The Repair Zone, San Diego, CA

DocNrock

Master Member
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4,295
Fred and the boys rock.  Great service and excellent workmanship.  All repairs, modifications, setups, and fret dressings taken on with a smile.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=17955647

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-repair-zone-san-diego

 
Thank you! I brought in a neck to get a nut installed at Moze Guitars in La Mesa, they were recommended to me.

I got my guitar back with some new body work (scratches, dents) and the nut installed is too high, the first two frets on most strings are sharp now.  Needless to say I was pissed, and need a new guitar tech.

I didn't expect to find a good rec on here for San Diego, but I figured what the hay.  So thanks!  Also I don't want to say that Moze always does poor work, but that was my experience with them, whoever recommended it to me probably was happy with the job they did.  Reguardless, I'll try the Repair Zone next time.
 
SDbass said:
Thank you! I brought in a neck to get a nut installed at Moze Guitars in La Mesa, they were recommended to me.

I got my guitar back with some new body work (scratches, dents) and the nut installed is too high, the first two frets on most strings are sharp now.  Needless to say I was pissed, and need a new guitar tech.

I didn't expect to find a good rec on here for San Diego, but I figured what the hay.  So thanks!  Also I don't want to say that Moze always does poor work, but that was my experience with them, whoever recommended it to me probably was happy with the job they did.  Reguardless, I'll try the Repair Zone next time.

He has setup/fret dressed all 8 of my Warmoths, and my 6 other off-the-rack guitars.  I think you'll be pleased with not only his work, but also with his attitude.
 
The folks on the Rickenbacker forums also recommend this shop.  I'm planning on heading in there soon to ask them some questions about parts for an old Ibanez Blazer/Roadstar that I'm working on.
 
Moze (the owner, Moze) blows IME as well. There was one guy named Mike IIRC that worked at Moze's shop that set up one of my Strats that did a killer job. Everything was perfect including nut, neck bolt hole alignment, pickguard alignment, tuner alignment, and immaculate fretwork. But Moze... lopsided pup ring alignment, no fretwork done (I even requested a full leveling and crowning), plus he's a total Floyd Rose noob. The saddles are supposed to be shimmed to match the fretboard radius (two shims on the E strings and one shim on the A/B strings... 16" radius... in addition to however high it needs to be to maintain a flush-mount/float neck angle). I requested that this be a floating Floyd so I could do pull ups and flutter tricks. When I picked the guitar up from the shop, the tremolo bar shaft on the underside of the Floyd baseplate was rubbing on the interior routing of the body causing the bridge to get stuck, resulting in no flutter. Tuning issues also were incurred. I had to take the trem off and sand down the interior of the trem cavity (in truth, this is a flaw in the milling of the body which was a USACG..... still inexcusable that this was not noticed during set-up).

So what'd I learn from all this? That I need to either find another luthier, or learn to do all this myself.  :toothy12: I'm going to hit up Repair Zone for a refret on one of my older guitars so we'll see how that goes.
 
SuperStratSlinger said:
Moze (the owner, Moze) blows IME as well. There was one guy named Mike IIRC that worked at Moze's shop that set up one of my Strats that did a killer job. Everything was perfect including nut, neck bolt hole alignment, pickguard alignment, tuner alignment, and immaculate fretwork. But Moze... lopsided pup ring alignment, no fretwork done (I even requested a full leveling and crowning), plus he's a total Floyd Rose noob. The saddles are supposed to be shimmed to match the fretboard radius (two shims on the E strings and one shim on the A/B strings... 16" radius... in addition to however high it needs to be to maintain a flush-mount/float neck angle). I requested that this be a floating Floyd so I could do pull ups and flutter tricks. When I picked the guitar up from the shop, the tremolo bar shaft on the underside of the Floyd baseplate was rubbing on the interior routing of the body causing the bridge to get stuck, resulting in no flutter. Tuning issues also were incurred. I had to take the trem off and sand down the interior of the trem cavity (in truth, this is a flaw in the milling of the body which was a USACG..... still inexcusable that this was not noticed during set-up).

So what'd I learn from all this? That I need to either find another luthier, or learn to do all this myself.  :toothy12: I'm going to hit up Repair Zone for a refret on one of my older guitars so we'll see how that goes.

I don't know Moze, but I do know Fred (Repair Zone).  You will not be disappointed.  Fred's fretwork rocks!
 
jeryoung11 said:
The Repair Zone is definitely one of the best. I go there for all of my repairs and they have never let me down. I've been very pleased with their service and i'll continue to go there. Located near a bunch of popular San Diego Hotels it is easy to find and get to. If you have any car troubles check it out.

Jer
San Diego

car troubles?
 
So I was putting some new pickups into SnowWhite and when I had a problem I took it down to the Repair Zone since it's not too far from where I work. Fred took the time to talk over what I was working on and what sounds I was looking to get when I was done with it. Turns out that I messed up the easiest part and got the lead and ground wires background on the jack... LOL

Fred also took a few mintues to play it and was very complimentary of the Warmoth parts, but said something that I thought was interesting. Warmoth isn't doing as good a job dressing their frets as in the past. I had him do a fret dress while they were working on the electronics.

When I got it back it was even better than I'd imagined. The fret dressing was so good that I was able to lower the action about another .08 without introducing any buzz.

So double thumbs-up from me for The Repair Zone and thanks to Fred for the great work and patience to talk to me and take the time to get it all exactly right.
 
Warmoth doesn't level or dress their frets, nor do they set the final nut slot depth or the neck relief. They couldn't even if they wanted to because they don't know what you're going to install the neck on, what kind of strings you're going to use, what your playing style is, or what your preferences are.

Their build quality is high enough that just out of the shop their parts exceed the standard fare from many manufacturers, so quite often guys just play them "as delivered". But, if you want it adjusted to the Nth degree, you need to do that yourself or have it done.
 
Bump for the San Diego boys...

I don't think Fred is at Guitar Zone anymore.  Anyone know his whereabouts? I tried Top Gear in La Mesa and they are good folks, but kind of hit and miss.  Anyone else in the greater San Diego area that is top notch?
 
Good to hear a solid recommendation. I can assure you there is a lot of sloppy work/incomplete set ups/not listening to the customer in Seattle. Good to compile a list of options. And don't forget our own Cagey.
 
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