Anyone had a set up from J White Guitars in Ash Vale?

digitalkettle

Offset said:

...and yet this would suggest he does sometimes know what he's doing.  It's very weird.

https://reverb.com/item/66706936-j-white-guitar-workshops-eg2-2000-trans-red?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=66706936

Set neck: no inserts

Boromedic

Thing is, he no doubt has done some good work previously and even recently maybe, but that standard of work the OP has posted is utterly appalling. It looks like a DIY install done wrong it's that bad. The fact they won't even acknowledge it's their fault is equally appalling. 

Not that I'm near enough them to write them off but that's enough to be a hard pass if I was.

Winny_Pooh

Seziertisch said:

andy_k said:

Reading through this, and seeing some of the pics posted, I feel quite bemused really.
The 'luthier' seems to display a lot of the traits and eccentricities that long established repair guys have, plus a lot of arrogance on top.
I am pretty shocked by what the guy has done to these guitars, and there is a level of amateurishness ( if that is a word ) about the work.
It looks to me like the neck, after these inserts have been installed, could not even then be fitted to the guitar due to the amount of variance in the pitches of the screws.
Adding up the cost to repair all three guitars, if done correctly, could well exceed anything that a small claims court could recover, and as these guitars have sentimental, as well as real value, which is considerable, it is only right that the 'luthier' in question should bear ALL the cost of putting it right.
His responses seem to display a real ignorance of the issues here, which brings into question some of the positive reviews really, something seems really 'off'.
I don't think these 'mods', if done correctly are devaluing the instruments, as they have been done in part out of necessity, ( pickup mountings becoming stripped ) and as upgrades to allow for multiple adjustments ( neck bolts ), and possibly even tonal reasons ( what does Monty say about the reasons for fitting them? ), but they have obviously been done badly here, and fixing the issues sympathetically will be difficult and expensive.
If they were my instruments, I would get them done, one at a time, by somebody with a very good reputation, and would try to reclaim some of the costs via the courts, but wouldn't be expecting it to be fully covered.
Perhaps larger diameter bushes could be installed to correct the faults?, which would also at least hide some of the damage done.
Terrible story really.

https://nectite.com/faq-about-threaded-inserts/

The M5 kit from Nectite would possibly mean that no filling needs to even be done as the bushings are that bit bigger than the M4 size (which is presumably the size the Monty’s are)

This, larger inserts and drilled on a proper drill press.

BillDL

Lewy said:

J White used to do the repairs and setups for Guitar Village in Farnham. I wonder if he still does......

It appears that they recommend his services, but don't go as far as to say that they use his services:

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/repairs-services

"We offer basic minor guitar repairs in store. All repairs/setups will need to be booked in and left at the shop .....Our guitar tech may need to inspect the guitar at the time of booking it in to assess the problem and recommend the best course of action ......

.....For larger repair jobs, including structural repairs/modifications we recommend local luthier (and good long time friend of the shop), Joe White".

idiotwindow

Maybe the inconsistency stems from who is doing the work – J White himself or his son?

Offset

idiotwindow said:

Maybe the inconsistency stems from who is doing the work – J White himself or his son?

Rightly or wrongly I got the firm impression that White Senior does the work.

EduardoFalicioni

At the summit to discuss the state of my b bender guitars and the way forward, I explained to J Whites that i unfortunately run at high stress levels due to personal and professional reasons, and that this butchery on my guitars had really been the straw that broke the camels back for me. I’ve had sleepless nights, and other physical issues from the stress that I won’t elaborate on here.

they advised me that ‘taking their J Whites hat off’, and given the stressors I have to contend with, I should “seek the solution that causes the least additional stress on me”.

i replied that for me, would entail them purchasing my guitars off me for fair replacement value. 

Explaining that this would allow me to completely extricate myself from this debacle, and start afresh, given that any repairs or re-work done by them, could go further awry, causing even more disappointment, stress and anxiety.

I explained that they could then repair the guitars to their own time scales, and sell them on to recoup some of their losses.

they flatly refused this, saying that they are under no obligations to give me replacement value for my instruments and that they will only endeavour to undertake remedial work. 

I don’t want £13ks worth of guitars though, that are patched up - particularly when the blonde guitar is brand new 

EduardoFalicioni

EduardoFalicioni

EduardoFalicioni

Why should I be forced to accept potentially plugged and redrilled necks, a body full of dowels etc

EduardoFalicioni

For the neck inserts on the sunburst b bender, they drilled the insert holes too tight, and again didn’t countersink as requested.

clearly they had such a hard time screwing the inserts into the tight holes, that rather than the threaded inserts pull down into the holes cleanly, they’ve lifted the wood, causing mounded rings to surround the insert holes.

this will surely cause a stand-off - inhibiting a full contact and transfer of vibration between the neck back and body…

Lewy

EduardoFalicioni said:

Why should I be forced to accept potentially plugged and redrilled necks, a body full of dowels etc

You really shouldn't. They've destroyed your joy of ownership of these instruments and their incompetence in carrying out the work appears to be matched only by their lack of accountability - the fact that they tried to "get away with it" and blame it on not receiving instructions with the inserts (despite thinking they knew better that the supplier about how to install them) is unforgivable.

EduardoFalicioni

Sporky

Small claims goes up to £10k I believe.

That might bridge the gap between what you paid and what you can reasonably sell them for in their current state (or the gap between what you paid, the cost of competent repair, and what you could then sell them for).

I get that they've ruined the instruments for you, even if they were subsequently put right (by them or someone else).

Maybe get an estimate of their current value, and see if that'd support a small claims action.

I am not a lawyer.

EduardoFalicioni

I really appreciate all of your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and moral support. 

I’ll post some more pictures of issues and mysteries when I finish work.

thanks all 

mankytom

I really feel for you man. This just feels really unfair and I can understand how you must feel about it.

i think the small claims court is probably the way forwards.. but you shouldn’t be having to do that or go through all the mither. I’m nowhere near, but would never go near this chap. Anyone can make a mistake or get something wrong… but the unwillingness to own that is a real red flag. I wouldn’t trust them to do anything because they won’t own their mistake

andy_k

I would definitely be starting a claim, which would involve listing the faults, and estimating costs.
3 new necks could well work out cheaper than somebody attempting to fix the damage caused, ( these are all teles after all)
The damage done to the body of the sunburst one, by installing the incorrect bushes and attempting to correct it, is probably the worst offence here ( in terms of expense to correct ) as it could be difficult to hide the repairs under the scratchplate, which also looks to have sentimental value,so changing out the scratchplate and re-drilling to suit the plugged holes is a compromise.
I'd like to see some ideas of cost, to attempt repairs to the necks, just for my own curiosity, as this looks tricky to get done right - given the emotions it raises.
I really think the 'luthier' should be trying harder to correct this mess, and it will be no surprise if his work dries up after this, if he doesn't do the right thing to the clients satisfaction.
At this point, I am assuming no harm has been done to the blondes body, so that appears to be the easiest to address.
Cost of re doing the bushes correctly and satisfactorily vs new neck, maybe? 

Supportact

Crikey @EduardoFalicioni , just catching up with this thread. Really sorry to hear about this, and sorry to hear about the stress it's caused you. Those look like great guitars and I hope you get some resolution. 

Tele37

I’m very sorry to hear about what you’ve experienced, and also really sorry to see such low quality work - both the initial mistakes on the body and then poor installation on the neck.

I personally think two things in this case:

1. Although you’ve had a bad experience, the guitars still exist (no snapped necks etc), and with fairly minimal work by a decent luthier (well installed dowels and accurate drilling) they can be returned to a quality state, and will sound and feel identical to how they were before. I’d also abandon the inserts idea and just re-drill for screws, as Leo intended.

2. Life is too short to put yourself through all of the stress and worry over this, let alone a small claims court. That stuff can go on for years. These are your guitars and it’s just part of their journey. You’re actually lucky in this case that all of this stuff will be invisible, either hidden in a neck pocket or underneath a pickguard. If it was me I’d get them sorted by @FelineGuitars, ;move on, find some peace, learn to love the guitars again, feel lucky they aren’t irreparable, and leave the rest to Karma. Just this forum alone has probably ruined their business.

This is just how I feel, as a guitar player. I’d want to move on from it all asap and get back in the rehearsal room / studio!

I wish you well, however you move forward with it all. It really is a horrible situation.

All the best

Lestratcaster

Moe_Zambeek said:

I would find a quality luthier / tech who can do a proper job. These can be fixed and fixed well by someone appropriately skilled - there are some on here who could do an amazing job and let you love these instruments again.

I welcome any recommendations - they might just be guitars but I’m devastated, and also feel a terrible sense of guilt to my Mrs, for ever taking them to be butchered. 

Got to be Feline guitars to sort this out.

This. I've been using Feline for over a decade now and they've been great with any guitars I've taken in (whether its mine or my guitar learners ones). I am not using anyone else to take my guitars to and this thread backs it up haha.