When a guitar tech ‘relics’ your guitar…

nonesuch

boogieman said:

If the pics are of the “better” repair, what was it like the first time? Shocking standard of work, let alone all the other balls ups he’s made. 

The finish seems to be very thin on this guitar, so the initial ding was down to bare wood/undercoat. The attempts at unnecessary clear coat are the 'better' repairs.

Even though no masking tape seems to have been involved while filing the fret ends, he thinks it was masking tape that pulled the little bit of blue paint off in the first place. Go figure.

Philly_Q

nonesuch said:

ICBM said:

Speaking as a professional tech, we all make mistakes occasionally... but that goes so far beyond that that I really don’t know what to say!

*One* of those problems would be bad enough, but all on the same guitar?! No excuse whatever, and he should not be working on other people’s property if his basic standard of competence and care is so poor.

Oh yeah, I totally understand that mistakes can be made, that's a fact of life, but I guess it's how you try and fix those mistakes that matters.

I was half expecting people to say - 'oh it's only a couple of bits of wood bolted together - get over it', so I'm pleased to see I'm not overreacting.

Going back to your original post, this speaks volumes to me:

"...the top edge of the fretboard had scratches and superglue around the frets he’d worked on. And glue on the top of the fretboard.  …. I can still see fine scratches from the file, but it’s not the end of the world. The finish repair is still very poor.  .....I know it’s called a scratchplate, but that doesn’t mean I want scratches off a file on it, and bits that look like they’ve been sand-papered.  And I can see a few tiny dings on the back, things like a trail of tiny dents near the backplate, where he’s adjusted the micro-tilt.  Things like that."

It seems like it's just not in his nature to do things neatly or carefully.  I suppose you can learn it, but I think you pretty much are that kind of person or you're not.  And if you're not, you probably shouldn't be a jeweller, an engraver, a sign painter... or a guitar tech.

John_A

Yes, that’s shoddy. In my experience there are two types of tech, shoddy and cheap, and good and expensive.  I’ve learned the hard way not to skimp 

Funkfingers

nonesuch said:

it's only a couple of bits of wood bolted together

In my opinion, the fact that a Telecaster is only a couple of pieces of wood screwed together is precisely the point.

The parts can be unscrewed whilst the work is being done to one half of the instrument, thereby removing any possibility of accidental damage to the other part.

(Any guitar tech who cannot remove and correctly refit a Fender neck should not be charging money for their work.)

The alternative is to prevent damage by masking or covering with a layer of something protective. e.g. When dressing away fret wire, protect the pickups against metal filings.

Kittyfrisk

Did he actually describe himself as a guitar tech ?
There wasn't a copy of this lying around the workshop was there ?


Edited to embed image.

FreddieVanHalen

Think I’d be using the telecaster on the tech Keith Richards style

Arjailer

It seems like it's just not in his nature to do things neatly or carefully.  I suppose you can learn it, but I think you pretty much are that kind of person or you're not.  And if you're not, you probably shouldn't be a jeweller, an engraver, a sign painter... or a guitar tech.

I find that in software development - people can learn programming okay, but the bit that makes a good programmer, attention to detail, is something people either have or they don't - people that don't have it never seem to learn it.

Edit: but my particular brand of attention to detail doesn't stretch to manual jobs like jeweller, engraver, sign painter ... or guitar tech   

BRISTOL86

Mr S Wonder guitar services?

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

Speaking as a professional tech …

There are times when a professional repairer should not be afraid to turn jobs down. 

Better to inflict upon one customer the disappointment of having to find another repairer than to instantly destroy whatever good reputation you have built up over time.

Philly_Q

Arjailer said:

It seems like it's just not in his nature to do things neatly or carefully.  I suppose you can learn it, but I think you pretty much are that kind of person or you're not.  And if you're not, you probably shouldn't be a jeweller, an engraver, a sign painter... or a guitar tech.

I find that in software development - people can learn programming okay, but the bit that makes a good programmer, attention to detail, is something people either have or they don't - people that don't have it never seem to learn it.

Edit: but my particular brand of attention to detail doesn't stretch to manual jobs like jeweller, engraver, sign painter ... or guitar tech   

Yeah, I was a bit old-school in my examples there.... 

I'm definitely an attention to detail person, be it numbers and paperwork or things like guitar-techery.  Although I'm not sure my eyesight is up to it nowadays.

Kittyfrisk

 Sausage fingers. Ignore post 

nonesuch

Kittyfrisk said:

 Sausage fingers. Ignore post 

Thought you were talking about the guitar tech.

SimpleSimon

Wow, just wow. This guy is a butcher not a professional guitar tech. You should name and shame as no one on here wants to use this guys services. Hes a hobbyist and a bad one at that!. I would suggest some kind of financial compensation is in order then i'd get it to someone who knows what they are doing.....

mbe

Question for the pros here. What's involved in 'reseating' frets as a luthier repair technique?  It seems to imply fret removal and refitting with or without the use of adhesive.

I usually just give the high frets a wack with a plastic jeweller's hammer before levelling.

Kittyfrisk

nonesuch said:

Kittyfrisk said:

 Sausage fingers. Ignore post 

Thought you were talking about the guitar tech.

    I'm an enthusiastic amateur at cocking up. That 'tech' is a grand wizard.

nonesuch

He's got a load of guitars stacked up that he's working on, so he must be doing something right!

I'm not sure how helpful it would be to 'name and shame' him. It's not really something I'm comfortable with, even though I'm fully aware of how shoddy the work was.

axisus

I never trust 'local' guitar techs. Had mickey mouse jobs years ago, not going that route again. If I need a guitar tech I take a long trek to Feline. They do an amazing job on anything.

Kittyfrisk

nonesuch said:

He's got a load of guitars stacked up that he's working on, so he must be doing something right!

I'm not sure how helpful it would be to 'name and shame' him. It's not really something I'm comfortable with, even though I'm fully aware of how shoddy the work was.

Like this I presume... 

Kittyfrisk

axisus said:

I never trust 'local' guitar techs. Had mickey mouse jobs years ago, not going that route again. If I need a guitar tech I take a long trek to Feline. They do an amazing job on anything.

Doesn't everyone have to be 'local' to someone at some point?  *headscratch*

Rabs

Wow... That is awful..   A scratched up board is not cool.. The paint job even worse..  He should be ashamed of himself.

I always treat every guitar like its precious and how I would want my guitars to be treated as I know how personal guitars are to the people that own them.

I once made a silly mistake and was devastated by it..  I was servicing a guitar with a bigsby type trem on it.. I turned the guitar upside down to work on the back with the trem arm secured in my hand but it just swiped across the body as I turned it leaving a small scratch on the body which you could only see at certain angles.. I was ashamed of it and offered a free service or to knock some money off the job I was doing or to buff it out for free..

In the end the guy said he could hardly notice it and wasn't anywhere near as upset as I was. And I wont ever make that mistake again (I will remove or tape it up next time)... 

And to fret level, THREE WEEKS.. Damn..  That should be done in an afternoon.. If someone was in a real rush I would do it while they waited..