Members unhorizon Posted January 6, 2007 Members Posted January 6, 2007 A week ago I was so fed up with the crappy intonation and feel of my ibanez acoustic (it was about 599 I think) I decided to bring it to a local music shop to have it setup. I asked them to fix the intonation and lower the action a bit. Well, they called last night and I went to pick up the guitar today. I didn't know how much it would cost or how different my guitar would feel and sound. When I got their, the price was 59 dollars, more than I had anticipated, and in my opinion, way overpriced. All the guy did was sand down the bridge, add some graphite lube, and fix the intonation. I imagine this 'labor' actually cost him a few dollars at most, but considering some of it might be difficult, I think 30 dollars would have been enough. In any case, at this point I would have been pissed if my guitar didn't feel much different. Well, I got home and started playing right away. The result? It played incredible. Prior to this I was thinking of getting a new acoustic because this one felt like {censored} and sounded pretty bad, too. Well now it sounds and plays like new. The lower action makes an incredible difference. The guitar sounds incredible and is easy to play with no fret buzz. 60 bucks was still overpriced, but I don't regret it. What a difference getting your guitar setup has made. I wish I could learn to do it myself though.
Members guitarist21 Posted January 6, 2007 Members Posted January 6, 2007 Originally posted by unhorizon What a difference getting your guitar setup has made. I wish I could learn to do it myself though. A good place to start learning would be Freeman Keller's sticky at the top of the HCAG page, "Is My Guitar Sick?" Lots of helpful information on how to set up your acoustic, what measurements to take, and how to correct some bad measurements. Ellen
Members Dan Hall Posted January 6, 2007 Members Posted January 6, 2007 I guess it all depends on where you are in the food chain. Sixty bucks is a pretty standard hourly rate for skilled labour out of a store front. I do a couple of things pretty well and I know I couldn't make rent on a business address and pay myself a wage on $60/hr. A standard set up from a reliable shop starts at about $90 around here. Fixing intonation on an acoustic usually means making a new bridge. Still, I'm glad you're happy.
Members kwakatak Posted January 6, 2007 Members Posted January 6, 2007 Originally posted by Dan Hall I guess it all depends on where you are in the food chain. Sixty bucks is a pretty standard hourly rate for skilled labour out of a store front. I do a couple of things pretty well and I know I couldn't make rent on a business address and pay myself a wage on $60/hr. A standard set up from a reliable shop starts at about $90 around here. Fixing intonation on an acoustic usually means making a new bridge.Still, I'm glad you're happy. +1 I'd be happy to pay that amount as long as the guy was thoughtful and courteous and in the end delivered the results. I had a really good experience with a tech who cut me a break and gave me a real good deal on some extensive repairs. He could have charged me over $300 for repairs that in the end only cost me $80 - mainly because I told him it was OK to "experiment" on my $200 guitar. For his part he was completely upfront about what he needed to do and afterwards I was happy with the results so IMO we were both winners. I'd go back to that guy in a heartbeat. In fact I intend to though he's located outside of my normal stomping grounds and I have yet to decide exactly what I want done with my old and new guitars.
Members Mark_E_Wallace Posted January 7, 2007 Members Posted January 7, 2007 Originally posted by kwakatak +1 I'd be happy to pay that amount as long as the guy was thoughtful and courteous and in the end delivered the results. Agreed. If someone could take me from "Prior to this I was thinking of getting a new acoustic because this one felt like {censored} and sounded pretty bad," to "It played incredible" for just $60, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, nothing is going to take my guitar playing to "incredible" any time soon. - Mark:rolleyes:
Members Thingfish Posted January 7, 2007 Members Posted January 7, 2007 Originally posted by unhorizon I wish I could learn to do it myself though. If you are serious about that, get the book Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine. It isn't so much a book, but a fairly thick compilation of articles from guitar player magazine that goes over every little aspect of setting up and repairing action, adjusting and replacing frets, and setting up and repairing intonation, down to fixing most anything that could be broken on a guitar. Using that book, anyone who has a few basic tools get started doing most of the major set-up and repair work on a guitar.
Members kwakatak Posted January 7, 2007 Members Posted January 7, 2007 Originally posted by Mark_E_Wallace Agreed. If someone could take me from "Prior to this I was thinking of getting a new acoustic because this one felt like {censored} and sounded pretty bad," to "It played incredible" for just $60, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, nothing is going to take my guitar playing to "incredible" any time soon. - Mark:rolleyes: Yup, and that's the point I was at. My wife was ready to go buy a $300 guitar for my birthday that year but nothing I tried in that price range seemed to be better than my ailing $200 Takamine. With $80 in repairs I figure I saved my wife $220. If only that money I "saved" went into a GAS fund!
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