I fucked up taking my guitar to guitar center...

[/wrists]

Every time I come back to this thread, I'm reminded of a day a while back where I wandered into a local music shop for string or sticks or something, and there was a guy there stringing up a guitar for someone. If I remember right, he had it on his bench, put the strings on... tuned each string one at a time, figured he was done, picked it up, strum once, and both him and the customer were visibly uncomfortable with the sound it made. Dude either didn't know or forgot that each new string you put on was going to detune everything else as it adds tension, etc. Was a funny reminder not to trust that anyone working in retail really knows what they're doing with the products themselves.

lol

and then there are people who take their acoustic guitar in for a restring

 

[TedEH]

Did I forget that detail? This was an acoustic.

 

[/wrists]

Did I forget that detail? This was an acoustic.

oh i mean i saw someone with an acoustic getting restrung they day the guy fucked my set up up

--

to be fair, i didn't know how to restring a floyd rose until recently learning how to do it

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

Super late to this thread, but...yikes. I've seen some repair guy horror stories here over the years but this one is uh....pretty bad.
That said, the response from management sounds bang-on though. Much better than I would have expected from a Guitar Center, definitely enough to retain my business (though maybe not for repairs ). Hope it comes back cherry.

Shame it sounds like you're down in SoCal, I'm up in the north state and I've got a guy around here that does bulletproof work. Works out of a local mom and pop shop though, so he's got quite a waitlist. I don't stop by often because I tend to do my own stuff but the last time I checked was right after the pandemic started and his waitlist was like 6 months long. Honestly though, the peace of mind is worth it imo.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

IMO, the biggest hurdle to doing your own fretwork is getting the proper tools. It's not super tedious or anything if you have everything the pro's use. Takes maybe an hour, and you don't have to do it super often. But if you are trying to do everything with a ruler, a sharpie, and a piece of sandpaper, you are a) way more likely to fuck up and b) it's going to be tedious work. A good set of tools for fret dressing and leveling is probably going to cost you a fair amount over a hundred bucks. If you have 2-3 guitars and don't pound your frets very hard, I could see how the investment might seem imprudent.

The tools have gotten crazy cheap, especially if you're only working on your own guitars one or two times a year. Even stuff like crowning files and full length sanding blocks are cheap on eBay or AliExpress.

You could probably get a decent working set for like $50 including consumables.

 

[bostjan]

The tools have gotten crazy cheap, especially if you're only working on your own guitars one or two times a year. Even stuff like crowning files and full length sanding blocks are cheap on eBay or AliExpress.

You could probably get a decent working set for like $50 including consumables.

You can get "tools" on alibaba or ebay or whatever, but, every time I've rolled the dice and tried to grab a cheap guitar tool from a shady amazon or ebay seller, it's ended up being largely non-functional. I'm sure they aren't all that bad, but if I have to spend $50 four times or spend $150 once, I think I'd be ahead of the game just getting the trusted brand.

 

[/wrists]

Super late to this thread, but...yikes. I've seen some repair guy horror stories here over the years but this one is uh....pretty bad.
That said, the response from management sounds bang-on though. Much better than I would have expected from a Guitar Center, definitely enough to retain my business (though maybe not for repairs ). Hope it comes back cherry.

Shame it sounds like you're down in SoCal, I'm up in the north state and I've got a guy around here that does bulletproof work. Works out of a local mom and pop shop though, so he's got quite a waitlist. I don't stop by often because I tend to do my own stuff but the last time I checked was right after the pandemic started and his waitlist was like 6 months long. Honestly though, the peace of mind is worth it imo.

Such is the case with most of the local luthiers here. They're not down to accept new clients until Jan.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

You can get "tools" on alibaba or ebay or whatever, but, every time I've rolled the dice and tried to grab a cheap guitar tool from a shady amazon or ebay seller, it's ended up being largely non-functional. I'm sure they aren't all that bad, but if I have to spend $50 four times or spend $150 once, I think I'd be ahead of the game just getting the trusted brand.

You'd be surprised how close the gap has closed in the last few years. I use tools for a living, like every hour of every day at work, and what's coming out of China now is impressive. Especially the finer stuff like files and precision measuring tools.

 

[bostjan]

You'd be surprised how close the gap has closed in the last few years. I use tools for a living, like every hour of every day at work, and what's coming out of China now is impressive. Especially the finer stuff like files and precision measuring tools.

Yeah, like I said, I'm sure some are great. The last set of nut slot files I bought off Amazon was back around February/March, and they were the wrong shape, and I already broke one of them, and it had some massive voids in the metal where it broke. The last metal ruler I bought was super thin and already bent (probably during shipping), and, last year, I bought a fret saw that worked great for all of about three cuts before it started fighting me. I looked at the teeth and they were already worn out as if I had been grinding it on concrete rather than trying to cut rosewood. OTOH, some of the electronics repair equipment I bought recently for 1/3 of the price was wonderful.

 

[joedreamliner787]

You never go to GC unless you are buying so e used gear, strings or picks. I would never let them service a guitar. You may want to have the guitar Plek'd. It will play like butter and the guys that have the machine are really great at dressing the frets. I'm hate hearing bad experiences like and I hope you can find a reputable shop or get some cheap no name guitars and start learning to level and dress frets yourself. It's what I did and none of my guitars ever need to see s tech. It takes time and practice but you will get it right

 

[mikeymike]

the incompetency is astounding

 

[Huzee]

People who own Ferrari’s don’t get them serviced @ WalMart.

 

[Seabeast2000]

People who own Ferrari’s don’t get them serviced @ WalMart.

Said in fortune cookie.

 

[ArtDecade]

You don't know me.

 

[bostjan]

View media item 4406
You don't know me.

"You don't have permission to view this album"

Did Martin Shkreli buy your photo album or something?

 

[MikeH]

You never go to GC for tech work. Ever. And I wouldn’t have even left the store until I had spoken to that guy’s supervisor and let him know how bad of a fuck-up he hired.

 

[ArtDecade]

"You don't have permission to view this album"

Did Martin Shkreli buy your photo album or something?

After I made some bank buying and flipping ESP NFT guitars, I realized I could also sell access to my Photo Album and I am raking in millions from a select group of Bitcoin miners.

EDIT: I think I fixed it. LOL.

 

[Ted Pikul]

Old guys don't understand Floyd Roses, I've found (speaking as an old guy). Honestly, it's hard to find techs who can work on guitars that aren't basic Gibson/Fender. I had a similar experience with someone who was supposedly a luthier. Painful lesson.

 

[/wrists]

You never go to GC for tech work. Ever. And I wouldn’t have even left the store until I had spoken to that guy’s supervisor and let him know how bad of a fuck-up he hired.

no manager was on duty

After I made some bank buying and flipping ESP NFT guitars, I realized I could also sell access to my Photo Album and I am raking in millions from a select group of Bitcoin miners.

EDIT: I think I fixed it. LOL.

lol

 

[CanserDYI]

Floyd's are old. They're literally older than I am. In fact, I'd argue they're boomer old. No excuse to call yourself a tech or luthier and not know how to work on one.