Anyone know of a good guitar technician in Istanbul? I want to get my guitar set up properly as the action is a bit higher than I would like it to be.

Tünel is the area of guitar shops,maybe you can find one there.

Buy an allen key, lower it yourself (when it buzzes you know it's too low)

ch's suggestin works if it's a cheap guitar. if it's something like a martin, taylor, gibson or anything that may be considered a quality instrument, i'd take it in. they'll probably do some shimming off at the nut and the bridge.

so my Ibanez and Charvelle are cheap then?.

some ibanez' are ok. have you played a taylor or martin before? those babies sing

No I haven't, describe the difference...

resonance, tone , ease of play. a finely set up martin or taylor. try one. will blow you away

The only Ibanez I would buy would be a 1979 Eagle, although it was a bit top heavy. I quite liked the early Phil Lynott replicas but I'm a bit too old to own something quite so garish. My ideal would be a 1977/8 Yamaha SG2000, black of course, with active pick-ups, but finding good examples is almost impossible. I have an Epiphone Les-Paul, which is about as much as I could spend without my wife throwing me out.

I have though about adjusting it myself, but I have a feeling that I would mess it up and make it worse. I thought about going to the music shops in Beyoglu but I'm not sure which one I can trust.

I could help you out personally, David, but I hardly ever (what never? no, never! what never? hardly ever - he's hardly ever sick at sea! Ah, good times) get myself over to the European side. I have just texted a couple of friends (professionals, both - not like that, you pervert), and will post here the best places to go for a decent set up.

That's great young sir, perhaps if one of them can help I will stop playing in the style of 1000 cats being set on fire then run over by a slow moving tractor and actually be able to bang out a tune.

I am currently trying pick up the guitar riffs from Wolfmother, a band that use less chords per song than AC/DC. Maybe with a better set up I can move up to annoying my neighbours with the melodic sounds of Rammstein (or is that move down?).