Luthier modified my nut w/o asking 1st

Rick said:
This is what I was thinking. If you look around his shop and anything else has a normal nut, I’d be certain this is a hack cover-up. Looks more like a bridge saddle than a nut! I feel bad for you having to deal with this, although I didn’t see exactly what was expected or agreed on in your posts. But “hey I uglied up your guitar, and I have to charge a bench fee for my time” would get an argument from me, regardless.
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Not sure how he could screw up the back of the nut on a fret dress. That’s all I asked for. Level and crown and polish. I suppose it’s possible though. Wish I had seen it when I picked it up. But it took me a few days believe it or not.
 
TSJMajesty said:
I'm wondering if he mistakenly cut a part of the nut somehow, then tried to cover it up by removing material on that back side. Then claiming the work needed to be done and charging you for it. What was the original quote?
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I was looking at the nut today and noticed a small gap on the high string side between the nut and headstock face. He might have knocked it off? I don’t know. I’ll have another look tomorrow. You might be right.
 
skolacki said:
Not sure how he could screw up the back of the nut on a fret dress. That’s all I asked for. Level and crown and polish. I suppose it’s possible though. Wish I had seen it when I picked it up. But it took me a few days believe it or not.
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100% sûre he tried to adjust it or remove it and broke it in the process. 🙄
 
skolacki said:
Not sure how he could screw up the back of the nut on a fret dress. That’s all I asked for. Level and crown and polish. I suppose it’s possible though. Wish I had seen it when I picked it up. But it took me a few days believe it or not.
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He could have damaged it when he removed it to level the fretboard. With pliers perhaps?
 
Life’s too short to get worked up over shit like this. Give the shop an opportunity to correct the mistake and have them replace the nut. If they want your business they’ll fix the nut and give you a rebate for you time.

At the end of the day it’s just a guitar, save yourself the metal/physical health.
 
That’s shitty.
I provide an estimate on receiving the guitar and often charge less. If I find anything during the work that requires additional attention I photograph the issue and send it to the customer for approval with revised pricing. I have never done unauthorised work or charged a penny more than the pre agreed amount. With smartphones this is an easy thing to do. No excuses. I also can easily reduce the contact area in a nut by manipulating the slot in a way you can’t see. But this is actually flawed logic based on incorrect science. The same amount of pressure is distributed over the contact area so decreasing it too much makes it more likely to stick.
There is an optimal amount and a smooth transition on the headstock side is the only mod worth having.
Find a new tech.
 
wesleyamltd said:
At the end of the day it’s just a guitar, save yourself the metal/physical health.
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🤘Bang your head! Metal health will drive you mad!🤘 (Quiet Riot, wasn't it?)

Sorry, skolacki, I know it's a serious topic, but I could not resist... and, anyhow: If you can't laugh - what can you do? You'll deal with this, no doubt.

Wesley's right, of course: It's material and can be dealt with. As others have said, the damage to the nut is done, but can be fixed, and not too complicatedly, either.

The damage to the relationship between you and your "luthier" is done, as well, and no matter how he reacts to your valid complaint: He can't make it any worse, can he?

Either he can fix the nut or give you your money back so you can buy a new one. But he can't fix the lost trust, as you've already made up your mind (and rightly so): The trust is beyond repair.
Or he can show even more clearly what an arsehead he is by refusing, making excuses or becoming verbally abusive - doesn't do more damage to the nut, and will only affirm you in your decision to move past that f*cker.

Keep a stiff upper lip and walk through this. 💪
 
ElectricPhase said:
Honestly, after getting a guitar back in that condition, I wouldn’t trust that luthier to tighten a strap peg. Find somebody else to fix it…the guitar is worth too much to risk putting it back in his hands.
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I agree with this. The nut is not only reshaped, but also looks terrible and has a very coarse finish. A properly done nut should be polished smooth. I would not trust that tech to do another nut installation.
 
After cutting my first nut and having it take a few times before I got it right, I realized how important good nut work is to a guitar. It moved from “gotta watch out for string hangups” to “Gotta make sure the slots are smooth, nut has proper contact with the wood underneath it, the slots are wide enough for travel, and it’s one of the first things I’m checking for the rest of my guitar playing life” because the differences were pretty drastic between attempts 1-3 when filing my own. Now I’m finding myself thinking nuts aren’t cut properly on the majority of guitars under the $1500 mark. They might work, but not as well as they could/should.

How is the guitar playing? Is it staying in tune fine and chords are intonated properly?

I’m more inclined to think he felt it was necessary to do that much work on it as techs generally aren’t looking for ways to spend time on stuff they weren’t asked to do. I’d expect some nut work to be done with the majority of fret work from a quality tech and I’d be looking at one sideways if they told me they leveled my frets without touching the nut or even thinking about it.

If he had to hack off a huge amount of material, it’d probably make more sense to just grab a new, smaller nut where he’d have to remove less material. Whatchya think, @Andy Eagle?
 
RevDrucifer said:
After cutting my first nut and having it take a few times before I got it right, I realized how important good nut work is to a guitar. It moved from “gotta watch out for string hangups” to “Gotta make sure the slots are smooth, nut has proper contact with the wood underneath it, the slots are wide enough for travel, and it’s one of the first things I’m checking for the rest of my guitar playing life” because the differences were pretty drastic between attempts 1-3 when filing my own. Now I’m finding myself thinking nuts aren’t cut properly on the majority of guitars under the $1500 mark. They might work, but not as well as they could/should.

How is the guitar playing? Is it staying in tune fine and chords are intonated properly?

I’m more inclined to think he felt it was necessary to do that much work on it as techs generally aren’t looking for ways to spend time on stuff they weren’t asked to do. I’d expect some nut work to be done with the majority of fret work from a quality tech and I’d be looking at one sideways if they told me they leveled my frets without touching the nut or even thinking about it.

If he had to hack off a huge amount of material, it’d probably make more sense to just grab a new, smaller nut where he’d have to remove less material. Whatchya think, @Andy Eagle?
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A fret dress usually only requires a small adjustment to the nut if anything at all . It totally depends on how much you need to take off the frets and how good was it in the first place.
 
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