£££££'s

[Horizontalste]

Hi folks, today ive been to the local shop in town to inquire about a bridge replacement and setup, ive ordered a Gotoh bridge from Bass Parts Resource and Super Slinky's from Stringbuster's and my plan is to have them on my Yamaha Bb614 that i had from Machines last year. I havent used this guy in town before and he quoted their standard £55 service/setup fee plus £10 aprox for the bridge. My question to you guys is do you think this is reasonable or do you think it may be a bit high????
Cheer's Steve.

[warwickhunt]

TBH some folk on here will be aghast that it is costing anything as they could do that kind of thing themselves; on the other hand if you are useless with set-ups and swapping bits then £55 is the fee that most tradesmen would charge for the first hour of work. I've just had work done on my house and every trade that I had in (sparky, brickie, joiner, plumber, plasterer etc) charged a bare minimum of £50 an hour (mates rates for one or two jobs). Did I/could I grumble at that? nah because if you have a trade or service that other people want then you have to pay the going rate.

Local rates around here would however indicate that £55 is on the top end of the scale for a standard set-up, hence charging that extra £10 is a bit cheeky because if the bridge is a direct drop in replacement then it's a 5 minute addition to the job... mind if the bass needs to be routed or modded then that's fair enough.

In summary - If he's good at his job and the job has the potential to be tricky then his price is fine especially if he has expensive overheads but if he's a part-timer working out of the garage or as a handyman in the local flea-pit guitar shop then a smidgen high.

[WalMan]

The chap I use charges £30 (plus the strings, which I supply anyway) for a standard setup, and he is someone I trust who has been in the guitar business for years - I have been going to him on & off for at least 30). So yes £55 does sound a bit high for a setup.

Edited March 26, 2008 by WalMan

[john_the_bass]

I wouldn't pay £55 for a setup. On the rare occasions I pay somebody else to do it, the going rate around here is around £30 + strings. If it's a strat (floating trem), it's usually a bit more. A new nut in my les paul (which required a bit of setting up post op) was £30.

edit: I was once charged about 40 quid I think for a job on my acoustic guitar, but that was different to the price originally quoted, they didn't ring me to tell me of the price difference and so I won't be going back. Have a look at the recommended luthiers thread to see if there is one in your area.

Edited March 26, 2008 by john_the_bass

[Platypus]

The Bass Gallery in London charge £30 for a setup. I just had a 6 string setup done and that was the charge. They discount 20% on string prices, when having a setup done and this puts them close to online prices for strings (i think).

P

[Horizontalste]

Thanks guy's, i did my p bass myself, same kind of thing bridge and setup but i want this one done right so i can be sure im getting the best out of it. I will scour the area and get more quotes and try and find a bit out about the skills of the person il use. Thanks again guys.

[Horizontalste]

Thanks for the advice, i think i probably could get somewhere near but im scared $hitle$$ of messing with the truss rod for the releif of the neck. Any advice on books would be welcome.

[john_the_bass]

try [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=253"]here[/url]. nothing listed for wolverhampton but if you want to go to warwick, worcester or birmingham, you've a choice.

[Horizontalste]

Thanks John, i think il have a go and if i mess it up then il pay, the bridge is direct replacement anyway and ive checked the neck with an 18" ruler and it appears to be as straight as an arrow so hopefully minor tweeking only.. Cheer's Steve.

[Horizontalste]

JOB DONE ....Im such a clever boy. done it myself and im well impressed.

[ped]

How much did you charge?

[The Burpster]

[quote name='610*c' post='168551' date='Apr 2 2008, 04:46 PM']JOB DONE ....Im such a clever boy. done it myself and im well impressed.[/quote]


Uh oh, thats another hooked....!

[markytbass]

It's quite satisfying doing your own set up's and mod's.

[Horizontalste]

[attachment=7235:DSCF0450.JPG][attachment=7234:DSCF0451.JPG]This is how it look's now... Oh yes

Edited April 3, 2008 by 610*c

[markytbass]

Nice one. I fitted one of those to a Cort bass I had and I will be getting a 5 string version for the Yamaha.

My story of a shop setup was that I was promised a free setup after playing it in. I could cope with paying for new strings even though they were overpriced (IMO). But charging me £5 for fitting them I felt was taking the mick. I also asked if they would keep the old strings for spares but on collection was told they had cut them off.