Question for people who have bought from Rich (IbanezRules)...

[deoreo]

I will add to this thread that I recently bought a 20th Anniversary RG550 - NOT from Rich, but if he offers a set-up on guitars he sells, that would be a good idea.

My RG550 badly needed a set-up - level and crown the frets (slight rising tounge) All the shims were under the locking nut (needed lowered) The trem was too low in the body, the fret ends were MAJOR sharp - like little knives.

However, as soon as I felt that thin neck.....instant love

I have the skills to set-up my guitars, so it was no problem for me, if yo udo not, the extra to have one set up, would be money well spent.

[Fender868]

I don't why everyone's saying that he' rude and what not. Mind you he doesn't always have time to talk because he needs to get your hard paid work done, but he answers every question with precision. And i've sent this man probably close to 100 emails. He won't kiss your ass if that's what you're looking for. But he's one of the most honest and fair salesman i know. Also, i wouldn't buy any vintage Ibanez's from anyone else but him.

[DEADTUNES666]

I am thinking of ordering a guitar or 2 from Rich. I never have before, but this site serves as a way to keep everyone honest, like **** but more personal.

I've emailed him back and forth a few times and I've talked to him in the past and I've never been put off by him at all. If you want pretty roses and a wife go to a singles bar. Rich seems to me like a business oriented guy who tells it like it is and goes about his business.

To me that's awesome. Do the job and go home. Plus I bet he gets a lot of questions and email from guys who will never buy from him...

[Canadian Mark]

I have only had brief dealings with Rich while I was looking for a 45mm locking nut for my 540 pii. I don't think 'rude' is an accurate description.

I think 'blunt and to the point' is much more fitting. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as he was very civil with me.

[RickStar]

Originally Posted by JoshuaLogan

Trust me, I normally have no interest in even stepping foot in a guitar center, but money is money, and getting a guitar at dealer cost is always a good thing.

Hell I don't care who it is. I buy where it's cheapest and where i get the best deal. whether it's GC or local. usually though it's GC. Too bad it's that way but it's cheaper.

[marianozz]

If you do buy from Rich, be sure not to screw it the whole setup when you install the bareknuckles... A wise move would be ask him if he might install them for a fee and send them his way

[DEADTUNES666]

Just remember it's business not friendness

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mark

I have only had brief dealings with Rich while I was looking for a 45mm locking nut for my 540 pii. I don't think 'rude' is an accurate description.

I think 'blunt and to the point' is much more fitting. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as he was very civil with me.

That's my confusion is how so many people can translate "direct and to the point" with being rude. Trust me, you'll know when I'm being rude, I'll be a complete ass. And yes, I can be rude, if you're writing me the 44th email about buying a trem and you're asking me [yet ANOTHER] redundant question like "what do I put in the paypal notes?" where common sense would tell you to write what you're ordering [recent sale where I actually told him I'd had fully answered all his questions more than once and he was about a redundant email or 2 away from being blocked].

Hell, most of the time I'm quite cordial and even cracking jokes. I can be pretty funny at times, depending on my mood of course. But most of the time, you ask a question, i give a simple answer, and many times it may be a one word "yes" or "no". Why write more when that says it all?

If you want a "salesman" or somebody to walk you down the garden path whispering sweet nothings under the moonlight, you're writing the wrong email address. I just answer questions and tell it like it is. I never try to sell something to anybody [not that I won't promote the business when oportune] but I will try to talk people out of guitars, never into them [I think Fender will attest]. I get at least 20 people a year that want me to tell them what to buy, and then get all huffy when I tell them I do not and never will make recomendations, only they can decide what they want. The typical reply back would be "well I'll just find somebody that actually wants my business and will tell me what I need" [how pathetic is that?!] which is probably for the best, these are not the kind of customers I want to work for.

Evidently I'm doing something wrong though because I get called rude and grumpy a lot. Now if it's because I'm in a heated argument with somebody here it's probably justified, but simple replies to emails? I don't know what people are reading into them or expect. Possibly like I said earlier if you're predisposed to thinking I'm going to be rude [cause who hasn't heard that at least once?] then you're going to read them expecting to see it, so you see what you want. I guess.

Anyway, when I coined the phrase "Pro Setup" [at least I thought I did, I hadn't read it that way before and it was an epiphany when I came up with it] to me it meant "setup to the standard any demanding professional player would be more than satisfied with" - ie. setup FOR a pro.. It had nothing to do with "setup BY a pro" [which just means, somebody that charged you]. Now the term means nothing and I read it more than not, and all it's saying is the later, it's been "adjusted" and you paid for it. Lately I've been calling it a Pro Rebuild, but that doesn't fit perfect either and many ask if I'm replacing the body etc. I'll have to wait for the next epiphany to sort that one out

[markg5150]

Another satisfied customer here !!

[mike570]

Rich,
Sounds like some of your customers are looking for the "Rich Harris experience" rather than just a well set-up instrument. You should play up on the mystique and charge MORE money! hehe!

[Fender868]

Originally Posted by Rich

That's my confusion is how so many people can translate "direct and to the point" with being rude. Trust me, you'll know when I'm being rude, I'll be a complete ass. And yes, I can be rude, if you're writing me the 44th email about buying a trem and you're asking me [yet ANOTHER] redundant question like "what do I put in the paypal notes?" where common sense would tell you to write what you're ordering [recent sale where I actually told him I'd had fully answered all his questions more than once and he was about a redundant email or 2 away from being blocked].

Hell, most of the time I'm quite cordial and even cracking jokes. I can be pretty funny at times, depending on my mood of course. But most of the time, you ask a question, i give a simple answer, and many times it may be a one word "yes" or "no". Why write more when that says it all?

If you want a "salesman" or somebody to walk you down the garden path whispering sweet nothings under the moonlight, you're writing the wrong email address. I just answer questions and tell it like it is. I never try to sell something to anybody [not that I won't promote the business when oportune] but I will try to talk people out of guitars, never into them [I think Fender will attest]. I get at least 20 people a year that want me to tell them what to buy, and then get all huffy when I tell them I do not and never will make recomendations, only they can decide what they want. The typical reply back would be "well I'll just find somebody that actually wants my business and will tell me what I need" [how pathetic is that?!] which is probably for the best, these are not the kind of customers I want to work for.

Evidently I'm doing something wrong though because I get called rude and grumpy a lot. Now if it's because I'm in a heated argument with somebody here it's probably justified, but simple replies to emails? I don't know what people are reading into them or expect. Possibly like I said earlier if you're predisposed to thinking I'm going to be rude [cause who hasn't heard that at least once?] then you're going to read them expecting to see it, so you see what you want. I guess.

Anyway, when I coined the phrase "Pro Setup" [at least I thought I did, I hadn't read it that way before and it was an epiphany when I came up with it] to me it meant "setup to the standard any demanding professional player would be more than satisfied with" - ie. setup FOR a pro.. It had nothing to do with "setup BY a pro" [which just means, somebody that charged you]. Now the term means nothing and I read it more than not, and all it's saying is the later, it's been "adjusted" and you paid for it. Lately I've been calling it a Pro Rebuild, but that doesn't fit perfect either and many ask if I'm replacing the body etc. I'll have to wait for the next epiphany to sort that one out

Il attest, it's true. Rich has given me a lot of advice. Although, i am a customer and he is a salesman, i like to think of him as a friend. A regular salesman would've suckered me into buying something when i had a much wiser opportunity. I guess il go ahead and say that i had received inheritance and i wanted to invest a portion of it on another Jem. I'm just a kid, i dream a lot, but hell it takes someone to take me off these clouds once in a while, and while it seems unconventional and a loss of business for him, Rich gave me some real good fatherly advice. Instead, i vowed that i would continue my pursuit of gear the way it always had been. In other words, any guitar i get will be purchased when i am financially stable and from money i earned or gear i traded. Rich turned me away and i am proud to say that the guitar i am ordering from him today has come from my earnings and old gear i traded off.

Thanks a lot Rich. Your reputation is debatable to some, but you're a real good pal and one hell of an encyclopedia when it comes to musical instruments. Music is a part of me. It's my life. Thanks for providing me the tools to make my life better!

I.E. I've been hired in two bands. A ska act, and a progressive metal band!

[Rich]

There's really no mystique, I even detail everything that is done [overview anyway, doesn't cover everything that can arise], but there is no substitue for the whole package, and I absolutely do not charge enough. All I make bottom line on new guitars is the "setup" fee plus $20-40 unless you start getting into the $2000 range. And with that I still have to pay interest on the inventory as well as manage it, store it, etc. It doesn't make much sense really

[jaxadam]

Originally Posted by Rich

Hell, most of the time I'm quite cordial and even cracking jokes. I can be pretty funny at times, depending on my mood of course.

Yup. This is pretty true. He's had me rolling a few times.

If you think he's rude now, you should have e-mailed him a few years ago when he was quitting smoking.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Fender868

Your reputation is debatable to some, !

I don't think my reputaion is debatable, but I'd guess my personality might be?

Congrats on the new gigs

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jaxadam

If you think he's rude now, you should have e-mailed him a few years ago when he was quitting smoking.

You didn't have to go there, di you?!