| "Luthier B" sends me packing!
Funny thing happened the other day. Took a “project bass” to a Luthier (Luthier B) that had done a decent setup (New adjustable bridge, nut cut, soundpost placement) on a newer 5-string a couple years ago. He’d done a good job, but was very pricey. I’d already had the bass to Luthier A, where he had re-cut the original bridge to allow bowing without double-stops. Luthier A charged me a nominal fee, and noted that the bass really needed a new bridge for proper setup. (I.e. I really never gave Luthier A a chance to do a proper setup.)
So, later I got a cheap bass at an auction and took it to Luthier B for an opinion, it was pretty much in pieces at the time, and I gave him some dough for the “appraisal” and went on my way. After I re-attached the scroll and did some refinish work on the “auction bass”, I decided to give Luthier A the opportunity to do the setup. He did a very good job of installing a new bridge / strings / saddle / nut / soundpost / endpin, and did it for a song.
Couple years pass, and I get another project bass. Bass is very playable, but I noticed that the soundpost setting is criminal, so I wanted to have a pro set the post just so I can get a better idea of the sound potential of the bass and keep it from further damage.
Well, Luthier A is no longer in town, and his recommended replacement is about 40 miles away. I remembered Luthier B trumpeting his soundpost setting skills, so I gave him a call. Went to see him and he assessed the bass as having numerous problems, but didn’t even look at the soundpost. Finally, he agreed to have me leave the bass, and he would reset the soundpost. I didn’t expect this to be cheap, from past experience.
Well, somehow we got back to the subject of the “auction bass” and I told him that I’d had it set up by someone else and it ended up being a pretty nice bass. He immediately asked who’d done the work while I tried to move on to another subject. He said “Luthier A?” and I answered “yes”. He then abruptly told me to take my bass and go home. I gladly obliged.
I really couldn’t knock him for taking things personal, as aside from charging twice as much as Luthier A for the same work, I’d found out that years ago, he’d sued a close friend for firing him from a band for sucking. (I saw the first gig, and yes, he deserved to be fired. It was months after the 5-string setup that I realized Luthier B was the same guy. Just one more reason I hadn’t returned prior to Luthier A skipping town.)
Lesson learned? None really. Luthier B can enjoy his pride along with his poverty.
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Last edited by skullhead : 07-24-2006 at 03:44 PM.
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