Montana Lutherie

We usually concentrate on our own business but the following is so outrageous (but indicative of some of the repair stories we get) that we want to warn: Let the Player Beware.

Bruce’s story:
I was contacted recently by the repair guy of a not-too-small music store asking me how the truss rod worked in a mandolin. I asked him if it had a nut on the end of the truss rod, or could it be adjusted by with an allen wrench. He said it had a nut and I told him it’s a single action truss rod and as you tighten, it brings the center of fingerboard up, flattening it.
The Repair Guy says, “OK. Cool. I just did a re-fret and couldn’t figure it out (the truss rod) but since the frets were new I had plenty of meat to file them down. I’m happy, the customer is happy and everything is good.”



One can imagine the neck is still not flat and there are thin frets on each end of the fingerboard with full height in the middle. So much for new frets.

This sort of thing is exactly why we always wanted all of our instruments to come back to the shop for work or repair. There are great local repair people out there however many don’t have the experience to deal with our eight string treasures. We’ve always recommended that players ask questions before entrusting their instrument, but here EVERYONE WAS HAPPY, RIGHT?
Some will view this as a shameless plug for Montana Lutherie and, of course, we would like to receive your repair or customization... but, Wow.

Do you like and/or think it is valuable reading these Facepalm Reports from the field?