new nut / set up, how much was your last one

[HedonismBot]

Does the invoice give an itemised list of all work done? Setup possibly included fret dress, recrowning etc. which takes time and could therefore justify the price.

that shit isn't on the invoice. it's just set up and new nut, the frets weren't dressed or crowned as I do that stuff myself typically to my personal liking so I declined it. I suck as installing nuts or I would have done this job myself.
Setup
A full guitar detail.
adjust the action at the Nut, saddle/bridge. -Truss rod/neck relief.
Clean and polish fretboard/frets.
Electronic inspection and cleaning.
General basic cleaning of the guitar.
Check all fasteners and secure all hardware. -Inspection and diagnosis of any issues.

I got a full setup + nut replacement (bone) + fret dressing on a vintage Mustang a little less than 2 years ago for $150. The prices may have gone up since, but not by that much I think. At least probably not in the shop that I use. The guy there still referred to a paper copy of a vintage guitar price guide that was outdated by a couple years when I brought in a couple guitars for appraisal in 2021.

[seenoevil II]

That seems steep.....but

The cost of living has increased by 8% 2 years in a row. You say it's just a squier, but it's a 1989 and we all know that's not some throw away guitar.

Cutting a nut, polishing 21 frets, a set up and overall inspection, that's at least half of a working day. Minus consumables and plus a pack of strings, is it really so hard to believe?

$150 (or sterling or whatever) 2 years ago is now $174.96.

You said it yourself, it plays really well.

And here's the thing. The work doesn't scale with the cost of the instrument. At least, it doesn't get cheaper. Professional work costs what professional work costs. The fact that your instrument was inexpensive initially has no bearing on that fact.


So, steep? Sure. Crazy? Probably not in 2023. A reason to feel afronted? Definitely not.

[panoramic]

That seems steep.....but

The cost of living has increased by 8% 2 years in a row. You say it's just a squier, but it's a 1989 and we all know that's not some throw away guitar.

Cutting a nut, polishing 21 frets, a set up and overall inspection, that's at least half of a working day. Minus consumables and plus a pack of strings, is it really so hard to believe?

$150 (or sterling or whatever) 2 years ago is now $174.96.

You said it yourself, it plays really well.

And here's the thing. The work doesn't scale with the cost of the instrument. At least, it doesn't get cheaper. Professional work costs what professional work costs. The fact that your instrument was inexpensive initially has no bearing on that fact.


So, steep? Sure. Crazy? Probably not in 2023. A reason to feel afronted? Definitely not.

Sure one can come up with plenty of logical reasons for inflated pricing on services but the jump as of late has been immense.
He works on amps for cheaper and my old guitar guy (whom i still use) would have charged me $130 if i wanted to wait 6 months to get it in for set up which wasn't really something i wanted to do. Yes this old Squier is not a junk guitar, i am very fond of it and how it plays. It's got the nicest neck of all of my electrics which is hilarious to me and I am actually looking to get it a new hardshell case and upgrade the guard so
I think this tech sort of just scrapes the leftovers and charges more for guitar work as he prefers to work on amps.

[seenoevil II]

For sure a lack of communication here. You should've been aware ahead of time of the cost. Whether that's on him or you- who knows.

Pricing is tough. Your normal guy had 6 month lead times, which frankly might mean he's underpricing his labor and inducing demand. There could be some scale issues too. Amp guy might take longer or have to order more materials to do that job than a pure guitar guy.

Then there's oppurtunity cost. I imagine there are more people capable of cutting nuts than recapping a blackface. I imagine amp guy's laborhour costing a bit more.

That itemization does seem a bit padded. General cleaning? That's a little odd. Again, that might be down to him not really knowing what's typical practice in guitar land.

Or, like you said, he could be trying to price himself out of having to do guitar work. The zen trdium of polishing 21 frets through 4-5 grits doesn't seem compatable with the mechanical mind of an amp tech. But that would be a great reason to give you a highball quote before and not after.

But pricing is tough. It's skilled, taxing, tedious labour that takes hours of time in countries with first world living costs. Yet clients are either hobbyists who don't see it as that important or working musicians without much dough. Then you have 3rd world labor being used to make the things.

It's like, the overwhelming majority of guitars being made and sold are underwater the cost of a refret or neck reset. But they're not bad instruments. They were just made using inhumane amounts of arbitrage. Theres a similar phenomenon with budget mechanical watches. Their 5 year mantainence could purchase a replacement.

[panoramic]

the lack of communication was not on my end as I did ask about the pricing a few times, listen we are going way out into the weeds here.
It's an extra $50 and that annoyed me, lesson learned I guess.
From here on in when it comes to squiers and cheapy guitars I will just set them up myself.

[PapaB]

$39.00 for a set up. Includes tweaking your nut and correcting some frets if needed .... Best thing, if he can he'll do it while you wait.
Don't give up on a good set-up. It's really a must. But be aware, many so called techs really aren't. Find one that went to a good school for it, and is accredited to work on factory instruments. I'd look for your nearest Martin service tech, one that does their repairs ....
Good luck in your musical endeavors!

[andyman]

In London, my experience has been about £70 each time. The last guy charged £85 but managed to exorcise some serious ghosts from my guitar, so it was worth it. Nothing's worse than getting it done then having to get it done again

My last amp health-check was £65.

[adamrobertt]

lol I just charged some friends $200 to set up 3 guitars (one of which needed a full fret level/recrown/polish, them frets were hurtin) and I was worried I was asking too much

[JSett]

lol I just charged some friends $200 to set up 3 guitars (one of which needed a full fret level/recrown/polish, them frets were hurtin) and I was worried I was asking too much

I do setups for friends for parts cost + a 4-pack of beer but it's definitely a hobby not a business

[adamrobertt]

lol I just charged some friends $200 to set up 3 guitars (one of which needed a full fret level/recrown/polish, them frets were hurtin) and I was worried I was asking too much

I do setups for friends for parts cost + a 4-pack of beer but it's definitely a hobby not a business

Well, I'm a professional tech but in the manufacturing space. I do jobs on the side and I do charge money, but usually like $50 for most jobs that others seem to charge $150 for. I won't charge for something really simple either.

[sal paradise]

I need to learn how to set up guitars. Everytime I’ve tried to fiddle with a truss rod I’ve just made things worse.

But I do kinda appreciate paying some money & getting a guitar back that is suddenly transformed with super low action. New strings help with the illusion, of course.