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A family friend gave me his old Gibson J-50 deluxe dread, 1972 vintage. It was a basket case, dried & worn out, not playable in the state I got it in. It needed a neck reset, re-fret, fretboard oiled & repaired, 2 soundhole cracks cleated, new bridge, bridge plate fix, saddle, nut. I spent over 1K and 2 months getting it fixed.
It sounds nice, but the intonation is off, too sharp on low E string notes, and they missed one of the crack repairs, and one of the fret edges needs to be dressed. I brought it back, they fixed the intonation somewhat, but now the low E buzzes. I left it again. Meanwhile the owner is like, " these old guitars, sometimes you have to get 'em close enough...", and then he actually offered to buy it from me for the repair cost. He would probably flip it and make easy 20%.
I feel like it's tuning into a headache, and even if they fix the issues, it will be like a vintage car I'll have to baby..It's a nice guitar, has vintage mojo, but flatops aren't my main jam, especially for jazz.
I'm thinking he's not offering such a good deal to be done with it, but maybe if I can get another 100 bucks for my trouble, I should be done with it?
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03-30-2024 09:50 AM
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Well, I think it depends, whether or not like the guitar enough to keep fettling it and investing in it. I like flattop guitars for jazz (I like the sound of flattop guitars in general, often better than the acoustic voice of many archtop guitars). If it's not your thing, best to let the instrument go to someone for whom it is.
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Perhaps the wrong tech is fixing it? A fixed guitar from a pro repair shop should not be returned to the customer with the issues that you have mentioned.
I have three vintage archtops, two from the 1930's and one from the 1940's. All have been worked on and all play and sound great. And I have had them all for years. Old guitars can be restored and once restored, they should play great for years.
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That's a big part of my frustration. The tech is older, seemed experienced and knew what he was talking about. I talked to another repair person first who gave me the same diagnosis, but he couldn't work on it for a couple of months. This shop promised me a month... which turned into 2. And no, it shouldn't have been returned to me with those issues, clearly a lack of QC. That the owner tried to BS me and deny the problems irks me even more. If I sell it to him for the repair cost, he'll make hundreds, and I'll be a smacked ass for wasting my time and trouble, but I'll be done with them.
Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Oh, and if I keep it, I'll have to buy a decent case or gig bag. And it seems very humidity-sensitive, more than any other flatop I've ever had.
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"I'll be a smacked ass?" Never heard that before! Is it a regionalism or your own invention?
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Northeast slang, mostly Philly. But I've been around here so long I didn't even realize it.
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If a shop did substandard repair work for me and then tried to buy the guitar at wholesale when I complained about the shoddy work, I would retrieve the guitar, pay them if I had to (possibly take them to small claims court, if the amount I paid bothered me enough, but I would attempt to negotiate the shoddy repair cost down first) and I would either sell the guitar myself or find a better shop to fix it. Originally Posted by JGinNJ
Don't be a "smacked ass". You have been hurt, don't get hurt again. If they hurt you once shame on them. If they hurt you twice, shame on you.
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I grew up in the Chicago area and went to Minnesota for college. Discovered Minnesotans had no idea what a "jagoff" was. Originally Posted by JGinNJ
The Effortless, Midwestern Elegance of “Jagoff” – Chicago Magazine
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It needed enough work that the best thing would be to sell in on ebay as a fixer upper type guitar. That would yield the best positive cash flow and you could have put the money to better use. Seems with the intonation issue they did not get the bridge/saddle in the right place. I would go back and complain and ask for money back if I spent that much. Then I would sell the guitar and be done with it. SS has made the correct case.
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I got the guitar from a close family friend. He knew it needed work years ago, in the time since it only got worse. I got estimates for repair, and when I told him how much, he said "you can have it". He doesn't care now if I even sell it wholesale, but I'm not out to make money on it. I keep play money around for instrument follies, replenishing with an occasional sale/trade. I thought it would be a cool guitar to have, it's just turning into a hassle. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
The shop installed a period BRW bridge and bone saddle, it's just the compensation on the low E that is off (F,G,A, are way sharp). I think they're close to making it right but my patience is short after multiple visits.
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Sounds like a situation where I'd be of a mind to get my money back and let them have the problem patient. Originally Posted by JGinNJ
Though I'd ask them for how much they'd put it up for sale if, and then what commission they would take if I had them sell it under consignment for that price.
In that order, so they don't get the idea to put their commission on top of the repair costs already paid! Though if they do you'd have an idea how much you could ask trying to sell it yourself first?
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My man, born and raised, unfortunately. You must've been in sourthern MN, probably by the cities. We def knew what a jagoff is and it's very close to the behavior the OP's luthier is displaying. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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It doesn’t sound like there’s anything about this guitar that you love.
My view is an instrument is only worth doing extensive repair if you absolutely love it. I say sell it off any way you can and find an instrument that speaks to you, one that you never want to put down. You’ll be much happier.
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Winona, good call. I live in St. Paul now. MN is a nicer place to live than suburban Chicago, IMHO. Originally Posted by DawgBone
Echoing what was said above, if a guitar really speaks to you and you love it, it's worth the hassle of making it right. If you don't, it isn't. But it might be to someone else. It's a Gibson J-50, which is usually a great guitar.
That said, if the F, G and A are sharp on the low E string, then is the nut set up correctly? If the nut slot is too high, the string will be sharp in that area. It will also feel stiff and difficult in the cowboy chord position.
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It was a gift from a friend and it _is_ a nice Gibson. Sounds like it was waiting for you to give it a second life. You had bad luck with the repair person you chose but there are guys out there whose work approaches magic. Choose another one and choose wisely. Seems like there’s work to be done on the nut and bridge, that shouldn’t be too expensive and when done right it’s worth every penny. Structural issues like cracks can sometimes be costly but not necessarily so. A good luthier will tell you honestly if the guitar is a money pit.
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I've only had the guitar in mostly-playable condition for 3 days, so I didn't really get a chance to bond with it before I brought it back. Originally Posted by Cunamara
Most recently they may have worked on the nut, because then the open E was buzzing! Why they would call and tell me it was done, i don't know.
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Well, with this particular guitar tech you may be throwing good money after bad. I hope they're fixing these things on their dime. clearly they have not gotten it right. Guessing by your handle that you are in New Jersey, there are certainly some good luthiers and guitar techs in that part of the world. Some of our other forum members know them, and can hopefully give some advice.
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[QUOTE=JGinNJ;1327084Most recently they may have worked on the nut, because then the open E was buzzing! Why they would call and tell me it was done, i don't know.[/QUOTE]
Ah, but that may also be because they gave it a "perfect" set-up. I had a luthier like that who set up guitars as if they were electrics. They played fast and effortless as long as you didn't try to make acoustic volume, or didn't mind a lot of buzz...
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