Testimonials – 6

Testimonials 6J

Fender Custom Shop ’63 Relic Telecaster
I bought this guitar about a year ago mainly because I loved the look of it. I played it in the shop and it all seemed fine. After a few days of playing at home I realised it had several issues – the neck wasn’t entirely straight, the 60’s style wiring made the neck pickup useless and it buzzed like an old fridge. I reverted back to my older cheaper tele for a while. However, it seemed stupid having an expensive guitar that I didn’t enjoy playing but rather than sell it I thought I’d try and get it sorted. I found Robin online and I’m so glad I did. He sorted all the buzzing issues, re-wired the pickup (which now sounds great), straightened the neck (to the point that I could actually SEE the difference when I picked it up!) PLUS he evened the frets out so it now plays like butter!! The list of adjustments Robin made was huge and each one has helped me fall back in love with this telecaster.
Robin is knowledgeable and passionate about guitars and obviously takes time and great pride in his work. After Robin’s efforts my guitar finally feels worth the hefty price I paid for it. The Fender Custom Shop has a lot to learn.
Thanks again,Chris

Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Shopping on a tight budget, I was advised that “Epiphone” guitars were good value for money, so I bought a Les Paul Special. It played ok for a cheap and cheerful, and had a nice tone, so as soon as I had enough money to have it set up, I took it to Robin for the full works, and the fitting of a set of neck bolts to replace the standard screws, for a little more sustain, (don’t try this at home folks, it’s not as easy as it sounds). On collection day, I couldn’t believe I was playing the same guitar that I took in, the difference was astounding, so much so that I now use the Epi as my 1st choice of weapon. As good as she is, my poor old Ibanez has been relegated to backup. On any guitar, a good set up is essential, and with Dr. Robin, that’s exactly what you get, a good set up; including a full written report on all the work done. He is professional, skilled, and passionate about all guitars, be it an “Epiphone Special” or a “Gibson Black Beauty”. His work is 1st class, and both he and his wife are very friendly and easy to get on with. Once again I left his house smiling, and feeling I had got more than my money’s worth; and that’s something you don’t feel every day!
Many thanks, Robin.
Epiphone EB-0 Bass

    A most excellent service turned my unplayable/untunable pig of an EBay bargain into a fantastically playable bass guitar.  Robin kept me informed of what work was required and gave me an honest appraisal and very fair price when the job turned out to be much bigger than we first thought.  He also spent time with me tweaking the bass to ensure I was entirely happy with it when I went to pick it up.  I was really impressed with how much Robin cares about his work and the importance he places on customer satisfaction.  I thoroughly recommend his service and wouldn’t hesitate to use him again. Martin C, Nottingham

Gibson LP Studio (Black), Brian May Red Special, Epiphone Les Paul Standard, G&L ASAT Classic (Cream), Fender 50th Anniversary Strat., Tokai Love Rock (Goldtop), Gibson LP Studio (Black), Gibson 335 (Black)

Self confessed collector of guitars from the great market place that is e-bay! All look pretty as a picture on the web but upon inspection for real buzz and squeal like South African vu-vu zela’s!
The Guitar Doctor has been my salvation on each of the ever growing list he has been quick to locate the faults and address the issues each time providing me with a detailed e-mail of his work.
The Gibson studio provided a real challenge when the gibbo bustbucker pro pickups I ordered proved to be faulty (incorrectly wound in reverse so Robin said) He very patiently talked me through return and redelivery to his address of the replacements and as always I’m sure his invoice did not reflect the true number of hours taken to complete the task!
Later this week I shall place my latest Gibbo gold top in his capable hands and look forward to the complete transformation his work will make to its current below par state of health!
Thank you Guitar Doctor ! Phil, Matlock
1977 L/H Natural Strat, maple neck, black scratchplate
I bought this guitar towards the end of 2009 from an online retailer, as it was the guitar I had been looking for for years; a match to my ’77 L/H Precision bass. After a few days, I realized the guitar had a problem keeping in tune and had terrible fret buzzes. I took it to my local guitar shop for a setup, but it came back with new strings, and the same problems. Another guitar shop said the neck had been worked on, but would need to be completely refretted and leveled. Even then, they could not guarantee the guitar would ever be playable. We also found out the guitar had been stripped of its original finish, and had been used right-handed for a time. In despair, the guitar ended up in a gig bag for several weeks, then I took it back to the first guitar shop to sell on commission. Three months later, with no interest, I brought it back home, a white elephant.
Finally, I took the guitar to Robin the Guitar Doctor. I wanted to know if this long-suffering instrument could be restored to a playable condition or not. He discovered that the middle pickup seemed to have a broken winding. We decided to leave that for now; the priority was to make the guitar playable. No point fixing a pickup on a guitar that will never be used again.
Robin redressed the frets (which had been done poorly in the past), adjusted the neck, rewired the pickup selector switch to bypass the dead pup, and adjusted the action & intonation. When I came to pick the guitar up, I was astounded to find the guitar was not only playable, but comfortable and fast. Robin has done several of my guitars already, but we agreed that this was the best of the bunch. This guitar has been brought back from the brink and may quickly become one of my favourite axes (as it was originally intended to be).
If you are reading these testimonials (like I was once) and weighing up whether or not to bring your guitar to Robin, I cannot recommend his services enough. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty to resurrect this guitar and give it a new lease on life. Every day you delay contacting him is a day longer you go without your guitar getting the attention it deserves.