johnny mustang
New member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2015
- Messages
- 1
Horrors in the UK:
I took my new '98 SG to a shop in Harrow as the bridge was buzzing. The store owners wife lurched out from the store cupboard wielding a screwdriver and started jamming it under the wire and bending away like an Aztec priest trying extract a heart. Then she screwed all the saddles out of place and presented it back to me. The guitar was too scared to buzz after that. Intonation? Who needs intonation. At home the buzz was back and accompanied my out of tune playing nicely.
New '03 Les Paul Standard. Open low E string rattled. Took to a different shop in Harrow, owned by a couple of wannabe gangsters. Rather than diagnosing the obvious poorly cut nut slot, it was decided that the first fret was too high (measured by eye). After that was skimmed down and he 'set up' the guitar, it was chocking out and dead spots all over- a real mess. I said it doesn't play so well- and he started cranking at the truss rod like he was trying to start an antique car. I'll never forget that sound. I lied to get get my guitar out of there, "It's just perfect!!"
From all of this nonsense I found the guy that does all my guitars now and is a master repairman in the UK- Bill Puplett. He replaced the nut, dressed the frets and now 12 years later the guitar is still solid and has only needed a minor, loving, truss rod tweak in all that time. Plays like a dream.
Any nervous UK vintage guitar owners should track him down. He worked miracles on a '54 Martin of mine. He's in high demand though.
those "Gangsters" did a runner with a load of customers guitars inc my mates 68 jazz bass.....