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How much will a "setup" cost me at Guitar Center??

#4
Aw geez, I wouldn't take my bass into GC for anything in the world. They couldn't PAY me enough to let them work on my bass. There's no possible way I would trust those bozos to set up an instrument for me.

The preferred way would be: do it myself. If someone else does it, at best it's going to be an iterative process till they get it right. I'm very particular about the feel of my basses. However there are a couple of techs I've worked with over the years who know what I like and who I'd trust to set up an instrument for me.

I'm with Zillium, I'd try it myself first, and if all else fails as a last resort I'd find a small local luthier (someone who has time to talk and listen to exactly what I want) and let him do it.
 
#6
No matter how good a tech may be, his preferences are going to be different than yours on string height, etc. And he is never going to use the exact same amount of pressure fretting a note as you do (affects intonation adjustments). So, the best you can hope for is finding a good tech with good comunication skills, willing to listen to what you want. I'll admit I've never tried to find one, but that sounds more difficult than learning to do the setups yourself, which is what I did.
 
#7
I learned to do it myself- trial and error- especially back in the 70's. Nowadays there's tons of info on the internet on "how to". More so than the money, doing it yourself lets you get it exactly your way. It's not that difficult once you learn the basics.
 
#10
Go to the chain stores of guitars and a setup will cost you your entire bass... Literally. I wouldn't trust half the shmucks at samash with my basses.... they can't even get their own stocked basses a good setup to sound half good.:rolleyes:
It's like expecting walmart to fix your TV... they sure as hell sell TV's there, but I'm sure they couldn't fix a thing on it if they tried.

Im sure are techs at these stores that aren't bad AT ALL, but when you don't know who they are, I wouldn't trust them with a truss rod while you're not there standing over trheir shoulder watching them. I may just be paranoid, but hey, better safe than sorry is the way I look at it. I've done my own setups. And I plan to keep doing it until the day comes when I order myself a custom bass that I worked my ass off for, then I'll be willing to spend $50 on a 'properly' done setup. I dunno:D
 
#11
At my local guitar center all repair work is subbed out to a reputable local luthier who does excellent work. Of course, I would recommend avoiding guitar center and going straight to the luthier yourself.
 
#12
Learning to do your own setup is just as important as learning how to play. If you feel uncomfortable doing it, go to a pawn shop and spend that 50 bucks you would have spent on a setup and buy a hack bass instead and pratcice on that. You can also practice your soldering and anything else without fear of ruining it and end up saving a ton of money in the long run!
 
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#13
Originally posted by Somebassguy
Learning to do your own setup is just as important as learning how to play. If you feel uncomfortable doing it, go to a pawn shop and spend that 50 bucks you would have spent on a setup and buy a hack bass instead and pratcice on that. You can also practice your soldering and anything else without fear of ruining it and end up saving a ton of money in the long run!
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Wise words!
 
#14
Originally posted by nonsqtr
Aw geez, I wouldn't take my bass into GC for anything in the world. They couldn't PAY me enough to let them work on my bass. There's no possible way I would trust those bozos to set up an instrument for me.

The preferred way would be: do it myself. If someone else does it, at best it's going to be an iterative process till they get it right. I'm very particular about the feel of my basses. However there are a couple of techs I've worked with over the years who know what I like and who I'd trust to set up an instrument for me.

I'm with Zillium, I'd try it myself first, and if all else fails as a last resort I'd find a small local luthier (someone who has time to talk and listen to exactly what I want) and let him do it.
Click to expand...

Setups are kind of funny. They come very easy to some but others have to really work at it IMO. I also would not trust Guitar Center with my setups unless I had a lot of confidence in the tech who was going to do the work. In my area GC outsources a lot of their work to local luthiers. The luthier that I have used, Invalid Link Removed, is one of them.

I started off by attempting to do my own but I never could get it done to a level that I felt was acceptable. So, I took a few of my instruments in to Mark Tenorio. It cost me for those setups but in my mind it was well worth it.

Why? I was able to get Mark to share a lot of information with me on the techniques that he uses to evaluate what an instrument needs and I wound up with the best setups that I'd had up to that point. Once I was able to get a feel for what I felt a good setup is, everything else just started to come to me lot easier.

Now I do all of my own adjustments and I have no plans to change that unless I run into something that's beyond me. Even if that scenario occurs, I still plan to try to learn as much as I can so that hopefully I will be able to take care of any future issues that are related. Mark did a great job for me but I feel that I do a better job adjusting my instruments to my needs.

I still keep in touch with Mark and occasionally pose questions to him about various maintenance concerns. He's pretty busy and it may take a few days before he get's back to me. He has always been willing to help and actually encourages me to take on a lot more of the responsibility of maintaining my basses. Yeah, I spent a little on the front end but I really feel that it's going to payoff for me long term.
 
#16
Hold on a second there, folks...

My guitar player works as a repair guy for the Marietta, GA Guitar Center, and he does an excellent job with setups, etc.

Heck, he even built the three guitars he uses with our jazz band--one of them is a hollowbody archtop.

He's done two fretjobs for me, and is currently replacing the bridge saddle on my 6 string acoustic bass guitar.

Don't assume that just because someone is in a Guitar Center that a repairman doesn't know what he's doing. The least you can do is ask for a couple of referrals, or ask him his credentials. My guitar player, for example, has his certification and learned from the likes of Rick Turner. I think he can handle a setup.

Sure, doing it yourself is better--if you are comfortable doing it. But, it doesn't hurt to pay for a couple and watch what they are doing.

Why don't you simply talk to the repair guy at Guitar Center (or where ever) and ask, "How much for a setup, and what all does that entail for that price?"
 
#17
brink22 said:
I want to take in my bass to get new strings, and get any adjustments it might need (neck, action, etc). How much should this cost me approximately?
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To understand this you should think about why a setup is priced like it is. First there is the scope-of-work which is the list of tasks that will be done. Next is the vendors “cost of doing business”. Also consider your local cost of living, I.e., an item will cost multiples more in New York City than it would in a small mid/America town.

A big-box store’s overhead and profit is a big chunk of the fee. The tech, let’s say doing it in an hour, with hourly wage benefits and payroll taxes is probably around $15-2O of the total price. There’s nothing magic about what they do so there’s no boost in value to you.

An independent guitar shop can charge less, do a more comprehensive set of services and give more personalized service, but they still have hefty rent, insurance, inventory, etc. which drives their prices.

An individual guitar tech has the lowest overhead and can do the same (or better) work than the near minimum wage tech at the big box store.

Accordingly you could get a similar scope of work done with prices ranging from:

Big Box store $65-90
Small Guitar Shop $50-75
Indy Guitar Tech $35-55
 
#18
Learn to do your own setup. It’s the only real way to get exactly what you want. There are plenty of step by step guides available, i started by printing out the Fender bass setup guide and took it from there and have been doing it for a number of years now.
 
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#19
fhm555 said:
Learn to do your own setup. It’s the only real way to get exactly what you want. There are plenty of step by step guides available, i started by printing out the Fender bass setup guide and took it from there and have been doing it for a number of years now.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree - if nothing else, you learn to setup your guitar/bass like you want it instead of the so-so generic setup by a big-box store. There is a lot to be said for learning your guitar, car, etc.
 

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