Stuart Day Guitars

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

About

Not your average shop

In a modest brick building within a quaint Western Pennsylvania town resides a formally trained, world-class luthier with nearly 20 years of experience collaborating with the industry’s finest.

Learn More

Shop

9 S. Main St. Bessemer, Pa, 16112

Open Hours

Tuesday – Thursday: 9am – 4:30pm
or by appointment

Repair & restoration

Full Service

I provide a comprehensive array of repair and restoration solutions tailored to meet your needs. From basic setups and routine fretwork to complete historical restorations, I have the training, experience, and tools necessary to address them all on any stringed instrument.

Additionally, at a dedicated location, I’ve established a professional spray booth specifically designed to handle my custom instruments and address any finishing repairs that may arise. My ability extends to working with various finishes such as nitro, poly, UV cure, and French polish.

Repair Menu

Bespoke Instruments

Designed for You

Throughout my nearly 20 year lutherie career, my focal point has been the design and meticulous handcrafting of high-end custom instruments tailored for discerning players and collectors. With an extensive background, including an immersive six-year shop foreman position and mentorship with renowned Archtop luthier Tom Ribbecke, I’ve been dedicated to producing instruments at the highest tier of our trade for my whole adult life.

Instruments

Testimonials

Tom Ribbecke

I will always fondly remember the great 5 years Stuart Day was second in command in my shop. Not only is he gifted visually and multi dimensional in his vision and execution of Luthiery, and very natural in this theatre, with an early background in painting and other disciplines of art, He also is an individual of the highest integrity, and was a genuine pleasure to work with.

Bob J.

“I had the good fortune to watch Stuart grow in Ribbecke’s shop from the new kid in the shop, who got to do the jobs nobody else wanted, to shop foreman. Every job was done with the same care and enthusiasm, no matter how small, or how large, it was most impressive to say the least”

Patrick

Integrity. Passion. Luthier Extraordinaire. Stuart is a Pittsburgh gem.

Tom Ribbecke

I thoroughly enjoyed The “Stuart Day” era in my private shop, I was blessed to have his creative focus and intellect and have genuinely missed having his quiet focused companionship here in the shop, I think he will have a brilliant and long lasting career. I expect great things from Stuart, and am sure he will not disappoint!

Robert Buzz Jackson

I gave Stuart a lot of room to do what he wanted to do, and I am very pleased that I did. The instrument he delivered to me is spectacular, the attention to detail is incredible, the sound amazing.

Patrick

While he’s pushing the boundaries of luthiery in both aesthetics and form, he lends repair work that extends his craft to just about any instrument

Robert Buzz Jackson

The one guitar I was missing was a telecaster, and who better to build it? Stuart Day. I contacted Stuart and ran the idea passed him, he was up for it… Once again, Stuart did not disappoint, it is an amazing instrument… I am very pleased and impressed with the work Stuart has done for me, I would not hesitate to recommend him.

Patrick

If you want something that truly honors, commission a guitar. I hope to one day. But in the meantime, there is nowhere else I’ll go to have my guitars tweaked, honed and fixed.

Mike R

In every correspondence we exchanged, his professionalism as a knowledgeable luthier and his sincere appreciation for the opportunity to do this build, made me feel at ease even though we never met in person and were on opposite sides of the country.

Patrick

His guitars are an art of brilliant tonality — they are both unique and inspired, and you owe it to yourself to experience them first-hand.

Michael S.

He has repaired finish flaws, corrected electrical problems, replaced a poorly intonated, improperly positioned tune-o-matic with a perfectly intonated carved ebony bridge and performed a tour-de-force truss rod transplant in a Lace Helix twisted neck guitar. His approach to instrument problems is thoughtful, prices have been reasonable and his craftsmanship of the highest order.

Appointments

Book A Consult

Schedule an appointment for a free repair evaluation or to discuss a project.

Make An Appointment