Repair shops LIE, or, Why I learned to work on my own gear

[michael_atw]

I think there are some issues at play:


-some repairmen just don't have the time to do the work you want them to do
-some repairmen just don't have the skill to do the work you want them to do
-some repairmen just don't have the integrity to do the work you want them to do
-some repairmen just don't have the drive to do the work you want them to do


And some have those traits.

[electracoyote]

My tech is a builder of acoustic and electric instruments. He starts from big chunks of wood. He's a master luthier, a really nice guy who is very easy to talk and communicate my needs to (kind of a rarity in this profession), but he can get very busy.

I could take my instruments to a lesser tech and get a more predictable turnaround, but I would not get the best in town. So I cut my tech some slack if it takes him a little longer than expected.

YMMV.

[SolarMan]

custom built instrument is a totally different animal.

Now you talk of artist, not craftsmen

[SolarMan]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

I have been a customer for many luthiers, had 5 custom instruments built.
None of them ever was on time. It goes with the job I'm afraid.

custom built instrument is a totally different animal.

Now you talk of artist, not craftsmen

[Jazz Ad]

It's been the same for basic repair. Anything beyond setups, I mean. I do my own setups anyway.

[SolarMan]

You make me want to eat fine French cheese, French baguet, and fine French wine!

And this I am going to do! To perfection!

[Rockin Mike]

I had a prestigious bass retailer with a national reputation look at my Spector and they told me the neck was warped. I went almost a year thinking it was ruined until I talked to a Spector rep who told me exactly how to set it up. It wasn't warped, there was just no tension on the truss rod. Now it's perfect, just as it came from the factory.

I took another bass to a local luthier who makes $4000 custom guitars and basses to install a whammy. After taking it back once for a re-rout it was still too high and needed a shim to get the action OK. Also the bridge was too far forward so the E and B strings won't quite intonate even with the saddles all the way back.

Many years ago I had an SVT head that kept frying and going back to the shop every 3 weeks, at $150 a pop. Why couldn't they get to the root cause?

So... I'm with the OP on reliability of techs. I'm getting better at setups and then I will tackle fret leveling and wiring. All I need is a clunker bass I can beat up on.

One thing about setups, no matter how good the tech is he can't tune in on your personal taste as well as you can, and he won't revisit the truss rod after the neck has had a couple of days to settle.

[deeptubes]

I have a Fender Bassman that I have had entirely too many issues with. Volume is buzzy and erratic - almost sounds like playing out of a blown speaker. Motherboard has been replaced once and may need to be done again. I use it as a guitar amp, so it does not get much playtime. It's 12 years old with less than 50 hours usage. I know my way around guitars and cabs but am not very familiar with amps. I have the schematics. May be time to learn and break it down myself.

[TNCreature]

I recently took a jazz bass to a tech because the bridge pickup was barely audible. Afrer 2 weeks or so with no call from the shop I stop back and hear: "there is nothing wrong with the pickup. It is just really quiet" !?!?!? Yes! That IS the problem! Argh!

[rojo412]

I'm with people completely on the "Custom Build" side of things. I've never had one done, but I'm sure it takes a lot of time and skill and an estimate may be far off. But unless they are a crook, they will tell you what progress and/or delays they are dealing with.

But on the repair side, batting .000, are a lot of people who don't have long backlogs. They aren't world-renowned craftsmen. Their job is to fix a problem. And they don't do it, they don't call to say they can't do it, they just take the work and don't communicate.
That blows!

At least I know, if I decide to get into the field locally, all I'd have to do is take pride in my work, accurately estimate repair time and cost, and I'd be the top guy in town!
Where does one go to learn fretting, painting, and routing?!? I'm going to look into this...

[michael_atw]

Maybe we need luthier's licenses...

[hibachiduck]

The luthier I use usually finishes early

[deeptubes]

When I was a older teenager, my mom said she would pay for me to go to whatever school I wanted. I told her I wanted to learn how to build guitars. She crapped all over the idea. "How does that translate into a career in the REAL world?" She retired last year as a Senior Executive VP for Bank Of America - should explain her mindset. 25 years later, she has seen some of my refurbish work and is impressed. "Wow! You can do all this?" Wish she was a little more supportive back then. Doesn't help me today.

[Stilettoprefer]

I took a guitar to a shop once. The guy quoted one week. 3 weeks later I call to see what's up and he says that it'll be worked on soon. One week later I call and he got snippy with me when I asked why it was taking so long. I went to the shop and got my guitar back. The guy was out to lunch so the manager gave it to me, and I explained the situation.

I later received a call from him apologizing for the inconvenience and he said that he would give me a skip ahead in line pass for next time. I never used the pass, and next time I went into the shop he wasn't working there anymore.

The only good part about this fiasco is that the "tech" left a $30 set of strings in the pocket of my case, and the manager didn't know about it when he handed me the case. I didn't see it until I got home, so I got a free pack of nice strings for leaving my guitar somewhere for way too long.

I do all of my own setups and repairs thanks to this incident.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by Stilettoprefer

I do all of my own setups and repairs thanks to this incident.

This is the silver lining. As someone alluded to above, no tech on earth can dial in a bass to my high standards the way I can. My tech is good, and sometimes he nails it, but just as often I get it home and tweak it a bit myself.

I do everything but fretwork on my basses and guitars. I find fretwork a very skilled procedure, and I have neither the tools, education, nor patience for it. But I do everything else, including nuts and electronics. If the bass or guitar was put together correctly and the frets are level, I don't need a tech. Everyone should learn how to do a basic set up and intonate their guitar. It only takes a little research and some common household tools. If you use common sense about it, everything you do is reversible, so you can't ruin your bass.

I just installed a Bigsby on a Telecaster, it works and stays in tune perfectly.

[Stilettoprefer]

^^ silver lining indeed!

It's awesome to have all of my guitar playing buddies come to me to set up their guitars and basses. I just performed a de-fret on a co workers bass and he is very happy with it.

And I'm gonna be learning how to do fret work soon. I have a granite slab, sand paper and adhesive spray. I just need crowning files.

To this day I have never had a tech or luthier touch an instrument or amplifier that I own (except the upright bass).

[rojo412]

Now, more than ever, I want to learn how to do ALL repairs possible on gear. Basically, how to build something from the ground up! Because it's ridiculous in this town.

I got the bass back today. It wasn't fixed as well as promised.
The initial quote: "We can make that crack disappear!"
Uh... well, you didn't. You made it smoother, but it's still visible and can be felt. Pretty flippin' far from DISAPPEARED!
The post-repair verdict:"Well, it needs a full refinish to really make it disappear"
I guess so! Obviously, I took it to the wrong place for the quote and the work. The extra week and a half wasn't spent doing much to remedy the issue I brought it in for, that's for sure.

It wasn't as much money as I was quoted... but it wasn't fixed fully either. It was helped, but not cured.

On the plus side, it's a sturdy, graphite neck that I trust 100% and I'll probably finish the job once I learn how to. And I am very happy to have the bass back! But I was once again let down by local repair shops.

[Musiclogic]

Something you may want to think about, is if someone is farming out work to someone else, they probably have no real idea of the timeframe and are just guessing. If they tell you they can fix it, then upon arrival they tell you someone else is doing the work, walk out...run if possible. Unless they are authorized service and are sending it back to the company of origin for repair, avoid places like this. A repair shop should never take a job if they do not intend to do the work.

[rojo412]

Yeah, that's a good point. The guy who did the work actually came in and saw it and gave the estimate to the guy before I authorized the work, but to your point, it's too many fingers in the pie to be reliable.