John Miner - Banjo, Banjo Ukulele & Banjo Mandolin Repairs & Sales.

I collect vintage guitars ( SADA / S Yairi ) and am glad I found John. He knows the guitars, and offered very practical advice and great expertise. I could not believe how much better my SADA/S Yairi plays after a short stay with John, and the 1964 Yairi that needed some more serious work was difficult to play, and now is as easy as!! What a difference!! My other guitars are in a queue waiting for their turn.I could tell very quickly that John knew what he was doing, I see a great deal of value in that kind of expertise. Thanks John, will be back soon!!

My Maton SRS808 guitar was taken in for a set-up and lifting bridge.The set-up and fret work was done well. However, the bridge repairs caused quite a grief - as seen on the photos.The guitar was bellying and the bridge needed to be reglued/replaced. I told John I'm happy for a new bridge if the old one needed replacement.I had two visits.The first time he re-glued my old bridge onto the guitar top. The cosmetic damage had already been done by then. Please just have a look at the photos.On top of that, the metal caps on my AP5 pro pick up were displaced during the repair and found rattling around in my guitar, along with lots of small wood chips and sawdust. Now my guitar pickup has grounding issues and is humming away when plugged in. The glue hadn't even been cleaned off properly under the strings.To make things worse, not even a few weeks after, the bridge started to lift again.I took it back in, and he re-glued the old one on again for free and John gave me $50 as compensation. I'm no expert but I don't understand why a new one wasn't made as the old one was damaged. I had told John I was more than happy to pay for a new bridge.Anyhow, even after the second time the guitar bridge still does not sit flush with the bellying top and it is a matter of time before it lifts again. Nothing has been fixed properly so far. Only more damage done.In summary, after two visits,1. EXTENSIVE cosmetic damage on the bridge and solid top is also very noticeable. Quoted about $500-600 from two other luthiers to fix + new bridge installation.2. Guitar pickup has parts missing. I had to contact Maton myself for replacements...3. Bridge repair job still not done properlyI reached out to John privately first about these issues as they had charged me about $200+. But he is refusing to refund any further for compensation as John has put in lots of work for it".Unfortunately my experience with John is very different to what his other reviews may reflect. Kate has also told me John is unable to continue repairs on the guitar which I am disappointed again by.Now this uni student is left with a guitar that is worse off than when it went in for the bridge repair... I am sorry to say this but other luthiers have told me that it was pretty much 'butchered'."

I was given a rather old Mandolin, a family heirloom. It had sat in a cupboard for many many years. I wanted to see if I could get it repaired/refurbed. But it needed someone with experience and skills. I took it to John and showed him. No problem, he said. A few weeks later I picked it up, and I have to say I was thrilled to see it looking so good. I couldn't believe that something so old and in need of love could be bought back to life. Thanks John, much appreciated.

John is an absolute legend! His skills, knowledge, and can-do attitude are the best in the business. I've been repairing and building banjos and other stringed beasts myself, as a hobby, for many, many years, and John is the real go-to guy both for challenging repairs and builds and the best set-up and service in Oz. I've had him work on my best banjos, bought and sold parts and instruments, and learned from John for years. He is a real treasure, and Kate is an absolute legend, too. She may be the only person on the planet who can manage a character like John!

I sent John an old banjo that was in pieces. He restored it to its original beauty. John’s craftsmanship is remarkable and truely exceeded my expectations.

It's very rare for me to post a review, because i feel too many people are interested in making a quick buck and don't have a genuine care for the buyer..That was before i met John and his wife Kate! Its refreshing to meet such lovely down to earth people who genuinely care about other's!I really enjoyed the company and free advice of john, and the partnership he has with his wife Kate is magic!. I can't be more happy with the service and understanding i received from them. Best place i have been to for instruments and repairs period! Really grateful for the experience!THANK YOU :)

Great work on all of my banjos and always an extremely positive experience visiting John. If you like banjos even a little bit, John Miner is the man to see. Very challenging to leave without another banjo added to the collection :^)

John repaired my great grand fathers banjo. As we’d just had some bad news and my father was quite ill I asked to have it done ASAP to my delight John had it back to me the next day and even went above what he was asked to do. The banjo looks great and my father was able to see it before he passed away.

John Miner is in a league of his own.My brother, a family friend and myself each recently bought three banjoleles and two guitars from John and we could not be happier.He is warm hearted, humble, generous with his time, a man of his word, a master craftsman and passionate about ensuring his instruments suit the capabilities of their prospective owners.If we could give John and his business 10 stars we would.We count ourselves extremely fortunate that we ‘discovered’ John, a talented musician in his own right.Many thanks for bringing the love of music back into our lives, John.Carmel, Ed and John.Gold Coast.

Thank you John for giving my mother the best 94th Birthday present ever ! My Grandfather’s Banjo/ Mandolin had been in pieces , stripped of colour, for about 50 years.When I first visited John, his reaction was “I like a challenge !”As promised, John had the early 1900’s Banjo/ Mandolin fully restored for mum’s birthday .Mum was overwhelmed :) :) Such an amazing transformation ! Just beautiful ! And so kind of John to reconstruct it’s case too .. a surprise :)Mum wanted to meet John and thank him personally. John and Kate were very welcoming . Mum was delighted to be shown around John’s workshop .. learning how the banjo was recreated, the techniques John used and enjoying snippets of John’s incredible musical career.Thank you again John and Kate, for your professionalism and kindness.You’ve made my mother very happy . We highly recommendJohn Miner.. a lucky find .