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V-Killer
Active member
Anyone have any experiences with John?? Was thinking of ringing him up about a setup/fret dress.
Rayneman
Well-known member
V-Killer":2qqbvdym said:
If this stays up, you will probably hear from a few people.
He's a nice guy. He works out of his house so you gotta go there. I had him set and up and do a few things to several guitars. The work was fine, but I think it ended up being more expensive that I had originally thought. He wrote out these super-detailed pages on what, exactly he did to my guitars. This included taking all Floyd Rose bridges apart completely and putting them through his dishwasher. Let me repeat that - he put them through his dishwasher (or at least that's what he said). The Floyd bridges all were put back on the guitars and they did work nicely. He did...um, remove some parts that he didn't think were necessary. In doing so, the fine tuners all seemed to have less range and he took a bunch of screws off a PRS trem and it never felt right after I got it back. I had him put a new pickup in a brand new guitar I had bought. Later, I noticed that the pickup he replaced, he kept. I didn't think to check, but I thought certainly he would have put it in the case...it was a Duncan Alnico II that I probably could have sold, but no, it was gone. I didn't specifically say I wanted the pickup...
I admit that I might have just "turned him loose" on my guitars, so I would suggest being very specific about what you need to have done and check his prices. I had a few guitars that had neck issues and he worked them out for me, so I can't really say anything bad about what he did, though his methods may be a bit odd. Also, there was a dog there that, well...I don't want to ruin the surprise if you go.
The next time I need to have something major done to a guitar, that requires a pro, I personally would probably try someone else. But really, you should meet him and decide for yourself, maybe try him with one guitar. I think his forte is "hot rodding" guitars...like putting higher value volume pots, tougher switches and jacks, disabling the tone control and routing pickup - volume - output...he plays so he knows what guitarists like, but his work goes beyond a mere setup.
BeZo
Well-known member
That guy is an epic waste of time and money. We actually refer to him as Wild Douche's Guitar Correctional Facility, because everything you take there does time.
He Keeps parts off of guitars when he changes them out (which is illegal). Everyone I know who has taken guitars there to get parts changed out never gets their old parts back.
Worse yet, he farms out a lot of his work. He doesn't fix amps or guitars there. He'll do a setup and once over himself the first time, but after that he'll just send it out to someone else and charge you more. He is way too overpriced and overrated.
If you need fret work done, go see Ken Lesko at Rainbow guitars. That's where Douche was going to send your guitar anyways. That way, you skip the fat middle man and save some money. (440) 944-2530
You can thank me for saving you the Monster Cable sales pitch and him saying prases like "an atom bomb on steroids" about your guitar tone. Seriously, Fuck that guy!
He Keeps parts off of guitars when he changes them out (which is illegal). Everyone I know who has taken guitars there to get parts changed out never gets their old parts back.
Worse yet, he farms out a lot of his work. He doesn't fix amps or guitars there. He'll do a setup and once over himself the first time, but after that he'll just send it out to someone else and charge you more. He is way too overpriced and overrated.
If you need fret work done, go see Ken Lesko at Rainbow guitars. That's where Douche was going to send your guitar anyways. That way, you skip the fat middle man and save some money. (440) 944-2530
You can thank me for saving you the Monster Cable sales pitch and him saying prases like "an atom bomb on steroids" about your guitar tone. Seriously, Fuck that guy!
BeZo
Well-known member
If all you're after is a basic set-up, I can do it. I oil bath bridges and tuners, clean and polish the body (depending on the finish), polish all the metal parts to resist corrosion, polish the frets, re-string, adjust the action and intunation, and all the little stuff. I don't do fret work, though, so if you need the frets leveled or crowned, take it to Ken. I can balance a tremolo and do all that shit Douche would do for a fraction of the price. I'm just in it to do it most of the time, so I'm not out to rake guitarists over the coals. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll give you a rig-talk price.
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V-Killer
Active member
BeZo":3ivv3bh4 said:
Thanks for the reply. Definitely need fretwork and the floyd looked at. I will give Ken a ring. I've heard good things about him for sure.
Charvel1975
Active member
V-Killer":k2fdfa52 said:
Go see Kevin at KB Guitar Works in Sandyville, OH, he does all of my guitars and does excellent work! Good quality service and fair pricing. Here is the link to his page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/KB-Guita ... 3441219317
King Guitar
Banned
New member
put your guitar in a box and send it to Jerry at SIR/Luxxtone.
glip22
Well-known member
Ship it to Phil at Philtone. Hes the King.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=127935&p=1489876&hilit=philtone#p1489876
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=127935&p=1489876&hilit=philtone#p1489876
mooncobra
Well-known member
gary brawer, san francisco, no one better, send it to him, every thing he has done for me has been the highest quality imaginable. plus, he kicks down good deals on parts, i always get duncan custom shop super v's for my bridge pick up, he orders them from duncan, they arrive in a day or two, and sells at a killer price!!!
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V-Killer
Active member
glip22":3endbn0q said:
He seems to have a great reputation. I was thinking of SS frets. He's got the Plek too.
fek
Well-known member
V-Killer":2flct2jg said:
Phil is on my radar to do SS work on one of my LP's. Great reputation and the pics I have seen of his work looks great.
Wild Dutch is one of the guys I was going to mention as a guitar guy in Cleveland. I think we were trading PM's about this on another forum actually. Anyway, what Rayneman says above rings true. The guy is kind of a nut, but then again all of the other luthiers I have met in Cleveland fall along those lines.
Dutch's initial work on a Charvel I brought to him seemed pretty good at first. Then I realized that the parts he removed from the Floyd sometimes cause a buzz on the fine tuners. I tried to put it back together with the parts I had to ask for to get back, and one of them doesn't fit. I will say though that the neck is still solid as a rock after a few years in the Ohio climate and has not needed an adjustment.