Average Setup Cost

[JeffC]

My bass needs a setup bad, as it has never had one and there is some odd buzzing. I have been in contact with a Luthier in my area which was recommended to me. He said he would charge me $50 CDN to do a proper setup for me. I was told this is a good price but have nothing to base that on, thoughts?

I had a friends guitar restored by him and he was VERY through and even made up a work sheet with everything he had done with the make, model and serial # on the guitar. We were quite happy with his work. In fact he mentioned that he will lend me one of his custom builds for the week he has my bass.

[fhbandy]

$35-45 usd seems to be a fairly standard price to expect to pay for a decent setup.. so i'd reckon you aren't getting ripped off or anything

[MechEngr]

I do luthier work for a local music store, and for a guitar distributer in Cleveland. For a guitar setup that doesn't involve any surgery or parts (strings, fret leveling, shims, machine work, etc.) I usually charge $25. With a fret leveling & polish, or a shim, I'll add $10-$15. I understand that the big boys charge a bit more, so your man is in the ballpark. If he's giving "as found" and "as left" data, he sounds like a good bet.