Good place to take a bass in or around Austin

[D.Hinojosa]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if there were any good shops in or around the Austin, TX area that you would recommend for working on bassses. I am looking to restore/revive an old bass of mine as well as find a technician that can do good setups for lower tunnings. Any thoughts?

Best,
DH

[Sid Fang]

I don't live in Austin and have no useful advice, except to reflect that looking for a good electric instrument tech in Austin must be like looking for a good hot dog in New York. ;o)

[tbone0813]

Bass Emporium or Glenn at Austin Bass Traders.

[Stumbo]

Business Name: Guitar Resurrection
Hours: M-Th 11-6:30 , Fri/Sat 11-6 Central Time
Address: 813 Morrow Street
City/State,Zip Austin,TX 78757.
Directions Just South of U.S. 183 off North Lamar.
Telephone: (512) 478-0095
Email sales at guitarrez.com
Website: http://www.guitarrez.com/index.html

For over 30 years Guitar Rez has provided Austin musicians with the finest in quality new and used guitars, basses and amps. From our origins as one of the first vintage guitar stores in the country to our present status as Texas' number one source for the boutique classics of today, the aim at Guitar Rez has always been to find the best sounding gear for our customers.

We are authorized dealers for many of the industry's state of the art products including Gibson guitars, PRS guitars, Fender Custom Shop guitars and basses, G&L guitars and basses, Rickenbacker guitars and basses, Alembic basses, Ken Smith basses, NS Design, Trace Elliot bass amps, 65 amps, Dr. Z amps, Bogner amps, Bad Cat amps, AER amps, Santa Cruz guitars, Lowden guitars, Composite Acoustics guitars, Taylor guitars and much more.

Our great selection always includes many limited edition and hard to find pieces.

Our four person staff has combined experience of over a century in the music business! We play every guitar that comes in the door and again before it leaves to make sure everything we sell is the best that it can be.

We also offer after market service for most of the brands we sell on any item purchased from us. At Guitar Rez we select our products for tone not for profit margin, and our large selection allows us to bring our customers the best prices we can without sacrificing the quality and service they have come to expect.

More Austin bass tech references

For more bass tech references in general see my thread at: Good Bass Techs! Please post your experiences!

[makaspar]

Unfortunately, Bass Emporium seems to be web only now..

[sevdog]

Guitar rez has done me good in the past...Bass Emporium is only online now

Also, a good way to find good people for just about anything is to walk into either of the Music Lab locations. Between bulletins, people who have semi-shops set up, and ugly dudes hanging around you can pretty much find someone to do any kind of work you need.

[TXLawDawg]

Mark Erlewine was recently recommended to me regarding a refinish - www.erlewineguitars.com - from the post above it appears it might have been previously affiliated with Guitar Rez (if the post is correct, I don't know).

He didn't do the type of refinish work I was inquiring about but is apparently well regarded by some of the guys that I've met that have been around here for awhile.

[Yools]

You should definitely check out Musical Exchange. Walter (the main guitar guy) does great work for reasonable prices; I've had a lot of stuff done there. He can be kind of a surly b****rd - if you bring in some POS squire that you want fixed up, he'll probably tell you to forget about it and that it's not worth his time, but if you've got a decent instrument that needs work, he's one of the best in town.

Guitar Resurrection comes very highly recommended, especially if you have a vintage instrument that needs special care. Bass Emporium is only web now, and they really didn't do much repair work other than basic setups, etc.

I've also heard good things about Phat Kat Guitars, but I've never worked with them so I can't be sure.

+1 for the Music Lab suggestions - one of the best places in town to meet and network, too.

-Y

[sevdog]

Originally Posted by Yools

You should definitely check out Musical Exchange. Walter (the main guitar guy) does great work for reasonable prices; I've had a lot of stuff done there. He can be kind of a surly b****rd - if you bring in some POS squire that you want fixed up, he'll probably tell you to forget about it and that it's not worth his time, but if you've got a decent instrument that needs work, he's one of the best in town.

Guitar Resurrection comes very highly recommended, especially if you have a vintage instrument that needs special care. Bass Emporium is only web now, and they really didn't do much repair work other than basic setups, etc.

I've also heard good things about Phat Kat Guitars, but I've never worked with them so I can't be sure.

+1 for the Music Lab suggestions - one of the best places in town to meet and network, too.

-Y

Yeah, go to Walter at your own risk. It's been a while but my guitar player sung Walter's praises to high heaven and went to him all the time. Long story short, I walked out with my amp still in my hand. He's the soup nazi of gear repair.

[Bobster]

If you need work done I STRONGLY recommend Danny Shoemaker at Straight Frets. www.straightfrets.com They can do it all, have a very loyal local following and are reasonably priced.

I've used Danny for a partial refret of a Jazz Bass and he and Matt did a great job.

All the best,

Bob

[D.Hinojosa]

Thanks you all for the replies and suggestions. You have been a great help! I'll be sure to look into these.

Best,
Dave