Who can I trust to repair my Gibson
- Thread starter HL
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gargamelesp
New member
lol yeah u bet i am, but no regrets. 
empty71
New member
gargamelesp said:
Thanks for your very kind words. You actually paid me S$150 coz I had to plug the pickguard hole and re-drill them t fit the pearloid pickguard
Most guys don't realize what a "correct" set up will do for an instrument. I'm paraphrasing Roger Sadowsky but he was quoted saying something like the difference between a great guitar and a good guitar is the set up.
I provide a very personal service and always welcome folks to stick around, watch and ask as many questions you want answered.
stillwater
New member
Wow, i would bring it to Mr Malcom too the next time I need a good setup. $120 is nothing if it means a good setup and personalized lesson.
As for Kelween of Keetar Connecsion, previously from Keetar Workshop, i've heard many negative stories. but then again it was the past *shrugs*
I would definitely choose Malcom over Kelween.
PS pls dun say i have spelling mistake :lol:
As for Kelween of Keetar Connecsion, previously from Keetar Workshop, i've heard many negative stories. but then again it was the past *shrugs*
I would definitely choose Malcom over Kelween.
PS pls dun say i have spelling mistake :lol:
unsane
Member
despite the horror stories i've been told, kelvin did a very good job reparing two tube amps that i had. quick too, and fairly reasonable charges.
i once sent 3 guitars to a so called tech to do simple pickup swaps between the guitars. this is what happened.
guitar 1 had a bad ground wire connection which wasn't present before. i ended up fixing this myself due to time constraints.
guitar 2 came back with finish chips on the lower bout of the guitar. pretty bad ones,nearly down to the wood. when confronted,the person claimed that they were there beforehand, which is untrue. pickup mounting screws (direct mounted) were MISSING.
guitar 3 (LP style) had its original pickup mounting screws replaced with STANDARD WOOD SCREWS. also, the pickup suffered from bad microphonic feedback.
i will not mention the name of said "guitar tech" here,suffice to say that alot of people seem to hold him in high regard around here for reasons i cannot understand. this same person also sold me an amp which blew up for no apparent reason less than a month after the purchase.
if you're reading this,which i'm sure you will,you know who you are.
please realize that you are extremely lucky to be in one piece today because if we werent too busy at the time,you'd be in a hospital. anyhow,karma is a bitch. what goes around,comes around.
if anyone wants to know who this person is,PM me.
i once sent 3 guitars to a so called tech to do simple pickup swaps between the guitars. this is what happened.
guitar 1 had a bad ground wire connection which wasn't present before. i ended up fixing this myself due to time constraints.
guitar 2 came back with finish chips on the lower bout of the guitar. pretty bad ones,nearly down to the wood. when confronted,the person claimed that they were there beforehand, which is untrue. pickup mounting screws (direct mounted) were MISSING.
guitar 3 (LP style) had its original pickup mounting screws replaced with STANDARD WOOD SCREWS. also, the pickup suffered from bad microphonic feedback.
i will not mention the name of said "guitar tech" here,suffice to say that alot of people seem to hold him in high regard around here for reasons i cannot understand. this same person also sold me an amp which blew up for no apparent reason less than a month after the purchase.
if you're reading this,which i'm sure you will,you know who you are.
please realize that you are extremely lucky to be in one piece today because if we werent too busy at the time,you'd be in a hospital. anyhow,karma is a bitch. what goes around,comes around.
if anyone wants to know who this person is,PM me.
unsane
Member
one should also note that there is a "connection" (no pun intended) between abovementioned "guitar tech", i'm sorry, "guitar butcherer", and another known name in the guitar repair scene. might be something to think about when one is choosing a luthier. all is not what it seems around these parts.. it just puzzles me as to why one does a decent job and one doesn't.
For every tech in Singapore, I've heard horror stories. It not dissimilar to car mechanics or any repair business actually. However, for some of the horror stories, there are also the good ones. Fact is, if you run a business and churn out an average of 4-6 repairs a day with 3-5 people calling daily to 'rush' you, you are certainly at a statistical disadvantage. If you repair a 1000 guitars over a span of 18 months to 2 years, there'll be bound to be more than one complaint. Some complains could be due to miscommunication and some maybe its the techs fault.
Another point to note is, most techs are actually employees of a shop or company. Effectively, this means that if they are not treated right, their passion for the job will probably be compromised. That of course, shouldn't be the attitude, but it happens and if put in any other scenario its easy to see as well. Heck, there are many aberrant doctors out there and that is far more dangerous.
This thread started out as someone looking for a reliable repair person. He wanted someone who performs work for professionals. This is actually a good point to talk about as professionals tend to be a lot less fussy, strangely. You have someone who can't bend strings to save his life blame the setup. You have someone who hits the low E like a mofo and complains the guitar is buzzing! Whereas for professionals, its simple. Set it up to the basic requirements and most of them are good to go. Guitar repair can be very subjective at times, esp a setup. Even more complex matters like refrets can be debatable, for e.g. using glue or not?
Like all things, a little bit of knowledge is more dangerous than having no knowledge at all.
Another point to note is, most techs are actually employees of a shop or company. Effectively, this means that if they are not treated right, their passion for the job will probably be compromised. That of course, shouldn't be the attitude, but it happens and if put in any other scenario its easy to see as well. Heck, there are many aberrant doctors out there and that is far more dangerous.
This thread started out as someone looking for a reliable repair person. He wanted someone who performs work for professionals. This is actually a good point to talk about as professionals tend to be a lot less fussy, strangely. You have someone who can't bend strings to save his life blame the setup. You have someone who hits the low E like a mofo and complains the guitar is buzzing! Whereas for professionals, its simple. Set it up to the basic requirements and most of them are good to go. Guitar repair can be very subjective at times, esp a setup. Even more complex matters like refrets can be debatable, for e.g. using glue or not?
Like all things, a little bit of knowledge is more dangerous than having no knowledge at all.
empty71
New member
Ablue said:
Gasp 8O I hope I'm not one of them
I've been repairing guitars the past 13 years and I would like to believe all of my customers went home happy. The only complaint I had was just last year and I bought the guitar off the guy. I paid S$3,200 for that guitar and somehow the electronics mysteriously died after I bought the guitar. As electronic work is not my forte, I sent it to "Guitar Connection" for troubleshooting and ended up selling the guitar to them at half of what I'd paid for the guitar. This is a true story.My point in this is integrity is lacking in the instrument repair business here. I've always been honest and upfront about my capabilities and will never accept a job unless I'm 100% confident of repairing the instrument. I've seen way too many examples of guitars that were royally mess up in the hands of inept and incompetent folks. It's sad and frustrating for me.
I'll have to disagree with Ablue. One has to be responsible for one's action and work. I understand the "sweatshop" environment some repair tech work under but if they care about their reputation, we must always give our 100% to every instrument we work on!!! At the end of the day, it's your reputation and integrity at stake and not the shop coz the clients know who'd worked on their guitars.
I work on every instrument as if it's my own and build a rapport with my clients. I provide a very personal and patient service. I'll set up the guitar a couple of times till the client is happy with the playability. As Ablue has mentioned, setups can be subjective.
You don't hear people complaining about the repair work of Joe Glaser, Roger Sadowsky, John Suhr, Norio Imai, and Gary Brawer. Maybe whinings about their prices but they do deliver what they promise.
Another point is the onus lies in the guitar tech to communicate and explain to the clients the "limitations" of one's abilities or the instrument. I try not to do any electronic work coz I'm not 100% satisfied with my soldering skills and reading wiring schematics is not one of my favourite things to do. I've been promoting myself as the setup, fretwork and acoustic repair guy. We can split the pie equally if you know what I mean
I'm also fortunate enough that I'm not an employee tho I wish I was sometimes and I'm not under pressure by the "boss" to bring in the bacon so to speak. This way, my passion does not diminished or get stifled by some "corporate mentality".
I oso got a bad experience with someone at located at Pennisular... I last time own a BC Rich... But due to the heavy weight, I decided to trade it of for a Yamaha RGX112... Thats a very old guitar... However, that guy said that the guitar sounds wonderful, due to lack of patience n money... I decided to trade my guitar away n top up... Then that guy told me to wait as he "setup" the guitar... Then i realise that the guitar wasnt even working because I saw him working on the electronics... Then he told me that one pickup spoil.. He said he will change without extra charge... But then he just change it with a weak humbuckle... When I went home, i plug my guitar n played... The middle pickup is not working n super loud unusual buzz.. Damn... So i went back, he tell me to change the pickups to dimarzio ones... But i cant afford that time... Fed up I took things into my own hands, I resoldered the pickup.. Then the guitar is working perfectly... The stock pickups on the guitar is very gd, no doubt but the pickup he changed sounds like a 20buck pickup... Anyway I went to take a walk at the shop... Then i saw my guitar all striped up, the body cost 350 and the neck, i forgot liao... The BC Rich bronze series dont even cost tat much 2nd hand.. I mean this kinda ppl are cheats... PM me I tell u who...
Well , just a field report here... brought my strat to Malcom yesterday ... when i got home i played and played for what i tihnk is 3-4 hours...
wanted to see if the setup would "go off" im not surprised it didnt budge.
And my strat plays effortlessly now... learnt a thing or two about guitar maintenance as well.
money well spent.
wanted to see if the setup would "go off" im not surprised it didnt budge.
And my strat plays effortlessly now... learnt a thing or two about guitar maintenance as well.
money well spent.
just wanna say.. that kelvin does produce very quality work. just that i feel guitar connection is abit too shorthanded. And the waitting time usually requires me to leave my beloved axe in the shop .... which i dun want to.
i let the malay guy from luther music - solder my neck pickup and he did a pretty shabby job.
guys who dont mind paying a premium for prompt service and excellent workmanship should seriously consider malcom.
i let the malay guy from luther music - solder my neck pickup and he did a pretty shabby job.
guys who dont mind paying a premium for prompt service and excellent workmanship should seriously consider malcom.
stillwater
New member
Relac said:
Hello pal... may i know what's ur purpose when u wrote this post?
if it is out of goodwill and to warn the rest of us about who r the cheats, then shouldn't you just go public instead of PM?
In PM, u just enlighten 1 person, but the rest of the world would still be kept in the dark and might get cheated someday...
com'on pal, this is a forum... give it a shot... no guts no glory... :smt066
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