I was plagued looking for a shop in Cleveland. There are people here who call themselves "Master Luthiers". I do not doubt they have good skills but I had an issue with a vintage instrument some weeks ago and all the local people either threw their hands up or wanted to hack into my instrument and explained the repair would only be a little noticeable. After much research on Google I found Dana Sutcliffe. Admittedly he is in Delalware but the turn around with shipping involved was still under two weeks each time. The cost of shipping is negligible when you consider the peace of mind that comes with knowing the work will be done right the first time. It was a leap of faith to send the first guitar there as there so many web sites are filled with hype. When it returned home the repair had been made and Dana had addressed a few other issues (with my approval beforehand) that took the instrument to the highest level of playability. The level of communication is unparallelled and the work is nothing short of artistic. He truly is a master luthier. Find Dana here. http://danamusic.com/ I'd say good luck but when a craftsman with this much consumate skill and ability is entrusted luck has nothing to do with it. Bob Kessler 216-990-9061

Superb workmanship. Exceeded expectations. Dana is a world-class luthier.

I have had my 1997 jazz bass since new. I played in a southern rock band I played it hard for quite a few years 2001. Stopped playing until 2012 untouched the action was always high. Took it to Dana picked it up a few days later. Honestly, I do not know how I played it before, smooth as silk. That was 4 months ago. Going back tomorrow for a quick tune up. I tell all of my friends who play guitar. #1 in my book

Dana has been working on my instruments since were in a band together in the seventies...He is, as the song says, simply the best. His tasks with me are complicated by love of Rickenbackers, which are temperamental by nature. Only use Dana if you want someone who will get it right the first time.

Dana provides the utmost in professionalism and quality, timely repair. I have had him work on a Hofner very thin classic electric guitar, and a Takamine EN 10C acoustic. The repair work I needed on the acoustic was extensive. It had been butchered elsewhere and sounded horrible. Dana re-worked the instrument, kept me informed about what he was going to do and how much it was going to cost, and when he gave it back to me, it was like new. I thought his rates were also very reasonable. I would not take my instrument anywhere else, I know it is in good hands with Dana.

I took my older Ibanez acoustic/electric to Dana to get some work done on it. What I received in return was priceless. Dana is one of a kind. He is a master at what he does - meticulous, clean, knowledgeable, and a craftsman. He not only did phenomenal work on my guitar, but it was one of the best "customer service" experiences I ever had. He took care of me - my guitar felt brand new when I gt it back. Dana is the best at what he does in my area. Highly recommended.

I M P E C C A B L E work from this fellow. Flawless, careful, conscientious and meticulous. Dana completely restored a vintage Gibson acoustic, rebuit a gibson ChetSAtkins with new saddle pickup, worked on my vintage L5, and L5s, and Martin.... even rebuilt my Mesa Lonestar....Very, very capable and a TRUE gentleman.

Quality will tell. As soon as I walked into his workshop, the professional layout, the welcoming smile and the general vibe of craftsmen at the very top of their game was palpable. This was in magnified contrast to some guitar techs I had spoken to on the phone (and one supposedly good guitar tech in philly who had tried setting up my guitar prior). Dana was ultra responsive, both on the phone and in person. He spent time explaining and talking about various issues without any feeling of hurry/pressure, responded to my texts about status updates instantly and on the whole, it felt like I was interacting with someone far above the level of most other people, both personally and professionally/technically. Which...it turns out is actually the case, since Dana is a master luthier, with (apparently) thousands of guitars constructed from scratch, and thousands others repaired. I was able to ship parts to his workshop directly and he came in under budget, with a setup/work charge that was 150-200 dollars less than I was expecting to be charged. He also gave me an intemized, descriptive charge sheet, did fret work as necessary (and these are stainless steel frets, very time consuming) and had all previous parts nicely packaged and sitting in the guitar case, along with the fixed guitar. He also fixed a subtle problem with tuning heads (which I had not talked to him about at all), replaced pickups and got the intonation as right as possible on this strat. I'm in Philly and the 30 min drive down is 100% worth it. It is probably worth it from NYC or even Baltimore. Very highly recommended...I'm very happy!

It is well-known among musicians in this area that Dana is an expert in guitar and mandolin repair. He has worked on two nice acoustic guitars of mine, plus a mandolin. But he also is great with more obscure things – my Turkish Baglama and Afghan rubâb have also received high-quality care from him. It is very hard to find qualified people to work on these instruments, and Dana does them all. He is also well-connected in the business, and recently helped facilitate a major overhaul of one my amplifiers, free of charge by the manufacturer. This is not something I could have made happen on my own. Perhaps just as important as his expertise is his consistent professionalism. Dana always picks up the phone when I call and is always cheerful and punctual with jobs. The follow-up tweakings he does are much appreciated. His price estimates are always accurate. He picks up my instruments and delivers them back to me at my home. That’s certainly a nice perk! It has been very good working with him.