Do all guitar techs think they are the best in the world?

[Alex Kenivel]

Well guys on guitar fora Think they can play…

FLASH THEM GRAMMYS ONE TIME

 

[Stone]

Well i was lucky to find a good tech near my area they are very rare here in Quebec, unless you settle for the Master Techs @ Long & Mcwait, they are pretty sure and confident they can restring your guitar for $25.00

 

[mbenigni]

The worst ones I have met were new to the craft and they thought they knew a lot more than they actually did.

Close second: the ones who appear to have been at it for at least 200 years, and are completely burnt out, and despise you and your shitty guitar (no matter what the guitar) before you even walk in the door.

They're not going to fix your guitar by the promised date. Or any other date. And it's somebody else's fault.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I'm just grateful that now it's easy to order any tech or luthier tool and there area million videos and forum threads covering repair and maintenance. I've had too damn many bad techs in different states; I never wanted to learn how to do this stuff myself, but I'm always happier doing it myself than getting ripped off by someone with no respect. Now that I can do a lot myself, I found I do enjoy it too.

 

[JasonE]

All of this makes me very happy that I am able to do these things for myself. I am fortunate to be someone who comes from a family of people that are good with their hands. I wouldn't have the patience to deal with some of these folks.

 

[jellodog]

4 is the guy who takes the job, says it takes 2 months due to backlog. Then 2 months go by and you need to pester them every week only to get told "next week". Took me 6 months to get a guitar refretted instead of the initially mentioned 2.

Had a similar experience in Montréal.

 

[Holden Afart]

I'd have a really hard time bringing my guitar to a tech that can't even play guitar. Good thing I can build my own from scratch so I don't have to deal with that.

Oh and I'm the best luthier ever. Who wants to buy a guitar?

 

[joezlo]

One other comment/anecdote:

I made my own "Wolf-Axis" ins 2007. (I took the upper horn of a Peavey, the lower horn of an Axis, and contoured the body to meet in the back)
* I bought the basswood from Exotic wood in NJ
* Had a VH PAF DiMarz in the bridge & a 58 DiMarz in the neck
* Gave it a push-pull for coil taps
* Used telephone wire to connect everything cause it was cheap
* Gave it a toggle kill switch
* Ping Floyd Rose from Mean Street guitars
* An Exile neck from Mean Street guitars
* Cut the body on a scroll saw (It was never plained to the right thickness so its a brick)
*Painted it with Krylon Bicycle paint in Lionel Train Orange & Blue
* Added Stripe from Gremlins behind the bridge

... and then took it to Paul Unkert when I couldn't set it up.

Unk was amused by it, and gave me props for a steady hand on a scroll saw.
He did the the neck and spring routes because I didn't have templates.
He also signed it.
Guitar makes an appearance in this goofy video


Point is, you need good techs/luthiers no matter how savvy you might think you are at any given time.

 

[McSquid]

In a store auditioning a few Strats I had a drunk guy kept switching the pups to position 4 and telling me that helps kill noise. Thanks dude but when you told me that 5 minutes ago I told you I figured that out by age 12. This was while I was unplugged and trying to get a feel before even plugging in.

He looked like Dickey Betts. Don't make me ride your handlebar stache Cletus!

 

[Eagle]

As a tech I should probably not post anything here but I suggest that if it’s someone new to you you ask to play one of their own guitars that they have worked on and ask them about it and other things they have done. Look at the attention to detail and see if they actually understand. Also great builders are rarely great at diagnosing issues unless they spent time fixing problems. I have never seen a good tech that isn’t a good player.

 

[the-trooper]

I have never seen a good tech that isn’t a good player.

Leo Fender has entered the chat.