Luthier / Guitar Tech in the Slope?

Subject: guitar tech

His name is Bob Jones. He is excellent. His number is 718-965-6786. Trust him with anything. Tell him Dante sent you.

Bob Jones is great but usually insanely busy. (He and his family live across the street from Dizzy's). You may want to limit the work sent his way to your extremely vintage guitars that need some high-end work (re-fret, etc) AND that you don't need back too soon. Also, he doesn't really do any electronic work. He'll spray out your pots but won't rewind your fifty year old P90!
Years ago Bob sent me down to Dave Doucett on Butler Street by Nevins and he did AWESOME work. Both Bob and Dave did spectacular work on my vintage Gibsons. Unfortunately, Dave moved to Oregon a few years ago. However, the Retro-fret guys, who shared his space, expanded and took over his shop. I had a nut put in my '67 Hagstrom bass and their luthier guy did fine work. They have a mind-bending little showroom. Visit by appt. only http://www.retrofret.com/index.asp

I've just starting using Jeff Bloch at Guitar and Amp Wellness Center and like them there so much I even bothered to Yelp about it. He did a set up on that Hag that got it perfectly intonated and reliably gig-able. Not an easy thing. And I just got my little '60 Maestro amp back the other day, it's never sounded better. They have a store front, open 7 days I think. No appt. needed but if you want to talk to Jeff he isn't there Mondays, however the other tech is (another older gentleman, I forgot his name). The other guys behind the counter are quite thorough and straightforward so you can trust they'll get the right info to Jeff and other guy and they'll call you anyway to discuss their diagnosis and your options. The store is real easy to get to by car, train, foot over there on the sleepy 10th ave at 17th st. and much closer to me in Kensington! It's my new "home". Though I can't afford it right now, I look forward to when my Marshall needs a tune-up and I can hear what they'll do for it since it hasn't been re-tubed or tweaked since Blackie left town.

What are the prices for a setup at the Guitar and Amp Wellness Center?

I live nearby, but never go there because the first and only time I went inside they were extremely rude. They were very condescending of the fact that I play left-handed. But I do want to setup a few guitars that I have been playing more of lately and don't feel like dragging them into Manhattan.

Bogframe: I dig that Baldwin! A kid I used to play with in Jr High had one. I love the colored buttons! The performance/turntable/cassette/visual artist Christian Marclay used to play through one (back in the day).

Re-tag: how were the Wellness guys rude and condescending? That seems awfully strange and quite a surprise. And frankly, wouldn't that be a poor way of doing business? But, I'll take your criticism at face value. Perception is important.

When you say you play left-handed do you mean you taught yourself to play a right handed guitar, strung up normally, upside down? You mean like Albert King and Dick Dale (and the guy from the English Beat)?

Anyway, they're not cheap, but they're working at the going hourly bench rate of skilled luthiers. I believe they and Retrofret start at around $90/hr. A set up would cost that plus strings.

If you're not that exacting and don't like the Wellness guys anyway, you should try Sarah down at Mazzotti Music on 3rd Ave and Carroll St.

I decided to do a bit more research on the Wellness guys, trying to find out more about pricing. Found a post on the internet from someone else describing them as rude:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199323

How were they rude to me? When they asked me if I needed any help, I said I was just looking if they had any lefties. Their reply was basically that I was a fool for playing lefty and I should play righty, despite the fact that I have been playing lefty since I was a teenager, and that I already own 10 lefty guitars, some of which cost more than anything they have in the store. I walked out and never went back. I pass them on my way to Key Food, and I won't even get strings from them.

So many stores, why waste my time with rude people? I am a native NYCer, so rude people really don't faze me, but the guy at Wellness said it with an attitude.

Unfortunately, Mazzotti Music is too far for me considering I have a few shops in Manhattan that are closer to my job.

Sorry for hijacking the thread BrooklynGigCenter. Wish I knew someone that was local, everyone I know are in Manhattan.