Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevented?

[Xeromus]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

It's a tiny mark on the back, I'd not be bothering.

More importantly though - you can't even setup your Floyd for a different gauge of strings? Wow.

Is it a Jem Jr?

I can, but time comes at a premium to me, so there was value in paying a professional to do it, as time has a higher value than money to me. I normally do all of my auto repairs and maintenance too, but sometimes I prefer to pay someone I trust so I can spend that time doing something more important.

[Xeromus]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

Several interesting comments from fellow forumites who I really respect. However, I have to disagree.

1) It was a brand new never played instrument. If you just bought this guitar and paid full price for it and the salesman gave it to you in this shape you would either demand a different one that wasn't damaged or demand that he only charge you "scratch and dent" or used price.

2) If the tech is a professional, he has no excuse for causing ANY damage to a guitar whether on the front, side OR even the back. It's good that this tech was up front about it, but he should offer to have it professionally repaired (way better than what he did), or do the setup for free (not a discount!).

3) Just because the damage is on the back, dismissing it as if it doesn't matter is a cop out. A big cop out. Some people take pride in their instruments and want to keep them as pristine as possible. Yes, xxxx happens, but it's a very different thing if it is in the normal use of the guitar by the owner rather than by a paid tech doing a professional repair on it. Indeed this is an assumption, but as Dave said, he was probably using a power driver and not as careful as he should have been.

4) I question that on a brand new guitar straight from the manufacturer, the bridge was not "pitched correctly" or couldn't be adjusted low enough. I question that the shim was actually necessary (not that a shim is not a good way to correct neck angle problems). Makes me think that this tech really is not very good and is certainly not good enough for my money.

5) It's OK if someone murders you tomorrow because you're going to die someday anyway...it's just a natural part of life to die, so it doesn't matter. I'm sorry guys but that frivolous argument holds no water at all. otherwise, all of you who own Les Pauls should just go ahead and break the headstock now...chances are it will happen sooner or later anyway.

6) Hey guys, due to all your whimsical rationalizations for needless damage, remind me not to let any of you borrow any of my guitars.

This, all of it.

[Xeromus]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

Update:

I'm within the return period for the guitar, so I'm sending it back. I wasn't bonding with it anyway, and under further inspection, the neck has a twist in it also. It wasn't an expensive guitar (about $600), and I picked it up just to have a Floyd equipped guitar to play with again. It wasn't meant to be and maybe this experienced cemented that.

I also had a luthier look at it for a second opinion. He had noted the neck twist, and said that the paint chip was an unfortunate accident, as the ferrules or bushings likely became cocked while extracting or inserting the screws. He said the shim wasn't necessarily a bad call, as this neck pocket didn't have a micro tilt adjustment.

[Mincer]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

I say there is no time to waste with something you don't really love anyway, so good for you.

[MythicGuitarCo]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

Well, that's a lie. You just slapped the face of every competent and experienced guitar repairman from Don Teeter, to Dan Erlewine, to Frank Ford, to me, and all the rest across the face of the planet who are happy to serve their clients - putting smiles on their faces.

Agreed... the thing is, there really are a ton of bad techs in the world. Former sandwich shop employees whose dream in life was to get a job at guitar center. Eventually they open their own shops, but it doesn't mean that they have the fine motor skills to do delicate work, or common sense. Many MANY know the right terms and how to sell you, but can't follow through. Same can be said in EVERY industry though..

That's exactly why I started my business. To combat against that. I'm in Austin. Tons of musicians here, and only 1 other shop that I personally would take my guitars to. Literally everyone that comes to me, took their guitar somewhere else first and has horror stories. I've fixed so many botched bridge installs, botched setups, you name it.

Personally, when anyone comes in for a setup, I don't care how busy I am, I talk to the customer, I plug them into an amp and let them play. I change the subject so they don't feel like their on the spot and actually play like normal... meanwhile I'm watching them.... seeing how they play, where their fingers are slipping, where they miss notes, and where on the neck they play. I'll hand them 3 different guitars.. I'll tell them the stories about those guitars while they're playing.. one has super low action, one has medium action and one has high action. I watch their faces and reactions to each. I see which one they can actually play....

Then......... I ask them what THEY want.... it's usually not what I SEE that they need... so I'll explain it to them...
Then I give them WHAT THEY NEED.... and I'll give them little pointers and actually work with them. I've had people literally double their picking or finger speed just by setting their guitar up how they needed it, vs "properly" ...

I literally spend a good hour with everyone.

Then I play the guitar myself for a good half hour to hour... then i meticulously set the guitar and play it for another hour, sometimes more while tweaking it to make it absolutely perfect..........

When a grown man plays his guitar and starts tearing up, and says "this guitar is finally something that I'll be proud to pass down to my son" you know you did your freakin job.....

With that said. I won't say that I've never messed something up, but o sure as crap never knocked a paint chip off of a guitar.... ever...

And if I did, I would tell them it happened, and the repair I made would look factory original and no one would ever know it was there, because, I know how to do so, through 2 decades of auto body experience, building hotrods and motorcycles that one awards, before I became a mechanical engineer, designing and manufacturing things for government and military agencies that required tolerances of less than 100,000ths of an inch.

I'm very detail oriented.

But yeah, almost no one else is that way.

I hate to sound preachy..... but this annoys me, and like i said, it's exactly why i went into business, and its exactly why I'm the fastest growing shop in my city and exactly why there are major brands chomping at the bit to put stuff on my house brand guitars, and exactly why I am one out of 22 certified installers of Evertune bridges in the entire US.

I'm attempting to add photos of 3 different guitars who have other "highly qualified tech's" handy work that I've had to fix THIS WEEK so far...

[MythicGuitarCo]

Re: Guitar tech damaged a new guitar during first setup, could this have been prevent

My point is, not everyone sucks but a lot of them do. It's difficult to figure out who is who without a lot of asking around.

The best shops usually have long wait times, but the most experienced people, don't do the work themselves, they hire the same people as underlings in training, so you still end up with a botch job a lot of times lol.