Cost to restore a '71 Martin D-28??

[Ben-Had]

In my shop now a 1971 D-35 needing the same work:

Neck re-set - $200 (includes new saddle, nut extra if needed $40)
New bridge and saddle - $100
New pick guard and small crack repaired - $75
Possible re-fret (compression) depending on how the neck re-set changes things. - complete compression refret $175
Total $550

[Hollowed_Wood]

Originally Posted by docwatsonfan

upstate NY?
this might be of interest
highly regarded Martin repairman.......


Kovacik Guitars is located in the town of Scotia, in New York's Capital Region.
You can contact Kovacik Guitars and Fretted Instrument Repair via the contact page or by calling 518-381-3958
(Monday through Saturday, 9:30 AM-5 PM Eastern time). HOURS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY...

Thanks! I've seen his name mentioned before. I'll give him a call if I don't get it done before I leave, which seems likely.

[Hollowed_Wood]

Originally Posted by Ben-Had

In my shop now a 1971 D-35 needing the same work:

Neck re-set - $200 (includes new saddle, nut extra if needed $40)
New bridge and saddle - $100
New pick guard and small crack repaired - $75
Possible re-fret (compression) depending on how the neck re-set changes things. - complete compression refret $175
Total $550

Too bad I'm not in NC right now.

[Hollowed_Wood]

Originally Posted by B. Howard

Without actually seeing the instrument,basic prices for these services here in my shop are as follows:

Neck re-set( includes no fret work)$400
Remove old bridge and install new (Any work on plate inside extra) $250
Remove pick guard,repair typical cracks and install new PG $200
Full compression refret if needed $325 ( often a level and crown is what is actually needed instead which is only $100).

So About $1100 total here for what was described.....

Thanks! I kind of get the feeling that the luthier I took it to didn't really want to do the work.

[Hollowed_Wood]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

HW, your luthier sounds a little bit on the high side to me. Perhaps if all those jobs were done separately it might price out that high, but most of the guitar repairmen I’ve dealt with will give you a better price if everything is being done during one stay at the repair shop.

So if I received a quote like that I would definitely shop around.

Having said that, there’s a strong “home field advantage” when getting repair work executed locally by a repair tech whose workmanship you trust. For one thing, you avoid the cost of shipping, and even more importantly, you avoid the inherent risk of shipping a fragile musical instrument from Point A to Point B (and back again.) With a good local repair tech you transport the guitar to and fro yourself, and if the process is taking longer than promised if you choose you can give the occasional helpful nudge.

That’s a lot harder to do when you’ve shipped the guitar out of state. Sure, you can call and send emails, but those reminders are more easily ignored than when you drop by because you were “in the neighborhood” and “just wanted to see how things were going...”

Anyway, there are advantages to both approaches, but I always prefer to get instrument repairs and adjustments done locally whenever possible. It’s just safer, as a general rule.

So shop around, and see what you can find.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thanks Wade. I definitely prefer someone local to shipping it to some random place. I'm actually a little outside of Colorado Springs right now and It was almost a 2 hour drive to get to the luthier I saw (then 2+ back through traffic). I've had work done in Denver at a different luthier and was less than pleased with the work. So, it might have to wait until I'm in NY or I may have to acquiesce and ship it.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by Ben-Had

In my shop now a 1971 D-35 needing the same work:

Neck re-set - $200 (includes new saddle, nut extra if needed $40)
New bridge and saddle - $100
New pick guard and small crack repaired - $75
Possible re-fret (compression) depending on how the neck re-set changes things. - complete compression refret $175
Total $550

Your prices are pretty cheap.

Steve

[Borderdon]

FWIW, I took my ‘73 Martin 000-18 in last year, for “the full monty”
ie: neck reset, refret, new bridge, bone nut & saddle.
The work was done by a highly respected local luthier, and was first class.
It cost $800 (CAD) and was worth every penny to me.
It unlocked the potential of the guitar.
-good luck with your decision.

[Hollowed_Wood]

Question for the luthiers that have responded:

I have some ligament damage in the thumb on my fretting hand, and it seems to do better with the "modified low oval" on the current Martins. However, I like old Martins, and in particular my '71.

Have you ever done or seen done successfully a shaving down of one of the 70's necks to something more like the necks from a few years ago. I know with the shaving of a neck, you don't really want to decrease the thickness, but in this case it wouldn't be overall thickness, just an evening out from around the 3rd fret on up. The thinnest part of the stock neck would not be decreased.

I'm not talking about the width of the fingerboard, but the way the neck of this Martin gets thicker as you move towards the heel, which causes me to have to pull my thumb down in an uncomfortable way. My 2007 stays at the same thickness up the neck.

Does this seem like a silly idea functionally? I know it won't look good and will decrease the value of the guitar significantly, but I think of my guitar like a tool that I need to be able to control well. I want to play the hell out of it.

[mirwa]

Not hard to do at all, very minimal risk from the 3rd fret up.

Steve

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by Hollowed_Wood

I have a '71 D-28 that has the typical 70's Martin problems. It needs:

Neck re-set
New bridge and saddle
New pick guard and small crack repaired
Possible re-fret (compression) depending on how the neck re-set changes things.

.

neck set - $450
bridge and saddle - $250
pick guard and crack (if normal) $200
compression refret - $350

That’d Be $1250, if I were doing that kind of thing, which I’m not. If the frets are in good shape, a reset shouldn’t require a refret.

[B. Howard]

Originally Posted by Hollowed_Wood

Question for the luthiers that have responded:

I have some ligament damage in the thumb on my fretting hand, and it seems to do better with the "modified low oval" on the current Martins. However, I like old Martins, and in particular my '71.

Have you ever done or seen done successfully a shaving down of one of the 70's necks to something more like the necks from a few years ago. I know with the shaving of a neck, you don't really want to decrease the thickness, but in this case it wouldn't be overall thickness, just an evening out from around the 3rd fret on up. The thinnest part of the stock neck would not be decreased.

I'm not talking about the width of the fingerboard, but the way the neck of this Martin gets thicker as you move towards the heel, which causes me to have to pull my thumb down in an uncomfortable way. My 2007 stays at the same thickness up the neck.

Does this seem like a silly idea functionally? I know it won't look good and will decrease the value of the guitar significantly, but I think of my guitar like a tool that I need to be able to control well. I want to play the hell out of it.

I shave necks often even these days, was more common 25 years ago... Ugly? Not when professionally done! In fact after finish you would need to use a template to tell most likely. I would typically pattern a neck you like send match this one to that.