doc40hz Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) please delete! Edited February 1, 2017 by doc40hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Yikes, give them chance to respond but naming would be almost the responsible thing to do, I'd rather not come unstuck! The bass needs to go back, or you need to get a full refund. From your description, they are the only two options, you cannot just accept what they have done. Obviously, your custom order can be used as leverage to sort this at least, but I agree with your concerns about continuing with the commission. Sorry you are having trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lw. Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 You need to go straight to the company & spell out the situation as you have here - see what they're going to do about it. Any half-decent company will try to put things right. Only if this option fails should you name & shame - good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 The main problem is that a year's elapsed since you took delivery of the 'repaired' item. This gives the original luthier a loophole to deny responsibility for the fretboard damage even if it was his fault. Also, judging from many similar threads here and elsewhere these sort of disputes are best sorted by quiet discussion and polite entreaties in the spirit of goodwill. Certainly, while you've got deposit cash tied up in a new build you [i]really[/i] don't want to 'name and shame' in a publicly view-able section of the forum and risk a major falling out. IME, some luthiers can be a bit cranky; push them and they just shut the dialogue down and you're left chasing them for a year or two. In respect of the crap re-fret: unless the original luthier is an absolutely stand-up guy I suspect you're out of luck. Your dilemma thereafter is whether your justifiable mistrust is such that (i) you sever ties now and lose the deposit on your new build or (ii) whether you want to wait to view the finished item before paying over the balance. Either way, don't go to war with him on these pages until you've decided how to play your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc40hz Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 I bought it second hand and when I got it I realised it needed a re-fret. It was pretty much un-usable. I thought I'd be doing the bass right by taking it back to the workshop where it was made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 If you were to take the bass back to the Luther, i imagine the response could be different depending on the number of people employed. A one man band guy could be defensive. A larger workshop may be horrified, but recognise the handwork of a past employee. If I were you I'd take it back and be open about the length of time and how you tried to put up with it. Then ask what they'd be prepared to do. They might not give you a completely free refret but a discounted rate would be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 If the neck is still in the condition it was when you got it back (a year ago), take some close up photo's for your own record. A report from your local guy might also be helpful. Then, if you want to resolve the situation to your satisfaction, take the bass back to the luthier and explain why you are not happy. Then ask what he/she is going to do to put things right. That will give you some idea of what to do next. You might also point out that you have a bass on order....That might focus the mind a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 [quote name='zapp' timestamp='1485944614' post='3227832'] If the neck is still in the condition it was when you got it back (a year ago), take some close up photo's for your own record. A report from your local guy might also be helpful. Then, if you want to resolve the situation to your satisfaction, take the bass back to the luthier and explain why you are not happy. Then ask what he/she is going to do to put things right. That will give you some idea of what to do next. You might also point out that you have a bass on order....That might focus the mind a bit. [/quote] This.... If the luthier does not offer to make it right, why are you buying a bass from him? Has he started work on it? If not, you're well within your rights to cancel and ask for your deposit back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 The big problem is the length of time you have had the bass without complaint. Did you not look at it or play it when you first got it back from the re fret? To be fair to the luthier anything could have happened to the instrument in that time. Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkyBarKid Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Depending on how you resolve this issue - if it is resolved to your satisfaction then I'd say don't name and sham, but otherwise if you would tell a friend about your poor service then tell us. I wasn't warned about a certain motorcycle repair workshop, who posted regularly on newsgroups dispensing excellent technical advice, and lost about £20k worth of bikes. It seemed that many of the people on the newsgroup knew about his kleptocratic nature, but didn't publish it. If you've got evidence and you think carefully about it and perhaps discuss it with the mods there should be no reason not to name and shame. I know it's a person's livelihood, but at the same time if they don't produce good work and behave with integrity, there's no reason to feel guilty about naming and shaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammers Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Personally I think you've shot yourself in the foot leaving it so long without complaining as there's a chance that they won't take responsibility for the damage, so my advice would be to contact them directly about the issue as soon as! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Just to confirm, you say you bought the bass second hand. Was it bought second hand from the company who made it? I'm not clear if that was the case, only that you felt it wise to take the bass back to its origin of manufacture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) If as you say ( and your subsequent Luthier says) the frets are not seated properly and the fretboard has been damaged by the work done that is not something that 'time' would affect, so the delay in taking it back is incidental. If it's bad workmanship, it's still bad workmanship a year down the line...... I'd be going back to the Luthier, explaining to him all the issues and the delay in returning and ask him for an explanation- but not in a confrontational way! If you then get no joy you can then weigh up your options. What I would say however in cases such as these on this forum, that there always seems to be 2 sides to a story, and if you 'out' the Luthier it may get messy for you both! In my experience working with a Luthier for 3 years, if someone was not happy with work done, he would go out of his way to ensure the customer was happy, even if he effectively lost money on the job Edited February 1, 2017 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Maybe a trainee at well known luthier carried out your refret. Maybe the work done wasn't seen by the luthier before you received it back this time for some reason. Don't name and shame before you at least try and talk to the company yourself. You have your present luthier to maybe have a friendly chat with well known luthier about it also if it comes to it. Stay civil and give people a chance. Things happen and it may be resolved easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc40hz Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm not wanting to name and shame at all! RE: Not noticing unitl fairly recently. What can I say - I didn't look closely at the fret board! I couldnt get rid of the buzz and I wondered if it was jsut a bad isntrument rather than being a problme with the frets (I can set up a guitar properly). But could not get rid of the buzz despite adjusting the aciton and truss rod. It is not my main bass and only gets played on occasion. I was putting another bass to get sorted few weeks ago, so I thought I'd drop this one in too. Dood - bass was not bought from the original maker. I just thought it would be nice to get a re-fret and general sorting out (pots had gone etc) from the original makers. With a new one on order, I was planning to sell this one on - but I want it to be sorted for doing that. Its a classic bass, and hopefully when its sorted be around for a while. I think I'll just, politely, send them an email explaining the situation. Edited February 1, 2017 by doc40hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 A "classic bass" but handmade by a luthier? That narrows it down a bit, but I'm confused! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 [quote name='Sammers' timestamp='1485947775' post='3227878'] Personally I think you've shot yourself in the foot leaving it so long without complaining as there's a chance that they won't take responsibility for the damage, so my advice would be to contact them directly about the issue as soon as! [/quote] yep - too much water under the bridge to be reasonable.You should have taken photos as soon as you got it back, just to prove you didnt knacker it, and no one else did since either. Still talk to the guy though, and see if you can hammer out a compromise. Maybe he was having some personal issues at the time and didnt do his best work. Its been known before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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