Damage by Luthier - is this the norm? - Page 2

shreddersymphony · #16 03-08-2009, 05:35 PM

Absolutely ridiculous. I would demand an outright refund. There is NO reason your guitar should come back from a luthier or repair guy in worse shape than it came in. Yes, you will scratch it up eventually when you play it. But that's the right of the guy who paid the $$ to buy the guitar, not the guy being paid to work on it. If something goes wrong, the guy should really compensate in some way.

For example...I am working with a different luthier than usual on one of my new custom builds, and the neck he sent me, while FANTASTIC in quality and otherwise flawless, had a few "fret buffer tool" marks on the very edge of the fretboard. It doesnt affect play and you cant see it unless youre REALLY looking for it, but he offered a full refund or a good sized discount on the price (i took the discount cuz the neck is incredible and the marks are totally cosmetic and nearly invisible). Customer service is key in anything.

Dino · #17 03-08-2009, 06:05 PM

If you want to do it right and buffout the scratches you will have to take the tuners off and stuff so you will just be risking more damage and ruining the setup which is how it got scratched in the first place. Plenty of my guitars have those string sctratches to some degree you have to be really carefull not to do that. Like I said just play it and enjoy it.

Foulacy · #18 03-09-2009, 07:17 AM

i'd be pissed as HELL. i'd want my money back or else...

nuno · #19 03-09-2009, 09:11 AM

my gawd... that's out of this world, but the way he justified that shame is even outer. i work on customers guitars about 10 years now, and i of course happened to do some scratches here and there (hairlines, not real scratches) in my early works, but i always buffed'em down AND told it to the customer.

BUT

the only time i've done THOSE kind of scratches around the pegs, is when i was intentionally doing it to turn the guitar into a relic. i can tell you that if someone can get that kind of scratches is none other than a total incompetent. that's not just an accident, he just let the string tips folded toward the headstock while he was winding the pegs. this is pure incompetence. gosh i can't watch those pics again...

mi2tom · #20 03-09-2009, 10:01 AM

It's unacceptable, that's why my guitar looks like an old guitar even though it's new, that's the general idea, you're bound to have and dings and scratches. It's either you or somebody else doing it

LowYaw · #21 03-09-2009, 10:34 AM

even a more or less experienced player who sets his guitar up himself, would not leave marks like that. anf THAT was a tech, who took your money for the job. i say, bust his ass, let him pay for finish repair. imagine leaving your car for an oil change and coming next morning to see they scratched the bonnet. you would be pissed off, wouldn't you?

Takin' a Ride · #22 03-09-2009, 03:16 PM

The good news is that the scratches will most likely buff out, since they're probably just in the clear finish. If it were my guitar, I'd find a shop that specializes in custom painting motorcycles and take it there. I say that because they usually are good with small details/parts.

Other than leveling the frets, which is very difficult to do, most of a standard guitar setup can be done yourself fairly easily as long as you invest in the correct tools. When I got my guitar, I picked up an intonation tool and truss rod wrench as well as a capo (for measuring neck relief). I already had a precision ruler and feeler gauges sitting around from my car.

Clonetool · #23 03-09-2009, 03:22 PM

I had a horror story. I had a cheezy Charvel case with metal edges. Brought in a 570 brand new to be set up showed it to me it played nice. Put it in the case shut the case on the neck and gashed the tip. Ugggg..

j.arledge · #24 03-09-2009, 03:24 PM

Well, i do guitar repair work for my local music shop and can say that i have dinged a few guitars that i have worked on, nothing that bad though. If i do scratch the guitar i repair it, simple as that.

the only guitar i put any notible scratches in was a fender mexican tele that i routed for a humbucker in the bridge, installed a new pickup/bridge cover and new pickguard.

the scratches got there from the metal control plate cover resting on the body while i installed the new active pickups.

so i fixed them, took some wipe on poly taped around the area and filled them in a little. Good as new.

that is totally unacceptable for your guitar to have scratches like that on it.

pauly414 · #25 03-09-2009, 03:36 PM

That sucks man, if he was at least honest enough to admit his mistakes then fair enough, but with an attitude like that i'd name and shame him

Mindcrime1204 · #26 03-09-2009, 04:17 PM

+1 for scratching his car.

callen3615 · #27 03-09-2009, 05:46 PM

+1 for refund.

I have a tech. Whenever I see him working on my guitars I see him using wrenches and stuff that hits my guitars and I dont like it, but Im not qualified for fret leveling my guitars so he will have to do.

I dont agree with his view, hes covering his tail. I would be pissed.

Rodney James · #28 03-09-2009, 06:16 PM

That is a bummer.

No one should tell any of us what to do with our own guitars.

It is one thing if he made the mistakes, and brought them to your attention, yet he did not and then tried to tell you to except it that way. That is hideous, yet unfortunately very typical.

The ego and the take no responsibility attitude of people always causes damage. I would recommend being stern and absolute about what is acceptable to you, refund, repair, well I don't think I would let him repair it, mainly because of his attitude when you called him out on sloppy work. you may end up going in circles and it becoming worse.

Hope the best outcome to ya...

CarlG · #29 03-09-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takin' a Ride

The good news is that the scratches will most likely buff out, since they're probably just in the clear finish. If it were my guitar, I'd find a shop that specializes in custom painting motorcycles and take it there. I say that because they usually are good with small details/parts.

I'm quite heavily into car detailing and machine polish car paintwork to do swirl/defect removal but am I right in thinking the clearcoat Ibanez use is similar to that used on cars? If so, I may have a go at polishing them out myself, the only problem is the smallest pad size I can use is 3" so a bit of a sledge hammer in terms of the headstock. Ideally, I'd like to get hold a an old, broken neck or body to practice on first - think I'll put a wanted add in the classified...

Rich · #30 03-09-2009, 07:08 PM

Unfortunately string scratches can be deceptively deep. You can't just polish them out, you'd have to do a lot of wet sanding first. You'd be better off doing a CA fill on them, flush scrape, then wet sand the whole area. You'll loose very little clear thickness that way.