Members bluesguyjon Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 title basically describes the situation. gave my beloved strat to a tech (for the first time) because he was recommended to me by a couple of my friends after complaining to them about the sub-par-ness of all my previous setups. he just does setups and repairs, doesn't really have anything to sell. i can understand if i'm not the first guy in his queue, but a month? doesn't a setup take at most like an hour or something? i'm not a tech, so i dunno. just wondering if i'm being, you know...irrational or something. i called the guy after a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and then about every two days after that up until now when he just said he'd call me when he's done (every previous time he said in 1 or 2 days). i'm half thinking of just going and picking it up and taking it to someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wax4213 Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 A month is a while, I would call him up. It would at least be nice to know why it's taking so long, and if push comes to shove, I'd take it to someone else if there's another decent tech in your area. It took a couple weeks for my tech to get to my strat, but a month seems a bit long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sxyryan Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I do setups and repairs on a semi professional basis, and it takes me a couple hours tops on a troublesome guitar. If he had a lot of work lined up already, he should have said something. Sounds shady to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Florbastang Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 What exactly is he doing? What did you ask him to do? If he's just making adjustments, it shouldn't take long at all. If he's doing fretwork, nutwork, or anything more extensive, it'd take a bit longer, but certainly not a month. Regardless, I'd recommend that you learn to setup your guitars yourself. It's simple stuff and will save you bundles of money (and apparently time too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesguyjon Posted March 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Well the fact that he has people that recommend him, he's written some articles for Guitar World (so he told me), he has a website, and he seemed legit to me. There was another old spanish guy milling around that does all of their acoustic work. all that to me made it seem like there wasn't anything weird going on. EDIT: and yeah, i need to just learn it myself. i did a rewiring job on it for christ sake (sorry, i'm kinda pissed ). just a simple setup to fine tune intonation, sustain, that sort of thing. it also had a fret dot missing (little brother, don't ask), he said he'd replace that. there's not a guitar tech for dummies book by any chance, is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sxyryan Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Half the links on his website didn't work for me.... Just sayin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 go and get your guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Maybe 48 hrs. to check neck relief if there seems to be a stability problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wax4213 Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 there's not a guitar tech for dummies book by any chance, is there? I have Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair Guide. It's excellent, I always reference it if I'm doing guitar work. However, I don't take it as gospel. He works with stew-mac and promotes their products whenever possible. Granted, they are usually awesome products, but they're a bit pricey. Generally I check the book first then the forums to cross reference. Available here. I have the previous edition, I can't imagine a whole lot has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesguyjon Posted March 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 sry, wrong topic > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Armchair Bronco Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think the tech dropped your guitar, broke the neck, and is afraid to call you back. But I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PunkKitty Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Seriously, a month for a setup is waaaaaaaay too long. Get your guitar back from him and take it somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wimpy77 Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think the tech dropped your guitar, broke the neck, and is afraid to call you back.But I could be wrong. i would hate to say it but u might have a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dangordan Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 EDIT: and yeah, i need to just learn it myself. i did a rewiring job on it for christ sake (sorry, i'm kinda pissed ). just a simple setup to fine tune intonation, sustain, that sort of thing. it also had a fret dot missing (little brother, don't ask), he said he'd replace that. there's not a guitar tech for dummies book by any chance, is there? 45 minute job there. Get your {censored}ing guitar back. All kinds of resources are available. Google adjust guitar intonation for example. And don't be afraid of your guitar, it's just wood and simple mechanics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sfarfsky Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 The longest I've ever had to wait is 2 weeks. This was at a reputable shop and they told me ahead of time that they were swamped. Every time I've had a guitar setup they have told me when it would be ready, they know their workload. I have a suspicion that this guy effed up your guitar somehow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I agree. Even a busy shop shouldn't take a whole damn month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PanaDP Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 The most I've ever left mine is for a week. I could have had it back in 5 days but I couldn't get there for a couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Espresso Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think the tech dropped your guitar, broke the neck, and is afraid to call you back. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 If the neck relief has been adjusted via the truss rod, it's not wholly unreasonable to wait 1 to 2 weeks to finish the set up after. Just to make sure the neck has settled. Still, you'd think that after 4 weeks of you bugging him regularly he'd either told you why it was taking so long, or offered you to have it back with no work done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 If the neck relief has been adjusted via the truss rod, it's not wholly unreasonable to wait 1 to 2 weeks to finish the set up after. Just to make sure the neck has settled. Still, you'd think that after 4 weeks of you bugging him regularly he'd either told you why it was taking so long, or offered you to have it back with no work done. This. If somebody adjusts your guitar neck and gives it back to you within a day, they didn't do it right. But 4 weeks is a little on the long side. They owe you at least an explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faber Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 If the neck relief has been adjusted via the truss rod, it's not wholly unreasonable to wait 1 to 2 weeks to finish the set up after. Just to make sure the neck has settled. Still, you'd think that after 4 weeks of you bugging him regularly he'd either told you why it was taking so long, or offered you to have it back with no work done. You think a whole week is needed? Whenever I've done truss rod adjustments it's usually settled within a day. 4 weeks is too damned long. The most I've waited was 10 days but that included the repairman coming down with the flu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think it's time to become your own tech. It's not really that hard and you'll save money and by the sounds of it, time. I tweak mine a couple of times a year if they need it (lots of humidity where I live). There are tonnes of stuff on the net to learn to set-up. Get some tools from Stew-mac and do it yourself. It's fun and nobody can set your guitar up the way you can. You know exactly what you want. My roomates are professional musicians and they can't set their guitars up. It bewilders me. Seriously, it's easy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 You think a whole week is needed? Whenever I've done truss rod adjustments it's usually settled within a day. I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mid Life Crisis Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 A month might - just might - be acceptable if he was The Best Tech In The World and guaranteed that your guitar would be returned so brilliantly set up that you would instantly sound as good as Jimi Hendrix. Assuming that's not the case here, I think he's taking the p1ss. Go and get your guitar back and pray to the gods of guitar-based music that it's still in one piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 thats stupid long. The mom amd pop by me does free lifetime setups on every guitar they sell (for 20 years now) and it only takes them 2 weeks. My gut says your guitar is on a boat to China right this moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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