Repair guy damages my mandolin

[sgarrity]

So I've been trying to get my new (to me) Brentrup set up like I want it. It's had a buzz on the A strings since I got it and raising the action only got rid of some of it. I take it the the closest guy at Guitar Center (I know, I know!) he charges me $40 and apparently restrings it and says he had to level the frets. I call BS 'cuz the thing has barely been played. He sticks to his guns and I vow never to use him again! Afterall, it's still buzzing.

Now repair/set-up guys are very difficult to come by where I live. Make that dang near impossible to come by. But there is a fella who lives about an hour away that does work in the evenings and weekends out of his house. He worked on my Red Diamond F5 while I waited and got it playing like butter. I had a Martin Limited Edition guitar taht UPS cracked, he repaired the crack and buffed the finish and it looked brand new. (And yes I disclosed the work when I sold it.)

So I take the Brentrup out to him and we spend an hour and a half going over it trying to figure out where this buzz is coming from. We finally both decide that the nut needs to be replaced. That's the only thing we can come up with. So I leave it with him and he says he'll have it ready in a few days. Cool! That was Saturday. He calls Tuesday and it's ready. I go pick it up tonight, Wednesday.

First thing I notice are about 5-7 little spots/dings around the pickguard. Then I notice a pretty good 1/8" by 1" gouge in the peghead. I politely point these out and he says, "well you know how easy these things scratch. All ya gotta do is look at that varnish and it dents." So I ask about the peghead and he says that must have happened when he restrung it. What did you string it with?? A freakin' bulldozer??

Now here's the interesting part of the story. He has done good work for me and a lot of my pickin' friends in the past. And he charges next to nothing. My set-up, new bone nut and new J-74 strings provided by him cost me $25. That's next to free. On the other jobs he's done I always tipped him and extra $10 to $20 because he just wasn't charging enough. Now I have a mandolin that sounds and plays great but went from cosmetically perfect to having two years worth of dents and dings inflicted in a span of three days!

If I thought I could earn a decent living at it, I'd go to school and learn how to do this kind of work and do it right. There are so few people out there that I'd trust with a quality instrument anymore. Next time it needs work I'm shipping it out to Kimsey in NM or back to Hans. I don't care how long it takes!

And to make the day even better, our regular Wednesday night jam that has been going on for 15+ years in the same location has been asked to relocate to make way for, are ya ready for this one....."Ladies Night!" Ha!

One more single malt and it's bed time. Thanks for letting me vent a little!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Chris Biorkman]

That sucks. You are right to be irritated.

[Rocky Top]

Oh Lord! I sure hate that for you. It's a shame when you can't even trust the repairman! When I bought my F5G, I had to take it and leave for some setup work (the action was insanely and dangerously high) and I worried the whole time it was gone that the same thing would happen to it. I was blessed to get mine back in the same condition it was in when I left, but I sure feel for you. I've had the same thoughts about learning to do repais and setup work, but the guy that I go to has a great reputation around here and is a true expert luthier. From what I hear, people come from all over to let him work on thier instruments. So, a new luthier would probably have a very hard time getting any business!

[pjlama]

That sucks and blows. Who's Kimsey?

[JoeD]

Bryan Kimsey (http://www.bryankimsey.com/). Supposed to be about the best. Seems like an awfully nice guy from what I've seen of him on Flatpick-L.

[Fretbear]

That Bryan Kimsey link has lots of good repair stuff on it.

[Ivan Kelsall]

That's bad news all round Shaun. It's bad having a beautiful instrument damaged whether by one's self or by someone else.I think you've got it right when you say that next time
maybe you'd maybe ship it back to Hans Brentrup. No one else can know his Mandolins like him,he'd certainly be my first port of call anyway,
Saska

[Don]

Hey Shaun,I had pretty much the same experience(a couple times) and came to the same conclusion a few years ago.The people I used were supposed to be professional and had good reps.They won't ever again get so much as the time of day from me.Some said "Why don't you take it back to him and make him fix it right?" My response was " If he's so incompetent as to do that in the first place,there's no way I'm putting my baby in his hands again".You gotta be real careful who you turn your babies over to. Next time I need anything done,I'm doing it or it's going to First Quality,Elderly,or someone similar,and I will pay the shipping and put up with the wait-very willingly. The peace of mind is worth it.
Don.
Don.

[JEStanek]

Bummer, Shaun. Next time it needs work, see if Hans is available. He might be able to buff out many of the dings, maybe even the gouge.

Jamie

[Hans]

Sorry to hear that Shaun. Accidents do happen, but they should be fixed by the repair-person, or at least paid for by them. I can understand your frustration.
There are all levels of repair expertise. Unfortunately there are no badges or certificates that say "I'm at this level." In the guy's defense (I'm not going to defend him much) from what you say, he works evenings and weekends. That means he has already worked 40-50 hours at his regular job. I can remember that time when I worked a full time job and built instruments nights and weekends, I was tired all the time. You can't do your best work or be sharp that way. Repair is probably the most demanding work and you've got to keep in mind every second not to damage the instrument.
Sad as all this is, after your initial frustration subsides, it's just the first of many "battle scars" the instrument will acquire. It's the tone that matters most.

[Ace]

Yea I know what you mean! I left my Gibson for a re-fret job at a local builder and didn't notice anything wrong until I got home and starting picking. I posted this a while back too that he left dings under the neck from the fret press tool he used! Well, long story short, he left for a camping trip and said he would call me when he returned. I guess he got lost in the mountains because he has YET to call me. That's ok though because I get around a LOT of pickers and his name comes up every time someone see's my instrument. I point it out or they feel it themselves. The other work he did was good. The least he could have done was call me back as promised and returned some of the money he got for doing this dinged up job!

Oh well, live and learn!

[bgjunkie]

I made the mistake of taking my Micheal Kelly to Guitar Center and having the repair guy (who said he worked on mandolins) do a setup to fix some really high action at the first fret. When I got it back he had filed the nut and left shavings all over the mandolin, the action was still too high and he had tightened the truss rod to the point that when I took it to Sim Daley for a new bridge Sim wouldn't even try to adjust the truss rod. After having to have the frets dressed and some other work done to fix the issues the GC guy charged for, I submitted a complaint on the GC website. Not expecting anything to come of it, I actually got a reply. They put me in touch with the manager of the local GC and after talking to him, he gave me $100 store credit. I no longer have the MK mando, but I still have a pair of inexpensive condensor mics (they work fine for what I need them to do) that I bought with the $100 bucks.

[Bill Van Liere]

The repair business seems to be a trickier task than a mere player like me can imagine. I have about an equal amount of good vs. bad stories and I have always used very competent names in my decision as to where to have what work done.

Having owned a Brentrup for about four years now, I can say that the finish is delicate so get used to finish marks or repair times if the the instrument gets lots of use. At one point I needed some finish repair work done to my Brenty. The instrument spent eight weeks in the hands of a very well known builder who charged me next to nothing to repair the finish but tried to do me a favor by taking down the frets. His shop was located very close to a concert gig I was about to perform at the time when the repair was completed. Lucky for me I got anxious and decided to drive to the shop to get the mando a few days before the gig, because I recieved it with an unplayable fret job, buzz. I had a last minute fret dressing done by a local electric guitar repair guru before the show.

There seems to ba a lot to know in the reapair business so I don't expect any one certian luthier/repair person to know it all. Do your homework and find the right guy for the right job.

Let put in kudos to Joe Konkoly at Elderly for tops in Martin guitar neck resets. Joe has that one down.

[jim_n_virginia]

I seen the damage on Shaun's Brentrup. The scratches on the front of the mandolin could be buffed out I believe but the headstock gouge looks to me to be pretty deep. I'd be PO'd too.

Now I don't know what to do because I use this guy too. He has worked on several instruments for me without any problems. Of course most of the instruments that he worked on for me were well used or vintage so I probably wouldn't notice any scratches. And also as Shaun said this guy doesn't charge much at all. I had a complete refret and the fretboard sanded flat and setup for $140.00 and he did a great job, mandolin played like a dream.

The guy used to own a local music store and repair shop until Mars and Guitar Center ran him out of business years ago and he set up shop in his back yard. He works a regular job but I think it is part time. I think he just loves working on instruments and obviously doesn't care about money because as it was already said he doesn't charge anything.

I have two instrumenst that I was going to bring him but I am now hesitant. I guess I'll still bring him my work because #1 there is no one else locally #2 I don't like shipping instruments.

Shaun you know he has a really junky cluttered shop so maybe stuff from a top shelf over his work bench avalanched and fell on your mandolin or something. Not to make excuses but maybe it was just an accident.

I think you should ask him to fix it. He has a standup buffer and I know he knows how to drop fill gouges and fix them.

And also if you go to Luthier School I will be your first customer because we SURE need a good Luthier around here and you'd make a good one!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[sgarrity]

Thanks for the kind words. And Hans is right. In the end, it should be about how the instrument sounds. And it does sound GOOD! I guess I got a distressed Brentrup and didn't even have to pay extra!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

The repair guy is a good fella. He does good work in a timely fashion and doesn't charge nearly enough for it. But next time I take him an instrument he will fully understand it's value, replacement cost and how long of a wait list the builder has.

A few glasses of Balvenie 15yr and a good night sleep helps you get over a lot of things! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Chris Biorkman]

"To alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." - Homer Simpson

[KanMando]

Maybe we should start a "repair horror stories" thread. In 1990 I took my old dreadnaught to the local Martin authorized warranty service guy. It needed a neck reset, which Martin covers under the warranty. I got the guitar back, the neck was fine, and I thought everything was great. A few years ago I needed a complete fret job on the same guitar. I called the same guy that did the neck reset, but only reached his answering machine, and he did not return my calls.

Sometimes you get lucky: I took the Martin up to Mass Street Music in Lawrence, Kansas. Mike Horan looked at the neck and said the action was a little high, which it was. He then noticed that there was a very thin line of epoxy around the neck joint. I had seen it, but didn't recognize it for what it was. He said that he would set it up as best he could after the refret, but down the line, when the neck needs another reset, it would be extremely difficult to break it loose.

The good news is that the old Martin plays better than ever, and I've found a great luthier who has done several other jobs for me since. If you're in the Kansas City area, it's worth the drive up to Lawrence to Mass Street.

[first string]

A few glasses of Balvenie 15yr and a good night sleep helps you get over a lot of things! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Ah Balvenie! After Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Bowmore, my very favorite Scotch.

And as for mandolin content...well I've observed that after a single dram my playing improves dramatically (or seems to from my perspective). After two there is a noticeable decline. So in other words, what Homer said.

[KanMando]

Ah Balvenie! After Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Bowmore, my very favorite Scotch.
James:

I was on a rafting trip in the Canadian Arctic a couple years ago. We had one relatively warm evening with enough breeze to keep the mosquitos down, so that we could sit around after dinner and enjoy a drink. We proudly pulled out the bottle of Laphroig we'd brought with us. One of our guides, a Scotsman, proclaimed, "In Scotland, we use that to treat our fence posts." I still managed to choke it down.

Bob

[sgarrity]

Aahhh.....something good comes out of something unpleasant, discussion of fine whisky and mandolins. They go so well together!

[first string]

Ah Balvenie! After Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Bowmore, my very favorite Scotch.
James:

I was on a rafting trip in the Canadian Arctic a couple years ago. We had one relatively warm evening with enough breeze to keep the mosquitos down, so that we could sit around after dinner and enjoy a drink. We proudly pulled out the bottle of Laphroig we'd brought with us. One of our guides, a Scotsman, proclaimed, "In Scotland, we use that to treat our fence posts." I still managed to choke it down.

Bob
Well I admit Laphroig is an acquired taste. Lagavulin (my absolute favorite) gives you all the depth of flavor and peatiness, and at the same time is a lot smoother. That said I've never met a Scot who didn't like it. It might have been an issue of regional loyalty. Scots from other areas might not be so keen on admitting that Islay produces a disproportionately large amount of the great Scotches (I'm just speculating here). But this is really starting to lose all relevancy to mandolins, so with that I will shut up.

[allenhopkins]

Things one needs to find to have a lower-stress life:
[A} A good doctor
{2]* A good dentist
[III] A good auto repair facility
[d] A good instrument repair person

* I listen to the Car Guys a lot, as my numbering system shows

Lucky here to have found all of them, but sometimes it's a jungle out there. #I try not to fault those who make an honest effort, but sometimes make mistakes. #Nonetheless, we have to live with the consequences of their errors. #My instrument repair guy reattached the headstock of my old Regal Octofone after a really crummy old repair (HUGE wood screw involved -- need I say more?) came apart. #His first repair, sadly, lasted only a couple weeks, but I took it back to him, and he made it right for no charge. #Now, a real strong maple plate rests under the restored finish, and it seems solid as a rock. #He also put my mandolinetto back into playable shape, after the guy who sold it to me told me it was "wall hanger only." #No one's perfect, but it's great to find someone you can trust.

[Andrew Faltesek]

Youch!
No reason at all to not provide a soft cloth for your Brentrup to lay upon during the repair, or wrap parts with gauze or cling as needed to protect them, and exercise reasonable care.
Would make me want to knock back some spirits also.

[Wesley]

"We proudly pulled out the bottle of Laphroig we'd brought with us. One of our guides, a Scotsman, proclaimed, "In Scotland, we use that to treat our fence posts"

Bob - It wouldn't suprise me to hear that the Scotsman choked down a wee dram too - even if it wasn't up to his standards.

[hernbone]

I'll come out of lurkdom a bit and recomend Marguerite Pastela over in Newport News,she is one of the best in the country,here is her website http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/

[aphillips]

Since this thread has officially been hijacked by scotch - +1 for Lagavulin - my favorite too. I have a 2 year old beagle whose name is Laghy which is what my family affectionately calls that 16 year old scotch.:D

[sgarrity]

I knew about her. But she seems to be a busy lady who didn't seem at all interested in doing any work for me. I've had several conversations with her about various issues on different instruments and received the same rude, unfriendly response each time. So I quit trying to use her. But I do appreciate you effort in passing along the information!

[hernbone]

Sorry and surprised to hear that http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[mythicfish]

Breathe deeply and live a long and happy life.

[mandroid]

Water [not 'neat'] in Scotch Single Malt, only when in Scotland,
so the water was scotch also.

At toast: to the first dent in the new car, the 1st ding in the new mandolin.

Prost !

[Michael Gowell]

To return to mandolins...

I'd appreciate a suggestion or two for very competent repair persons who can deal with a vintage Gibson, and I'd prefer someone in northern or central New England - say Massachusetts to Maine. #The job is an old unsightly glue repair of an incipient vertical split in the back of the peghead of a 1910 F-2. #It needs excess surface glue removed, perhaps a reglue, and a "distressed" paint touch-up.

I'd rather drive for a couple of hours to deliver & pick up my instrument instead of shipping it. #We can insure for value with a new or recent mando, but hundred-year-old instruments that still play and sound good are irreplacable...not that they are not on the market, but that each is a rare survivor with a historic individual voice. #Lest I be taken to task here for being a Gibson snob (Labelist!) I'd feel the same way about a fine old L&H or Larson.

Anyway, suggestions?

[Big Joe]

Going to a school for lutherie will not make you a good repair or set up person. It can be a beginning of the process, but many of the schools don't teach enough or give enough experience to handle a good many of the jobs you would face. Secondly, I have seen the graduates of some of these schools and it is scary. A diploma or certificate from a school does not make you any more qualified than anyone else. It is years of study and putting it in practice that gives you the skills to really do the job right. Everyone has to start somewhere, and a school is ok for learning tool basics and some wood basics, but it does not really make you a repair person. Experience that turns out good is what counts.

[jim_n_virginia]

I'll come out of lurkdom a bit and recomend Marguerite Pastela over in Newport News,she is one of the best in the country,here is her website http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/
I didn't have much luck dealing with Marguerite either. Every time I talked with her about dropping off an instrument she would not give me much of an idea of how long my instrument will be in the shop. And I have since found out WHY. It's because she is SO backlogged that it takes forever for her to get to your instrument.

Also compared to this guy she charges about triple what he does.

The thing that made this repair guy so good is because hardly anyone knows about him and turn around time is very quick.

[jeffyork]

Shaun,

I'm sorry to hear about that. Next time, take a road trip up here to C-ville for some old-time jamming and visit John Hamlett. I don't think you could find anyone much better...

Hope the new year is treating you well otherwise.

[Gutbucket]

As consumers, we're often asked or required to put a deposit on items. Maybe the repair person should be giving us one on our high dollar instruments. That way, when a situation like this happens, we could recoup our damage or loss. Turn about is fair play.

[Mandobar]

maine michael, try pete langell (formerly of rigel). i believe the rigel website is still up and you can get his info there. also, there is jack o'brien out of jasper, nh. kate spenser at maple leaf music in vermont has also taken on an "on-site" repair person. i believe it is tucker barrett.

[kirkw101]

I just bought a breedlove mandolin from a local shop. went back the next day to get a strap button put on it ( its an OF). I hand it off to the bearded man and I go look at books. well several minutes go by and I look back to see whats happening. he claims he needs a different screw to put the button on. he hands the mandolin to me and I am totally speachless. he can't get the screw to go all the way in, and cannot find a shorter one. so now I have a hole with the finish all jacked up. and still no button.
he tried to go straight in the back of the heel. not form the side (like taylor guitars). so even if he puts it in the right place I will have a hole or patched area to deal with.
the owner will be back in the shop on monday. so will I.

kirk

[WJF]

I know from sad personal experience what this is about. Not that its likely or that you would, but if anyone were ever to suggest that you send it here to NY to a guy named Doug Proper, "The Guitar Specialist" for work, you would want to run in the opposite direction. He's the guy that I thought was simply going to fit a new bridge to the top of my mandola for me. He totaled the finish on the instrument, then kept it for another ten weeks or so in order to 'make it better than new' for me and essentially gave me back an instrument that looked as though he hadn't been touched it since the initial damage had been done... finish ruined.

Doug did NOT stand behind his work when the opportunity presented itself for him to do so. Hopefully your experience with this repair person will have a happier ending.

[Salty Dog]

I do not think you can find a better service person in the Northeast than Bob MacBlane of Preble, NY (just south of Syracuse). #He is a professional luthier and does excellent work at fair prices. #He doesn't advertise a lot (I suppose he doesn't have to) but supports his family as a full time luthier. #You can get his phone number from Yahoo people search. #My only financial interest is what I have paid him to do excellent service work and setups for me.