Cost

systmovadown

systmovadown

New member
How much would an average guitar "fix up" cost at guitar center?
By fix up i mean the intonation, frets, string change...etc

thanks
 
I took mine to a local shop with a real guitar tech and that cost me about $30 (I think a lot of places might charge a bit more). But I couldn't be happier with the tune up though. I'd be leary about trusting anyone at GC to do that. You have seen the people that work there, right?
 
andyhix said:
I took mine to a local shop with a real guitar tech and that cost me about $30 (I think a lot of places might charge a bit more). But I couldn't be happier with the tune up though. I'd be leary about trusting anyone at GC to do that. You have seen the people that work there, right?
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My guy is $40 + strings.

My guy also doesn't work at GC.
 
actually, our GC doesn't do set ups. I think it's partially so that the smaller shops get more business (sounds weird, but they recommend one of them). I didn't ever ask them about it, but I overheard a GC center guy telling someone this that asked while i was playing some of the guitars...
 
Here in the Va Beach area, the local GC guy charges about $25, but he also is the president of the local peenwad chapter. There is another guy nearby who was a founding partner of Zion Guitars. he just reworked a Godin mandolin for me and charged $125 for a setup, grind and polish.

Most guys worth their weight in salt, in my experience, will charge 40-50. make sure, though, that they do the intonation in playing position- otherwise you'll usually land about 1/4 tone off.
 
I charge 25+string cost where I work. Extra 10 if it's a Floyd Rose. With that the guitar gets a complete cleaning, I condition the fingerboard, polish the frets, string it up, adjust the neck, adjust the action, set the intonation, adjust the pickups if necessary, then polish it up and clean your gig bag or case. Small things like slightly enlarging the nut slots to better accommodate strings, minor fret work, or getting rid of nasty burrs at the saddle are no charge. Large issues like extensive fret work are an hourly rate, depending on how bad the situation is.
 
I tried that several times following some very good online step by step instructions - even broke out the feeler gauges and everything. I took it into the shop later that week. It came back 3x as good. I'm very much a DIY kinda guy and very stingy with my dollars, but I've conceded that this task is worth the few bucks to have someone else do it. Heck, not having a proper workspace was a major disadvantage of the DIY route.

That said, it certainly can be done at home. It might be worth having a pro do it the first time, though, then you will have a better idea how your guitar is supposed to sound and feel, so you know what you're shooting for the next time when you try it yourself.
 
It depends a lot on the guitar, and on what it needs. Our middle of the road quote is $75, and it can go up from there. Trems make it more expensive (they are more work), and acoustics are USUALLY a bit less.

You can NOT get this done at a Banjo Mart. You need to find a real live guitar tech. You can start with the Martin Warrany Center list, as most of the people on that list are pretty good (Martin is pretty careful about such things).

Depending on where you are in Jersey, and if you want to make a trip up to the City (New York, that is), I would suggest my friend Susan Lindell at Ludlow guitars. I don't know what her hourly rate is out there, but she is a first rate repair person who is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet.



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M.K. Gandhi
 
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