Same-Day Musical Instrument Repair in West of Twin Peaks

San Francisco Guitar Tech is a one-person operation with an unusual promise: most repairs are finished the same day you drop the instrument off. Jeremy Borkat runs it by appointment from a garage at 1017 Portola Drive, San Francisco, CA 94127, in the West of Twin Peaks area above West Portal. His repair FAQ says that about 90 percent of the time he starts on a guitar as soon as it arrives and has it done that day, and that he prefers not to keep instruments for longer than a few hours.

Borkat started SFGuitarTech in March 2013. His about page says he earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts from San Francisco State in 2008, then went to work as a luthier at a small San Francisco company building carbon fiber acoustic guitars, rising over five years from intern to head luthier. He credits that job with teaching him CNC machining, CAD, composites, carpentry, abrasives and finishing, skills he still leans on at the bench.

He ran the business from a garage at the San Francisco and Daly City border from 2013 to 2024, then moved on July 1, 2024, to the current, larger garage in West of Twin Peaks. The website's tone matches the setup: it jokes that the site is in its teen years and therefore rebellious and flaky, and it mentions a white cat named Pages who may be heard meowing upstairs while you wait.

The repair FAQ splits work into quick jobs, adjustments and repairs. Quick work covers string changes, tuning, cleaning, fret polishes, preparing a guitar for storage, noisy jacks, noisy switches and estimates, and the page says you will most likely have your guitar back in under an hour. Adjustments are mostly about action, and Borkat suggests that any newly bought guitar, or an old one pulled out of a closet, should be looked at.

Larger repairs and modifications include new nuts and saddles, truss rod work, fret jobs, loose braces, loose bridges, new pickups, rewiring and coil taps, scratches and dings, broken headstocks, and the general family of rattles and buzzes. He also says he will install an analog delay inside a Stratocaster's control cavity if you want one. The workshop takes electric guitars, acoustic guitars and basses, and his background includes banjo, mandolin and ukulele.

The site keeps pricing loose on purpose. Estimates are usually free if they take less than ten minutes, and he will give a rough estimate from a few good photos sent by text or email. The only figure published is for setups, which he says usually fall between $70 and $120, depending on what needs to be done and whether you bring your own strings. Bringing strings is the simplest way to land near the bottom of that range.

Payment is flexible: cash, cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Zelle, Cash App and Venmo are listed, while crypto is not accepted. For a guitar emergency, the page says he can make exceptions and have you come to the garage to fix it on the spot, whatever the hour, for an extra fee. He also keeps guitars to lend if you need something for a gig that same day.

Knowing the limits saves a trip. The FAQ lists refinishing, neck resets, 95 percent of amp repairs and full refrets as jobs he does not take, because they are slow, messy or need specialised setups, and because he knows people nearby who do them better in a bigger space. If your acoustic needs a neck reset or your vintage Stratocaster needs a complete refret, ask him for a referral rather than booking a bench slot. For everything else, the page says if he cannot do it, he knows someone in the Bay Area who can.

The same honesty applies to timing. The FAQ says the remaining 10 percent of jobs take longer because a special part has to be ordered or glue has to cure, as with a loose bridge or a cracked headstock, and that you will be told up front if a repair needs more than the day. Plan a broken headstock as a multi-day job, and a string change, a noisy jack or a quick action adjustment as something you can wait for.

The directions page is worth reading before you go. Heading uphill on Portola Drive, look for three pohutukawa trees in a row on the right, just before the driveway. The garage is the first house past those trees, and parking is plentiful. By Muni, the 43 and 48 buses stop on the same block. Inbound on the 48, get off at Portola and Del Sur and walk downhill about 100 yards. Outbound, get off at Portola Drive and Waithman Way and cross the street.

The website publishes no phone number. Use the contact form, and the page notes that a number is shown after you submit it. Yelp and Facebook messages also reach him, and the site suggests trying another channel if you do not hear back within a day. If the garage door is closed when you arrive, he asks you to call or text rather than knock, so as not to disturb the household upstairs.

The workshop sits on the shoulder of Mount Davidson, the highest hill in San Francisco, whose wooded trails and summit cross are a short climb away and make a good use of an hour while a setup is underway. Miraloma Playground is a few blocks off, and West Portal Avenue, with its cafes, bookstore and the Muni tunnel entrance, is downhill if you would rather sit with a coffee until the guitar is ready.

San Francisco Guitar Tech, 1017 Portola Drive, San Francisco, CA 94127 (West of Twin Peaks). Contact through the form at sfguitartech.com, Yelp or Facebook. No fixed hours: appointments are arranged directly, and the site says hours and rates are flexible. Setups usually $70 to $120, estimates usually free if under ten minutes, quick jobs often back within an hour, most repairs done the same day. Not offered: refinishing, neck resets, most amp repairs, full refrets. Buses 43 and 48 stop on the same block.