Four techies and a lot of trouble

[deleted] · 2009-10-08T10:15:44+00:00

I'd like to share some things I've learned recently, related to taking your guitar to be repaired, because I think there must be somebody out there who can profit from the wisdom gained from my mistakes. Without going into too much detail (and a "monster" post), here are the trials and tribulations of my 1994 Foto Flame Japanese Strat, which I bought from a guy in Midrand some months ago: Tech 1 GF in Roodekrans. Years ago, I had taken my 1972 Strat to Music Connection and they'd passed it on to G, and I was very satisfied with his work. Although, subsequent conversations showed me that he'd actually lied to me about what could still be fixed on that guitar...in a very similar way to what happened recently. I called up G directly this time and took the Foto Flame to him, with instructions to set it up properly, block up the Floyd Rose tremolo and basically get the guitar playable. Taking the guitar apart in front of me, he claimed the wiring was a dog's breakfast, so he quoted me a fee to rewire the guitar, as well as for the setup. I was happy with the price and told him to go ahead. When he gave back the guitar there were a number of problems remaining - some of the work I'd asked him to do was not done, and there was a further problem with the nut. He then basically acknowledged that he'd knowingly given me back the guitar in non-working order. By this stage, however, I had paid him because my previous experiences with him had led me to believe he was trustworthy. So, I told him I was unhappy and instructed him to finish the work and fix the problems. After two more visits to G, none of the problems were sorted out in a satisfactory way, and he continued to tell me that the guitar was "difficult" to sort out. I knew this to be a lie - he was simply being lazy, and it was costing me lots of money and time to keep driving all the way to Roodekrans. So, on the advice of a helpful forum member who told me about a good tech, I decided not to go to the hassle of reversing online payments and I tried a music store in Allens Nek. Tech 2 C in Allens Nek. Wary of a new tech, I first sent in my '72 to have a fret dress, to test out his skills. Although the guitar came back to me with a fretting-out issue, I sorted that out myself by altering the action and otherwise the work was good, so I sent in the Foto Flame. While my guitar was in the store with C, he quit his job there and moved on, so the store called me to pick up my guitar. I did not check it thoroughly in the store (besides, their tech was no longer there), and got home to discover most of the work had still not been done. I took the guitar back to complain that some of the work remained undone, and they told me in the absence of someone in-house, they would be sending the guitar to G. I had a meltdown in the store. Still, I thought if he recognised the guitar I might not get charged further, so they sent it off to him. Part of the work was eventually done...but two of the main problems remained untouched. At this stage I was livid and over a thousand rand down. Tech 3 B in Auckland Park. On the advice of another helpful forum member, I decided to visit another guitar tech, who seemingly came with a good reputation - his list of clients seemed impressive (and in no way was this other forum member aware of what would happen). On visiting his house, he took a look at G's rewiring job and claimed the components used (pots, switch and jack socket) were rubbish and needed replacing. I asked him to sort out the as-yet unsolved intonation problem (which had not been done due to laziness on the part of the previous two guys), the buzzing problem and then I also asked him if he had any pickups he could sell me. He first showed me a bag of pots which he said were real American 500K pots and parts that would solve the buzzing problem; then he brought out a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker and told me he had been saving it for one of his guitars, but he'd fit it in my guitar for R800, "Because they usually go for R2000." I thought about this price and agreed, though I was nervous because he brought out a guitar he'd personally set up, and it played terribly and sounded horrible. When I returned a week later, the first thing I noticed was that the pickup he'd installed in the guitar did not have the brand name on the front of it, like the JB he had waved in front of me the previous week. I plugged in the guitar to find that the intonation was still as badly out, the buzzing problem was still there, and now the guitar had a string buzz problem - crashing on the first fret. He had, for some reason, played with the truss rod. Every excuse in the book was brought out to explain the buzz and intonation (I was, apparently, "pressing too hard", when I was deliberately pressing lightly, the TV was affecting the guitar, the lights were affecting the guitar, and moving the bridge saddles was, "difficult") when I said the problems had not been fixed. When I suggested some shielding, as I had done the week before, he told me yes, it would be possible to put some "foil" into the body cavity, at which point I decided to call his bluff on the supposedly replaced components and told him I wanted to take the guitar home and poke around inside it. When I asked for his banking details, deciding against parting with any cash at the time, he seemed reluctant to give them. He had also never quoted me a price at any stage, apart from the R800 for the pickup. Surely anyone confident in their work would not let someone leave without sorting out payment details? I have now taken the guitar to Music Connection (they now have techs in-store) and had B's components removed, and I hope to find some accountability and honesty there (a store owner to shout at if the work is still not done). So, here are the lessons I've learned: 1) If you are going to see a guitar tech, even though it may cost you some commission, it may be better to go via a music store, unless you know the person well and have some leverage to get them to correct mistakes or finish the job properly. Some of the technicians have been too lazy and too desperate for throughput to actually do the job properly, and unfortunately there are so few good technicians around that they frequently get away with shoddy workmanship. 2) NEVER leave a guitar with somebody without getting a firm quote on the price. The tech should have a readily available price for any job. 3) Something smart I heard from Reinhard and Alan at this forum is that you should photograph the guitar and its insides BEFORE you submit any guitar for repairs. I could barely remove the jack plug from the guitar's socket when it was returned from the third tech because he probably swapped out my perfectly working part for an inferior one. Having no direct proof of this is a pain in the ass. 4) NEVER pay a tech before you are FULLY satisfied that the work has been done to your liking. 5) ALWAYS make sure the tech returns any original parts he or she has removed from your guitar. On ALL occasions I have visited guitar techs in Joburg (my experience was better in Durban), my original parts have not been returned. Firstly, original guitar parts from my 1972 Strat would actually increase the value of the guitar if or when it eventually gets sold, but now I no longer have the bridge and some other parts. Secondly, when I submitted a the Foto Flame to G, he returned it to me without the back scratch plate, and claimed he'd put it in the bag, which he had not. He kept it, and I would actually have liked to have it for if/when I sell this guitar. Thirdly, B failed to give me back the original pickup when he installed the JB. Of course, if anyone else has more advice to add here, please do.

andrewjbryson

Gearhead wrote You got any big rugby-type friends to bring along? Man that pickup would have to come back or else...

Sy naam is Schalk!

[deleted]

Once again, Alan, thanks for the offers of advice and help. Funnily enough, the guys at MC didn't call me to quote; they simply went ahead and repaired the guitar. So, with that done, and extra money from Bubbles unlikely to materialise short of photographic proof and a legal tussle, it looks like I will have to settle for keeping the pickup and lumping the repair costs, or maybe swapping the pickup for the original. I will definitely call Bubbles, regardless, to let him know that seeking payment from me would be unwise.

Andrew, I doubt I could get Schalk to do it, but it's a great thought!

Bob-Dubery

Strat's posting has had me thinking: How do you know who is and who isn't a good guitar tech in your town? OK... Strat has now eliminated several possibilities, but he's had to do it the hard way and the expensive way.

So how do you decide who to take your axe to?

And frankly I only know so much (which is not much at all) about guitars and set up. So I take my axe to some guy and he says "you need the frubjulator recalibrated, a fret dressing and a new wangdangle" then how do I know if he's on the level or not? Maybe he sees "sucker" writen all over my forehead.

I exclude Andy McGibbon from all my wonderings and suspicion. Andy has been in a position where he could have said "what you need is [some expensive job or other]" and I would have just nodded my head and booked the guitar in. But instead he asked to have a look, made a quick, small adjustment and gave the guitar back with the problem (which he had obviously known to be trivial) corrected and declined to take my money. So I know he's an honourable guy (and I made a donation to a charity he supports in lieu of paying him).

[deleted]

Well, to be fair, I didn't really cast aspersions on Chris's abilities - it was more that he just up and left before my guitar was done. And I know some people are very happy with Grant's work. And there's the rub - aside from the Bubbles scenario, where the guys at Music Connection have confirmed that they are frequently called upon to rectify his mistakes with other clients, I believe many techs have some happy customers and some unhappy ones, and the quality of their work may vary in consistency. So, for some customers, a tech will have turned out work once, twice, many times in a row to their satisfaction; but for others the lustre may fade when sloppy jobs are returned in succession. How does one assess the balance?

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