How long in the shop for a Martin neck reset?

[omtayslick]

For anyone who knows, how much time does this repair typically require?

I have been calling authorized Martin repair persons in my area, and have been told anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months turnaround time.

I realize that much of this has to do with how much work the shop has at any given moment, but how long does the actual repair take?

 

[Light]

I wouldn't want to do it in two weeks, as the neck needs some time to dry out after getting steamed out. In my shop, the fastest you can usually expect (if we are not at all busy) is about 4-6 weeks. Usually, more like 2-3 months. If you send it to the factory, more like 3-6 months.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[omtayslick]

Thanks for the reply Light. Should I be nervous about a shop that says they can do it in 2 weeks?

 

[HD_Dude]

Hi...

I would send it to C.F. Martin.

They are actually pretty fast. And no way you'll be 'nervous...' whether it's 2 weeks or 2 months.

I walked in off the street with my D45 and they tweaked it, adjusted it, put in a bone saddle and sanded it 'just so...' put on new strings and handed it back to me, perfect...no charge. While I waited.

I would never go anywhere else with it.

Your job is bigger. But still, I'd give 'em a call.

 

[Light]

Thanks for the reply Light. Should I be nervous about a shop that says they can do it in 2 weeks?

I don't know the shop in question, so I just don't know.

Hi...

I would send it to C.F. Martin.

They are actually pretty fast. And no way you'll be 'nervous...' whether it's 2 weeks or 2 months.

I walked in off the street with my D45 and they tweaked it, adjusted it, put in a bone saddle and sanded it 'just so...' put on new strings and handed it back to me, perfect...no charge. While I waited.

I would never go anywhere else with it.

Your job is bigger. But still, I'd give 'em a call.

If I'm honest, I really wouldn't do that these days. The problem is their neck resets are less than spectacular, from the stand point of someone who actually knows what to look for. They have a spec for what sized gaps are allowable around the heal on a neck reset - depending on who you ask, anywhere from 0.005" - 0.020". If one of the repair people in my shop tried to get away with that, we would need to have a Conversation (definitely with a capital "C") on the matter. OUR spec, and the spec of every good builder and repair person I know, is for the heal to actually fit right - i.e., NO gap. And the truth is, it is not that hard to do right, so why not do it right? For the most part, they do good work, and on most things their prices are quite reasonable, but on neck resets I find their decision to cut corners...annoying.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[HD_Dude]

If I'm honest, I really wouldn't do that these days. The problem is their neck resets are less than spectacular, from the stand point of someone who actually knows what to look for. They have a spec for what sized gaps are allowable around the heal on a neck reset - depending on who you ask, anywhere from 0.005" - 0.020". If one of the repair people in my shop tried to get away with that, we would need to have a Conversation (definitely with a capital "C") on the matter. OUR spec, and the spec of every good builder and repair person I know, is for the heal to actually fit right - i.e., NO gap. And the truth is, it is not that hard to do right, so why not do it right? For the most part, they do good work, and on most things their prices are quite reasonable, but on neck resets I find their decision to cut corners...annoying.

Interesting.

Yes, a gap would definitely not work for me...thanks for the heads up!

 

[omtayslick]

I don't know the shop in question, so I just don't know.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

A fair and honest answer, thanks. After talking with the fellow, he seems very knowledgable, and has been doing Martin warranty work for 18 years, so I'm going to go with it.

It's a busy seaon performance wise for me right now, and I don't want to be without the guitar any longer than nessesary.

Out of curiosity Light, where is your shop located?

 

[Light]

A fair and honest answer, thanks. After talking with the fellow, he seems very knowledgable, and has been doing Martin warranty work for 18 years, so I'm going to go with it.

It's a busy seaon performance wise for me right now, and I don't want to be without the guitar any longer than nessesary.

Out of curiosity Light, where is your shop located?

About 1.39 miles from where I'm sitting. Or so says my bike computer.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[omtayslick]

About 1.39 miles from where I'm sitting. Or so says my bike computer.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

Playing it close to the vest, eh? Ok. I suppose you have your reasons. Thanks for your responses.

Took the guitar in today, and he said that my problems could be corrected without a neck reset. So that is good news.

 

[Light]

Took the guitar in today, and he said that my problems could be corrected without a neck reset. So that is good news.

In that case, combined with being a long term Martin Center, yes I would probably trust him.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[omtayslick]

Cool. ............

 

[dmc777]

Anyone know if C.F. Martin can repair cracked guitars? I have a Marting D-15, absolutely love it even though I need to lower the action but don't know how, but one day I sat my strat on it's stand and it fell off and the headstock went directly into the top body of my Martin! Don't know if that's repairable. To make things worse one of my friends was playing it a couple months later and must've applied too much preasure and it cracked on the bottom part where it rests on your leg. The crack is about 6 inches long! It's been about 4 years now since all this happened but I'd like to get it fixed if possible. Any opinions? I don't know of any guitar repairs around my area.

 

[Light]

Anyone know if C.F. Martin can repair cracked guitars? I have a Marting D-15, absolutely love it even though I need to lower the action but don't know how, but one day I sat my strat on it's stand and it fell off and the headstock went directly into the top body of my Martin! Don't know if that's repairable. To make things worse one of my friends was playing it a couple months later and must've applied too much preasure and it cracked on the bottom part where it rests on your leg. The crack is about 6 inches long! It's been about 4 years now since all this happened but I'd like to get it fixed if possible. Any opinions? I don't know of any guitar repairs around my area.

Any good repair shop can fix cracks. Ask all your guitar playing friends - one of them is sure to know the good shop in your area. If that doesn't work, look on Martin's website. They have a list of warranty centers, and they are usually good shops. If none of that works (it is always better to have the work done locally, as you avoid shipping that way), yes Martin can fix the cracks. Cracks will not be covered under warranty, as they are decidedly not a defect in workmanship and materials, but they can and should be fixed. Whoever does the work can also handle the setup work at the same time, but the setup would be a waste of time while the guitar is still cracked as the guitar is not stable while it is cracked.

There are a couple of issues to be aware of, though. First, depending on how bad the cracks are, the cost of repairing them may exceed the value of the guitar, in which case you would probably be better off getting a new one. Second, leaving cracks for any length of time (and four years is a LONG time) makes the repair less sound. Wood oxidizes, after which it will not take glue as well. No matter what, make sure the people doing the work both glue and cleat all cracks - some shops will only do one or the other, which simple is not a stable repair. For the side crack, the cleat is traditionally made of muslin or a heavy silk soaked in glue, but it is also possible to use a wood cleat, and the top crack should absolutely be of the same wood as the guitar. Third, even if the shop does touch up on the guitar, it will never look like new - so don't bother with touch up. It is particularly difficult to touch up dyed or satin finishes, and the D15 has both. Finally, cracks will continue to run if they are not repaired, so you should get them fixed as quickly as possible.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[antichef]

Can't add anything to what Light said, but here's some confirmatory experience -- with regard to the neck reset, I took my early 70's D-28 to a local authorized repair center here, thinking it needed a reset (took a while to work up the nerve). The shop instead improved the action by messing with the bridge, nut, and frets, and it plays awesomely well now. Hopefully the reset is still down the road some.

The same shop has fixed cracks and broken necks in other guitars for me - they always talk me out of much re-finishing, because they say it'll look good for maybe a few weeks, then settle back down to show the crack again. Even without the refinishing, their work looks great, most times you don't notice there was ever a problem unless you look closely. They talked me out of doing anything about a few big nicks on the Martin, for similar reasons.

Needless to say, I was impressed with the shop (could it be Light's? - we may never know, except that you'd be insane to ride a bicycle on the busy street it's on ), but if you're in Houston and want to know, PM me. They made a believer out of me

 

[dmc777]

I will try to post a couple pics when I get the chance. If I had to take my guess it'd cose a good bit of money. I live around the Memphis, Tn area and haven't been here for long so I don't really know anyone or who to call even. Alot of the music stores in my area has closed down but there is a Gibson factory in Memphis. Wonder if I could take it there. I'd hate to buy another guitar just like it...the one have plays fine with the exception of the action being high.