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WD Guitar Shop has it all for music buffs

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Electric guitars on display at WD Guitar Shop at 17570 N. Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers. The locally based business is one of the largest distributors of stringed instrument parts worldwide. CHUCK BALLARO

If you just walk into the WD Guitar Shop at 17570 N. Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers, you’re only getting a small fraction of what they do.

There are plenty of guitars, both electric and acoustic, for sale, but a look in the back will give you more of an idea of what they’re about.

It’s a warehouse filled with guitar parts, including their specialty, pickguards, which they make themselves for any guitar.

WD is a one-stop shop for all parts, repairs and hardware to either fix the guitar you have or build the guitar of your dreams, and has become one of the world’s largest distributors of stringed instrument parts.

It has not only a shop, but a worldwide presence on the Web.

Wendy Davis, who owns the business with her husband, started the enterprise in 1978 on Long Island, N.Y.

“My husband had a truck filled with guitars and tambourines, and he found an opening in the guitar business for pickguards,” Davis said. “They hold all the parts together in the body so they don’t fall out.”

The aftermarket pickguard industry did not exist until WD. Once they got that mastered, they moved into parts and accessories from trusted named such as Fender, Bigsby, Grover, Kent Armstrong, LR Baggs, Wilkinson, Kahler and Graph Tech.

Wendy Davis and her husband, moved to North Fort Myers in 2006.

WD is backed by the world’s largest distributor of stringed instrument parts and deals with them directly, meaning that WD says it can offer the deepest discounts in Southwest Florida.

As far as guitar sales, WD is the largest dealer of ESP guitars in the region. It also sells other guitars and basses, along with many other electrics, acoustics, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, even kits.

Most of their sales come through parts, and they have stock everything from Gibson to Fender and many others. WD is the factory showroom for the world’s largest distributor of stringed instrument parts.

“We have 40,000 parts. If you’re looking to build a custom guitar it’s the place to go,” Davis said. “We’re like an auto parts place, except for guitars.”

WD prides itself on being the pioneers of aftermarket pickguards ready to manufacture your custom or replace your original. Today, that is still WD’s bread and butter.

The repair section is new to WD, only about two years old, Davis said, but they quality repair services at reasonable rates.

With a warehouse full of major brand parts and a technician with more than 25 years of experience, repairs and upgrades are easy and simple and the pickguards are fabricated in house. Check online for their rates.

WD Guitar Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The back shop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 349-8102 or visit online at www.wdguitarshop.com.