Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

All string changes are done myself. I would never consider giving my geetar for a strick change to someone else It's just not manly.

I'm with you. Assuming you're not a beginner, if you can't even change your own strings, you should just put the guitar down and take up sewing or antiquing. Set-ups and intonation adjustments are not complicated either.

Anyway, I do everything electronic, including winding my own pickups as some know. But a fret dress scares me to death. I tried it...once. I'm definitely a DIY guy and would love to learn how but don't have anyone to show me.

But to the original poster/thread-starter, don't just assume that because a guy says he's a tech he knows what he's doing. We get way too many horror stories in here (and elsewhere) about techs who totally jack the job up, apparently not even bothering to plug the guitar into an amp to make sure they did the job right, or just refusing to honor the customer's requests, etc., etc., etc.

Guitar electronics just aren't that hard -- take some time to learn to DIY. It will save you a lot money, waiting, and head/heartaches.

 

[devastone]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do pretty much everything I need done, including setups, intonation, and fret level and dress. I made friends with a local tech when I was in high school and he showed me a lot!

I don't do re-frets or routing, I don't have the tools or time, I'm not afraid to try it, just don't have the time anymore. And no, I would not use a LP as a first or second try, they are more difficult because of the binding.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do it all but the nut/frets. I don't have files and when you take away from the frets, you can't put it back. So I shall leave that to a pro.

 

[liono9]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

i think its a lot of fun to work on ur guitar and i have recently started doin that and have proudly swaped pups in 3 of my guitars ,set up etc but no serious work like fretting .

 

[PoorMan]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I don't have a lot of experience with woodworking or frets...but I'll paint, setup, wire electronics and do just about everything else.

I remember paying a tech $60 to swap out a single pickup once. I watched him do it in all of a couple minutes. I didn't like how fast my money went "bye-bye" so (thanks in large part to forum bros) I'm quite comfortable doing it myself now.

 

[fusion101]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

One of my friends works on my guitars

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I would do anything except for resetting a neck, refinishing, nut and fret work. Electronics are easy, setups are easy, and even adjusting the truss rod is easy if you're patient.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

ive always done everything myself. i dont really trust anybody else to do stuff for me. just cause its their job doesnt mean theyre good at it. besides, id be much angrier if somebody else screwed up one of my guitars than if i did it.

 

[photoweborama]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do it myself. I'm cheap... but I got good enough to do other peoples guitars. I get quite a bit of side work now.

 

[krall]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I've got 2 friends that are pros that do all the things I need done on my guitars/basses.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do everything except fret leveling/refret. I'm really good at setups, and for years I did it for free for everyone that asked, just to better my skills. I'm also good at getting an acoustic to play perfectly.
I think that it's better if you know how to do a pro setup on your guitar, because it all depends on your touch. A tech will set up a guitar to his touch, unless he's smart enough to watch you play for a few minutes and determine if you're a light/medium/or heavy handed player.

I can do fast pickup swaps, and since being on this forum, I've gotten better at complete wiring jobs, wiring mods, magnet swaps, and nut work. I would never practice fretwork on any guitar but a POS I can throw away.....I should learn.

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I guess I fall into the Jack of all trades, Master of none category. I've done Headstock repairs, Inlay work and of course refinishing. I even Build,repair and mod my own amps and stomp boxes. But fret work seems to be my Achilles heel. I cut my own nuts,and dress my frets and even have done a few refrets, But I've got mixed results.:eek13: The results I get are good enough for me, But if I was paying to have it done I would demand better.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

Once they go out of whack I burn mine and buy some new ones!
All with selected tooonewoooods.....I knock on them....use Callaham phillips heads to tightend up the scratchplates....give them new alurims, and lower the whole deal....then I install a hugemongeous tight rig....yeah!
I use Masswood and Grassnuts!

 

[tone?]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I think part of learning guitar is actually doing work on them as well.
You have to learn to at least setup your guitar to be a well rounded player.
its like thinking of Halen breaking a string and not playing cause he had to take the guitar to his tech the next day to change them.

I think that setting up your guitar gives you a more intimate relationship with your instrument. Makes you really search for your tone in your own way.

I do all the setup stuff myself, wiring, pickup changing, etc... i havent done much fretwork. all i have done is fret leveling and i did it pretty good considering i didnt have the proper tools. Someday i will do a refret as well, but it isnt that important to me as setting it up right.
when i take my guitar for serious work and the tech sets it up, i always have to do final tweaks to get it the way i want.
It only makes sense as well. i mean only we play the way we play so setup is a very personal matter.

Learn to change your strings man!

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

There are a few things I'll do on a guitar: electronics, action, change strings, change out hardware/parts. In a bind, I can set an instruments intonation decently.

Things I won't touch: frets, nuts (I recently met an extremely good guitar tech in my area that cuts nuts flawlessly... it truly is an art), truss rod (I've seen what happens if you screw up on adjusting it, on my guitars I can't afford that to happen).

 

[sosomething]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

One thing: if anybody really wants to learn all the ins and outs of typical guitar work, they should assemble a Warmoth guitar. That'll learn you real quick.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do almost all of my own and haven't got anyone to do anything for about 6 years, which was to re-attach the headstock to the MSG. Quite happy doing set-ups, electronics, tidy up fret ends, cut nuts from blanks, fit shielding, replace tuners, assemble Warmoths, replace bridges.

The things I'm not comfortable with would be things like replacing frets, re-finishing (never needed to to be fair), cutting the slot for an LSR, stuff like that.

>;o))

 

[Diego]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do everything by myself, except when it comes to frets. Electronics, truss rod, intonation, action, nut height.... I'm on it. :smokin:

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I do all of my own work as well as work for good friends and long term repeat customers that refuse to take their guitars anywhere else

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Do you work on your guitars or do you hire a tech to work on your guitars?

I used to do all my own work (pounds chest and grunts), but I was having trouble with one guitar and a friend (who is a luthier) suggested he have a crack at it. I dropped it off and when I got it back, wow... I asked what he had to do and all I got was "a few tweaks and a fret level, nothing special". He now does all my guitars.

I am good with my hands and have plenty off tools, but I learned the hard way that the few setups I have done do not compare to someone who does it (well) for a living.

YMMV