Will taking finish off my guitar effect the tone much?

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muttley600 said:
If the finish is veneer and its blistering or bubbling that is a repair job for a very experienced luthier or better still the original manufacturer. Do not attempt it yourself you will be asking for trouble. As it is such a major problem it should be covered under faulty parts or workmanship. If one of my guitars was ever returned with a problem like that I would put it right immediately no questions asked. I'd also let the owner have a choice of loaners while the work was being done and phone him everyday to make sure he wasn't bad mouthing the guitar to all his friends..

Find out who the shop intends to do the work and insist it is done by a qualified guy or returned to the manufacturer and get a contact for who ever is doing the work so you can find out why it has happened and what is being done to put it right. The fact that it is "only" a $350 guitar is of no consequence.

Again do not attempt it yourself if you do you will not have leg to stand on when it goes wrong.
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If you're going to quote yourself, then quote yourself.
 
muttley600 said:
The expression is used a lot on this side of the "pond". Basically someone who does a shoddy job and then does his best to convince everyone he knows what he's about.
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You mean like our President? <ducks and covers> ;^)
 
muttley600 said:
but when you start chucking around ill-informed insults in my direction I get pissed. By doing so you are attacking my integrity and a lifetimes devotion to my work and clients that I hold in greater esteem than any of the opinions from your talking bollocks.
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Christ, you're a luthier, not a glorious martyr to some honourable cause. Your employment does not command awe and respect any more than any other job. Yes, you possibly do your job well, but you don't hear lawyers bitching about their insulted integrity every time someone criticises their entire profession. Suck it up. It's free market capitalism at its finest. People have a right to offer services at the lowest rate they can afford; if you can't, or won't, match those prices - tough shit. Don't go dismissing repair men you know nothing about as 'cowboys' just because you feel threatened by them.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I'll say this, every time I've taken any of my guitars to one these cowboys, it was done within a day or two with the exception of a neck repair which required some refinishing. That took a few weeks and the guy explained to me the process and how humidity could cause delays. He kept me updated by calling.

I had a neck repair (headstock) at the local big boy shop before I knew about the cowboy. It took about the same amount of time but I couldn't ever get the tech to let me know what was going on. "He's not in right now"........over, and over........lame. The repair didn't hold up either. For what I was charged, had I known better, I could have bought a brand new neck and bolted it on myself.

Oh yea, the cowboy charged me $25 and the neck repair (broken headstock) held and looked great over the next few years that I owned the guitar.

Btw, I didn't break either of these guitars. One was broken by a band mates younger brother (tripped over the guitar cable) and the other by my girlfriend (knocked over the guitar stand). Lesson here: Put your guitar in it's case when you're not playing it.

One more thing. These cowboys I spoke of charged me $10-15 for a complete setup (bring your own strings). Also, these cowboys showed plenty of interest in how and what I play on any guitar that I brought in and adjusted accordingly. The big guys ALWAYS gave me the same old generic setup that they probably give everyone else.
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Thats sounds great. Really it does but why should that mean that oyu gotta start throwing shit at authorised repair guys?? A good setup as far as I do it takes between one and two hours. Lets call it one hour so I could do maybe 10 in a day. I really couldn't survive on the money that would give me at the rates you are paying.
 
muttley600 said:
Lets call it one hour so I could do maybe 10 in a day. I really couldn't survive on the money that would give me at the rates you are paying.
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You couldn't survive on 25 dollars an hour? Even allowing for costs of ten dollars an hour, that's still 150 per day - 750 bucks a week. Who couldn't live on that?
 
crosby better ??

crosby better than anyone reading this thread ???? hmmm i dont know..... johnson..... he kicks ass :D
 
dave..... said:
crosby better than anyone reading this thread ???? hmmm i dont know..... johnson..... he kicks ass :D
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On an absolute side note - Crosby was nothing special at the guitar. Stills and Young covered for this fact very well.
 
32-20-Blues said:
Christ, you're a luthier, not a glorious martyr to some honourable cause. Your employment does not command awe and respect any more than any other job. Yes, you possibly do your job well, but you don't hear lawyers bitching about their insulted integrity every time someone criticises their entire profession. Suck it up. It's free market capitalism at its finest. People have a right to offer services at the lowest rate they can afford; if you can't, or won't, match those prices - tough shit. Don't go dismissing repair men you know nothing about as 'cowboys' just because you feel threatened by them.
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Quite a bit of the true cowboy work comes my way to get put right anyhow so were all happy now arn't we. I don't want awe and respect but I don't like being told I'm ripping the last dime outta musicians.

I make a good living and love what I do and count myself fortunate to be doing it. You shouting at me aint gonna stop me correcting mis-informed opinions either so I guess were stuck again arn't we!!
 
muttley600 said:
Thats sounds great. Really it does but why should that mean that oyu gotta start throwing shit at authorised repair guys?? A good setup as far as I do it takes between one and two hours. Lets call it one hour so I could do maybe 10 in a day. I really couldn't survive on the money that would give me at the rates you are paying.
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I'm simply stating my own personal experience's with guitar techs from both sides. I haven't ever taken a guitar to you so I don't understand why you've taken my comments so personal. I happen to think that most guitar shops overprice guitar work. Some guys might find some value in those services that I don't see or need. I never said that everyone should take their guitars to the cheapest guy they can find. I stated that if a guy was to ask around, good work for a low price could be found.

If I don't feel comfortable doing something myself, I take it to someone that I feel can handle the job. If a guy does good work for less money, all the better. I don't have any doubts about the guys that I take a guitar to, should I need to.
 
muttley600 said:
Quite a bit of the true cowboy work comes my way to get put right anyhow so were all happy now arn't we. I don't want awe and respect but I don't like being told I'm ripping the last dime outta musicians.

I make a good living and love what I do and count myself fortunate to be doing it. You shouting at me aint gonna stop me correcting mis-informed opinions either so I guess were stuck again arn't we!!
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Nobody is shouting. Typing vigourously, yeah, shouting, no. Business is one of those intresting things...I paid 600 bucks for a camera in New York that costs twice that at home. Same Camera. Maybe your overheads - heat, lighting, insurance - cost more in the UK.
 
32-20-Blues said:
You couldn't survive on 25 dollars an hour? Even allowing for costs of ten dollars an hour, that's still 150 per day - 750 bucks a week. Who couldn't live on that?
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Oh I get it some fairy godmother is going to pay heat light electric, materials rent rates tax etc. How stupid of me I've been doing it wrong all these years. Seriously that £25 dollars is going to be down to single figures pretty easy when you take all costs into account. Tax and VAT alone will take more than $10.
 
32-20-Blues said:
On an absolute side note - Crosby was nothing special at the guitar. Stills and Young covered for this fact very well.
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He wrote "Guinnevere", "Almost Cut My Hair," "Long Time Gone", and "Delta". He also co-wrote "Wooden Ships".
 
muttley600 said:
Oh I get it some fairy godmother is going to pay heat light electric, materials rent rates tax etc. How stupid of me I've been doing it wrong all these years. Seriously that £25 dollars is going to be down to single figures pretty easy when you take all costs into account. Tax and VAT alone will take more than $10.
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Can't you do a basic break even analysis? If you can't cover your overheads you need to

a) charge more
b) do more work
c) work as a bank clerk.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
If you're going to quote yourself, then quote yourself.
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Yeh OK :D but at that time we talking about a possible veneer lifting repair. That is a specialised job and you should take it to someone who knows.
 
muttley600 said:
Oh I get it some fairy godmother is going to pay heat light electric, materials rent rates tax etc. How stupid of me I've been doing it wrong all these years. Seriously that £25 dollars is going to be down to single figures pretty easy when you take all costs into account. Tax and VAT alone will take more than $10.
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If you seriously can't live on $25 an hour, even considering expenses, you have no clue of the average guitar player's income. The majority of guitarists that I know live on a 'burger flipper's' income. :rolleyes:
 
TravisinFlorida said:
If you seriously can't live on $25 an hour, even considering expenses, you have no clue of the average guitar player's income. The majority of guitarists that I know live on a 'burger flipper's' income. :rolleyes:
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Yep, sadly there are more unemployed musicians than any other trade. No I couldn't pay the mortgage and feed three kids and a wife on whats left from $25 dollars an hour. Sadly.
 
wow guys! Muttley has definitely said go ahead and do it yourself if you wish so I don't think it's useful to insult him.
As for me, I'm actually technically a luthier although I haven't practiced in almost 25 or 30 years other than on my own stuff. But I did partner with a guy in the 70's and we did custom jazz gits mainly with some banjos, solid bodies and occassional mandolins also.
And the way I learned? Doing it myself.
When I started playing ..... part of the fun was learning about your gear. we took apart anything we ever owned and changed whatever we felt like changing. Did I screw some stuff up? Probably although I can't remember anything big off the top of my head.
Nowadays it's amazing to me how many players couldn't repair a fractured solder joint in their amp to save their lives. It used to be a part of the occupation of being a player and I'm not sure when that went away but when I see people asking for help on how to change a tube :eek: then I know that it has most definitely changed.
So everyone should do what they're comfortable with and perhaps most people shouldn't fool with nitro although I'm gonna use some for a git I'm getting ready to build. But I do have some experience and I'm not saying anyone else should.
But I'm a big proponent of people trying these kinds of things to learn about their axes so I feel strongly that if whoever it was that started this thread wants to strip that git and refinish it or simply oil it .... he should ..... maybe not nitro ..... but otherwise, why not? Worse thing that can happen is he'll mess up the git. Big deal ..... it happens .....

On a related note let me ask the techs:
I want to paint this git I'm building with all black light paint .... but I'd still like a glossy nice finish over that.
Any recomendations on what to use?
 
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