My guitar player is a tech at GC. He is a sub-contractor. He has been doing it for 20 plus years and is a magician. Of course I get a discount..LOL I usually do all my own set ups. It is fun to tinker and if I screw something up, I just give it to him to fix!
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Guitar Center tech repair/setup
- Thread starter Phendyr_Loon
- Start date
The guitar center I used to work at saw two different techs in and out while I was there. They were both horribly trained, immature, and had no care for detailed work. I watched the second guy take on an inlay job for an SG (changing from dots to trapezoid), without ever doing or being trained on an inlay job. Needless to say, it was the laughing stock of our store for a while. The store did end up buying the kid a new guitar neck with trapezoid inlays. This is just one example. FWIW, after working there and being screwed over by them (another story), I wouldn't let anyone who works there polish my bass, much less do any real work on it. You have been warned...
If you take your bass to ANYONE, professional luthier, tech, or GC, you should check for references/credentials. Before I knew how to adjust a truss rod, I took one of my basses to a repair shop to have a set up done, the action was too high for me. The tech at the shop (name of tech and shop omitted), Lowered the bridge saddles all the way down and then immediately started taking the neck bolts out. I asked what he was doing, and he was going to shim the neck. I, at least, knew that there was something amiss before he completely stripped the other three neck bolts. I had him put the one bolt back in and I took my bass home, looked up how to adjust the truss rod and performa other set up steps and did it myself a half hour later, without taking the neck off.
Maybe it's a CYA kind of thing but having a sheet similar to what car rentals joints use to document damage that is present before and after service would be in order.
Maybe it's a CYA kind of thing but having a sheet similar to what car rentals joints use to document damage that is present before and after service would be in order.
You shouldn't paint with a broad brush. Many of the techs at GC across the country have attended the same school that I am currently going to, so they are not all by any means "no nothings". I am actually thinking about working at one when I graduate.
I know more than the average joe about setups and repairs, but I am not about to tell someone I can do a repair that I know in my heart is a little too much for my chops at the moment.
I know more than the average joe about setups and repairs, but I am not about to tell someone I can do a repair that I know in my heart is a little too much for my chops at the moment.
$100 for a setup????????
For $40 you can buy all the tools you need to do it yourself. For another $60 you can buy what you need to make your own nut, including a bunch of bone blanks.
Learn to do it yourself and your bass will always play the way YOU want it too.
We are not talking about rebuilding a F-15 here.
+1
The guy that does all my "tricky stuff" used to work at the local mom&pop guitar store, always did great work. But the shop closed, so now he works out of the local GC. He still does the exact same quality work he did at the little ma&pa store, just a different location.
It's not the building, it's the person!
It's not the building, it's the person!
I drive an hour to receive Jim Mouradian's TLC before I'd consider driving 20 minutes to the Nashua (NH) GC.
I wouldn't let a GC tech change out the laces on my sneakers.
I wouldn't let a GC tech change out the laces on my sneakers.
It's hard to generalize techs regardless of where they are employed. My friend's favorite tech in town is someone who's set up on my Bongo I've had to take to my favorite tech at GC to fix. I've trusted my GC tech with my prized Gibson Studio V.
Techs are individual. It's not always who signs their paychecks that determines their ability to set up your bass the way you like it.
Techs are individual. It's not always who signs their paychecks that determines their ability to set up your bass the way you like it.
Watch out for retail store guitar techs. I had a kid take a power screwdriver to
remove the cover plate on the Tobias I was planning to buy.
Ask around, there are good techs in some stores. My local GC has Max Kay, an
excellent guitar tech.
Also check Best Bass Gear, he offers a list of good techs.
remove the cover plate on the Tobias I was planning to buy.
Ask around, there are good techs in some stores. My local GC has Max Kay, an
excellent guitar tech.
Also check Best Bass Gear, he offers a list of good techs.
$100 for a setup????????
My thought, exactly. $100 is way too much for a bass setup.
Learn to do it yourself. It is not rocket science.
Furthermore, a bass setup is often an iterative process. It can
take a few tweaks between playing to get it where you really
like it. Even at conventional setup pricing, it can get expensive
running back and forth to the shop.
Just do it yourself. Once you know how, you'll wonder why
everyone doesn't set up their own basses.
I tried to do it myself. Messed up my pickup installation, now there's almost no ouptput from the bass at all. Plus i cracked my pickguard... The local non-GC guy had a very long waiting list, so I brought it to GC. should be back in my hands this week, guess I'll see how he did and report back. I think it's hit-or-miss. Some GC shops will have good techs, some won't.
Justin at Guitar Center in Danvers, MA did a great job. I apparently wired them correctly, must've been a cold-soldered joint. He fixed it up and straightened the neck to boot and only charged the minimum bench fee of $30. It was done in 5 days. I would definitely bring my guitar back to him again.
