PickyPick Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Right well the story goes i was trying to imagine what the SG Standard in heritage cherry would look with gold parts... and i liked the idea it was unique from other standards and stood out, i was also getting tired of the pickups i wanted to put in something lighter so i had a spare Burstbucker 2 and 57 Classic Plus in gold so i might as well?... i decided to also upgrade the pots to 500k Audio taper... i dont like my volume control being a linear since i do use it alot (with little success i might add)... right now on to the part with my friend being an arse... he said he is very capable of doing this job and i thought well might as well save a couple of bucks and gave it to him... quite literally the next day he calls me and says hes stumped and returns the guitar... i look at it all seemed normal the pickups are in the pickguard slots... until i open the back plate where its just a wired mess he hasnt even bothered to solder the bridge pickup to anything (which would make it easier the unfortunate tech that has to fix this) anyway that was my fault for even putting a shred of faith in him with an expensive guitar lesson learned... anyway how much would it generally cost to rewire the entire guitar with the mods i want new pots and pickups (possibly new Caps ans wires seeing it looks like he burned through it via Iron) obviously i have all the parts already so how much is repair and upgrade mods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kineman Karma Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Right well the story goes i was trying to imagine what the SG Standard in heritage cherry would look with gold parts... and i liked the idea it was unique from other standards and stood out, i was also getting tired of the pickups i wanted to put in something lighter so i had a spare Burstbucker 2 and 57 Classic Plus in gold so i might as well?... i decided to also upgrade the pots to 500k Audio taper... i dont like my volume control being a linear since i do use it alot (with little success i might add)... right now on to the part with my friend being an arse... he said he is very capable of doing this job and i thought well might as well save a couple of bucks and gave it to him... quite literally the next day he calls me and says hes stumped and returns the guitar... i look at it all seemed normal the pickups are in the pickguard slots... until i open the back plate where its just a wired mess he hasnt even bothered to solder the bridge pickup to anything (which would make it easier the unfortunate tech that has to fix this) anyway that was my fault for even putting a shred of faith in him with an expensive guitar lesson learned... anyway how much would it generally cost to rewire the entire guitar with the mods i want new pots and pickups (possibly new Caps ans wires seeing it looks like he burned through it via Iron) obviously i have all the parts already so how much is repair and upgrade mods? Ohh Dude, Yes it is a big lesson learnt. Not all that bad though if it is only the wiring components of the SG he has ****ed up. I suggest that you do a heap of research online and do it yourself. I got sick of paying a Guitar Tech to do work that I can do. If you have a crappy axe to trial with first well that's a start. I have an SG standard that I am so tempted to do a pickup swap out on, but I don't want to breach the original solder.. that means a lot to some people years down the track. Anyway Bro, If you are not keen then I suggest you drop it into a local tech that will do it no worries. Should not cost bugger all, compared to a full set up. Post pic's of the new look please :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickyPick Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 well its good to know it wont cost me Millions to fix that... anyway ill be putting up pics a few days from now depending on how long the tech takes to get it done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 . What an a$$hole. Since he screwed it up, I'd be asking the so called friend to put in some money on the wiring repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickyPick Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Well i went to the local Guitar Center and i was pleasantly surprised that the local Tech there isn't a Guitar Center Employee but an ACTUAL Tech from a different company... apparently GC and Raritan Bay Guitar Repair formed some deal so their techs do the work... its nice now i don't get some shotty work :) anyway the total rewire is going to cost me about $260 for labor and a setup... and yes my friend is paying half of that although he should be paying all of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Could always just go with the RS Guitarworks electronics upgrade kit while you're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Well i went to the local Guitar Center and i was pleasantly surprised that the local Tech there isn't a Guitar Center Employee but an ACTUAL Tech from a different company... apparently GC and Raritan Bay Guitar Repair formed some deal so their techs do the work... its nice now i don't get some shotty work :) anyway the total rewire is going to cost me about $260 for labor and a setup... and yes my friend is paying half of that although he should be paying all of it... WHAT!?!?! did you say 260$ for LABOR? To wire an SG?!?!? Unless your guitar was set up badly before and needed a lot of set up work, and that was for all new parts including NOS american PIO caps, That price is just WRONG. Don't be too hard on your buddy. He sounds like a guy with a good heart but at the most a few cards short of a full deck at times. And in reality, the amount he is paying is enough to cover the rewire and then some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickyPick Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 WHAT!?!?! did you say 260$ for LABOR? To wire an SG?!?!? Unless your guitar was set up badly before and needed a lot of set up work, and that was for all new parts including NOS american PIO caps, That price is just WRONG. Don't be too hard on your buddy. He sounds like a guy with a good heart but at the most a few cards short of a full deck at times. And in reality, the amount he is paying is enough to cover the rewire and then some. Well no... the repairs by themselves would cost about $150, cause he has to quite literally gut out the entire guitar and replace all the wires that got burned and possibly replace the burnt potentiometers, then i asked to do the modifications that i wanted to do, putting in the new pickups, thats 60 bucks. As for the set up it was kinda sketchy which costs $50... i mean he did say that he has to adjust the pickup height for max power since its a pickup reinstall, and i decided to do the neck as well maybe he can get it to feel better its been a while since i had the neck adjusted. Anyway i'm still going to carry forth in doing the complete Gold SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Just do it your self. Buy a soldering iron, pots, wires, etc. In the end you can learn a vauble skill of soldering and save tons of cash. Buy the best pots here. http://store.rsguitarworks.net/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Well no... the repairs by themselves would cost about $150, cause he has to quite literally gut out the entire guitar and replace all the wires that got burned and possibly replace the burnt potentiometers, then i asked to do the modifications that i wanted to do, putting in the new pickups, thats 60 bucks. As for the set up it was kinda sketchy which costs $50... i mean he did say that he has to adjust the pickup height for max power since its a pickup reinstall, and i decided to do the neck as well maybe he can get it to feel better its been a while since i had the neck adjusted. Anyway i'm still going to carry forth in doing the complete Gold SG. 60 Bucks to replace the pickups while the strings are off and the electronics are out? No, man, sorry. I believe in getting paid for your time. And by that, I do mean that you have to charge a "bench" charge as well as an hourly of at least 100$ an hour to be reasonable. Even 200$, but for that you have to be a COMPETENT PROFFESSIONAL. Which means doing good work fast to justify your wage. I am not saying you are incompetent, or expect you to know common knowledge about guitars. Some just are not inclined. But, I tell you the SG is one of the EASIEST and fastest guitars to rewire. And changing pups really is as simple as it looks, just remove the screws you see there. I am pretty good at wiring, but I don't do it all the time, so still I have no place charging. I have easily done what he is 'charging" you for within the hour. Complete rewire. Give me a couple hours and I will try out every wiring diagram to see what sounds best. But, actually, still problably an hour. Are there any luthiers or techs here? Where's SEARCY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Actually, there are MANY on this site that have done repairs or rewires right here on this site with the help of others. You could save yourself 260$ bones right here using this site and the great poeple. If it ain't too late to cancel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 He's charging you way too much for labour. I bought a new assembly for my SG from a local guy (Jon Moore) and paid an extra $30 to install everything including pickups. This stuff is really easy to do (many videos on youtube) and I've done it myself several times but figured, for $30, I could pick Jon's brain while he worked on my guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickyPick Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 He's charging you way too much for labour. I bought a new assembly for my SG from a local guy (Jon Moore) and paid an extra $30 to install everything including pickups. This stuff is really easy to do (many videos on youtube) and I've done it myself several times but figured, for $30, I could pick Jon's brain while he worked on my guitar. actually i went back to GC today to give in other parts so i dont have to pay for it, and it turns out the starting fee is $85... then it all breaks down... into smaller parts but still that is a phenomenal fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 actually i went back to GC today to give in other parts so i dont have to pay for it, and it turns out the starting fee is $85... then it all breaks down... into smaller parts but still that is a phenomenal fee It's only money. I hope you don't take my active interest wrong, and my intention is not to make you feel bad. It just kinda hits me because on the one end, you have a freind, who, while he may have acted irresponsibly, was at least making an effort to help and do good. Then, on the other side, you have someone who may be competent who takes you for a ride, and that causes both of you to have to pay the price. (see, by you getting taken by this guy, your friend who is paying half is also getting taken). And, why I should care, it burns me that when there are so many competent and hard working techs and luthiers who have to struggle and justify thier prices when they are labor intensive, this guy here is the reason why some think they are all useless. There is no excuse for taking advantage of anyone, in any trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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