besides nelson and guitar workshop...

punchdrunk

who else do we have doing guitar repairs and mods in dubln?
I want to put a Bigsby on my gibson ES-135,and also change out the P-100's for lollar P-90's.this will be pricey enough in parts,I don't fancy spending 300 quid on the labour too


hmmm whats a gitar?

Eoin Madsen

Did you get a quote from Mr. Nelson?

punchdrunk

not yet but when he worked on my martin(new nut,and setup) it was close to 300

Eoin Madsen

Interesting. I got the finish on the neck of my bass matted, a setup, and some rewiring done for nearly half that.

punchdrunk

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Interesting. I got the finish on the neck of my bass matted, a setup, and some rewiring done for nearly half that.

it was a bone nut but that shouldn't have added too much cost,i thin he adjusted the truss rod too,but still it wasn't cheap!

Dord

Was there any fretwork to be done? That usually add's on a bit.

punchdrunk

I just think the frets got a wee polish,maybe a couple leveled,it was last year so i don't really remember

Dord

punchdrunk wrote: »

I just think the frets got a wee polish,maybe a couple leveled,it was last year so i don't really remember

That'd be it then! I had the nut on one of my basses redone, truss rod & action adjusted, frets levelled, polished and a few reseated and also a new jack fitted and it came to about 400. Basically he gave the whole instrument a going over.

So your cost seems about right.

Eoin Madsen

Ah. Mine didn't need any frets levelled cause my bass is made of awesome.

Rigsby

punchdrunk wrote: »

who else do we have doing guitar repairs and mods in dubln?

As far as I know....... very few. Which when you consider it is ridiculous in a country that boasts one of the biggest rock bands in the world. It's no wonder Nelson is able to charge so much (even given that it is skilled work). If he had some competition though..........

Eoin Madsen

Rigsby wrote: »

If he had some competition though..........

He'd charge the same, he's a specialist. The problem is not that he has no competition but that there's no one filling the huge space in between him and the guys muddling their way by in the music shops. With no disrespect meant to the music shop guys.

Dord

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Ah. Mine didn't need any frets levelled cause my bass is made of awesome.

Mine is too, but its 20 years old of awesome! :cool:

I agree that there should be more people doing that sort of stuff, hell I may look into it myself in the future. I've got a fair handle on most work related to guitars and basses, especially electronics. But not really up to scratch on fretwork.

For the moment though, I'd rather pay the price and get it done by Derrick as he sure as hell knows what he's doing and he does it damn well! I'd rather that than paying 20quid on the side to a guy in a guitar store to "have a look at it", not directed at any specific store or person.

Rigsby

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

He'd charge the same, he's a specialist. The problem is not that he has no competition but that there's no one filling the huge space in between him and the guys muddling their way by in the music shops.

It still begs the question : If it's so lucrative, and there's such a huge void, why are there not more "specialists". If there were I still think prices would be more competitive.

Doctor J

I think Derek's prices are pretty fair, to be honest. The likes of a fret level and dress are very labour intensive and I do my own these days so I can tell you for sure there is a lot of time and effort involved. I'd be weary of going to someone substantially cheaper because my first reaction would be to think if they're that much cheaper what corners are they cutting?

Of course €300 seems like a lot to spend on an Epi or the likes but if you've got fret issues with a guitar like that (and the law of averages says you do ) and you're considering investing cash on repairs to it you should think of getting a better guitar tbh.

Rigsby

They are all fair points Doc, but can anyone explain to me why there are not more Derek Nelsons If there were ( even leaving out prices) it would at least reduce the waiting time and give people some choice.

Doctor J

I can only give you my perspective and here it is: Many years ago I left a guitar into Musician Inc to be refretted. I think they were sending it out to someone for that kind of thing at the time (early 90's) and I got screwed because the frets were replaced alright but not levelled so it actually played worse than when I left it in. I was young and naieve and should have been more specific but there ya go. I wasn't exactly flush with cash and I had to sort out the guitar myself afterwards as I couldn't afford to bring it anywhere else.

Some time later I heard about Derrick Nelson and I left a bass in to him to be properly set up. He explained to me exactly what needed to be done and when I picked it up, he went through what he had done even though I was just a young gob****e but he took the time and showed me the respect he might show the guys on his wall. By this time I had developed a decent understanding of what went into this kind of work so I knew he wasn't a bull****ter.

Therefore, I consider it all a lesson learned. If I need something done that I'm not happy to do myself (and these days that would only be a complete refret) it goes to Derrick Nelson. If anyone asks who they should go to I tell them Derrick Nelson. Why? Because I trust him. I don't know of anyone else whose work I would trust with my favourite guitars. These new guys might be good but I know Derrick Nelson is good. I can rest easy if I drop a cherished instrument in to him. I can't do that with anyone else. Therefore I steer anyone who asks towards him too. There might be other guys out there but I'm not taking any chances anymore.

As we all kinda get emotionally attached to out instruments we tend not to take chances with some unknowns. Word of mouth still plays a huge part in this kind of trade and if you're in Dublin there's only one guy we all trust

That's my take on it

punchdrunk

true doc,now that i think about it i'm swaying towards derek again,
i doubt the guitars been in a guitar shop since it was built in '93 so i guess it's not that unreasonable to get a mid-life service on it

Rigsby

I accept your views guys All I'm saying is that there is something seriously wrong when most people in the greater Dublin area can only rely on one guy to work on their guitars and it baffles me why this the case.

Thank God he's not a motor mechanic !!!

Dord

Rigsby wrote: »

I accept your views guys All I'm saying is that there is something seriously wrong when most people in the greater Dublin area can only rely on one guy to work on their guitars and it baffles me why this the case.

Thank God he's not a motor mechanic !!!

If he ever stops then I'm going to have to move somewhere with a good tech. lol jks

punchdrunk

i've been thinking of buying a few old necks on ebay,breaking them and practising regluing them,doing refrets on them etc,
i'd love to learn but i wouldn't like to practise on paying customers guitars!
also there's alot of expensive,purpose made tools required to become a good luthier...

It's pretty much my dream job though...

Rigsby

punchdrunk wrote: »

i've been thinking of buying a few old necks on ebay,breaking them and practising regluing them,doing refrets on them etc,
i'd love to learn but i wouldn't like to practise on paying customers guitars!
also there's alot of expensive,purpose made tools required to become a good luthier...

It's pretty much my dream job though...

Good for you punchdrunk !! Hope you make the grade. If you do, let us all know, then you'll have loads of customers Also, there would then be two :eek: fully qualified techs covering the whole of Dublin. We'd be spoiled for choice.

Gaspode

punchdrunk wrote: »

who else do we have doing guitar repairs and mods in dubln?

A couple of my mates used this guy recently :Dave Travers, Sound Factory, and they are happy with the work he did (Put together a tele from parts bought from ebay, setup on an Ibanez, a nice piece of body repair to an old acoustic, pickup repair on another acoustic). He's in Leixlip.

He's quite young, but certainly seems to know what he's doing. From my own perspective I'd give him some general work, but if one of my babies required serious work I think I'd go back to Derrick Nelson. There's a lot to be said for experience and reputation and Derrick has both. The guy must be 120 years old at this stage, not bad considering the fumes in his workshop! A half hour in there nearly kills me!