November 2010 Testimonials 1

Rickenbacker 330 and 70's Telecaster
Robin worked on both of these guitars which had different issues. The Telecaster buzzed from the jack plug socket and Robin also found that the guitar had been fitted with a restrictor for no obvious reason and quite rightly took that off. He also gave it a fret dress which made it play so much better. The Rickenbacker and my cloth ears were happy together for twenty years until I went into the studio and the guy behind the desk said it was slightly out of tune no matter how much I tuned it. We were half way through a very expensive week in the studio and I was about to use the Rickenbacker so I needed the problem sorting out straight away. I rang Robin and he sorted out the problem with the neck quickly enough so that i was able to use it for the recording.

After meeting Robin and taking a few guitars 'round for him to work on I would recommend him to anybody. He's a rare breed that actually cares that when you pick up your guitar after the work he has done, you are more than happy with the results.

Thanks Robin. Rich T. Long Eaton The Little Pigs

 

Profile Les Paul (Black)

"The Doctor" cleaned up the fretboard and corrected the setup on my old Profile Les Paul copy. Very pleased with the results. Robin and his wife are a lovely couple and all in all it was a most pleasant experience. Thank you Robin. Dennis C.

Guild D3JNIT Acoustic

Dear Robin,

Many thanks for the repair job on the 1978 Guild acoustic, I have had a week or so to get to grips with the new set-up and I can say that the instrument is much easier play than before. The tone has improved greatly as a result of the new strings and although they are heavy going, the sound and volume is most impressive.

It is a real pleasure to play and listen to thanks to the many hours of work you put into it. I'll bring my next acquisition to you without a doubt. Best regards, Brian P.

 

Tanglewood Rebel 4K - strung as Picolo Bass.
I recently set Dr Robin another challenge with my Picolo bass. This bass is a 34" scale 24 fret bass, which has been strung as a picolo bass with string gauges: .020, .032, .042, .052. It was sitting unused as I have other basses, most of which Robin has already made perfect for me and the feedback thereof is here to be read. As this guitar was never designed to be strung so lightly it had a monumentally high action and did indeed cut into my fingers. This also had my first ever unwound string on the G. (ouch).

I sent this to the Dr and he. as always. has breathed magic into it. He completed a full set up and fret-dress of the bass and made it sound beautiful. The pick ups were in need of balancing and the nut needed alteration to accommodate the lighter strings correctly among many other tweaks. When I first picked up my bass on returning to the Dr's I could not believe what he had done with it. The action is now low and it plays very easily, I may even need to raise it slightly to suit my techniques.

As always the Dr has done a fantastic job of setting up what is otherwise a cheap guitar.

Thank you very much Dr Robin.  Dean J.

Fender Stratocaster (50s) (Candy Apple Red)

I cannot express how happy I am with the job you did on  my '57 strat.... She sounds sweet. like she's never sounded before. Worth every penny. Kind regards, Sean F.

PS I've attached a demo from the other night, (first rehearsal since the setup), the sound is down to you mate - enjoy!

 

Fender Telecaster 2006 L/H

I bought this Tele from the original owner, who took very good care of it. The guitar played okay, but as time went on, I felt it could be better than just "okay". When I took it to Robin, he quickly found several problems I didn't even know about, such as a slight hump in the fretboard around the 12th fret. After quite a bit more work than I thought was required (including several small tweaks to suit my playing style), I'm very pleased with the results. The Tele feels like I've been playing it for years, instead of just a few months. I wish I could describe how smooth and comfortable it is in my hands now - not just "okay", but "ahh".

Thanks Robin, for another fantastic job! Mike C (Derby)

 

Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton "Rainbow Stratocaster" copy
A long time ago I purchased the parts to build my own guitar and do the wiring. Originally it was a stratocaster with a sunburst body and a maple neck. I then decided to buy a new body which I found on ebay which was a copy of Eric Clapton's Rainbow Stratocaster body. When I purchased it I knew that holes had to be drilled for the pickguard and so on. The body had the neck holes already drilled but I quickly realised that the neck holes were drilled in the wrong place, so I searched on Google for local guitar repair services and found Robin.
I took the guitar parts to him, and found out pretty quickly that it wouldn't be a simple job like I had assumed. The body required work on the neck pocket for the neck to be able to fit, the cavity inside the body would need to be made slightly bigger for the electronics in the pickguard to fit and the bridge holes needed to be drilled in the correct place so the guitar sets up properly, just to name a few of the issues, (there were many more). After a huge amount of careful work the guitar was completed, and it sounds and plays like a dream, all of the work was done for a fair price to compared to the amount of time and effort taken to complete the project. I can't begin describe how pleased I am with the results, it's better than my actual Eric Clapton Stratocaster! Thanks again Robin! Scott B. Derby


All the best

Scott B, Derby