So this was my guitar at the time! It's funny that I'm just finding this video now. Listening to Dave's comments off the top, I felt that I owed him and the internet a response. Dave's right - I didn't play it when I picked it up. I'd played acoustic for 20 plus years but this was my first electric guitar (purchased used) and I didn't feel confident enough to trot out my skills in front of Dave. I'd been having issues with fret buzz and just assumed that a set up was going to make it all right. When I got the guitar home I still had loads of buzzing. When I reported the issue to Dave his response was basically - "that's a Tele for you" and "you paid for a set up and that's what you got - everything is to Fender specifications if it isn't playing properly it's not a problem with my setup". To Dave's credit he suggested that the next step would be a fret dressing and that he'd give me a discount on the price of that work. I'd watched a lot of Dave's videos but honestly didn't know if he was a legit luthier or not. I was also in over my head with what might be wrong with this guitar. So, when I got Dave's aggressive response it just made me feel like more of an idiot than I already knew that I was. So, at that point I felt it prudent to take the guitar to a known entity - pay more - but get some professional bedside manner in the bargain. I took it to The Twefth Fret. I paid a lot more - they confirmed that there was an issue with a couple of the frets that had come loose in the slots and needed to be reseated and glued in place to get everything playing nicely again without getting into a complete fret dressing. With the benefit of time and hindsight and hearing some good word of mouth about Dave from others in the business, I'm sure that Dave would have gotten this guitar playing well for me. In the back of my mind over the past couple of years I felt bad about how we'd ended things - I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant goodbye! Dave - I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to fix my guitar properly. And I'm glad you're still making videos. I just watched a bunch of 'em!
I've never had any work done by Dave, but I know that a lot of so called luthiers can't find their ass with both hands. Dave has the experience and you can tell that he knows what he's doing. Keep up the good work Dave..
I can attest to the fact that Dave requests you to play the guitar before leaving...every bass I've brought there (impeccable work by the way) he has asked me to play before leaving....so if GooneyGooGoo didn't play it before leaving, he should have..and as well, the "issue" could have been discussed Mano to Mano. Cheers Dave ...from ur sticker guy. :)
Honestly I'm not sure whats going on . I'm old enough to know there are people out there that once they get a bad feeling about some thing it just sticks in there head .Yes Dave to bring it back would be the decent thing to do but it's more fun to Bitch about stuff . Have a nice day.oh if I had a guitar I'd let you touch it .
your set ups must be crap I've been copying your set ups for years and my instruments all sound like shite! ..oh hang on ..no that's only when " I " play them ...doh !! top job Dave your instructions have taught me well 👍🏻☮❤
I'll bet that guitar's neck felt fine when it was new. Many current-production guitars have woods that are not properly seasoned, so they get built, the edges of the fretboards (with frets installed) are sanded and finished, and out the door they go. After a year or two the wood continues to shrink a bit and that's when the fret sprout happens. Yeah, there are new guitars hanging in shops that have fret sprout, most probably because they've been hanging there for months while the wood dries out.
Only a little of that is climatic humidity, much of it is just permanent core moisture loss. Bill Nash sands his necks to bare wood on the back and even recommends fret end filing if these pop out - unfinished maple simply loses more moisture and he considers that a positive. And today's wood is killn dried at controlled higher temperatures, not seasoned for years like early vintage guitar woods were (this gives a nicer result.)
I've had several Fenders with sharp fret edges. One was purchased at Guitar Center & it was a brand new release in a special color. Definitely was NOT sitting in the store for a while. I mentioned it to the sales clerk & they gave me $200 off
Dam you Canadians don't know how got you got it with a repair guy like Dave up there. None of the techs I have taken my guitars to have even come close to the attention to detail that Dave puts into these guitars.
Dave, I heard your comment about the customer and his gripe. He wanted his money back? I had the very same problem with two customers and I treated them both with respect and aske them to bring their guitars back to my shop. Both told me they after all were not pleased with the work I had done. One was for a Custom Made Bone Nut and Saddle. The other was for a repair to the electronics, the Pots and caps. The Bone Nut and Saddle were not made correctly according to another shop and they were "adjusted" to fix both. Costs, $40 dollars. I asked the owner why not bring it back to me? He tells me he didn't trust me! Said I would damage his guitar! So, I offered him the $40 dollars back for the New Repairs but only after I could test both to see just what had been REPAIRED. He had paid to have both lowered, That's all,. Lowered. Not good enough. He wanted ALL his money back! Again, I said ok and I cut the strings off the guitar while he sat there looking surprised and got my tamp and hammer out to knock out the Bone Nut and Saddle. Wait, I dont want you to touch those! I said, well they belong to me, I created them. If I paid you back for them Im keeping them BOTH. I told him Id also pay the $40 but the Saddle and nut were mine and Im keeping them! He changed his mind and stormed out of my shop cussing me,. And when I checked my notes the REPAIRs were all of 1/64th lowered tha'ts all. Next the electronics were those tiny Chinese Pots that come on cheap guitars. I liked this kid and we sat talked a while and I told him the repair cost would be only $35 dollars, One pot was bad and to replace it with another junky cheap Chinese pot like original would be about $4 dollars. And many of the wires were so thin they needed re solder and replaced. But, when I got into the guitar I checked my supply and no cheap pots. I did have 4 new CTS/Gibson pots that I could use. So I told him about the Upgrade and or the 1 week delay. The Upgrade instead of $35 would be $50 dollars. He seemed happy and after installing 4 new Gibson 500k Pots at $16.45 ea 2 new Orange Drop Caps and a new Gibson tall 3 way. The job was done. He got the guitar and loved it, Paid me the $50 and we talked. He talked about how he and his Uncle, a Lawyer had gone after some car repair shop and he got the repairs for cost of parts! I thought this kid's a jerk or his Uncle or both. So, one week later here he comes telling me I didn't wire the guitar right,. He had taken it to a shop and they fixed it for $65 dollars! This is after I had shot the video of him playing it and telling me it was much better than before and was so pleased, At that time I still liked the kid. But, when he insisted on getting the Money back and the repair costs back I knew he was just a con. He comes to my shop and No guitar! I explained to him Id be glad to give him the $50 back since I had spent near $100 on parts and nothing for labor. I also told him I still had his old parts. Id give them all back. Then he starts texting me telling me he's going to Sue me! That he had an uncle a lawyer would sue me for free., I wrote him back, told him to have his Uncle call me or give me his firms number. That I would be more than happy to meet him in court. He then appologized and again asked for all the money back again! The nerve of this kid! I told him he should be more careful about telling the story about the car repair and the only way Id speak to him again would be in court. And if his uncle was too afraid to file, to let me know Id file myself. Last word I heard from this Kid Con, Lesson, no matter what you do or how hard you try there is always one Asshole that will try to take advantage of you. I still offer all customers Free Pro Setups and a set of Free Strings for the video I shoot. But, since those experiences I always have the owners go on video and have a chance to complain and have adjustments made or tell what a great or good job I did for them for free or for a fee. It put a quick stop to these types of customers. You may try it yourself sometime., Have a good one.
Great video as usual Dave. It’s fun observing your expertise. I’ve learned a lot by watching over the years. Great narrative approach. More basses please!
Someone already wrote this more or less - often the fretboard shrinks due to dry air, esp. if the wood on the fretboard is still "fresh". This can lead to sharp fret ends months after it gets built. This happens a lot in winter in cold climates like up here in Toronto.
From Leo: I got a couple of stories about people who did not buy a guitar from us, and bought on line. Then they wanted us to fix it for free. When we didn't, they posted crap on the internet that we were rip offs. They saved $15. and somehow it is my fault they are unhappy. The race to bottom discount price has pretty much left the seller and the customers both unhappy..
That's fair Dave. You sound like a good guy to deal with. I set up my own guitars but wouldn't hesitate to have you work on them. You're careful, thorough, skilled, and seem to love guitars. Some folks just aren't happy unless they're miserable lol.
HAHAHAHAHA! Glad you got a good one. But mine were sharp enough to cut me. But I expected it, sucked it up and dressed the fret ends. I love my Squier bullet Tele (seafoam green)! If I had 4 arms, I'd buy another one!
Totally!! It’s pretty amazing what you can get for the money these days. Mine is an Affinity. I’ve heard sharp fret ends are more common on the Bullet version but it’s an easy fix if you know what you’re doing.
Ding-Dong kicked in the butt by a person unwilling to say anything when asked 'how's it play?'. Good luck to 'em. Cheers Dave 1 of a few hundred ain't too bad
Most legit peeps will tinker with it for you until you're happy. Dave is one of those. Hope he's happy with Dr. 2nd Opinion because... "We shan't work together again" ~ David St. Hubbins
I just bought a brand new 20/20 Epiphone Les Paul studio, it played like garbage when I got it, I used all the information I have gotten from Dave's videos and adjusted the trussrod, bridge and reslotted the nut and I couldn't be happier, thanks Dave!
After taking a close look at that new Tele, I am literally stunned. There is so little it has in common with my '69 Tele...it is like looking at a totally different guitar brand or model. Every part on the new Tele looks so "manufactured", so machined, thick and a unfinished. Like they were trying to make an instrument without touching it or placing it in a human hand. Isn't an instrument supposed to be a crafted, personalized creation? Damn I'm glad I grew up in the 50's...and kept my instruments.
Just subscribed. I have watched your videos for a while. Thanks for all the info over the years! I just bought a Jimmy Page Telecaster and the fret work is great! Granted I am paying over 2 grand via payments for this but it did need a tweak of the nut slot on the high E. Love your laid back approach to this stuff. Cheers from K-Town B.C.!
I’ve run into this more and more. At first I blamed the weather, and maybe a dry fretboard. But now I think it’s a quality control issue. The only one that I’ve had absolutely not issues with is my National deluxe, and my Martin that was plekd. Fender’s, Gibson, Epiphone, all have had little issues.
It is just bad quality, they arent trying to control a thing. Poorly finished fret ends often won't stick out until the wood shrinks and by then they assume the guitar is already none of their responsibility. :(
It's sad that people will bring in a Volkswagen for a tune up expecting the performance of a Porsche. Ya can't please them all Dave. Keep up the good work brother.
Hey Dave . Been a fan of your channel for some time. I finally subscribed. I see you as a very knowledgeable and experienced setup and repair technician, with a good sense of humor. You’ve seen a lot of baloney I’m sure in the time you’ve been providing your services. Whatta you gonna do? Sorry to hear about someone bringing your game down . Keep the vids coming. I truly enjoy your channel. Thanks. Tom
Dude...there is nothing more painful than something like this when you’re a repair tech who cares about his work. I did a tuner install last year and I don’t know what happened. Maybe I was tired, maybe it was at the end of a long day and 5 other jobs, whatever...but I TOTALLY fucked the tuner staggering on this guy’s tele (a tele I built a couple years before, no less) and to top it off, the guitar’s electronics started buzzing about a week later. It was really bad...there’s nothing worse than opening up an email titled “unsatisfied”. Luckily, I got it back and made everything right but goddamn....those are the incidents that stick with you...
I've had it,,, I've advised people on the best course of action and they've gone out and done the opposite... Then it becomes my fault they 'didn't get what they wanted'... There's is a special term for these people, and it begins with a C.
I know from personal experience that your ability to make a good fix will always be outweighed by the customers inability to make a good purchase. It's the cross we have to bare. Keep calm and carry on.
I understand and agree with you about giving a second chance. But, I have had a situation where I had to have shoddy work fixed by a second person. Perhaps, first time customers may deserve a little leeway. Love that blue Tele. (Obviously you do great work).
dude...couldn't agree more with your "disclaimer"..i try to make sure anyone i do work for plays it before leaving...not 2 min play....play it for awhile...now if they refuse and call me and "cry" i tell them come back...the whole "i bought it to someone else and they said.........." bullshit gets a GFY.....
I had the situation you described in the disclaimer a coyple of weeks ago. I had built a Jazzmaster style guitar for a client (they wanted it customised slightly and put p90s in it). They ended up bailing on me right at the end. Needless to say they lost their deposit but I now had a guitar that I needed to sell. New guy come to collect, set up an amp a few pedals so he could try it out and offered 3 times for him to play it before handing over any money. He declined and said he just wanted to give me the cash and go. 1 week later he calls and says it's not playing right and his "guitar tech friend" thinks he should demand I do any additional work to get it how he wants for free. Told him right off that I'd told him to play it at the start but he didn't want that so if he's now wanting me to put another 10+ hours in refinishing it and all his other demands he can bloody well pay me for it.
Dave, I love your channel, and will be here forever. However, I do have to chime in and say, sharp fret ends can happen on any new guitar. Even old ones sometimes, as the wood shrinks and the frets do not shrink. Once the wood shrinks, THEN the frets won't pop out anymore.
So what is the cause of unfinished frets on a Fender then Dave? My 91 Squire Strat doesn't have that problem and it was pretty cheap when compared to a Fender, certainly less than 150 GBP. Is it just bad workmanship - which is pretty hard to fathom on a proper Fender?
You can't please all the people of the time, and also nobody's perfect, there was only one man in history who they say was 'perfect', and look what happened to him!!
Well, it would have helped his case if he didn't tell the Romans and banksters to suck it lol. As the story goes, that's why he ended up on the cross. Not because he was "perfect". There's one constant in this world. Fuck with banksters and you end up getting the Kennedy treatment.
@@ronvonryan What's hilarious is that some people still talk about his supposed return. Chances are if he came back, modern-day Banksters would just have him bumped off again. They don't like it very much when people rock their boat. I can only imagine what the conversation between him and God would be like after that lol. "Seriously, Dad!? Twice!? That wasn't part of the deal, you asshole! Lucifer may be a dick, but he's got nothing on you right now. If I ever go back down there again, It'll be on the wings of an A-10 Warthog, and I'm gonna * brrrrrrrrrrrt * the shit out of those blue-blooded pricks." lol
@@MFKR696 Mind you his Dad is probably looking down and seeing the state of the world today and is thinking 'I think it's about time for another great flood or perhaps another plague'? or could be I am reading his mind?
Make a contract that customers need agree to and sign! It can protect the customers and you! Bringing the guitar back to be checked again is a no brainer, since it's already been paid for! Some people just don't have a brainer! lol
Being an amateur guitar tinker myself since the happy 70's, I know there is a million different preferences of how a good guitar should feel and play, and any "customer" who don't communicate their preferences and/or play the guitar on pickup day is an idiot. Simple as that. It's not like fixing the indicator light on a car.
I think you do a great job with the instruments as far i have seen on your videos. Me personaly i cant leave a guitar to a luthier and just walk away i have to be with him and play the guitar after he done the set up,i also like to be there the whole time just to see how he do the set up. I have a luthier here in sweden that takes care of my Fender MIJ strat amd my other guitars and he let me be inside his workshop(infact all of his costumers) and look at him when he do the set up. I do have my personal action but i cant tell him the mesurements so i need to play it afterwards to feel if the strings need to go down or up. The string gauge is also VERY IMPORTANT 10s on strats and SGa or stratstyle and 10-52 on lps and Vs. If they put the wrong gauge i just cant play the guitar...so that is also the reason why i stay.
Btw i am in business for myself and I hate nothing more than when a professional bad mouths you or your work for only their monetary gain. Lol @ a second opinion
Hi Dave from cold and wet UK. Great vids my friend I have learnt so much from your method of setting up guitars. The world is full of strange folks, I wonder if the garage, in his opinion didn't service his car correctly...would he take it back and ask them to take another look? Bet I know the answer!! Anyways you inspired me at age 72 to build and set up guitars for friends and family. Telecaster, LP and a beautiful ES355 built so far....onwards and upwards my friend peace and health to all. Greg
I have an '04 Mexican Tele I had a fret job done on in '015. About a year later, started getting fret sprout, which tells me the wood is still shrinking after all those years. Yeah, and that cad of a customer deserved to be fired.
Maybe the guy thought you'd get angry and couldn't face that.They're out there Dave,They're out there .........................................Have a better one.
@@johnbaird7549 I disagree in a way if it only had one pickup it would be an esquire alls also my opinion hum bucker tele's should be a total different guitar name as they are in sound
So the infamous gooch underlies in some peep heads (and mouths) sometimes . haha. Brotherly Dave , God gives you the just weight you can carry with you, and that's the destiny. You can choose to carry it or not , that's the free will. You will always be good , fun and an eminence at what you do , then one truly grateful customer will pay in satisfaction for all others. Yours is the choice , carry it until it happens or carry on. Love, Dave.
And say you have to send it back through the mail, how can they check at your shop before you send it out? It is usually cheaper to get someone else to look at it locally, than paying 70 bucks to get the thing re delivered to you and for you to have a second go at it.
I don't understand not playing an instrument when you pick it up from being serviced. That's the best time to get some things tweaked, if needed. I also can't imagine anyone being unhappy with Dave's work. I'm going to guess that person is super picky and finds "issues" that most people wouldn't even notice.
Well im in the flooring business and imagine having someone owe you 10k dollars when you finish a job and they just come up with nonsense complaints to try and get a discount or freebie or just to be a dick and make you wait. Happens about 2-4 times a year and its really lame.
Rude customers suck. I’ve been there. Had a taxi cab driver pissed that his cab wasn’t starting. Gave us all hell when we asked him what was wrong with it. Just straight up told us all “you’re the mechanic; you figure it out!”. I’ve never once wanted to curb stomp a customer until that day. Glad I got to go to lunch after I looked over it before handing it off to my master tech buddy. Also, beautiful Baja Tele. But yeah, the fret ends and weight suck. But sharp feet ends seem to be a consistent with almost all Fender and Fender licensed (ie Squier) guitars.
Even with my local tech, that I've used occasionally over the past decade or so (I'm too lazy to fanny about with trems, and occasionally I like to give my spendier guitars a special treat before I play them badly), I'll always play it before I leave the shop. As much as anything else, I live in the arse end of nowhere, and it's about a two hour round trip, so if I don't like the work, taking it back would be a massive arseache.
@@freedomination2 I do quite a bit myself; I'd have needed a second job if I was taking my peak guitar collection (about 20) into a tech every time I need to polish a fret or tweak a truss rod. Essentially, I'll take one of my guitars in a year for a bit like sending her indoors to a spa day or some bollocks like that.
Kyuss Qotsa And they get offended and aggresive for no reason. Case in point: kommi1974 "it has nothing to do with politics, *jackass* ." They manifest themselves out of thin air. Priceless!
Maybe buddy liked having his guitar setup like @$$ because then he could blame things on the guitar. When you gave it a proper setup, he couldn't do that anymore. We all love you, just not enough to ring you up while you're recording.✌️
The sound of that tele is wonderful - telelicious, as you would say Dave, but I don't understand how they can let it out the factory without checking basics like sharp fret ends. Such a simple mistake....
Yup, it never ceases to me amaze me how people will gripe about something but not give you the chance to make it right. If I brought a guitar to you, and you asked me to play it before taking it home, I would!! If for some reason once I got home and I found something I didn't like, I would light you up on social media!! Lol, no, being a reasonable person I would call you and say, "Hey Dave, man after I got home and had a better chance to really play this thin, I just am not satisfied with ______, what can we do about it?" . But in today's world, it's "Bitch first, then pretend to be rational" out there.
Fretboard wood shrinkage doesn’t actual explain the “Pyramid ends” on the frets. If it was wood shrinkage it’d only be the fret edge touching the wood that would need tweaking. The problem a lot of guitars have are flat and sharp edged frets because manufacturers run a flat file only along the length of the neck.
So this was my guitar at the time! It's funny that I'm just finding this video now. Listening to Dave's comments off the top, I felt that I owed him and the internet a response.
Dave's right - I didn't play it when I picked it up. I'd played acoustic for 20 plus years but this was my first electric guitar (purchased used) and I didn't feel confident enough to trot out my skills in front of Dave. I'd been having issues with fret buzz and just assumed that a set up was going to make it all right. When I got the guitar home I still had loads of buzzing.
When I reported the issue to Dave his response was basically - "that's a Tele for you" and "you paid for a set up and that's what you got - everything is to Fender specifications if it isn't playing properly it's not a problem with my setup". To Dave's credit he suggested that the next step would be a fret dressing and that he'd give me a discount on the price of that work. I'd watched a lot of Dave's videos but honestly didn't know if he was a legit luthier or not. I was also in over my head with what might be wrong with this guitar. So, when I got Dave's aggressive response it just made me feel like more of an idiot than I already knew that I was.
So, at that point I felt it prudent to take the guitar to a known entity - pay more - but get some professional bedside manner in the bargain. I took it to The Twefth Fret. I paid a lot more - they confirmed that there was an issue with a couple of the frets that had come loose in the slots and needed to be reseated and glued in place to get everything playing nicely again without getting into a complete fret dressing.
With the benefit of time and hindsight and hearing some good word of mouth about Dave from others in the business, I'm sure that Dave would have gotten this guitar playing well for me. In the back of my mind over the past couple of years I felt bad about how we'd ended things - I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant goodbye!
Dave - I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to fix my guitar properly. And I'm glad you're still making videos. I just watched a bunch of 'em!
You can’t fix stupid. Dave, you know this.
Surprised you didn't give this speech sooner and I agree 110%.
@@DavesWorldofFunStuff well, I have set up my rigs using your system and they play like they never played before.
Keep on keepin on.
@@aurthorthing7403 My thoughts exactly. My guitars have never played better since I started watching these vids years ago.
Mine too, thanks for all you do Dave!
@@DavesWorldofFunStuff You should hire him, while he still knows everything.
@@jimfromoh8944 I second that! ^^👍🏼👍🏼
I've never had any work done by Dave, but I know that a lot of so called luthiers can't find their ass with both hands. Dave has the experience and you can tell that he knows what he's doing. Keep up the good work Dave..
Its a nashville Tele, the middle strat pickup was so that guys can get a tele and a strat sound without having to lug around multiple guitars.
I would hate to be the Gooch who ran his mouth right now
I can attest to the fact that Dave requests you to play the guitar before leaving...every bass I've brought there (impeccable work by the way) he has asked me to play before leaving....so if GooneyGooGoo didn't play it before leaving, he should have..and as well, the "issue" could have been discussed Mano to Mano. Cheers Dave ...from ur sticker guy. :)
I have brought two in and yes he asks you to play.... Great jobs on both
Mano to Mano(Or Mano a Mano as it really is) means hand you hand. That would mean that they shake hands.
I think you meant Man to Man.
@@paulfrombrooklyn5409 sure.
Jim Morris would you not shake hands, on a job well done?
Honestly I'm not sure whats going on . I'm old enough to know there are people out there that once they get a bad feeling about some thing it just sticks in there head .Yes Dave to bring it back would be the decent thing to do but it's more fun to Bitch about stuff . Have a nice day.oh if I had a guitar I'd let you touch it .
And would you let Dave touch the guitar too? :-)
I live in the UK and I'd have Dave sort my guitars in heart beat.
Way to go Dave! I’ve had assholes pull the same crap on me in my business. You have a great attitude about it!
Let me guess, they liked the rough frets because pain makes them know they're alive.
Maybe it's ''Pinhead'' 's guitar...
I'd never cut myself on the frets that far up the neck :-) That's the dusty end on all my guitars :-)
your set ups must be crap I've been copying your set ups for years and my instruments all sound like shite! ..oh hang on ..no that's only when " I " play them ...doh !!
top job Dave your instructions have taught me well 👍🏻☮❤
I'll bet that guitar's neck felt fine when it was new. Many current-production guitars have woods that are not properly seasoned, so they get built, the edges of the fretboards (with frets installed) are sanded and finished, and out the door they go. After a year or two the wood continues to shrink a bit and that's when the fret sprout happens. Yeah, there are new guitars hanging in shops that have fret sprout, most probably because they've been hanging there for months while the wood dries out.
Take it back to Ensenada, I bet the wood will rehydrate and swell back up. I see Dave's mid-winter hands need a trip to Ensenada, too.
Only a little of that is climatic humidity, much of it is just permanent core moisture loss.
Bill Nash sands his necks to bare wood on the back and even recommends fret end filing if these pop out - unfinished maple simply loses more moisture and he considers that a positive.
And today's wood is killn dried at controlled higher temperatures, not seasoned for years like early vintage guitar woods were (this gives a nicer result.)
it is not fret sprout, just poorly finished work.
Somewhere there's a joke to had here incorporating fret sprout, denying climate change and Trump. Aspiring comedy writers please?
I've had several Fenders with sharp fret edges. One was purchased at Guitar Center & it was a brand new release in a special color. Definitely was NOT sitting in the store for a while. I mentioned it to the sales clerk & they gave me $200 off
Dam you Canadians don't know how got you got it with a repair guy like Dave up there. None of the techs I have taken my guitars to have even come close to the attention to detail that Dave puts into these guitars.
We are not exporting him, sorry
@@davekiddie4467 surrender him pronto or we'll invade Toronto.
@@buckodonnghaile4309 I wish Trump would invade our communist country! I would love the Right to Bare Arms and put Trudope in jail for treason!
Most Canadians don't know how good they have it, period. You know what they say... You don't know what you've got until it's gone.
I heard it was too cold in Canada for bare arms...
🌬☃🎸 Hey everybody it's time for FRET SPROUT FEBRUARY YAYYYY!🎉🎉🎉
Dave, I heard your comment about the customer and his gripe. He wanted his money back? I had the very same problem with two customers and I treated them both with respect and aske them to bring their guitars back to my shop. Both told me they after all were not pleased with the work I had done. One was for a Custom Made Bone Nut and Saddle. The other was for a repair to the electronics, the Pots and caps.
The Bone Nut and Saddle were not made correctly according to another shop and they were "adjusted" to fix both. Costs, $40 dollars. I asked the owner why not bring it back to me? He tells me he didn't trust me! Said I would damage his guitar! So, I offered him the $40 dollars back for the New Repairs but only after I could test both to see just what had been REPAIRED. He had paid to have both lowered, That's all,. Lowered. Not good enough. He wanted ALL his money back! Again, I said ok and I cut the strings off the guitar while he sat there looking surprised and got my tamp and hammer out to knock out the Bone Nut and Saddle. Wait, I dont want you to touch those! I said, well they belong to me, I created them. If I paid you back for them Im keeping them BOTH. I told him Id also pay the $40 but the Saddle and nut were mine and Im keeping them! He changed his mind and stormed out of my shop cussing me,. And when I checked my notes the REPAIRs were all of 1/64th lowered tha'ts all.
Next the electronics were those tiny Chinese Pots that come on cheap guitars. I liked this kid and we sat talked a while and I told him the repair cost would be only $35 dollars, One pot was bad and to replace it with another junky cheap Chinese pot like original would be about $4 dollars. And many of the wires were so thin they needed re solder and replaced. But, when I got into the guitar I checked my supply and no cheap pots. I did have 4 new CTS/Gibson pots that I could use. So I told him about the Upgrade and or the 1 week delay. The Upgrade instead of $35 would be $50 dollars. He seemed happy and after installing 4 new Gibson 500k Pots at $16.45 ea 2 new Orange Drop Caps and a new Gibson tall 3 way. The job was done. He got the guitar and loved it, Paid me the $50 and we talked. He talked about how he and his Uncle, a Lawyer had gone after some car repair shop and he got the repairs for cost of parts! I thought this kid's a jerk or his Uncle or both. So, one week later here he comes telling me I didn't wire the guitar right,. He had taken it to a shop and they fixed it for $65 dollars! This is after I had shot the video of him playing it and telling me it was much better than before and was so pleased, At that time I still liked the kid. But, when he insisted on getting the Money back and the repair costs back I knew he was just a con. He comes to my shop and No guitar! I explained to him Id be glad to give him the $50 back since I had spent near $100 on parts and nothing for labor. I also told him I still had his old parts. Id give them all back. Then he starts texting me telling me he's going to Sue me! That he had an uncle a lawyer would sue me for free., I wrote him back, told him to have his Uncle call me or give me his firms number. That I would be more than happy to meet him in court. He then appologized and again asked for all the money back again! The nerve of this kid! I told him he should be more careful about telling the story about the car repair and the only way Id speak to him again would be in court. And if his uncle was too afraid to file, to let me know Id file myself. Last word I heard from this Kid Con,
Lesson, no matter what you do or how hard you try there is always one Asshole that will try to take advantage of you. I still offer all customers Free Pro Setups and a set of Free Strings for the video I shoot. But, since those experiences I always have the owners go on video and have a chance to complain and have adjustments made or tell what a great or good job I did for them for free or for a fee. It put a quick stop to these types of customers. You may try it yourself sometime., Have a good one.
Great video as usual Dave. It’s fun observing your expertise. I’ve learned a lot by watching over the years. Great narrative approach. More basses please!
Someone already wrote this more or less - often the fretboard shrinks due to dry air, esp. if the wood on the fretboard is still "fresh". This can lead to sharp fret ends months after it gets built. This happens a lot in winter in cold climates like up here in Toronto.
From Leo: I got a couple of stories about people who did not buy a guitar from us, and bought on line. Then they wanted us to fix it for free. When we didn't, they posted crap on the internet that we were rip offs. They saved $15. and somehow it is my fault they are unhappy. The race to bottom discount price has pretty much left the seller and the customers both unhappy..
That's fair Dave. You sound like a good guy to deal with. I set up my own guitars but wouldn't hesitate to have you work on them. You're careful, thorough, skilled, and seem to love guitars. Some folks just aren't happy unless they're miserable lol.
Sitting here holding my cheap Squier Tele with the nicest, smoothest fret ends. Do people pay extra for the sharp fret ends?
HAHAHAHAHA! Glad you got a good one. But mine were sharp enough to cut me. But I expected it, sucked it up and dressed the fret ends. I love my Squier bullet Tele (seafoam green)! If I had 4 arms, I'd buy another one!
Totally!! It’s pretty amazing what you can get for the money these days. Mine is an Affinity. I’ve heard sharp fret ends are more common on the Bullet version but it’s an easy fix if you know what you’re doing.
Thanks again Dave! I could never do any of the things i do with guitar repairs and mods if it wasn’t for your lessons! Thanks A Lot!
Ding-Dong kicked in the butt by a person unwilling to say anything when asked 'how's it play?'. Good luck to 'em. Cheers Dave 1 of a few hundred ain't too bad
Most legit peeps will tinker with it for you until you're happy. Dave is one of those. Hope he's happy with Dr. 2nd Opinion because... "We shan't work together again" ~ David St. Hubbins
I just bought a brand new 20/20 Epiphone Les Paul studio, it played like garbage when I got it, I used all the information I have gotten from Dave's videos and adjusted the trussrod, bridge and reslotted the nut and I couldn't be happier, thanks Dave!
After taking a close look at that new Tele, I am literally stunned. There is so little it has in common with my '69 Tele...it is like looking at a totally different guitar brand or model. Every part on the new Tele looks so "manufactured", so machined, thick and a unfinished. Like they were trying to make an instrument without touching it or placing it in a human hand. Isn't an instrument supposed to be a crafted, personalized creation? Damn I'm glad I grew up in the 50's...and kept my instruments.
I appreciate videos like this. Subscribed!
Just subscribed. I have watched your videos for a while. Thanks for all the info over the years!
I just bought a Jimmy Page Telecaster and the fret work is great! Granted I am paying over 2 grand via payments for this but it did need a tweak of the nut slot on the high E.
Love your laid back approach to this stuff.
Cheers from K-Town B.C.!
Sonic Blue Fenders are always just gorgeous IMO
Daphne blue I believe
Edgar Patlan maybe so but it looks identical to my sonic blue strat. Either way they’re some of my faves
Put enough vibrato on those blue Fender guitars and you're the surf king lol. (from A Mighty Wind)
@@metalliholic i think you're right
Stephen Weiler yea, fender makes them in daphne blue and fiesta red.
I’ve run into this more and more. At first I blamed the weather, and maybe a dry fretboard. But now I think it’s a quality control issue. The only one that I’ve had absolutely not issues with is my National deluxe, and my Martin that was plekd. Fender’s, Gibson, Epiphone, all have had little issues.
It is just bad quality, they arent trying to control a thing. Poorly finished fret ends often won't stick out until the wood shrinks and by then they assume the guitar is already none of their responsibility. :(
I have the same guitar in fiesta red. Fret ends are daggers on mine. Thanks for the video.
It's sad that people will bring in a Volkswagen for a tune up expecting the performance of a Porsche. Ya can't please them all Dave. Keep up the good work brother.
Always good to each other!
Hey Dave . Been a fan of your channel for some time. I finally subscribed. I see you as a very knowledgeable and experienced setup and repair technician, with a good sense of humor. You’ve seen a lot of baloney I’m sure in the time you’ve been providing your services. Whatta you gonna do? Sorry to hear about someone bringing your game down . Keep the vids coming. I truly enjoy your channel. Thanks. Tom
Dude...there is nothing more painful than something like this when you’re a repair tech who cares about his work.
I did a tuner install last year and I don’t know what happened. Maybe I was tired, maybe it was at the end of a long day and 5 other jobs, whatever...but I TOTALLY fucked the tuner staggering on this guy’s tele (a tele I built a couple years before, no less) and to top it off, the guitar’s electronics started buzzing about a week later. It was really bad...there’s nothing worse than opening up an email titled “unsatisfied”. Luckily, I got it back and made everything right but goddamn....those are the incidents that stick with you...
I'm sure there/s a place in Tele Heaven for all good Tele's!
This guy is one of the best ... period!
Hey Dave, received my DWoFS sticker in the mail today. Thanks! It's already on the guitar case.
I used to have one of these Teles. Put a Gotoh bridge on it. It weighed more than my Les Paul.
I was born in 1955, played since grammar school I never felt a sharp fret until the 21st century. On any priced guitar
I've had it,,, I've advised people on the best course of action and they've gone out and done the opposite... Then it becomes my fault they 'didn't get what they wanted'... There's is a special term for these people, and it begins with a C.
Cantankerous?
Cooky?
@@GreekDude Yes
@@paulfrombrooklyn5409 Yes
C**T or C**ks**ker lol
I know from personal experience that your ability to make a good fix will always be outweighed by the customers inability to make a good purchase. It's the cross we have to bare. Keep calm and carry on.
Agree about the middle pickup on a Tele. Can't get used to it. Though to be fair, I'm even iffy on humbuckers on a Tele.
100% agree with your opening remarks. Some folks are never pleased. Some expect you to turn their junk into gems too. Drives me nuts.
I understand and agree with you about giving a second chance. But, I have had a situation where I had to have shoddy work fixed by a second person. Perhaps, first time customers may deserve a little leeway. Love that blue Tele. (Obviously you do great work).
dude...couldn't agree more with your "disclaimer"..i try to make sure anyone i do work for plays it before leaving...not 2 min play....play it for awhile...now if they refuse and call me and "cry" i tell them come back...the whole "i bought it to someone else and they said.........." bullshit gets a GFY.....
I had the situation you described in the disclaimer a coyple of weeks ago. I had built a Jazzmaster style guitar for a client (they wanted it customised slightly and put p90s in it). They ended up bailing on me right at the end. Needless to say they lost their deposit but I now had a guitar that I needed to sell. New guy come to collect, set up an amp a few pedals so he could try it out and offered 3 times for him to play it before handing over any money. He declined and said he just wanted to give me the cash and go. 1 week later he calls and says it's not playing right and his "guitar tech friend" thinks he should demand I do any additional work to get it how he wants for free. Told him right off that I'd told him to play it at the start but he didn't want that so if he's now wanting me to put another 10+ hours in refinishing it and all his other demands he can bloody well pay me for it.
Wow, keep up the excellent work!
Dave, I love your channel, and will be here forever. However, I do have to chime in and say, sharp fret ends can happen on any new guitar. Even old ones sometimes, as the wood shrinks and the frets do not shrink. Once the wood shrinks, THEN the frets won't pop out anymore.
Happens. Dont take it to heart you know what youre doing.
Don't ask if they want to play it - make 'em.
Then they have no comeback if it's not set up to their complete satisfaction...
Appreciate your honesty.
Appreciate your Elbus impersonations.
I would be more than happy for you to do my luthier work but unfortunately I live in the U.K , I've often thought if only Dave was here !
I get it, he wanted it to sound like John 5.
Hahaha "Hey Dave, can you get my Tele to sound like Vince Gill? No, and neither can you"...
What were the complaints? Sorry if I missed it in the video.
pallecla which one is it?
What was the subject of the complaint?
not certain what the grumble is here dave...was it for doing work on poorly finished frets that was not instructed?
So what is the cause of unfinished frets on a Fender then Dave? My 91 Squire Strat doesn't have that problem and it was pretty cheap when compared to a Fender, certainly less than 150 GBP. Is it just bad workmanship - which is pretty hard to fathom on a proper Fender?
You can't please all the people of the time, and also nobody's perfect, there was only one man in history who they say was 'perfect', and look what happened to him!!
Well, it would have helped his case if he didn't tell the Romans and banksters to suck it lol. As the story goes, that's why he ended up on the cross. Not because he was "perfect". There's one constant in this world. Fuck with banksters and you end up getting the Kennedy treatment.
@@MFKR696 You might have a point there!!
@@ronvonryan What's hilarious is that some people still talk about his supposed return. Chances are if he came back, modern-day Banksters would just have him bumped off again. They don't like it very much when people rock their boat. I can only imagine what the conversation between him and God would be like after that lol.
"Seriously, Dad!? Twice!? That wasn't part of the deal, you asshole! Lucifer may be a dick, but he's got nothing on you right now. If I ever go back down there again, It'll be on the wings of an A-10 Warthog, and I'm gonna * brrrrrrrrrrrt * the shit out of those blue-blooded pricks." lol
@@MFKR696 Mind you his Dad is probably looking down and seeing the state of the world today and is thinking 'I think it's about time for another great flood or perhaps another plague'? or could be I am reading his mind?
@@ronvonryan lol That would be rather fitting with the way things are currently going. People just suck these days.
"AHHH--GREEED , DAVE.. ! "
People are always looking for a reason to complain--but you know, it is what it is. :)
Make a contract that customers need agree to and sign! It can protect the customers and you! Bringing the guitar back to be checked again is a no brainer, since it's already been paid for! Some people just don't have a brainer! lol
Good job Dave.
Being an amateur guitar tinker myself since the happy 70's, I know there is a million different preferences of how a good guitar should feel and play, and any "customer" who don't communicate their preferences and/or play the guitar on pickup day is an idiot. Simple as that. It's not like fixing the indicator light on a car.
"the part you hold on to......." I tell my wife that all the time.
People gripe about SGs: "they neck dive, waa waa." Well that's what the handle is for.
Paul S, your Visa?
Paul S. So, it has sharp metal pieces sticking out of the sides?
We recently went into guitar center and tried out many 4-600$ guitars, our fingers were all scratched up by the time that we left ,
I think you do a great job with the instruments as far i have seen on your videos. Me personaly i cant leave a guitar to a luthier and just walk away i have to be with him and play the guitar after he done the set up,i also like to be there the whole time just to see how he do the set up. I have a luthier here in sweden that takes care of my Fender MIJ strat amd my other guitars and he let me be inside his workshop(infact all of his costumers) and look at him when he do the set up. I do have my personal action but i cant tell him the mesurements so i need to play it afterwards to feel if the strings need to go down or up. The string gauge is also VERY IMPORTANT 10s on strats and SGa or stratstyle and 10-52 on lps and Vs. If they put the wrong gauge i just cant play the guitar...so that is also the reason why i stay.
Btw i am in business for myself and I hate nothing more than when a professional bad mouths you or your work for only their monetary gain. Lol @ a second opinion
Nice guitar. Nice job. I like it. Even with the middle pickup. Why not? And I agree with you. Why can't they smooth the fret edges. No Hablar?
1:25 I always crack up when Dave says that
Hi Dave from cold and wet UK. Great vids my friend I have learnt so much from your method of setting up guitars. The world is full of strange folks, I wonder if the garage, in his opinion didn't service his car correctly...would he take it back and ask them to take another look? Bet I know the answer!!
Anyways you inspired me at age 72 to build and set up guitars for friends and family. Telecaster, LP and a beautiful ES355 built so far....onwards and upwards my friend peace and health to all.
Greg
I HATE rough fret ends! Who’s with me?!!
I have an '04 Mexican Tele I had a fret job done on in '015. About a year later, started getting fret sprout, which tells me the wood is still shrinking after all those years.
Yeah, and that cad of a customer deserved to be fired.
I personally prefer as much extra width on the lower edge of the frets, for wide vibrato. But those are pretty raw indeed.
People are just crap most the time. Keep your head up out there.
Don't worry Dave I always check before I g o home
Well said, Dave.
Maybe the guy thought you'd get angry and couldn't face that.They're out there Dave,They're out there .........................................Have a better one.
How do you not play it in front of the guy you had work on it?
Lovely tele but that headstock logo design does somehow cheapen it (mini just in my mind), wish it was a bit more timeless.
Cheers Dave 🍻
No matter how many pickups it had, it was still a tele. I saw that somewhere and I agree.
Re-decal it...simple job!!!
@@johnbaird7549 I disagree in a way if it only had one pickup it would be an esquire alls also my opinion hum bucker tele's should be a total different guitar name as they are in sound
So the infamous gooch underlies in some peep heads (and mouths) sometimes . haha. Brotherly Dave , God gives you the just weight you can carry with you, and that's the destiny. You can choose to carry it or not , that's the free will. You will always be good , fun and an eminence at what you do , then one truly grateful customer will pay in satisfaction for all others. Yours is the choice , carry it until it happens or carry on. Love, Dave.
The advertisement connected to this video was Stew Mac for their new guitar vise work table/bench....have you ordered yours Dave??
Haven't had an ad in years.
And say you have to send it back through the mail, how can they check at your shop before you send it out?
It is usually cheaper to get someone else to look at it locally, than paying 70 bucks to get the thing re delivered to you and for you to have a second go at it.
What do you think of the DIY kits from Solo?
Unhappy with the work! WTF Dave.
I have this guitar it's awesome.
I don't understand not playing an instrument when you pick it up from being serviced. That's the best time to get some things tweaked, if needed. I also can't imagine anyone being unhappy with Dave's work. I'm going to guess that person is super picky and finds "issues" that most people wouldn't even notice.
Sharp fret ends are becoming commonplace on Fenders. Shouldn't be every new guitar you pick up. Love the Nahville Tele, tho!
Aside from PRS, what brands would you most recommend?
Well im in the flooring business and imagine having someone owe you 10k dollars when you finish a job and they just come up with nonsense complaints to try and get a discount or freebie or just to be a dick and make you wait. Happens about 2-4 times a year and its really lame.
Rude customers suck. I’ve been there. Had a taxi cab driver pissed that his cab wasn’t starting. Gave us all hell when we asked him what was wrong with it. Just straight up told us all “you’re the mechanic; you figure it out!”. I’ve never once wanted to curb stomp a customer until that day. Glad I got to go to lunch after I looked over it before handing it off to my master tech buddy.
Also, beautiful Baja Tele. But yeah, the fret ends and weight suck. But sharp feet ends seem to be a consistent with almost all Fender and Fender licensed (ie Squier) guitars.
Even with my local tech, that I've used occasionally over the past decade or so (I'm too lazy to fanny about with trems, and occasionally I like to give my spendier guitars a special treat before I play them badly), I'll always play it before I leave the shop. As much as anything else, I live in the arse end of nowhere, and it's about a two hour round trip, so if I don't like the work, taking it back would be a massive arseache.
That's a great reason to learn to do the work yourself as I have watching Dave's vids!
@@freedomination2 I do quite a bit myself; I'd have needed a second job if I was taking my peak guitar collection (about 20) into a tech every time I need to polish a fret or tweak a truss rod.
Essentially, I'll take one of my guitars in a year for a bit like sending her indoors to a spa day or some bollocks like that.
People sure love to bitch about nothing. Setup seemed fine to me. Thanks for all the video's.
Why do many people prefer complaining to being happy?
@Kyuss Qotsa This has nothing to do with politics, jackass.
Because misery loves company
Of course, I guess there's some irony that I'm complaining about that...
Kyuss Qotsa And they get offended and aggresive for no reason. Case in point: kommi1974 "it has nothing to do with politics, *jackass* ."
They manifest themselves out of thin air. Priceless!
42
Maybe buddy liked having his guitar setup like @$$ because then he could blame things on the guitar. When you gave it a proper setup, he couldn't do that anymore. We all love you, just not enough to ring you up while you're recording.✌️
Some people are never happy dave
The sound of that tele is wonderful - telelicious, as you would say Dave, but I don't understand how they can let it out the factory without checking basics like sharp fret ends. Such a simple mistake....
Yup, it never ceases to me amaze me how people will gripe about something but not give you the chance to make it right. If I brought a guitar to you, and you asked me to play it before taking it home, I would!! If for some reason once I got home and I found something I didn't like, I would light you up on social media!! Lol, no, being a reasonable person I would call you and say, "Hey Dave, man after I got home and had a better chance to really play this thin, I just am not satisfied with ______, what can we do about it?" . But in today's world, it's "Bitch first, then pretend to be rational" out there.
Fretboard wood shrinkage doesn’t actual explain the “Pyramid ends” on the frets. If it was wood shrinkage it’d only be the fret edge touching the wood that would need tweaking. The problem a lot of guitars have are flat and sharp edged frets because manufacturers run a flat file only along the length of the neck.