretary" the answering machine. I am faithful to return calls from those seeking repair but for obvious reasons I can not stop working to answer the phone throughout the day.

My site, which was created in June of 2000 has reached millions now. As a result, emails and phone calls sometimes come in at a rate that is difficult to keep up with. While I have always remained accessible to my clients it is no longer possible for me to answer all inquiries that are not related to my repair service. For Do-It-Yourself er's and those researching aspects of instrument repair I have spent countless hours writing articles, taking photos and making videos to provide them with answers to many of the questions I've received in the past.

I hope you enjoy the site.

Sincerely, Marguerite

I've built a few guitars for fun
but enjoy repair far more.