Does anyone know of a good luthier in Chicago?One where I could bring a bass I am considering purchasing to be appraised/inspected and then setup upon purchase. I want a good luthier, but I don't want to spend a fortune.
Also, do most luithers charge for inspection and appraisal of basses?
One more thing, is it pronounced "luther" or "lutheeur"?

Chicago's a big place. What area, and are you willing to drive?

Expect to pay $125-150 for an appraisal.
I have a Chicago name at my office, does work for CSO and DSO. Tomorrow.

Perhaps I should mention that it's only a '95 engelhardt that I am going to pick up for around $700. A real appraisal isn't necessary, just an assessment of what a setup will entail/cost.

I live downtown, and have access to a car if needed.

I bought my Engelhardt at Kagan & Gaines out in Forest Park & was very happy with their setup work. I've had additional setup done on the bass at A440 in Roscoe Village (I had him install a realist pickup and sell me a wheel & quiver) & been happy with the work done there as well.

I was more than a little underwhelmed by the setup work done by the people at Evanston Band & Orchestra.

It appears that Abbey Strings/The Bass Place in the Music Mart is closed now.

-dh

I got the name of Scott Henrie from members of the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies. I got him at ###-###-####. This number is different from the number listed in (All Hail) Bob Gollihur's directory of luthiers. Bob's list has 4 or 5 from Chicago, 1 from Des Plaines.
Since that was his home number, I'll post his shop #: 773-743-8738

That's Scott Henri's home number, btw, Don. I couldn't get a hold of him today so I decided to go with A440 - their number is 773-348-4949.

Hey, if any of you Chicago area guys have some time to kill today or tomorrow, I need to get my bass from the loop to A440, and as a poor college student I am without wheels. If someone would be nice enough to give me a ride up there, I would pay your gas money. If you can help me email me at flexaeldman@hotmail.com or call at (312) 953-9617. Thanks!

Tell me more about A440. Where on Roscoe is it?
would they be able to check-out/setup an engelhardt for a reasonable price?

I don't too much about it - I've never actually been there. A friend of mine lives near the bass repairman there, so he gave it to him for me.

I believe you can find them on the web. It's basically a huge shop with tons of string stuff. They're good. My teacher trusts them, and that's enough for me.

I live in chicago and scott henrie is a good luthier. he is very helpfull and willing to take the time to help you out and do a good job. he can be hard to get a hold of sometimes though. if you leave a message on his machine he always gets back to you. a440 is cool too, but scott is better and nicer to deal with.

A440 is at something in the order of 2200 W Roscoe. (yeah, I know an imprecise address is sucky for people like me carting a bass w/o a car).

Incidentally, speaking of moving a bass around w/o a car, let me just say that I've had uniformly good experiences taking mine on the bus and L. Of course if I wanted to be truly insane, some day I'll have to strap my double gig bag with my bass guitars on my back while schlepping the db and may be get a radio flyer to lug the amp in. That'd make an interesting sight for the passersby.

-dh

Perhaps I should focus my question.
How much should I expect to pay at A440 for a setup?

i am not sure what A440 would charge you for a set up, but I know that scott would charge about $20.

That could only cover the cost of properly placing the existing soundpost and the existing bridge. Beyond that, expect to pay.

Well, by coincidence, my bridge broke yesterday, so I'm getting a new one put on at A440 (if only because it's a six block walk from the church where the bridge snapped & I left the bass there knowing that).

Cost for a new bridge: $275.

This does change my financial plans for November somewhat...

-dh

Originally posted by wellspal
i am 45 minutes north of chicago and 45 minutes south of milwaukee. i am able to do set-up work on basses. i'm not sure how to post this without it being an advertisement....

The answer is simple: join in the discussions, give some free advice, get some free advice, make a few stupid jokes, listen to couple hundred stupid jokes....in short, if you're a part of the hang, no one will care. As spam-conscious as everyone here on this board is, if you only post for business purposes, you'll actually end up advertising against your business instead of for it.

Welcome to TB - come join in the fun.