Should I be upset? VIDEOS ADDED

[Mr. Willy]

For $1100.00 and this quality of work... get pissed. And definitely out the shop here. The razor blade marks are plain sloppy work. Most can probably be sanded out, but it shouldn’t have left his bench that way. Rookie work.

Read the total bill. I paid nearly $1900, total, for this work.

 

[Metlupass2]

When does a refret ever get the nibs?

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Willy...sucks to have to call back and say that's slender work...but you should. That's a ton of money in his pocket, and that board shouldn't have those marks.

 

[Goat]

I think you will find the fret over binding to be an improvement; in both playability and sound. Those Gibson 'nibs' are the result of cost-cutting, as it takes less time to trim the binding than it does to finish the fret ends.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I’ve told him I’m not happy. After I’d sent him the $700 to get started and then got the final bill for an additional $1200, I let him know that I felt like he was taking advantage of me. If not, it was poor communication. I had to wait to save up the extra money to get the guitar back. When I got it back today, here’s our text exchange:

Me:
Why are all these pits in the finish? Why didn’t you level the finish? These chips on the back go clear down to the wood. Is this part of the “vintage” look. Please help me understand. It does look and play a lot better than it did.

Him:
1, i'm glad it made it there, quickly, and in one piece. 2, pits in finish etc,un knowing how the original finish was removed, attempts were made to fill. some places took, some did not, to keep the project in budget, and working with un known circumstances prior, an aged pantina in finish was the logical path.
some prior sanding scratches and areas of the guitar would not gel with what i, we wanted to achieve. work with it, not against it.
its an awesome guitar, plays like butta, sounds alive

Me:
Ok. How about the razor marks on the fretboard? Could that not have been sanded out? I get some of the chips not being able to be filled.

Him:
those chip areas were from the pervious fret job

Me:
Yes, but not the razor marks.
You can fill chips in ebony using glue and ebony dust. But still, what about the razor marks? That’s what that is.

I don’t know man. We obviously have a different idea about how this guitar should’ve turned out, visual wise. I feel you cut corners and didn’t do a good job. You rushed it without paying attention to detail. I’m sure you feel different. Maybe I’m wrong, but all I know is is that I’m disappointed. I was very excited about it, too.

I won’t be using your services again. I won’t recommend you to anyone either. I think you’re a nice fella, and it ain’t nothing personal, but I sure didn’t get out of you what I paid. Best of luck to you and take care.


That’s it. Got nothing back from him.

 

[Goat]

Is this guy based in Oregon or Washington by any chance?

 

[311boogieman]

I would ask for a $500 refund and copy/paste this thread into your request so he can see others agree with you. He will also see that you are a stand up guy by not outing his name. Then, if he still doesn't respond, you can choose other action.

PS: I'm not a luthier.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I would ask for a $500 refund and copy/paste this thread into your request so he can see others agree with you. He will also see that you a are stand up guy by not outing his name. Then, if he still doesn't respond, you can choose other action.

PS: I'm not a luthier.

I hear you. That’s a good idea. I was thinking a little more than that figure.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Is this guy based in Oregon or Washington by any chance?

He is in Nashville.

 

[Metlupass2]

Do people normally charge for things like sand paper, paper towels, and glue?

 

[Mr. Willy]

Do people normally charge for things like sand paper, paper towels, and glue?

I thought that was odd as well. Seems that should be part of his overhead. If I paid for those items, shouldn’t I get whatever was left over?

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

For $1100.00 and this quality of work... get pissed. And definitely out the shop here. The razor blade marks are plain sloppy work. Most can probably be sanded out, but it shouldn’t have left his bench that way. Rookie work.

Read the total bill. I paid nearly $1900, total, for this work.

Well in that case, it was more like:

How did you pay? Call your cc or PP to dispute the charge. Complete BS and sh!tshow.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Do people normally charge for things like sand paper, paper towels, and glue?

No. That is called padding the bill. Just like when your auto mechanic bill says “shop supplies”... I’m not paying to supply your shop. Just to get my car fixed. More @$$ rape.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

When does a refret ever get the nibs?

It can be done. You have to know what you are doing and add them back on after the refret. Giant pita, but possible.

 

[paulyc]

When I talked to him a few days later, he requested $700 for hardware and to get the ball rolling. I thought that would be off the top of the guestimate above. I was wrong.

Here’s the final bill:
Items, Parts, Materials.

Ernie Ball 11/ 48 pure nickel $ 7.10
Gibson selector switch indicator, creme, $ 21.95
Gibson Historic Authentic M-69 Pickup mounting rings, creme, pair, w/screws $ 42.00
Gibson Historic screw set, complete, aged, nickel, $ 38.00
Switchcraft input jack, long shaft $ 6.85
Wire, Braid, vint correct. $ 5.25
Caps, pair, .022. $ 2.50
Gibson Historic Authentic 6/6 Nylon Nut $ 25.00
Fretwire, jumbo / tall, 3 sticks, $ 16.71
Gibson Gold Speed Knobs $ 19.40
CTS pots, 500k, 7% tol. $ 29.00
Switchcraft toggle switch tall, chrome $ 21.59
Custom Chrome Jackplate $ 9.80
Tone Pro’s Tail Piece assy, Chrome, $ 39.31
Tone Pro’s Abr Bridge assy, Chrome, $ 50.24
Mohawk inst. Nitro Laquer, 1 qt. $ 34.00
3M sanding papers, various grits, 12 sheets+ $ 24.00
Miscellaneous materials (solvents, glues, paper towels, etc.) $ 17.00
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 409.70
Labor, 28 hrs. (guesstimated at 19 hrs, minus 4hr adjustment, 24 total) $ 1440.
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 1849.70
Deposit (PayPal $700. minus fee’s) (-) $ 679.40
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 1170.30
Shipping, UPS Ground, signature required, $ 60.38
Total amount Due,
Paypal with fee’s, $1267.74
or,
Paypal, friends/ family, (zero fee’s), Postal M/O’s, Checks (cleared), $1230.00


All parts, items, materials, etc. are procured from a select few of sources,
Ex. Stew mac, Reverb, MojoTone, company direct.
State taxes and shipping costs included on all items.
No labor costs during procurements, communications, shipping, handling.

Gibson Les Paul # 551475, Guestimate 1975 Kalamazoo build.
Re finished and aged to resemble Peter Frampton LPC.
Spec’d and build out, set up to Client's requirements, requests.

Re finished and aged to resemble Peter Frampton LPC

IDK man, seems like he built in an out right there.

 

[aftec]

Everybody is referring to Joe Glaser if luthier job needs to be done in Nashville. Maybe you should give him a call.

 

[Metalhex]

From a distance it looks good but those close ups are cringey

 

[Mr. Willy]

When I talked to him a few days later, he requested $700 for hardware and to get the ball rolling. I thought that would be off the top of the guestimate above. I was wrong.

Here’s the final bill:
Items, Parts, Materials.

Ernie Ball 11/ 48 pure nickel $ 7.10
Gibson selector switch indicator, creme, $ 21.95
Gibson Historic Authentic M-69 Pickup mounting rings, creme, pair, w/screws $ 42.00
Gibson Historic screw set, complete, aged, nickel, $ 38.00
Switchcraft input jack, long shaft $ 6.85
Wire, Braid, vint correct. $ 5.25
Caps, pair, .022. $ 2.50
Gibson Historic Authentic 6/6 Nylon Nut $ 25.00
Fretwire, jumbo / tall, 3 sticks, $ 16.71
Gibson Gold Speed Knobs $ 19.40
CTS pots, 500k, 7% tol. $ 29.00
Switchcraft toggle switch tall, chrome $ 21.59
Custom Chrome Jackplate $ 9.80
Tone Pro’s Tail Piece assy, Chrome, $ 39.31
Tone Pro’s Abr Bridge assy, Chrome, $ 50.24
Mohawk inst. Nitro Laquer, 1 qt. $ 34.00
3M sanding papers, various grits, 12 sheets+ $ 24.00
Miscellaneous materials (solvents, glues, paper towels, etc.) $ 17.00
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 409.70
Labor, 28 hrs. (guesstimated at 19 hrs, minus 4hr adjustment, 24 total) $ 1440.
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 1849.70
Deposit (PayPal $700. minus fee’s) (-) $ 679.40
————————————————————————————
Sub total $ 1170.30
Shipping, UPS Ground, signature required, $ 60.38
Total amount Due,
Paypal with fee’s, $1267.74
or,
Paypal, friends/ family, (zero fee’s), Postal M/O’s, Checks (cleared), $1230.00


All parts, items, materials, etc. are procured from a select few of sources,
Ex. Stew mac, Reverb, MojoTone, company direct.
State taxes and shipping costs included on all items.
No labor costs during procurements, communications, shipping, handling.

Gibson Les Paul # 551475, Guestimate 1975 Kalamazoo build.
Re finished and aged to resemble Peter Frampton LPC.
Spec’d and build out, set up to Client's requirements, requests.

Re finished and aged to resemble Peter Frampton LPC

IDK man, seems like he built in an out right there.

Aged doesn’t included file and/or razor blade marks up and down the fretboard. There’s more than just the few pics I showed. Plus, I told him I wanted her to look the best she possible could. That I wanted all holes filled. Still, on the back there are chips that go down to the wood. I can see the mahogany!

 

[Monkey Man]

There's no doubt the job wasn't up-to-par, MW.

 

[skullfxr]

Crucify! Crucify!