Jeannie Pickguards - my experience

[franksgbass]

I recently placed an order with Jeannies pickguards and from the first email I placed it was a crazy experience. I will hold off on boring you with the details. I will just say that the guy Roger, who you need to deal with to get a pick guard, is an angry sociopath. And the craziest part is, when I asked him what I did wrong, and how I could be a better customer(thats right, I asked him that) He turned it around and said that I was treating him like a "dummy" because I asked too many questions. I could go on, but I won't. My point is, I should have done more research, because I am not the first person to have this kind of experience. And honestly, there are plenty of after-market pick guard business's out there. I would really think twice about dealing with this guy. The worst part is, when I called, the lady who picked up the phone was sweet as pie and all I could hear is him(Roger) yelling at her. It was sad to say the least.
Anyhow, my intent is not to start a bashing thread here. But something needed to be said.

He does good work. But no one should have to deal with him.

[Rebop]

Their website is hosted (and poorly designed) on a basic Comcast account, their policies page is expired as of 2009 (with an effective date of 1996!!) and their pricing is out of whack; I'm not surprised to be honest.
You'd do better going to WD for a pickguard.

[clbolt]

I've read far too many accounts of his erratic and angry behavior to ever deal with him.

[Musicbiz60]

I just a great experience with Tony Dudzik at Pickguardian. I chose him after reading about the guy at Jeannies and I'm glad I did.

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by Rebop

You'd do better going to WD for a pickguard.

Not in my experience - I think I'd rather take my chances with the "angry sociopath", than I would ever deal with WD Music again... Atleast with Jeannie you'll probably end up with a well made pickguard - I can't say that about WD Music...


- georgestrings

[bassgod0dmw]

Isn't this the place that does Lakland's guards?

[suvdecropp]

I've ordered 3 spare pickguards to my ex-Laklands, all made by Roger from Jeannie Pickguard's and they fitted like a dream... but I know how and what you felt after exchanging e-mails with Roger - I felt just the same as you... so don't worry

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by georgestrings

Not in my experience - I think I'd rather take my chances with the "angry sociopath", than I would ever deal with WD Music again... Atleast with Jeannie you'll probably end up with a well made pickguard - I can't say that about WD Music...

- georgestrings

+1. Not a WD fan, either. I've had to return too many things from them because of missing parts or just wrong parts.

[GlennW]

This is the no bs place to get a good pickguard made.

http://www.terrapinguitars.com/

[faviobarrio]

My experience with Jeannie's was flawless and even though the pick guard was for a not so common model- Fender Cowpoke- it was perfect in every way.

All that said, I dealt with them through their eBay store and had no reason to contact them.

There's no excuse for poor customer service EVER. Your customers are giving you money for God's sake and keeping you in business.

I'm sorry for your bad experience especially since their product is not exactly cheap!

[fourstringdrums]

I got a pickguard from Roger for a Skyline Lakland. I didn't find anything to be out of order with his attitude or communication. He warned me that it would be best to send him my pickguard to insure a proper fit since it was a Skyline, but I didn't. When I got the pickguard, it was a little tight, but I almost expected that given what he said. Other than that he did a great job and I was more than happy with it.

[el basso]

i too have heard nothing but negative about him. fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives for quality pickguards.

[Keyser Soze]

I sent Roger two guards, from an MIJ P and MIJ J, and he did beautiful work over the weekend, after receiving them Friday, got 'em back to me ASAP.

His e-mails were a little "frothy" but I've got the nicest looking brown tort P guard you could ever want. And the marine pearl is killah too. They were perfect replicas, size-wise, and the packing, shipping and documentation were perfect.

I wasn't looking for dinner- or travel companion so Roger did just fine by me.

Very satisfied Jeannie's customer. I do have thicker than average skin.

[fjadams]

Got a pick guard for nor of my Jag SSes from Jeannie. He recommended I send a tracing or the guard for guaranteed fit as these aren't all the same. He was right, the one one my red and silver aren't exactly the same. Got it back and the fit is perfect, one of the screw holes wasn't chamfered but my luthier will fix that when we put it together.

Had no problem with anybody there and am satisfied with the final product.

[1954bassman]

I have had good luck, and service from Rogar at Jeannies. I have also had very good dealings with Chandler Custom pickguards.

http://pickguards.us/pgordinst.htm

[bobalu]

I've read far too many negative comments here about this guy to ever even think of dealing with him. There's quite a few pick guard suppliers out there.

[Testing123]

NO MORE PICKGUARDS FOR YOU!

[PeteJohnson]

OK, my curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered a pickguard from Jeannie for my Lakland 55-01. I read all the pros and cons in this thread but was impressed by the couple of fellows above who'd gotten very nice work for some unusual basses. So I gave it a shot and punched the "Buy It Now" button.

Roger himself replied quickly and offered that the Indonesian models had, in his experience, irregular measurements versus the Korean ones, which made him a little cautious.

He asked if I could measure the distance from the heel of the neck to the pickup, which I did later that evening. I got another quick reply that he could go ahead and make one, so I said by all means, sure. He said he'd make it that night.

And he did, and shipped it the next morning. It was here today, the next day. Comes in a professional, shrink-wrapped, cardboard-reinforced package with some terms and mounting tips.

It's beautiful work. I just popped it on for fit, and it's perfect. I'll drill tomorrow and finish with the screws.

Customer service-wise, I guess sometimes people might have off days, who knows, but I'm just a simple customer with the idea that I'd report back to you all. My impression is that Roger is very dedicated to his craft and takes a lot of pride in it, so possibly it gets more energy than outbound communications. My brother's a tool-and-die maker, and is similar.

I'll close by saying that I get a lot out of TalkBass, it's daily reading for me, especially all you repair and refurb wizards and brave project pioneers.

Pete Johnson
Atlanta

[FretlessMainly]

Originally Posted by Musicbiz60

I just a great experience with Tony Dudzik at Pickguardian.

I've had seven. With Tony's pickguards, I mean.