Luthiers in Essex

skunkwerx

I've heard good things of the Strings direct tech. 

I've heard of a bloke in Brentwood, which is where I work, called Zietgiest? (i think), but again not used myself. 

I've used Leighmusicco for very basic set up work, was cheap but reasonably done. 

Mostly I will go to Feline because the drive isn't actually that bad, though I would check the bridge because its been closed due to the winds, and that means absolute fucking gridlock for miles. 

skullfunkerry

skunkwerx said:

I've heard good things of the Strings direct tech. 

I've heard of a bloke in Brentwood, which is where I work, called Zietgiest? (i think), but again not used myself. 

I've used Leighmusicco for very basic set up work, was cheap but reasonably done. 

Mostly I will go to Feline because the drive isn't actually that bad, though I would check the bridge because its been closed due to the winds, and that means absolute fucking gridlock for miles. 

I think Zeitgeist might be the Bob Gourami chap I mentioned before... it seems to ring a bell 

TeleMaster

Yea that's him. 

hotpickups

ESBlonde said:

Another shout for Robbie Gladwell/Dr Roberts guitar surgery, but expect it to take a while as he's typically very busy.

Also in that area and busy building his own guitars is Martyn Booth, but he does take in the odd repair. Again there is often a waiting list.

Yes I was going to mention Martyn too. Awesome luthier. His bread and butter I would say is repair work so worth a shout. He’s in Suffolk of course though  

MrBump

I'm in Essex, and I generally suffer the drive to Croydon to get stuff done by Jonathan @FelineGuitars ;

I'm not sure Bob at Legra is still in business, is he?  I'd heard he'd stopped making guitars a few years back.

Grunfeld

I'm in Essex.  I've had good work done by a couple of the people mentioned here but there have been some iffy set ups too.  The one thing I'm genuinely happy to say about @FelineGuitars is that Jonathan and crew have consistently done a really competent job which I've been happy with.  I love the feeling of getting a guitar and it just feels right. 

Stratos

Exorcist said:

Hey @Stratos let me know if you use or hear anything about the guy in writtle, that would be super convenient for me!

I have used him and I asked about him to see if I had just been unlucky. He’s a nice enough guy to talk to but he kept my guitar for over a month, ‘levelled’ the frets and made no improvement whatsoever, the guitar now plays worse than before, strings buzz all over the neck. I am looking for someone much better to put new frets in. I’ve told him I was unhappy with the work, but he’s not replying to my emails. Not that I would ever hand my guitar over to him again, I’m now sure he’s not a qualified luthier. Shame, as it was super convenient for me too. Another thing about this guy, he will come to collect your guitar but won’t give you his address, he really guards that, which should have set alarm bells going, but I know someone from Writtle who knows him, so I (stupidly) let that go.

Exorcist

Stratos said:

Exorcist said:

Hey @Stratos let me know if you use or hear anything about the guy in writtle, that would be super convenient for me!

I have used him and I asked about him to see if I had just been unlucky. He’s a nice enough guy to talk to but he kept my guitar for over a month, ‘levelled’ the frets and made no improvement whatsoever, the guitar now plays worse than before, strings buzz all over the neck. I am looking for someone much better to put new frets in. I’ve told him I was unhappy with the work, but he’s not replying to my emails. Not that I would ever hand my guitar over to him again, I’m now sure he’s not a qualified luthier. Shame, as it was super convenient for me too. Another thing about this guy, he will come to collect your guitar but won’t give you his address, he really guards that, which should have set alarm bells going, but I know someone from Writtle who knows him, so I (stupidly) let that go.

Thanks mate, one to avoid then!!

bodhi

Bob of Zeitgeist Guitars sorted out two guitars for me some time ago and I was quite happy with the results.

freewayy_1967

Yes I have used JB guitars in Writtle
And have been using him for about four/five years now.
I know for a fact that he is qualified Luthier which I can't say for the others.
His attention to detail is second to none plus he's extremely knowledgeable with guitars, there isn't much he doesn't know regarding guitars. True he may not give out his address but why would you if you were incharge of several expensive guitars belonging to clients that he is responsible for. Infact John recently returned my Gibson Les Paul Tom Murphy 58 in pristine working condition to me. 
Do I trust him with my guitars-most definitely!
He makes a very conscious effort to get to know you as a player, your playing style, what you want, what's achievable with your guitar and all along he keeps you updated so if there's anything untoward in his findings, he'll give you a full and detailed report before commencing on your guitar.
I've used several good luthiers in the past but without a doubt Jb guitars in Writtle is the best Luthier around. I thoroughly recommend him, Infact I've recommended JB guitars to other guitarists and they came back thanking me for the great recommendation 

MattP

freewayy_1967 said:

Yes I have used JB guitars in Writtle
And have been using him for about four/five years now.
I know for a fact that he is qualified Luthier which I can't say for the others.
His attention to detail is second to none plus he's extremely knowledgeable with guitars, there isn't much he doesn't know regarding guitars. True he may not give out his address but why would you if you were incharge of several expensive guitars belonging to clients that he is responsible for. Infact John recently returned my Gibson Les Paul Tom Murphy 58 in pristine working condition to me. 
Do I trust him with my guitars-most definitely!
He makes a very conscious effort to get to know you as a player, your playing style, what you want, what's achievable with your guitar and all along he keeps you updated so if there's anything untoward in his findings, he'll give you a full and detailed report before commencing on your guitar.
I've used several good luthiers in the past but without a doubt Jb guitars in Writtle is the best Luthier around. I thoroughly recommend him, Infact I've recommended JB guitars to other guitarists and they came back thanking me for the great recommendation 

Hi JB!

Kilgore

freewayy_1967 said:

Yes I have used JB guitars in Writtle
And have been using him for about four/five years now.
I know for a fact that he is qualified Luthier which I can't say for the others.
His attention to detail is second to none plus he's extremely knowledgeable with guitars, there isn't much he doesn't know regarding guitars. True he may not give out his address but why would you if you were incharge of several expensive guitars belonging to clients that he is responsible for. Infact John recently returned my Gibson Les Paul Tom Murphy 58 in pristine working condition to me. 
Do I trust him with my guitars-most definitely!
He makes a very conscious effort to get to know you as a player, your playing style, what you want, what's achievable with your guitar and all along he keeps you updated so if there's anything untoward in his findings, he'll give you a full and detailed report before commencing on your guitar.
I've used several good luthiers in the past but without a doubt Jb guitars in Writtle is the best Luthier around. I thoroughly recommend him, Infact I've recommended JB guitars to other guitarists and they came back thanking me for the great recommendation 

Sounds good.

Not giving out his address, smart move, can't be too careful in the murky world of lutherie. How do I get in touch? Some sort of Enigma Code machine?

Or maybe you can set up a meet? I'll be wearing a tan suit, deerstalker hat and carrying a copy of the Telegraph. 

guitarjack66

Kilgore said:

freewayy_1967 said:

Yes I have used JB guitars in Writtle
And have been using him for about four/five years now.
I know for a fact that he is qualified Luthier which I can't say for the others.
His attention to detail is second to none plus he's extremely knowledgeable with guitars, there isn't much he doesn't know regarding guitars. True he may not give out his address but why would you if you were incharge of several expensive guitars belonging to clients that he is responsible for. Infact John recently returned my Gibson Les Paul Tom Murphy 58 in pristine working condition to me. 
Do I trust him with my guitars-most definitely!
He makes a very conscious effort to get to know you as a player, your playing style, what you want, what's achievable with your guitar and all along he keeps you updated so if there's anything untoward in his findings, he'll give you a full and detailed report before commencing on your guitar.
I've used several good luthiers in the past but without a doubt Jb guitars in Writtle is the best Luthier around. I thoroughly recommend him, Infact I've recommended JB guitars to other guitarists and they came back thanking me for the great recommendation 

Sounds good.

Not giving out his address, smart move, can't be too careful in the mirky world of lutherie. How do I get in touch? Some sort of Enigma Code machine?

Or maybe you can set up a meet? I'll be wearing a tan suit, deerstalker hat and carrying a copy of the Telegraph. 

His name is Michael Caine,but not a lot of people know that!

freewayy_1967

Google www.jbguitars.co.uk and head to the contact page

freewayy_1967

I also forgot to mention that I had terrible trouble with a brand new Fender custom shop stratcaster I had purchased from France.
Without any written report they would not accept any liability nor refund me. John's full written report on the custom shop stratcaster

Plus the link to his website is what got me back my refund. I can not thank John enough for his professionalism!

Mellish

Can't give a local recommendation but CCGX do all my repairs/refrets/setups  

Offset

freewayy_1967 said:

I also forgot to mention that I had terrible trouble with a brand new Fender custom shop stratcaster I had purchased from France.
Without any written report they would not accept any liability nor refund me. John's full written report on the custom shop stratcaster

Plus the link to his website is what got me back my refund. I can not thank John enough for his professionalism!

Crikey, was was wrong with it???

freewayy_1967

Hello Joe, regarding your Fender Ltd 56 Stratocaster Hvy Relic, I have had a chance to look over the guitar and there is clearly an issue. The high E string is too close to the edge of the frets. When depressing the string onto the frets, the string sits on the start of the bevel and slides of the neck.

The nut and nut slot spacing are all correct. The neck alignment is correct. The saddle positions within the bridge are also correct.

I feel that the fault lies in the rounding process that has been applied to the neck. If a measurement is taken of the playing area (the length of the fret not including the bevel) of the 7th fret, your guitar reads 45mm. I would normally expect this measurement to be 47mm. From this you can see how 1mm is missing from each side of the neck, reducing the playable area. This is evident along the entire neck, however the worst effected area is around the 7th fret (middle of the neck).

When a straight edge is applied to either side of the neck, it can be observed that the neck is concave, its width has been considerably reduced. It seems that the "rolling of the edge" process has been overdone on this particular neck.

The fault described above is very obvious and would be picked up upon immediately if the guitar were to be test played and inspected before the point of sale.

I would always recommend Fender guitars, I own two and all the previous Custom shop, Signature models and Masterbuilt range guitars I have worked on, have been great guitars.

It is my opinion that the fault described above cannot be remedied with any adjustments or setup. As previously stated, everything else and about the guitar is correct. Sadly I feel you have no choice but to return the guitar for either a replacement or refund. Regards John.

freewayy_1967

freewayy_1967

• Hello,
  I got in touch with Fender to see how they can take care of the adjustments to be made on this guitar. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

  Best regards,
  Nicolas

  • MUSIC3000
   
  • Sep 10, 2021 05:12 PM

• Thank you Nicolas
  I've asked my luthier for a report of his findings and will forward this onto you, he did mention to me the only way around this would be a new guitar neck.
  Kind regards
  Joe

  • Joe's Gear Outlet
   
  • Sep 10, 2021 06:10 PM

• Ok, send me his report and I'll transfert it to Fender.

  Best regards,
  Nicolas

  • MUSIC3000
   
  • Sep 10, 2021 06:23 PM