I sent an F Bass BN5 to RiverTree Music at Excelsior Shopping Centre to address fret buzz when popping the high strings. When explaining the issue, Walter the shop owner asked if the strings were new. I replied no and asked why. He said old strings vibrate differently from new strings and can cause buzz. I’d never heard such a theory and told him that I used a fret rocker on the fretboard when the strings were in tune, and noticed various spots where the rocker would rock. Walter then asked how many basses have I repaired, I said none, and thought the question was rhetorical and condescending. He then said he had worked on thousands of guitars, implying that his knowledge was not to be questioned. Eventually I was curious to test his theory and bought a set of new strings on the spot and left the set and the bass with him. I told Walter specifically that I slap/pop so would prefer low string action, but it needed not be very low.
I collected the bass several days later. The string buzz was still present when popping the high strings. I asked what was done to the bass and Walter said a set-up. I asked if fret levelling was done, and he somewhat reluctantly said only to the last fret (22nd fret). I asked for the reason to level the last fret as it was unrelated to fret buzz (as it would be impractical to pop the high strings at the last fret to get an articulated pop sound). Walter then said I lacked understanding as I was seeing it as an end user. Of course I was an end user and hence was seeking a luthier to address the issue on my bass. I asked him to explain the reason to level the last fret and he refused, saying it was not part of his work to teach. To exacerbate the already unpleasant experience, the lady in the shop, which I assumed to be Walter’s wife, were intervening sporadically, and said that they had addressed the fret buzz issue. I refuted that strongly. Then Walter changed tack, saying that perhaps the neck had some deformation, and a few moments later, said that perhaps the issue was the way I played the bass. At that point I decided to not talk to them anymore to stop the extremely poor customer experience, and left.
On reaching home, I measured the string height over the last (22nd) fret using a digital string height gauge, and these were the measurements: G 3.2mm, D 2.6mm, A 2.3mm, E 2.3mm, B 2.8mm. I had researched a fair bit on string heights prior to visiting RiverTree (for example, MTD and Sadowsky recommend for a 5-string bass: G 1.5mm, B 2.5mm, and interpolate the intermediate strings between these 2 extremities to conform to the fretboard radius. Walter’s string height set-up for my bass was horrendous (G string at 3.2mm and fret buzz was still present) and did not conform to the fretboard radius.
In summary, this was my worst Singapore luthier experience. The shop owners’ attitude was rhetorical, condescending, confrontational, and the poor quality of the work showed that they were more snake oil sellers than skilful, customer-friendly luthiers. I have a family member and a relative who patronised RiverTree previously on acoustic/electric guitar repair works and both were disappointed. I thought I would give RiverTree the benefit of the doubt as I was sending in a bass and not a guitar. Well, now it’s 3 for 3, a hat trick of poor customer experience by them.
I collected the bass several days later. The string buzz was still present when popping the high strings. I asked what was done to the bass and Walter said a set-up. I asked if fret levelling was done, and he somewhat reluctantly said only to the last fret (22nd fret). I asked for the reason to level the last fret as it was unrelated to fret buzz (as it would be impractical to pop the high strings at the last fret to get an articulated pop sound). Walter then said I lacked understanding as I was seeing it as an end user. Of course I was an end user and hence was seeking a luthier to address the issue on my bass. I asked him to explain the reason to level the last fret and he refused, saying it was not part of his work to teach. To exacerbate the already unpleasant experience, the lady in the shop, which I assumed to be Walter’s wife, were intervening sporadically, and said that they had addressed the fret buzz issue. I refuted that strongly. Then Walter changed tack, saying that perhaps the neck had some deformation, and a few moments later, said that perhaps the issue was the way I played the bass. At that point I decided to not talk to them anymore to stop the extremely poor customer experience, and left.
On reaching home, I measured the string height over the last (22nd) fret using a digital string height gauge, and these were the measurements: G 3.2mm, D 2.6mm, A 2.3mm, E 2.3mm, B 2.8mm. I had researched a fair bit on string heights prior to visiting RiverTree (for example, MTD and Sadowsky recommend for a 5-string bass: G 1.5mm, B 2.5mm, and interpolate the intermediate strings between these 2 extremities to conform to the fretboard radius. Walter’s string height set-up for my bass was horrendous (G string at 3.2mm and fret buzz was still present) and did not conform to the fretboard radius.
In summary, this was my worst Singapore luthier experience. The shop owners’ attitude was rhetorical, condescending, confrontational, and the poor quality of the work showed that they were more snake oil sellers than skilful, customer-friendly luthiers. I have a family member and a relative who patronised RiverTree previously on acoustic/electric guitar repair works and both were disappointed. I thought I would give RiverTree the benefit of the doubt as I was sending in a bass and not a guitar. Well, now it’s 3 for 3, a hat trick of poor customer experience by them.
