Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Okay, you guys. Time to own up to your responsibility and post more!

Welcome Warren!

Another forumite from the city that brought us Drew Carey and good baseball?

Welcome, Warren. Any friend of Jeff's is a friend of mine!

JakeK wrote:Another forumite from the city that brought us Drew Carey and good baseball?

Welcome, Warren. Any friend of Jeff's is a friend of mine!

Drew Carey, yes! Good baseball? Ummmm.... ANY good sports team? I don't think so. We do have the best orchestra in the world, though.

jps wrote:Okay, you guys. Time to own up to your responsibility and post more!

+1

jps wrote:Okay, you guys. Time to own up to your responsibility and post more!

+1

jps wrote:Okay, you guys. Time to own up to your responsibility and post more!

+1

It's a start, anyway.

Full Cleveland wrote:

JakeK wrote:Another forumite from the city that brought us Drew Carey and good baseball?

Welcome, Warren. Any friend of Jeff's is a friend of mine!

Drew Carey, yes! Good baseball? Ummmm.... ANY good sports team? I don't think so. We do have the best orchestra in the world, though.

How about dedicated Browns fans? Welcome aboard and great to see you here. I've met you a couple times.

Warren,

Greetings and welcome to the forum! I, too, am a Clevelander, so it's great to hear your voice. Were you here long enough ago to know about Goose Acres Folk Music Shop or Sodja Music? I got my first acoustic at Goose Acres and I did business with Sodja for fifteen years. I got my 330/12 used and in mint condition from Heights Guitar over a decade ago. It was probably the best guitar purchase I ever made. Where do you like to shop guitars? Do you have a good guitar tech? (My current techs are Rick at Music Emporium and Ken Lesko who runs Rainbow Guitar Repair.)

Robert

Hi Warren, welcome. I jammed with you guys at Jeff's in November. I got that Vibratone at Heights Guitars and I still really like it. It sits in the living room!

Folkie wrote:Warren,

Greetings and welcome to the forum! I, too, am a Clevelander, so it's great to hear your voice. Were you here long enough ago to know about Goose Acres Folk Music Shop or Sodja Music? I got my first acoustic at Goose Acres and I did business with Sodja for fifteen years. I got my 330/12 used and in mint condition from Heights Guitar over a decade ago. It was probably the best guitar purchase I ever made. Where do you like to shop guitars? Do you have a good guitar tech? (My current techs are Rick at Music Emporium and Ken Lesko who runs Rainbow Guitar Repair.)

Robert

I go way back! I started guitar lessons at Gene Beecher Studio in South Euclid, gone for many years. I bought a Framus 6 string from Sodja when he had the old store. I really liked the older store. I used to go into Goose Acres once in a while. Any repairs I can't handle myself I take to Ken Lesko. I can fix cracks, broken necks, replace bridges, set up, I just don't deal with the frets, I give that to Ken. Just dropped off one of my acoustics to him for a re-fret, in fact.
Did you know the owner of Heights Guitar died? He had Pancreatic Cancer, I think. I was just in the store and 3 weeks later he was gone.
My favorite shop in Cleveland is Timeless Guitars in Parma. I love that store. All used guitars, both acoustic and electric. I bought my Epiphone Sheraton and my Yamaha L6 from him. You should check the place out, you won't leave empty handed!

jdogric12 wrote:Hi Warren, welcome. I jammed with you guys at Jeff's in November. I got that Vibratone at Heights Guitars and I still really like it. It sits in the living room!

That was a fun evening! Come back any time!

Warren,

I, too, have fond memories of Dick Sodja's old store (It's where I bought my first electric: a Japanese-made Fender Tele). Over the years Dick has given me so many great prices and done me tons of favors. One time I ordered a Fender Bassman shipped from the factory and when I got it home I didn't lke it. Dick took it back and sold it on the floor without hesitating. The chain stores just don't have that kind of customer service, which is one of the reasons I was so crestfallen when Sodja closed. If I hadn't been doing business with Sodja, I never would have met Ken Lesko, who is my most trusted guitar tech. He's always backed up three weeks, which can be a hassle, but he does beautiful, meticulous work. He did a fret level on my main Strat a few years ago and the frets looked factory new. I just had him repair a tail-rise on my Guild archtop and he went above and beyond the call of duty (he even tightened the tuners and polished the pickup covers). When I have more routine setups to be done, I take my guitars to Rick at Music Emporium in Euclid. He's the only one willing to restring my 330/12, and he often tweaks the action and intonation for me. Just today he did a string change and fretboard oiling (not to mention an intonation adjustment) on my Strat for something like $12.00!

I did hear that Greg Stiles, the owner of Heights Guitars, passed away. I made one purchase there in 1997, and I haven't been there much over the years, so I never really got to know Greg. I do know that they carry some top quality instruments, though. Is there any word on whether they'll be closing?

I really can't stand the chain stores with their inflated prices and poor customer service, so I'm trying to do as much business as possible with the remaining mom and pop stores in the Cleveland area. I'll have to check out Timeless Guitars, although Parma is somewhat of a long haul from where I live.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the purchase of the 330! Is it a six or a twelve and what color did you choose?

Robert

Last I checked, Heights Guitars is not open for business, but the word is that they intend to re-open. I bought a 1930 Martin from them that needed restoring. I totally restored it myself, and the kids didn't want it (I bought it for them) and I didn't like it, it was a parlor size all mahogany. So I sold it and bought a Yairi DY-51.
I haven't got the 330-6 yet, I need to sell my Gurian first. A friend is probably going to buy it. He's coming to town in the end of July and will buy it then. So I have to wait. I want either a fireglo or mapleglo.