somebody murdered my 660

Modern years of Rickenbacker Guitars from 1984 to the present

Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4

Post Reply
phord
New member
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:25 pm

somebody murdered my 660

Post by phord »

I recently purchased a 660/12 string(2008 Midnight Blue). It had a slight buzz in the high e strings, so I took it to my luthier (who had worked wonders on my Martin, and my friends guitar in the past). My 660 was as mint as brand new.
Well, he murdered the guitar. There are gouges in the neck (I assume from some sort of vice) and scratches all over the back. There are gouges in the headstock. He broke one of the truss rods. I'm sick. He replaced the nut, and did an amateur Job of that. And it only took him 2 1/2 months.
So I have 2 questions. First, can anybody recommend somebody who can refinish the guitar (preferably in the S.E.)
Second, am I gonna shoot myself in the foot. Does refinishing a Rick diminish the value.
I've tried several repair shops in the Atlanta area. None of them wants to mess with conversion varnish. The one that did gave a quote of $12-1500. And he said there was no way to make it look factory.
I'm beginning to think that my original luthier has purchased himself my 660. Either that or refund me the money I paid for a mint one (there was a VERY played, scratched one I could have bought when I bought mine for $1100 less)

any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated

phord
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by jps »

Sorry to hear about the butchering "repair tech" you have.
Here is who you need to go to:

http://davisguitarworks.com/site/index.php

He'll fix you right up. :)
User avatar
aceonbass
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 6650
Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2002 5:00 am
Contact:

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by aceonbass »

Guitar techs are not luthiers. It's like calling an ambulance driver a doctor. That said, tell him to pay to have your guitar returned to its original condition, or get an estimate for the cost of repairs, and take him to small claims court. There are at least a few people known to this forum who can refinish a guitar without charging the arm and a leg you were quoted.
User avatar
kennyhowes
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 4908
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2001 1:03 am
Contact:

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by kennyhowes »

This happened in Atlanta?!?
Folkie
Advanced Member
Posts: 1605
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:23 pm

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by Folkie »

Hey, Bob. I'm so sorry to hear your disaster story. I really feel for you, as I've had two very bad experiences with techs who came highly recommended, but who just didn't know Rickenbacker 12-strings at all. In one case, my most trusted tech was able to reverse the damage; in the other, I had to sell the guitar at a great loss because it had a massive neck hump from the first to the seventh frets (created, as I later discovered, by the tech over-tightening the truss rods).

I didn't have the proper paperwork to make a small claims court case, but, if you do have a good copy of your repair receipt, that might be one option. Do you have any photos of your 660 from before your tech butchered it?
User avatar
LenMinNJ
Intermediate Member
Posts: 739
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:08 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by LenMinNJ »

Larry Davis at Davis Guitar Works in Florida: http://davisguitarworks.com/
User avatar
jdogric12
Rick-a-holic
Posts: 10853
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:00 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by jdogric12 »

1. Lawyer

2. Larry Davis
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by jps »

jdogric12 wrote:1. Lawyer

2. Larry Davis
Lawyer
Larry Davis

The names remain the same.
User avatar
Ric5150
Member
Posts: 321
Joined: Sun May 19, 2013 11:31 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by Ric5150 »

Haven't seen a response to one of the original questions. If you're talking about a vintage and/or collectible guitar, refinishing will nearly always hurt the value. If a guitar is refinished poorly, it will lose value.

Refinishing a 2008 660/12MID well should have little negative impact on value. If you get it refinished in a cool way (color, burst, etc) which others view as cool, it might increase the value. 660s already have checkered binding, but adding checkered binding to a run of the mill 350 would probably be viewed by most as an improvement - that kind of thing.

And yes, your tech should foot at least part of the bill. I've only had one similar incident. A new guitar I bought had a grounding problem and popped like crazy whenever anything metal was touched. I didn't feel like messing with it, so the store sent it to their tech. His 'diagnosis' was "that's what single coils sound like" and he did nothing - just sent it back. While showing the sales guy the problem, I noticed a big 3-cornered dent in the back of the guitar. The sales guy asked if I was ready to give up and let him order a new one and I said "Yep."
Life is suffering; the cause of suffering is desire. Envy is a deadly sin. Save your soul, go ahead and buy another one....
User avatar
jdogric12
Rick-a-holic
Posts: 10853
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:00 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by jdogric12 »

Ric5150 wrote:And yes, your tech should foot at least part of the bill.
Are you a tech yourself or something? :lol:

If that moron had messed up my guitar that badly I'd be up his *** kicking footballs.
User avatar
Ric5150
Member
Posts: 321
Joined: Sun May 19, 2013 11:31 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by Ric5150 »

jdogric12 wrote:
Ric5150 wrote:And yes, your tech should foot at least part of the bill.
Are you a tech yourself or something? :lol:

If that moron had messed up my guitar that badly I'd be up his *** kicking footballs.
No, not a tech, but I play one in real life with my own guitars. Perhaps I understated a bit. :wink:

In my head, if I had a stock Midnight Blue 660 which suddenly became in need of repair and refinishing, it would probably not end up as a stock Midnight Blue 660, so I was allowing for a little wiggle room on who pays for what. (Nothing against Midnight Blue, I'm just sayin'....). He should certainly pay for what he caused (but I'd probably have to pay for that extra middle pickup route :) ).

What he should do and what he will do (short of going to court - which may not be worth it) are two different things.

Yes, my first though would probably be to burn down his shop - but I'd hopefully get past that quickly and move on to seeking compensation. Then I'd probably focus my energy on bad online reviews and posting before/after photos on forums - along with his name, address, and phone number - sticking with simple, true, factual statements. Maybe kidnapping his dog.
Life is suffering; the cause of suffering is desire. Envy is a deadly sin. Save your soul, go ahead and buy another one....
User avatar
aceonbass
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 6650
Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2002 5:00 am
Contact:

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by aceonbass »

Ya!!!!......except for the dog part.
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: somebody murdered my 660

Post by jps »

Ric5150 wrote:Maybe kidnapping his dog.
Post Reply

Return to “Rickenbacker Guitars: Modern Years - After 1983”