Guitar tech just scratch my chrome Fishman pickup cover

[Blackspell-666]

I take my guitar for a setup today and when i came back home i just noticed a scratch on my chrome Fishman pickup cover. Im pretty sure he messed it up and wasn't told me. Here's a picture

Damn, because it was a new shiny pickup i feel sooo bad right now. The line isn't too deep. I couldn't feel it with my finger either. How can i get this out, or will my attempts to make things look new again end up making it look worse? I will probably just have to suck it up and leave it, unless someone's got some suggestions?

 

[FitRocker33]

I had a similar instance happen where a tech gouged my brand new hipshot bridge during a pickup install. It was relatively minor but still irritated the shit out of me because it could have been avoided if he taped off the area beforehand.

 

[CanserDYI]

This is why I am my own tech. But that scratch is hardly a reason for concern. Give it a few weeks, you'll see more and more pop up...

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

That’s pretty small, if he’s a good tech I would just let it go personally. It’s a guitar, not a museum piece.

 

[elkoki]

Guitar techs are human just like you and I ,when you take your guitar to one it's pretty much expected they'll do something like this. Just leave it and be thankful it wasn't something worse. This is why I set up and install my own stuff, I only take my guitars for fret leveling because I'm not comfortable with that.

 

[elkoki]

I had a similar instance happen where a tech gouged my brand new hipshot bridge during a pickup install. It was relatively minor but still irritated the shit out of me because it could have been avoided if he taped off the area beforehand.

One tech completely scraped off the binding off the sides of my guitar's fretboard. He did it so bad the edges looked like they were scalloped . I gave him so much shit and posted pics of it on his Yelp. He called me into his shop and made a deal that he would buy the guitar off me in exchange I wouldnt talk about the incident and remove the review. To be honest he got off easy .

 

[FitRocker33]

Wow…and what would have happened if the guitar was not easily replaceable(a custom shop guitar or a sentimental piece)

this is a big reason why over the past year I put my big boy pants on and taught myself how to set up my own guitars and not pay somebody 50 bucks a pop for a truss rod twist and a saddle adjustment. YouTube is pretty damn useful aside from
All the mind numbing millennial garbage that litters it at the same time.

 

[c7spheres]

I take my guitar for a setup today and when i came back home i just noticed a scratch on my chrome Fishman pickup cover. Im pretty sure he messed it up and wasn't told me. Here's a picture
View attachment 98039
Damn, because it was a new shiny pickup i feel sooo bad right now. The line isn't too deep. I couldn't feel it with my finger either. How can i get this out, or will my attempts to make things look new again end up making it look worse? I will probably just have to suck it up and leave it, unless someone's got some suggestions?

That's unfortunate. I know everyone is saying this happens a lot with tech, and it does in my experinece also. The only thing I could suggest is that in the future to take pictures immediately before you bring it in to someone so there's proof of condition beforehand. - In this case if it were me I'd proabably let it go unless you know of another tech you trust. It's harder to find a good tech than fix or replace a pickup. - If you have other tech's you could mention it to him if you think he might be receptable. Maybe if he's nice he'l lgive a refund or do your next setup free etc. , otherwise this stuff happens. I've scratched up my own guitars many times no matter how careful I am. It sucks but after a while there's not much you can do.

 

[ixlramp]

You may have caused this scratch and just not noticed it before, there is no way to know for sure.
The scratch is amusingly tiny, it is smaller than the natural grains of the fingerboard wood =D Not something to feel so bad about.

The problem with guitars in perfect condition is that tiny imperfections drive the owner crazy. It is a better situation when a guitar has many minor imperfections such that the owner relaxes and is not so uptight about protecting it. This is why i find ownership of a worn guitar more enjoyable than ownership of a perfect guitar. I actually look forward to my perfect guitars getting minor damage so i can relax a bit =D

And indeed, any attempt to remove the scratch will look far worse than a natural organic wear scratch.

 

[Bucketfeet]

I bought a brand new guitar that took a year to arrive after ordering and it had a small blotch of extra polish on the corner of the head stock and it bugged the crap out of me so I totally know how you feel.

While I could have returned it and waited again for a replacement, I decided to play and see how I liked it. I can now look past it and absolutely love the guitar now.

Sorry to hear about your tech, hope you can get that fixed up. I dont know anything about fluence pickups but maybe you can just get the cap replaced?

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Drop it a few times and you won't care anymore.

But seriously, I eventually had to sell my Baritone SG because I couldn't stop treating it like a museum piece. Humans are gross and clumsy, we scratch, dent, break, and encrust the things around us with our filth. You gotta pick a lane.

 

[CanserDYI]

One tech completely scraped off the binding off the sides of my guitar's fretboard. He did it so bad the edges looked like they were scalloped . I gave him so much shit and posted pics of it on his Yelp. He called me into his shop and made a deal that he would buy the guitar off me in exchange I wouldnt talk about the incident and remove the review. To be honest he got off easy .

How the hell do you scrape a binding that bad that it looks scalloped and consider yourself a tech??

 

[elkoki]

How the hell do you scrape a binding that bad that it looks scalloped and consider yourself a tech??

I think he said it had something to do with a polishing wheel when polishing the frets. This guy was a total douche bag .. he ruined my guitar but I didn't notice it until I brought it home. I immediately let him know of the damages and he ducked me for a few days so I resorted to the Yelp review. This guy was/ is a guitar tech for over 30 years , he had a whole office / work place and staff of like 3 people so he definitely gets plenty of work. I guess he was just careless about my guitar.. worst part was even after he ruined it, he kept trying to make me feel guilty and being a total ass hole to me like I had did something wrong. He got off so easy and I really should've gotten more money out of the whole situation , but I didnt want any more problems so I just took his payout.

 

[aesthyrian]

Yeah, how's the setup though?

 

[Blackspell-666]

Yeah, how's the setup though?

He's really done a good job on the setup tho. Can't complain on that.

 

[aesthyrian]

Well that's good! Ultimately, the damage is only cosmetic and on a replaceable part. I know that doesn't quite justify the damage but no one will ever notice besides you and surely if the guitar is worth playing then you will only create more scratches and wear. So long as the tech didn't botch a fret job, strip the truss rod nut or create some damage that actually affects the playing and integrity of the instrument, then I would almost say you're lucky with how bad some tech tales can be.

 

[Blackspell-666]

Seriously this thread made me feel a lot better now. Thanks everyone !!

 

[elkoki]

Learn to set up your guitars bro. Paying anyone to setup a guitar is a flat out waste of money

 

[Blackspell-666]

Learn to set up your guitars bro. Paying anyone to setup a guitar is a flat out waste of money

You're right. I'll definitely do it myself next time.

 

[bostjan]

That can probably be buffed out if it really bothers you.