I just wanted to post here and tell people the great experience I had at Cranky's in Mansfield, MA.
The story: I was unhappy with the tone of my 1995 Modulus Q5 with stock EMG's and the 2-band EMG pre. I was able to acquire an older Pope pre through a trade on Bassgear.com and bought a set of Bartolini soapbars. After trying to contact Mike Pope and others in the Fodera world, I gave it a shot on my own. Mike responded once, but then ignored or missed my second PM. It's cool, he's busy I guess. I made a good attempt on my own, but I did not have some parts and the thing was not grounded properly.
I brought it into Greg, owner of Cranky's and he talked with me at length about the job, and made me feel very confident that I could leave my baby with him. Even though Greg is more accustomed to working on guitars and tube amps, he did not bat an eyelash when I showed him the preamp which is fairly complex looking. He took some notes, and a short time later, the bass was up and running hum free, coils split, switches installed, the whole nine yards. He also soldered some joints on the shielding tape I had installed to make sure it was properly grounded.
I am pretty psyched to have found Cranky's. The shop is very unassuming and Greg is a very smart guy and very accommodating.
If you live anywhere near Providence or Boston, and need any work done on your axe, or your tubes replaced, your SVT biased, do not hesitate. While I was in his shop, people kept showing up from out of state for him to work on their gear. He is a fantastic person to work with and at the top pf his game. The fact that he is also very accessible, understanding and has reasonable prices makes a stop at Cranky's a no-brainer for me. The fact that I don't have to elbow my way into the city to get to a skilled luthier and repairman is a huge plus for me as well.
Thanks Greg!
http://www.guitarrepair.com/
