Do you trust your repairman? What is your criteria for judging?

Discussion per the above question. I am referring to acoustics. IE- fret leveling necessity, braces and bridge being secure. Just curious about others experience. If this is in the wrong section please move. Thanks.

I've had good & bad results with different repair guys . . . but I've become more skilled at asking questions up front to help assure better experiences now.

Positive references from others who you trust help, too.

Fortunate enough to know (IMHO) an outstanding guitar maker of his own custom acoustics. In the last three years, I have taken 8--10 Guilds and a Gibson--all excellent guitars. Not one time did he try to overshadow any Guild or the Gibson by comparing them to his custom guitars. He had nice things to say about all the guitars and on two of the Guilds he said, "I wouldn't get rid of these two." I told him what I wanted done and asked him to go over the guitars and do a setup to my liking. He always did.
Of course I have four of his custom dreadnaughts. Ha

With the my recent purchase of a DV-52 I took it in to have it inspected and put a bone nut, saddle and bridge pins along with fret leveling. The binding on the treble side had separated which I knew. But he also said that the two of the back braces had started to separate along with a slight separation of the bridge. Using a feeler gauge he could go slightly under the back braces but I couldnt really see it on the bridge. This guy is a authorized for Martin and Taylor warranty repair. I am just wondering if it is nitpicking.

The guitar sounds like it's been well played...the findings are not unusual...a bridge reglue is not expensive...the time to do it is while you've got it in the shop...before you have further issues...nitpicking is something a potential buyer does...your luthier sounds like he pays attention and inspected it thoroughly...I can't tell you what to do...but it should cost more if you have to bring it in later than if you get it done now as part of the repair...ask him for a quote...either you can afford it or not...he'll probably include a set up to your liking...if you like the guitar and plan on keeping it...if it were mine and I could afford it, I'd get it done...good luck.

I have not met one person in this town who inspired confidence at all. I've tried several places and not ONE would I recommend to anyone. In a town/city of 2.7 million and with entertainment and music so important here, there must be people. But I've yet to find anyone. So far I've been able to deal with anything that's come up and with help from this forum, make the guitars playable again. But I can understand your concern. I forget where you are. Have you gotten references for people from here?? That would be my first step.....

davismanLV said:

I have not met one person in this town who inspired confidence at all. I've tried several places and not ONE would I recommend to anyone. In a town/city of 2.7 million and with entertainment and music so important here, there must be people. But I've yet to find anyone. So far I've been able to deal with anything that's come up and with help from this forum, make the guitars playable again. But I can understand your concern. I forget where you are. Have you gotten references for people from here?? That would be my first step.....

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He has performed several repairs for different guitars for me. His set ups with bone nut, saddle and bridge pins with fret level are outstanding. He just did one like that on my Martin custom 0000-28. It improved the sound 30% IMHO. This won't be an inexpensive repair and set up. So I just wanted other folks opinions with their repairs. I am in Washington state. In Toledo Washington but he is down in Vancouver Washington.

Well it sounds like you have faith in your person. That's good enough for me. Let me ask you a question. Do you trust your repairman?? Asking for a friend.... LOL!!

I'm a cheap bastard that doesn't trust anyone to do work I could do; however, I can't bring myself to drill a hole in a guitar for a strap button. Some days you have to bite the bullet and pay the craftsmen.

My rule of thumb for luthier is to limit the work to items i can see or feel. Claims of more sound or better this/that are dubious at best and easily ignored. I've gotten more sound with changes in pick thickness and technique than through luthiers.

If the action is good, just play it.

If you see parts falling off, call a pro and fix the specific problem.

In addition, let me know when you travel out of town. I'd like some alone time with your 0000-28.

I've got a guy I've used for 40 years or so. He's moved 3 times, each time farther away from me. Last move puts him about an hour away, so I tried a couple of closer craftsmen, but wasn't satisfied with their work. So, now I'm back with him.

I've become friends with my repair guy over a dozen years or so. A couple reasons why I trust him:
- He lets people watch him work on their guitars (or any guitars).
- He teaches along the way, and encourages people to do the simple stuff they feel comfortable with on their own.
- He gives options for repairs and doesn't do anything expensive without asking or advising.
- He tells you exactly what he did and why, and what else he could do.
- He doesn't misrepresent himself as a luthier, and is happy to refer you to someone else for a job outside of his range.
- He tries to give people the most cost-efficient option, taking into account the value/condition of the guitar and how it will be used.
- He's more interested in repeat business and worth of mouth than getting as much money as he can out of each customer.

Stagefright said:

In addition, let me know when you travel out of town. I'd like some alone time with your 0000-28.

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Yeah - I'd like to hear more about it. How does it differ from a Martin Jumbo body?

I don't have a particular Repair Person that I patronize.
Rather, any work I've required for my guitars has been done by the Luthiers at one of two high-end music stores here in Toronto: Cosmo Music and The Twelfth Fret.
I simply take the instrument in, show and tell the Luthier at the counter what the problem is, and leave. Whether that person or someone else actually does the work is not my concern, as in each store, their staff is excellent and all are first rate. And they've never let me down.
I suppose I'm just not as picky as many others, as I don't need to send my guitars to the guy living in a cave in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest, because he's reputedly the best Luthier in the world, and no one else will do.
RBSinTo

I do a lot of the smaller stuff myself: saddles, most setups, changing tuners. But I have two guys I really trust for everything else. One is is fairly renowned (at least in Connecticut) luthier, whose even published a book on guitar care. He's the guy I lean toward for hefty work, like regluing a bridge. The other guy owns a small store that sells everything from entry level guitars to mid-range Larrivees. He's my go-to guy for stuff that I know he'll just do better/cleaner than I can do it, like reaming an end block for a pickup.

As far as what criteria I use. Other than reliable word of mouth, I really just judge people by their work, and both of my guys have continually impressed me.

If you can't get a referral from someone you know for a luthier/tech in your local area, then you could try a local music store (if you have one) and see what happens. And, of course there are a few trusted folks that folks on LTG rely on. You could also look for a builder somewhere in your local region and call them up to see if they take repairs. A lot of these folks do that to keep the lights on with their businesses.

Scott Gierman at Elderly Instruments in Lansing does all my acoustic work. Have been working with him for over 20 years now.

Good questions.

I found my guy through this site from fellow Guild owner's recommendations. He is a good hour's drive away, but so worth it.

I took my G37 to the guy everyone it town loves at a local music store. He told me I needed new frets and I would have to leave the guitar there for 8-weeks. (WTF!) The qualified Luthier I found through here leveled the frets and did it in a day or so and 10 years later the guitar still plays fine.

Many, many years ago I took my Schechter to the local guy for a set up and he complained about how hard it was to reach the truss rod nut. He even scratched the guitar a bit at the bottom of the neck. My luthier, when I took same in for a set up, unscrewed the neck and adjusted the truss rod in about a minute. He did the whole set up right in front of me while I waited.

I don't badmouth the local guy - but I'll never bring him a guitar to work on that's for sure.

Seems to me that the underlying question is, "How does one find a reliable/trustworthy technician?" If I were new to an area (instead of a resident of 45 years), I'd get recommendations from experienced players and pros. Of course, if I were new to an area, I'd have to seek those people out as well.

All of the five luthiers I've used over the years have had networks of satisfied customers, and I got to know them all personally. When one died a few years back, a local player constructed a very large sympathy card (about 2x3 feet) and took it around the memorial service asking us to sign and indicate what instruments Rick had worked on. By the time it got to me, it was covered with signatures and guitar and bass models. (Every bar band in the area depended on him or one of his colleagues at the store where he worked.)

But lacking personal local contacts, I might ask on a forum like this one, specifying my location and the nature of my needs. For anyone in mid-Minnesota I can point out the shops I have used and trust completely. Not every area might be so fortunate, but my years doing stories for Acoustic Guitar suggests that there skilled hands all over the map.

RBSinTo said:

I don't have a particular Repair Person that I patronize.
Rather, any work I've required for my guitars has been done by the Luthiers ar one of two high-end music stores here in Toronto: Cosmo Music and The Twelfth Fret.
I simply take the instrument in, show and tell the Luthier at the counter what the problem is, and leave. Whether that person or someone else actually does the work is not my concern, as in each store, their staff is excellent and all are first rate. And they've never let me down.
I suppose I'm just not as picky as many others, as I don't need to send my guitars to the guy living in a cave in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest, because he's reputedly the best Luthier in the world, and no one else will do.
RBSinTo

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The thread isn't about finding the best repairman, just how to avoid a lousy one. Sounds like you have access to a couple of high-end stores that you let do the vetting for you. Good for you.

davismanLV said:

Well it sounds like you have faith in your person. That's good enough for me. Let me ask you a question. Do you trust your repairman?? Asking for a friend.... LOL!!

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davismanLV said:

Well it sounds like you have faith in your person. That's good enough for me. Let me ask you a question. Do you trust your repairman?? Asking for a friend.... LOL!!

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IMHO this was taken to a new level. So, I get a little dubious at times. He has moved to a new place and was thinking that he is maybe a little hungrier for business.