Dream Guitars

[muttley]

............. The one giving me intonation grief at present was a good Squire...could well be the slow adjustment to the climate or my bad 1st adjustments a couple of weeks ago.

I missed that. What are you struggling with?

[rayc]

I missed that. What are you struggling with?

Oh, almost every guitar of mine had/has an intonation problem. I sorted most of them but I'm a bit of a dud and will have to refine a few. The biggest issue is my go to guitar, Squire Mustang's, top E string. It's adjusted ALL the way out and is still flat going up the neck from the 5th fret.and is still out so I'll have to start again.

[Bubba]

I missed that. What are you struggling with?

Oh, almost every guitar of mine had/has an intonation problem. I sorted most of them but I'm a bit of a dud and will have to refine a few. The biggest issue is my go to guitar, Squire Mustang's, top E string. It's adjusted ALL the way out and is still flat going up the neck from the 5th fret.and is still out so I'll have to start again.

Could just be a dud string.

[Greg_L]

Oh, almost every guitar of mine had/has an intonation problem. I sorted most of them but I'm a bit of a dud and will have to refine a few. The biggest issue is my go to guitar, Squire Mustang's, top E string. It's adjusted ALL the way out and is still flat going up the neck from the 5th fret.and is still out so I'll have to start again.

Didn't some halfass tech move the bridge on one of your guitars?

[rayc]

Didn't some halfass tech move the bridge on one of your guitars?

Yes,
a LUTHIER moved the floating bridge on the two Bruno thin line semi acoustics up against the bridge pickup. One of my next jobs will be to put them where they belong...I left secret marks for the correct positions but can measure it anyway. He decided that doing so would prevent accidental movement and intonation issues.
He was highly recommended but, in retrospect, he was a bit of a droob. I requested new tuners and a replacement bridge P90 for my Guyatone Mosrite copy, and made it clear I'd pay for a good one. When I went to pick up the guitars he said the tuners were fine and the guitar sounded good with the existing humbucker straddling the P90 hole. The tuners are unstable - the sort that move in jerks and have lots of wobble and whilst the humbucker sounds okay I wanted it back to being a P90 guitar - not his decision but mine. I don't know, maybe it was beneath him, as a luthier, to work on old 60s/70s Jap guitars.
He was the only tech, at the time, for 25 miles north and the same south. He did have a nice CAD lathe in his workroom.

[Greg_L]

Yes,
a LUTHIER moved the floating bridge on the two Bruno thin line semi acoustics up against the bridge pickup. One of my next jobs will be to put them where they belong...I left secret marks for the correct positions but can measure it anyway. He decided that doing so would prevent accidental movement and intonation issues.
He was highly recommended but, in retrospect, he was a bit of a droob. I requested new tuners and a replacement bridge P90 for my Guyatone Mosrite copy, and made it clear I'd pay for a good one. When I went to pick up the guitars he said the tuners were fine and the guitar sounded good with the existing humbucker straddling the P90 hole. The tuners are unstable - the sort that move in jerks and have lots of wobble and whilst the humbucker sounds okay I wanted it back to being a P90 guitar - not his decision but mine. I don't know, maybe it was beneath him, as a luthier, to work on old 60s/70s Jap guitars.
He was the only tech, at the time, for 25 miles north and the same south. He did have a nice CAD lathe in his workroom.

He is a full hack and needs to be killed.

[rayc]

He's semi retired now and hasn't done any repairs, other than FINE guitars, for about eight years.
https://smithguitars.com/index.html

[rayc]

Oh, almost every guitar of mine had/has an intonation problem. I sorted most of them but I'm a bit of a dud and will have to refine a few. The biggest issue is my go to guitar, Squire Mustang's, top E string. It's adjusted ALL the way out and is still flat going up the neck from the 5th fret.and is still out so I'll have to start again.

Could just be a dud string.

Nice if it's a dud string instead of a dud user.

[Armistice]

He's semi retired now and hasn't done any repairs, other than FINE guitars, for about eight years.
https://smithguitars.com/index.html

It's funny - I found a guy in Glebe who everyone swore blind was fantastic and spent significant funds getting set ups done on guitars I hadn't used for a while. Had to re-intonate most of them. Didn't realise this at the time as the plan wasn't to immediately play them - it was only when I was recording a month down the track that I realised what a hack job he'd done.

[JD01]

Wow. That's awful service. I feel pretty lucky to have found the tech I use in such a convenient place - he lives right bay The Wave surf pool.

Whenever he's done work on my guitars they come back feeling amazing. I genuinely can't believe how good the Mustang feels.

I find whenever I go into shops these days and play on stuff I find they never feel that good, like they're badly set up. I don't know of thats cos guitars in shops are worse these days or cos this guy does such a good job.

[muttley]

Didn't some halfass tech move the bridge on one of your guitars?

Yes,
a LUTHIER moved the floating bridge on the two Bruno thin line semi acoustics up against the bridge pickup. One of my next jobs will be to put them where they belong...I left secret marks for the correct positions but can measure it anyway. He decided that doing so would prevent accidental movement and intonation issues.
He was highly recommended but, in retrospect, he was a bit of a droob. I requested new tuners and a replacement bridge P90 for my Guyatone Mosrite copy, and made it clear I'd pay for a good one. When I went to pick up the guitars he said the tuners were fine and the guitar sounded good with the existing humbucker straddling the P90 hole. The tuners are unstable - the sort that move in jerks and have lots of wobble and whilst the humbucker sounds okay I wanted it back to being a P90 guitar - not his decision but mine. I don't know, maybe it was beneath him, as a luthier, to work on old 60s/70s Jap guitars.
He was the only tech, at the time, for 25 miles north and the same south. He did have a nice CAD lathe in his workroom.

That's some of the dumbest stuff I've heard in a while. The guitar tech world is full of wannabe luthiers and guys who "think" they know stuff but you are all aware of that.

Moving a floating bridge is easy, don't be shy of it. I do it on the fly but I've been an archtop specialist for years.

A dud string can be a problem but normally the G'. Also string gauge, lighter strings can often not be intonated perfectly on guitars built and setup to take a specific gauge. A 9 on a guitar designed for 11 can be an issue. That would be what I would try first as it's cheap and easy. If that fails point me to the thread or start one up. We can fix this and at the same time you can get some confidence to help troubleshoot down the road.

[rayc]

A dud string can be a problem but normally the G'. Also string gauge, lighter strings can often not be intonated perfectly on guitars built and setup to take a specific gauge. A 9 on a guitar designed for 11 can be an issue. That would be what I would try first as it's cheap and easy. If that fails point me to the thread or start one up. We can fix this and at the same time you can get some confidence to help troubleshoot down the road.

Ta @Muttley,
I'll swaps stings tomorrow. I have a box of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10 - 46 I've been using for the Squire Mustang...working my way through the box as a guitar comes to need them actually so generic use ny me. I do have a set of 9 - 46 Hybrid Slinky PLUS a set of Custom Light 9 - 46 Blue Steel "Cryyogenic Activated" but can quickly score a different set online if light strings may be too light for a short Squire Mustang 24" scale.
What gauge would you recco?

[rayc]

It's funny - I found a guy in Glebe who everyone swore blind was fantastic and spent significant funds getting set ups done on guitars I hadn't used for a while. Had to re-intonate most of them. Didn't realise this at the time as the plan wasn't to immediately play them - it was only when I was recording a month down the track that I realised what a hack job he'd done.

Not the sort of take it back and get it done properly proposition either...and the time lag ruins the refund option I suppose. Glebe...the place of many scammy & scummy people...where "inner city" increases prices significantly.

[Greg_L]

Wow. That's awful service. I feel pretty lucky to have found the tech I use in such a convenient place - he lives right bay The Wave surf pool.

Whenever he's done work on my guitars they come back feeling amazing. I genuinely can't believe how good the Mustang feels.

I find whenever I go into shops these days and play on stuff I find they never feel that good, like they're badly set up. I don't know of thats cos guitars in shops are worse these days or cos this guy does such a good job.

It's neither. I don't know why people expect their guitars to be perfect for them right off the wall. Do you get into a new car and never adjust the seat or mirrors?

I suggest you guys learn how to tweak your own guitars. It's not hard. Guitar techs aren't doctors and engineers. They're usually low wage flunkees that have nothing else to do. Do it yourself and never have a guitar tech horror story again.

[JD01]

Wow. That's awful service. I feel pretty lucky to have found the tech I use in such a convenient place - he lives right bay The Wave surf pool.

Whenever he's done work on my guitars they come back feeling amazing. I genuinely can't believe how good the Mustang feels.

I find whenever I go into shops these days and play on stuff I find they never feel that good, like they're badly set up. I don't know of thats cos guitars in shops are worse these days or cos this guy does such a good job.

It's neither. I don't know why people expect their guitars to be perfect for them right off the wall. Do you get into a new car and never adjust the seat or mirrors?

I suggest you guys learn how to tweak your own guitars. It's not hard. Guitar techs aren't doctors and engineers. They're usually low wage flunkees that have nothing else to do. Do it yourself and never have a guitar tech horror story again.

Yeah, I'll do basic intonation and trussrod tweaks myself. But if things are unplayably bad and need a fret levelling I'll take them to the guy to get them really sorted and then I can keep them nice from there.

[Lt. Bob]

Yes,
a LUTHIER moved the floating bridge on the two Bruno thin line semi acoustics up against the bridge pickup. One of my next jobs will be to put them where they belong...I left secret marks for the correct positions but can measure it anyway. He decided that doing so would prevent accidental movement and intonation issues.
He was highly recommended but, in retrospect, he was a bit of a droob. I requested new tuners and a replacement bridge P90 for my Guyatone Mosrite copy, and made it clear I'd pay for a good one. When I went to pick up the guitars he said the tuners were fine and the guitar sounded good with the existing humbucker straddling the P90 hole. The tuners are unstable - the sort that move in jerks and have lots of wobble and whilst the humbucker sounds okay I wanted it back to being a P90 guitar - not his decision but mine. I don't know, maybe it was beneath him, as a luthier, to work on old 60s/70s Jap guitars.
He was the only tech, at the time, for 25 miles north and the same south. He did have a nice CAD lathe in his workroom.

He is a full hack and needs to be killed.

lol .... maybe just beat on for a while ..... dial it back a bit

[Lt. Bob]

Wow. That's awful service. I feel pretty lucky to have found the tech I use in such a convenient place - he lives right bay The Wave surf pool.

Whenever he's done work on my guitars they come back feeling amazing. I genuinely can't believe how good the Mustang feels.

I find whenever I go into shops these days and play on stuff I find they never feel that good, like they're badly set up. I don't know of thats cos guitars in shops are worse these days or cos this guy does such a good job.

It's neither. I don't know why people expect their guitars to be perfect for them right off the wall. Do you get into a new car and never adjust the seat or mirrors?

I suggest you guys learn how to tweak your own guitars. It's not hard. Guitar techs aren't doctors and engineers. They're usually low wage flunkees that have nothing else to do. Do it yourself and never have a guitar tech horror story again.

yeah ..... I've never bought a guitar that I didn't immediately set up.

And also why do people think stores spend the money and time to set up every guitar on their walls?
perhaps they should but, for the most part, they take 'em out of the box and maybe tune them and throw 'em up on the wall.

And also set up is kinda a personal thing .... what's set up great for you might not work for me.
For example, you like a really low action?
Then if I play your guitar I'm gonna walk away thinking how bad it sucked.
It doesn't matter if the greatest set up guy in the history of guitars set it up ...... I'm gonna hate it.

[Greg_L]

yeah ..... I've never bought a guitar that I didn't immediately set up.

And also why do people think stores spend the money and time to set up every guitar on their walls?
perhaps they should but, for the most part, they take 'em out of the box and maybe tune them and throw 'em up on the wall.

And also set up is kinda a personal thing .... what's set up great for you might not work for me.
For example, you like a really low action?
Then if I play your guitar I'm gonna walk away thinking how bad it sucked.
It doesn't matter if the greatest set up guy in the history of guitars set it up ...... I'm gonna hate it.

I got a buddy that's teaching himself how to do some light "tech" work. He sets up a few guitars and hands them to me and I'm like these things fucking suck ass. But that's not really because he sucks at it, I just don't like the way he does it. So he gets all discouraged because I have the worst bedside manner of all time and I have to remind him that none of it matters. What's great for one person might be shit for someone else. If he's trying to do this work for other people then he needs to learn how to do very different setups and not paint all guitars with the same brush.

[Lt. Bob]

So he gets all discouraged because I have the worst bedside manner of all time

nah ..... not you huh?

LOL

If he's trying to do this work for other people then he needs to learn how to do very different setups and not paint all guitars with the same brush.

yeppers .... a BIG part of being a good set up guy is learning what questions to ask in order to determine how you should set it up for that person.

Personally I find setting up a guitar to be a fun activity.
I've always been into the gear as much as I've been into playing.
In fact I sometimes joke that I play music just to have something to do with all the gear I have.

I have owned an enormous amount of stuff ...... Premier guitar has a feature each month called 'Vintage Vault' where they show some rare guitar and an amp and almost always I've owned it.
Hell, the stuff I'm getting ready to give you is vintage vault stuff.

I just love the equipment .... really do ...... and for me that extends to stereo stuff.

[Armistice]

Being able to do tasks above cleaning, intonation, minor electrical and truss rod adjusting requires more than just the knowledge and tools - it requires a place to actually do these things. I have no workbench here, even though it's a big house, nor is there a place to put one. And there's only one table in the house and I'm not having guitars sitting on that while I'm working on them.

I regard most guitar adjustments, cleaning and maintenance as a necessary evil. I don't get any joy out of doing them. Cleaning a guitar up is about as exciting as polishing my screwdrivers and lining them up straight in their box. Nice to look at them afterwards and you get a brief sense of accomplishment from the work, but there are other things I'd rather be doing...

So, the space and the desire are missing. Hence I'll outsource anything other than routine maintenance. This is pretty rare anyway - I don't exactly play my guitars to death.