ikay Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I've had 'disappointing' experiences with guitar techs in the past and am now very wary about letting anyone touch my basses. However, one of my basses now needs a fret level and dress so I've got to bite the bullet. Can anyone recommend someone who does good fret work in Surrey or Sussex? Someone who will spend the time to get it right and not just push it through a production line. Joe White is mentioned in the recommended luthiers thread but I can't find feedback from anyone who's actually used him! Eternal Guitars in Chichester is another, does anyone have any experience with them? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 You could try Cadillac Guitars (Robert van der Linde) in Farnborough. Although he's not done any work for me I do know he did an excellent complete refurbish on Paul Geary's SR5 last year. Hopefully he will be at The Bash on the 26th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Thanks Dave, I'll add Robert to my short list (of one so far!). Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 How bad are the frets anyway? Can you post pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) There's Bernie Goodfellow who makes GB basses in Brighton. I don't know if he runs a repair shop as well but it's worth a phone call. I took my Lakland for a fret dress/levelling and set up at the Gallery in Camden. Might be a bit to far for you but they did a fantastic job. Edited September 20, 2015 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Grangur, the frets in general are in very good shape but there are some signs of wear on the lower frets and a couple of very slightly high/low frets further up. It's a 30 year old bass and would definitely benefit from a fret level and dress. Chris b, The Gallery is a little bit of a treck but I hear lots of good things about them. Thanks for the GB suggestion which is more in my neck of the woods. I'll add that to my shortlist so far of Cadillac Guitars (and possibly Joe White). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswilliams666 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I have had a few basses built by Eternal and a few fret dresses and can say at they have been exceptional. Dave is very experienced and will more than accommodate your request. He also has a sister company Hot Rod pickups should you need anything like that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Thanks Chris and that's good to hear. Eternal are pretty easy for me to get to as well. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6feet7 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Simon Farmer of GUS Guitars in Heathfield, East Sussex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 +1 for Bernie Goodfellow, he's quite meticulous, and quite a character too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 If you want the absolute best, go to Charlie Chandlers in Kew - my brother had a 60's 335 setup there, including plek fret dressing, and the difference before/after was unbelievable. I looked that their prices, and being a bit of a tightwad, took my guitar to a local tech. While it's fine, it's not got that slinky fast feeling it had when the neck was new - the plek does give you that IME so to some extent you get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1443780336' post='2877589'] If you want the absolute best, go to Charlie Chandlers in Kew - my brother had a 60's 335 setup there, including plek fret dressing, and the difference before/after was unbelievable. I looked that their prices, and being a bit of a tightwad, took my guitar to a local tech. While it's fine, it's not got that slinky fast feeling it had when the neck was new - the plek does give you that IME so to some extent you get what you pay for. [/quote] +1...it will cost you, but I took my '70's Strat there for a refret and some work and the Plek Fret dressing is accurate to a small fraction of a mm. For me it was worth every penny for the quality of the final result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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