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Luthier Recommendation NY Tri State Area?

KayXero

KayXero

Apr 3, 2007
438
69
#1
I was not sure if I should post this in Luthier's Corner since Im just asked for a recommendation.

But could anyone recommend a good luthier not far from the Hudson Valley of NY? Basically anything in NY below Albany, as well as Northern Jersey, Western Connecticut, and Eastern Pennsylvania are good for me.

Im trying to contract a good luthier for a JPJ pickup configuration bass mod project.

PS - The closer to Orange County, NY the better. And the more affordable, the better. Though I dont mind paying for good work, I do wanna save a buck too if possible.
 
#3
Arnie said:
Man, I don't know.. Of course there are the obvious Bass builders here, Tobias, Spector, but not sure if they would take on a project like this. I know plenty who "Claim" to be luthiers but turned out not to be.
Click to expand...
Care to elaborate?

I hope I can find someone. Im sending out emails to a few luthiers I found through google. Id like to think routing a new pickup slot and wiring 3 pickups isnt too big of a deal. Ive seen several routing mods and wiring mods on this forum, so there must be someone around here that can do it. I mean its NY, so Im hoping I find someone that wont break the bank too much.
 
#5
Elaborte? the part about spector and tobias? or Luthiers that claimed they were luthiers and didnt come through?

Michael Tobias (MTD, Tobias basses), and Stuart Spector both live and have shops in Kingston area. Harvey Citron and Joe Veilliette (from Veillette Citron basses) have custom shops, as well as Martin Keith. Not sure if any of these guys will do custom work.

As far as luthiers, I have been trying to get my 76 p bass neck adjusted correctly for quite some time and haven't had any luck. Also have been trying to get a brass nut cut for the bas I am building and it is taking way to long for them to finish the nut.
 
#6
If it were me I'd email Mike Tobias (because I'm acquainted with him - I'd otherwise just as soon contact any of the other luthiers listed above) and tell him what he suggests. I'm sure that any of these guys, if they're not willing to do the job themselves, would be happy to recommend someone.
 
#7
Howdy

I would love to recommend my friend Patrick Cummings of iguitar and Brian Moore. In addition to retrofitting guitars and basses with the very cool iguitar module and running and building the Brian Moore stuff, he also has a repair/mod shop. He is an electronic genius, among other things. His shop is in the village of Cold Spring on the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley. He does all my repair and set up work and I have always found him to be extremely knowledgable and his prices are reasonable for the level of service. I am definitely NOT saying he will be the least expensive choice, but you won't walk out the door without being over the top happy.

Check it out here: http://iguitarworkshop.com/repairs.aspx

He is currently assembling my two new basses - a 1954 P Bass which he cut the neck pocket on - and a special Tele Bass with piezos in the bridge:

photo234.jpg


photo1.jpg


And good luck with it all!

Best,

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#8
Subbed... I'm from Orange County, too, though just moved to Vernon, NJ last week. I've been interested to find a good luthier for some neck work on an older Jazz bass. Don't know anyone around here that can do more than re-string and do sloppy nut installs! I'm curious to see if you get any good recommendations.
 
#9
bass12 said:
If it were me I'd email Mike Tobias (because I'm acquainted with him - I'd otherwise just as soon contact any of the other luthiers listed above) and tell him what he suggests. I'm sure that any of these guys, if they're not willing to do the job themselves, would be happy to recommend someone.
Click to expand...
Ill give Mike an email. Ive emailed a few guys. So lets see what happens. Ill keep everyone posted.
 
#10
I'm just trying to get a sense for what you're trying to accomplish. You said that you're trying to make a J/P/J bass, correct? Is the bass you're trying to mod a J bass or a P bass? The reason being that it might be a more straightforward job than you think.

The guys that have been mentioned in this thread are master builders. And as a number of posters have pointed out, a number of them have set up shop in or around Woodstock, NY. Will they take on a job like this? I can only speculate about that, but they would probably do it if the money was right. For them, that is.

I've only had a limited amount of work done on my instruments by guys in Orange County. I've had one shop do some fret dressing, and another that did some shielding and a pickup installation. The shielding and pickup job was done at Alto Music in Middletown.

The job you're talking about would require someone to have a router in order to make those pickup slots. If I were you, I'd start visiting some of the shops that have been recommended with your bass. Get to talking with some of the prospective luthiers about the job and get some quotes.
 
#11
I just emailed Rick Mullen of Wappingers Falls, NY. Dude has played with Commander Cody and other big acts. I found him thanks to another old thread made by someone in the area looking for a luthier. Now I wait.
ShoeManiac said:
I'm just trying to get a sense for what you're trying to accomplish. You said that you're trying to make a J/P/J bass, correct? Is the bass you're trying to mod a J bass or a P bass? The reason being that it might be a more straightforward job than you think.

The guys that have been mentioned in this thread are master builders. And as a number of posters have pointed out, a number of them have set up shop in or around Woodstock, NY. Will they take on a job like this? I can only speculate about that, but they would probably do it if the money was right. For them, that is.

I've only had a limited amount of work done on my instruments by guys in Orange County. I've had one shop do some fret dressing, and another that did some shielding and a pickup installation. The shielding and pickup job was done at Alto Music in Middletown.

The job you're talking about would require someone to have a router in order to make those pickup slots. If I were you, I'd start visiting some of the shops that have been recommended with your bass. Get to talking with some of the prospective luthiers about the job and get some quotes.
Click to expand...
Id be modding a PJ bass. And yeah, I go to Alto every now and again, but after speaking with them some, this project seems a little out of their scope.
 
#16
I just had a wonderful telephone conversation with Patrick, and he seems like he can do EXACTLY what I want done to this bass. Finally my dream custom project will come to life.

Im pretty stoked, and will keep everyone posted. Thanks!
BassHappy said:
Howdy

I would love to recommend my friend Patrick Cummings of iguitar and Brian Moore. In addition to retrofitting guitars and basses with the very cool iguitar module and running and building the Brian Moore stuff, he also has a repair/mod shop. He is an electronic genius, among other things. His shop is in the village of Cold Spring on the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley. He does all my repair and set up work and I have always found him to be extremely knowledgable and his prices are reasonable for the level of service. I am definitely NOT saying he will be the least expensive choice, but you won't walk out the door without being over the top happy.

Check it out here: http://iguitarworkshop.com/repairs.aspx

He is currently assembling my two new basses - a 1954 P Bass which he cut the neck pocket on - and a special Tele Bass with piezos in the bridge:

photo234.jpg


photo1.jpg


And good luck with it all!

Best,

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
Click to expand...
 
#17
KayXero said:
I just had a wonderful telephone conversation with Patrick, and he seems like he can do EXACTLY what I want done to this bass. Finally my dream custom project will come to life.

Im pretty stoked, and will keep everyone posted. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Great to hear!

Not a better person around than Patrick and his work is as close to perfection as perfection gets.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#18
Just a quick update. Im still deciding on a P pickup I need, but have decided somewhat on the switch and tonal options I want.

At the moment Im thinking 3 on-off toggle switches for each pickup, as well as 3 individual stacked volume/tone knobs for each pup. I was inspired by the variety of knob and switch options that I saw in the 3 pickup bass thread.

Im still deciding whether I want those little metal stick toggle switches, or if I want slide toggle switches (Jaguar type)
 
#19
KayXero said:
Just a quick update. Im still deciding on a P pickup I need, but have decided somewhat on the switch and tonal options I want.

At the moment Im thinking 3 on-off toggle switches for each pickup, as well as 3 individual stacked volume/tone knobs for each pup. I was inspired by the variety of knob and switch options that I saw in the 3 pickup bass thread.

Im still deciding whether I want those little metal stick toggle switches, or if I want slide toggle switches (Jaguar type)
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, my 2 cents is that the toggles are a little faster and easier to change position for "live" use. You may like the slide switches better for visual appeal which is fine.

If you are mostly a studio player, go with visual appeal, but if you are using this instrument a LOT for "live" use and you need a lot of tonal versatility, I would consider the speed issue in my thinking.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 

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