How to find a good repair/setup guy/girl

I had a wild thought (not really that rare of occurance) about having a Strat or Tele type instrument assembled with aftermarket parts. Not really looking for a from-scratch, everything handmade type of ax, just something like Fender would put together if they could read my mind and didn't have the time press of trying to make a profit. My problem has been trying to find someone local who I can trust. Someone who can work with my admitted lack of knowledge and end up with a top shelf rig. And I guess it would be a good thing if i could afford it, too!

Anybody else been through this? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
Kurt

hmm ... is it just that you want a strat/tele on the cheap, and you want some customisations made?

I've heard good things about the squier teles, and they're a lot cheaper. Perhaps you could grab one of them and then replace the parts you want replaced - pickups, tuners, bridge etc etc.

I looked into the prices for parts to build a guitar eventually, and the prices in Aus were pretty much the same as buying an American made fender.

That could be a very fun project and there are a lot of resources out there. Here are two...

Guitar Mill® | Puttin' out the good stuff!
Warmoth - Custom bass and guitar bodies, necks, pickups, pickguards and hardware

The trick, as you said, is to find a good local tech to work with you. You can take the direct approach -- go into local guitar shops and interview them about their technicians -- which may or may not work. I like the indirect approach -- figure out who the best local bands are, go see them perform, and during their breaks corner the guitar player and ask him who he trusts with his gear. Usually this will lead to a cool discussion on guitars, which is always a bonus.

I'm not looking for a bargain basement ax, just something that I can just pick up and go with. I don't mind paying a fair price, but these guys who can get away with charging a $4000 price tag are beyond me.

I had an awesome custom made telecaster relic that surpasses any of the Fender production models by Dave at This Old Guitar your Vintage Reproduction Shop Dave will make you just about any kind of Fender vintage styled instrument to your specifications (pickups/hardware/etc.....and relatively inexpensively (i.e. A little more than if you built yourself with finished parts from Warmoth or Allparts). He ships it to you and has an excellent return policy. I've seen his instruments sell from between $1000-$2500 depending on the finish and options.

Any cheaper and its like working for minimum wage to build your own ax..... You might as well pickup a decent Mexican made Fender (Players Classic, custom shop designed) if you are thinking about spending less than $1000. I think for Dave its more of a labor of love....because as you can read from Cary's excellent relic'ing articles, even starting with a finished guitar, its quite a lot of work.

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THIS SPACE FOR RENT

That's more in line to what I wanted to shell out. But, I want to find a local guy, and I am not particularly fond of 'relic' guitars... I was looking at Dave's reproduction of 'Blackie' and could only think, "that would be cool in like-new condition"!

You won't save money if you build from parts. I've assembled some nice Strats from parts. It's the best way to get the guitar that you want in my opinion. I recently put together one using a new 2 piece 57 Hot Rod body, a Eric Johnson neck and Lindy Fralin Blues Specials pickups. I love it! Tone to die for! Including the case I have a little over $1100 into it.

If you use cheap parts you can build one for $500-$600 but you may as well buy a cheap guitar and save yourself the trouble.

That's what I'm talkin' about! The fret size I want, the pickups I want, The body material I want, the neck shape I want. I guess the thing I should do is just learn to do it myself.

If you can turn a screwdriver and are able to do basic soldering then you can do it. I suggest learning to do refreting and refinishing on a old neck and body.