Guitar One vs. Guitar Hospital vs. Guitar Salon

[vittobrat]

ah kaya pala. friend of mine had a custom built wrap around bridge for his lp, brass with nickel plating i think, sabi nya si arie daw mismo ang nag mold nun. first time i saw it akala ko orig.

Arie fabricated something that made my Yamaha Pacifica 3 times heavier than normal!!
i was in shocked as i held my guitar after his modifications.
Ang bigat, at sa connection ng neck at body ng gitara ung weight.
i asked him, " sir arie ano po nilagay nyo dito? "
he didn't answer my question..
sort of a surprise to me.
coz he has a knack to explaining everything he does in a guitar.

[rrralf]

Arie fabricated something that made my Yamaha Pacifica 3 times heavier than normal!!
i was in shocked as i held my guitar after his modifications.
Ang bigat, at sa connection ng neck at body ng gitara ung weight.
i asked him, " sir arie ano po nilagay nyo dito? "
he didn't answer my question..
sort of a surprise to me.
coz he has a knack to explaining everything he does in a guitar.

That's impossible. Assuming your guitar weighed around 8 pounds originally, then you are saying your guitar already weighs 24 pounds.

[Al_Librero]

Context. Even though 3 times might be a bit of an exaggeration, the Pacifica is a fairly small and light model -- it's very unlikely to make it anywhere near 8 pounds. Going from let's say 5-6 pounds to 10 or heavier would make an intriguing mystery.

+1 mismo, dapat buong tiwala talaga ang ibigay. Yung iba kasi pag pasok pa lang ng pinto nila Arie eh puro duda agad kahit di pa nila na experience trabaho ni Arie.. Mahirap yun kasi nag judge na sila agad..  Di lang nila alam gaano ka detalyado at passionate si Arie sa gawa niya..And the sad part is, di man nila susubukan so they're missing half of their life by not experiencing the best luthier our country has.

That is a predicament that is not unique to Arie. But what he has that majority of his peers do not is the luxury of being in a position where he does not need to mind the doubters.

[rrralf]

Context. Even though 3 times might be a bit of an exaggeration, the Pacifica is a fairly small and light model -- it's very unlikely to make it anywhere near 8 pounds. Going from let's say 5-6 pounds to 10 or heavier would make an intriguing mystery.

That is a predicament that is not unique to Arie. But what he has that majority of his peers do not is the luxury of being in a position where he does not need to mind the doubters.

The Pacifica weighs 8 lbs. Look it up.

[Al_Librero]

LOL. I'm sorry. I was speaking from personal experience rather than what I read in the IntarWebz.

But, just so I can obey your command, I did look it up. The results are amusing:

Musicradar = 8 lbs. (Is this what you're referring to?)

Audiofanzine = 6.5 lbs.

Some dude at TGP = ~ 7 lbs.

Soundslive = 8 kg

The last one obviously didn't bother proofreading its ad. While the first one probably just repeated whatever is on the brochure, since there is no mention of actual weight in the review itself.

I think the conclusion here is that weight is not uniform across all copies.

[wrathster]

LOL. I'm sorry. I'm speaking from personal experience rather than what I read in the InterWebz.

I am still clueless as to what anyone could have done to increase the weight of a guitar by up to 200%.

[rrralf]

I am still clueless as to what anyone could have done to increase the weight of a guitar by up to 200%.

...and I don't see any logical reason as to why a luthier would do something like that. 

[Al_Librero]

I am still clueless as to what anyone could have done to increase the weight of a guitar by up to 200%.

Like I said, it's still probably just an exaggeration in reference to perceived rather than actual weight. I suppose you can add a few more pounds replacing a thin zinc trem block with full sized steel. If it's a really light specimen of a Pacifica, mararamdaman talaga yung few pounds na yun. But anything more than that... baka may alkansya na sa loob ng gitara. Hehehe.

But I think the more important issue here is that why the client didn't get an answer to his question. And what mods were done to the guitar, anyway?

[Skybox]

I had one of my guitars worked on by shutterbugjohn located near SM North. Ang gusto ko dun sya mismo ang gumawa sa gitara ko. You guys might wanna check his work out as well especially if you live sa North.

[wrathster]

But I think the more important issue here is that why the client didn't get an answer to his question. And what mods were done to the guitar, anyway?

That is, if indeed the luthier didn't answer. Pero kung face to face na yun, baka naman hindi lang nagkaintindihan sa tanong at/o sa sagot.

[Rmansh]

I had one of my guitars worked on by shutterbugjohn located near SM North. Ang gusto ko dun sya mismo ang gumawa sa gitara ko. You guys might wanna check his work out as well especially if you live sa North.

also went there with my broken neck es335, nice guy actually, he did a great job. Later, the guy who bought the guitar went to GH, told me arie was impressed with the repair.

[shodawmoon]

also went there with my broken neck es335, nice guy actually, he did a great job. Later, the guy who bought the guitar went to GH, told me arie was impressed with the repair.

there ya go. +2 points for Guitar Love.

[Xelly]

there ya go. +2 points for Guitar Love.

Ah gets. Iisa lang pala yung Guitar Love tsaka si Shutterbugjohn! Tama ba?

[Skybox]

there ya go. +2 points for Guitar Love.

Uy may name na pala business nya. Yup sobrang bait ni John. I was impressed with his workmanship and professionalism. Kahit malapit kami dun sa isang luthier dinadayo ko pa talaga. Reasonably priced kasi and good quality yung gawa.

He told me he was gonna build custom Tele's when I was there. Wonder if he got around making a few of them. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about in terms of the wood he was gonna use. He even showed me some of the wood he had stocked over time.

I can definitely recommend going to his place if it's accessible to you guys.

[shodawmoon]

Ah gets. Iisa lang pala yung Guitar Love tsaka si Shutterbugjohn! Tama ba?

ya 

[Bolt Thrower]

ya 

oo maga;ing yan si shutterbugjohn. nasubukan ko na refret and setup niya. 9/10.

[toybitz]

I actually haven't had any repainting job with either of them. I don't like repainting my guitars. I'll have my Peavey Wolfgang repainted soon, though. Tingnan natin

Noooooooo!

[eyebag21]

Wala bang poll for this? Ya know para madali makita yung vote results.Sorry for my laziness.
Tapos backread nalang for reasons. Suggestion lang.

[MrGobots]

Ako sa Guitar Salonspital One.... hehehe... bakit di kasama si Max Rufo sa choices? kelangan ba may Guitar sa umpisa?

[nokiamicth]

sir sino mas okay  na luthier na magaleng mag route.. edge 3 to lo pro edge plus repaint..... patulong sir..

[japendotz07]

Micsis gets my vote. Hinde lang dahil sa malapit siya sa akin pero super okay niya maki-tungo sa customers.  And before he installs something in your guitar, he makes sure na tama ang gagawin niya because he research well and he even proved it to me na nag re-research siya. He can give you many options para sa papagawa mo. Hands down ako kay Mike and his team.

[Xelly]

Ako sa Guitar Salonspital One.... hehehe... bakit di kasama si Max Rufo sa choices? kelangan ba may Guitar sa umpisa?

 

[mr_orange316]

micsis has my vote. i'm from cebu and i had a problem with my guitar and was planning to ship it to micsis. he asked me lots of questions and helped me narrow down the problem. he even suggested that i send him pics, he kept replying to my texts even if wala naman akong nabayad sa kanya. in the end, he suggested that i bring it to a local luthier para daw di malaki ang gastos ko sa shipping. so i followed his advice , narrated his diagnosis to the local luthier and my guitar is working perfectly now. hope to meet the man one of these days to thank him =)

[aaronlara]

Hello friends. Ive a GH client for 10 years already and I can say Arie is very frank when it comes to his job's worth. Sasabihin nya agad kung hindi sulit ang gastos to save you money and his time and effort for practicality. Yes ive had my share of delays and some considerable inconsistencies in his work but for me it does not exactly affect his quality and credibility as a Luthier and an artist. If a job is delayed, we have to wait because he personally works on the instrument and does not do things "half-baked". usually it happens usually on most neck or paint jobs if his humidity gauge is too high for him to continue his work. Give him your suggestions and he will give his. I like how he shares his insights because its simple realistic and again practical. he will not push you to anythin else and will focus on the main concern. and he really lives up to his preferred field which is REPAIR and RESTORATION. He is historically knowlegeable and inclined with vintage instruments and knows how to handle such delicate cases.

Recently ive been fortunate to meet and visit Guitar One's Jon dela Cruz and Micsis' Mike Sison and I cannot say anything but good things about them. Jon is very friendly and has this uncanny ability to listen and build ones dream into reality. His wealth of tonewoods and remarkable artistry is incomparable. Ive visited Micsis at the end of his working day because I live near the fairview area and he lives in the far south. Yet, He still accomodated me with much enthusiasm and professionalism. Although his team has already gone for the day he was still able to do the best he can with my guitar. Like Arie, he is honest with his work and indeed the price is right. His personal custom telecaster personifies what great things he can build.

    Lets put it this way brothers, We are in this big university and these Luthiers happen to be professors teaching the same subjects. Each has a different approach to his subject, it is up to us how will we absorb and respond.

[Letour]

Everyone is ok in my book.

Each one has their own experience on working with these luthiers. Each one will have their comments.

I have one guitar that was worked on by all three! My MIJ Squier



Arie did the installation of the Floyd with the cavity, Jon did the neck and Mike did Hot Rails installation and the fine tuning setup.

All did a fine job and I have no complaints