SWF Guitars

I am a touring guitar technician. Now offering full guitar set ups and repairs from Hebden Bridge, UK Maybe you have fret buzz, high action or crackly pot's.

Do you have a guitar that isn't performing as well as you'd like? I can give your guitar a full new set up giving it a new lease of life and making it feel like brand new. Maybe you have issues with intonation and tuning. Or maybe your guitar has stopped outputting sound all together. I can sort all these problems and give you an instrument that is a joy to play! Set ups include a full deep clean,

fret polish, hardware check up, action setting, intonation setting, fret board oil; and electronics check and cleaning. Guitars:
Prices start from £40 a set up if you supply strings. £45 with strings supplied by me (6 string set). Basses:
Prices start from £40 a set up if you supply strings, £60 with strings supplied by me (4 string set). Please get in touch for prices on other services. Past clients include:

Mark King (Level 42)

Andy Taylor (Duran Duran/ Reef)

Matt Willis (Busted)

Cory Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour)

Danny Jones (Mcfly)

James Mcvey (The Vamps)

Si Delaney (Don Broco)

Charlie Simpson (Busted)

Dougie Pointer (Mcfly)

Jesse Wood (Reef/ Andy Taylor)

Tom Doyle (Don Broco)

Matt Goss (Bros)

Max Helyer (You Me At Six)

Jason Christopher Rappise (Stone Sour, Sebastian Bach, Prong)

Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless)

Sonny Mayo (Ugly Kid Joe, Sevendust, Head PE, Amen, Snot)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Matt Barnes (You Me At Six)

Ben Philips (The Pretty Reckless)

Shaun White (Bad Things, Snowboard/Skateboard gold medalist)

Mark Damon (The Pretty Reckless)

Anthony Sanudo (Bad Things)

Sid Glover (Heaven's Basement, The Cruel Knives)

Chris Gomerson (Glamour of the Kill)

Jared Palomar (Bad Things, Augustana)

Rob Ellershaw (Heaven's Basement, The Cruel Knives)

Stew Milton (Dear Superstar)

Jay Bartlett (PRS endorsee, Counterpoint, Blackwater)

Adam Smethurst (Dear Superstar)

Testimonials

'Made up with how good my guitar sounds and feels after its set up. Cheers to Scott Findlay! If you need anything doing to your guitar, I highly recommend him!' - Andrew Williams

'This 12 string needed a set-up so I took it to Scott Findlay, guitar tech for Heaven's Basement and others. If he's good enough for Sid Glover and Corey Taylor, then he's good enough for moi! If you want anything doing with a guitar, see Scott, recommended. Scott set the neck up, took a milli off the bridge, oiled, cleaned, new strings, sorted! :)' - Ziggy C

10/01/2026

Leaving today is this L7. This guitar was brand spangers and came in with a multitude of high frets so a fret level and pro setup was the order of service.

🎸 All frets levelled and recrowned
🎸 Frets polished out to a mirror shine perfect for those big bends
🎸 Full clean
🎸 Nut recut
🎸 Nut lubed
🎸 Truss rod adjusted
🎸 Action set
🎸 Intonation set
🎸 Electrics cleaned
🎸 Fully setup in E standard with 10-46 strings.

The stainless steel, jumbo frets on this guitar were in need of a level with particular issues surrounding the 13th fret. Afterwards, this guitar plays fantastic and those high register nots now sing!
As always, I finished the level with a pro setup and cleaned the electronics to remedy a crackly pot.

It’s now an absolute lord of the riff!

23/12/2025

Last one of the year! This Squire P Bass came in for a major overhaul.

🎸 New high mass (Badass) bridge
🎸 New Schaller machine heads
🎸 New EMG passive pickups and full new wiring harness.
🎸 Full clean
🎸 Nut recut
🎸 Nut lubed
🎸 Truss rod adjusted
🎸 Fret polish
🎸 Action set
🎸 Intonation set
🎸 Fully setup in E standard with 45-105 strings.

New holes drilled for the larger machine heads and a bit of sanding to a pot PCB to make it fit in the cavity and it’s done!

I think you’d struggle to find a better playing Squire. It’s an absolute workhorse now!

30/04/2024

Here is super cool Jaguar! It came in with some fret wear so a fret level and recrown were the order of the day. Followed by a pro setup.

It has been:
🎸 Fully Cleaned
🎸 Full fret level, recrown and polish
🎸 Nut recut to correct radius and new fret hight
🎸 Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸 Set up in E standard with 10’s
🎸 Nut lubed
🎸 Truss rod adjusted
🎸 Action set
🎸 Intonation set

I first removed the neck from the guitar and adjusted the truss rod to get it perfectly straight. I masked off the fretboard and levelled the frets. I then created a slight fall away on the high frets for optimal playability. I then recrowned the frets (made them round again) and polished them out to a factory quality, mirror shine. Thanks 👊 I removed the hardware for cleaning and cleaned all the electrics. Once the hardware was back on I strung the guitar up with 10’s and set the neck relief. I then set the action and intonation.

It’s now back to looking, sounding and playing its absolute best for in !

All for £100 *not including strings

11/04/2024

Here is a very played and loved Telecaster! It came in with very low frets showing signs of wear and a microphonic bridge pickup. A full refret was the order of the day along with a few other bits.

It has been:
🎸 Fully Cleaned
🎸 Full refret with exact replacement Fender vintage sized fret wire
🎸 New Bone nut fitted
🎸 New fender pickup switch fitted
🎸 Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸 Microphonic bridge pickup wax potted
🎸 Set up in E standard with 10’s
🎸 Nut lubed
🎸 Truss rod adjusted
🎸 Action set
🎸 Intonation set
🎸 Paintwork touched up.

I had levelled the frets on this guitar a few years previously but that was the last level that could be done on it. The frets were under 1mm on some of the wear spots.
This is a well loved guitar and after talking the job through with my customer John, we decided to retain as much mojo as possible by not reradiusing/refinishing the fretboard.
I scored and removed the old frets. Then I measured these and chose the correct fret wire. I fitted the new frets and dressed the fret ends, ensuring that the original finish was kept in tact. I finished off the ends with some vintage amber nitro lacquer. I then levelled them, recrowned (made them domed again) and polished them out to a factory mirror shine. I then fitted a new bone nut to match the new fret hight and replace the old plastic one.
The bridge pickup on this guitar was very noisy and prone to feedback. Air had penetrated the coils and it had gone microphonic. I wax potted it to get all the air out and seal it, returning it to its former glory.
I then removed all the hardware for cleaning and cleaned the electrics. Once the hardware was back on I strung the guitar up with 10’s and set the action and intonation.

It plays great and is currently being used in a theatre show on the West End!

All for £283 *not including pickup switch

05/02/2024

Here’s a throw back to last April/May doing some touring work. Looking after my man from , supporting Megadeth around Canada and some US festivals.

Dave Mustaine was kind enough to let us take one of his V’s for a spin for a show.

I also gave a serious service to some guitars which had been kept in storage for years! Thank the Lord for fret butter!

Huge thanks to , , and for all their support. Guitar world never sounded and looked so good!

All in all a really fun tour!

26/01/2024

Here is a for ! This came in purely for a pro setup but I soon discovered a crack in the top which needed stabilising.

It has been:
🎸Fully Cleaned
🎸Crack in top glued and small finish repair to stabilise
🎸Hardware stripped and cleaned in ultrasonic cleaner
🎸Fret polish
🎸Fret Board treated
🎸Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸Set up in E standard with 10’s
🎸Nut recut for neck radius
🎸Nut lubed
🎸Truss rod adjusted
🎸Action set
🎸Intonation set
🎸Pickup height set

Whilst stripping the hardware to give the guitar the usual clean and fret polish, I found a crack at the top of one of the F holes. It was running diagonally through the full thickness of the top. I watered down some glue and injected it into the crack, making sure I worked it in all the way through until I got enough squeeze out on the back face of the top. I then clamped this up and let it go off. I then touched up some of the black around the sides of the F holes and turned my attention to patching up the finish on the top of the guitar. I filled the crack in the lacquer with CA glue and polished it out to match the rest of the finish. Although this repair isn’t totally invisible up close, it has totally stabilised crack and finish and is practically invisible from further away. It is totally smooth to the touch and has also avoided the need for a costly refinish. I then treated the fretboard and strung it up with 10’s. I did some work on the nut and then I intonated it and checked and cleaned the electrics. Now it plays fantastic and there’s no chance of that crack spreading.

All for £98 including strings!

23/01/2024

Here is a acoustic! This came in simply for a clean up and pro setup. Total Willie Nelson ‘trigger’ vibes!

It has been:

🎸Fully Cleaned
🎸Fretboard cleaned and oiled
🎸Fret polish
🎸Set up in E standard with 12’s
🎸Nut lubed
🎸Truss rod adjusted
🎸Intonation set
🎸Electrics checked and cleaned

All for £58 including strings!

20/01/2024

Here is ’s acoustic! It came in with fret wear and was in need of a fret level and a pro setup.

It has been:
🎸 Fully Cleaned
🎸 Frets levelled, recrowned and polished out to a mirror shine.
🎸 Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸 Set up in E standard with 12-53’s
🎸 Nut slots recut to match new fret height
🎸 Nut lubed
🎸 Truss rod adjusted
🎸 Action set
🎸 Intonation set
🎸 Battery changed

This guitar had a good amount of fret material left so a level and recrown were in order!
I levelled the fret board, masked off and levelled the frets. This banished the low spots that plagued the bottom of the fretboard, mainly on the high strings.
I then recrowned the tops of the frets (made the domed again) to ensure proper intonation and polished them out to a mirror shine.
After the fret dress I continued to set up this lovely guitar. I removed the hardware for cleaning, treated the fretboard and strung it up with D’addario 12’s in E standard.
I set the desired relief to the neck and adjusted the action by filing down the saddle height. I then checked the intonation and did a slight adjustment. Lastly I checked and cleaned the electrics.

This guitar now plays and sounds great once again!

All for £108 including strings!

18/01/2024

Here is a Walnut Streamliner! This came in purely for a pro setup. It was showing the usual signs of use but after a clean up, almost looks brand new again.

It has been:
🎸Fully Cleaned
🎸Hardware stripped and cleaned in ultrasonic cleaner
🎸Fret polish
🎸Fret Board treated
🎸Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸Set up in E standard with 10’s
🎸Nut recut for neck radius
🎸Nut lubed
🎸Truss rod adjusted
🎸Action set
🎸Intonation set
🎸Pickup height set

As with all my setups, I started by stripping the hardware and gave the guitar the usual clean and fret polish. The plating on the hardware was really starting to deteriorate so it’s a good job it came to me when it did. Once I got rid of the oxidisation, the hardware cleaned up great. I even managed to get the screws back to their former glory! I treated the fretboard and strung it up with 10’s. I needed to recut the nut slightly as the radius of the slots didn’t match the radius of the neck. Then I intonated it and checked and cleaned the electrics. Now it’s got a nice low action, plays and looks great!

All for £58 including strings!

21/12/2023

Here is a couple of acoustics for ! His brand new J45 and his workhorse !

They have been:
🎸Fully Cleaned
🎸Fretboard cleaned and oiled
🎸Fret polish
🎸Set up in D standard with 12’s
🎸Nut lubed
🎸Truss rod adjusted
🎸Intonation set
🎸Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸Soundhole cover installed in J45
🎸AirTags installed in both
🎸Strap button installed on J45

These acoustics are very different indeed. The Gibson is brand new out the box. I even found a tiny remnant of masking tape on the J45 from when they cut the nut in the factory. The Takamine I have setup before, has been heavily gigged and is a total workhouse.
Both received pro setups and are playing fantastic with exactly the same action. I installed AirTags inside both guitars for security.
I also installed a strap button on the neck heel of the J45. Position is key with these, it’s perfectly out of the way and means you can still comfortably reach the higher register of the neck.
I also cut down a feedback destroyer to resemble the one with the access port so you can still reach the vol/tone controls.

15/04/2023

Here is a Ibanez bass! This came in simply for a setup from light gauge flat wound strings to a heavier round wound string.

It has been:
🎸Fully Cleaned
🎸Hardware stripped and cleaned in ultrasonic
🎸Fret polish
🎸Set up in E standard with 105-50’s
🎸Nut slots recut for heavier gauge strings.
🎸Nut lubed
🎸Truss rod adjusted
🎸Action set
🎸Intonation set
🎸Electrics checked and cleaned
🎸Pickup hight set

This bass came in from a long time customer who was switching his style of playing to be more rock focused with a pick. Once I had to recut the nut to fit the new heavier gauge of string, the bass setup great! I managed to knock half a mm off the action at the 12th fret so this bass now plays great!

All for £70 *including strings

16/03/2023

Throwback to this time last year. Finishing up a few weeks with Halestorm!!!

I spent my time looking after 12 very nice guitars/basses for Lzzy Hale and Josh Smith Official!

Awesome band and such a lovely tour with such lovely people!!!

Address

Hebble End
Hebden Bridge
HX76HH

Website

http://www.instagram.com/swfguitars

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