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Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Shipping instruments overseas

Hi all, maybe I need to ship an instrument to Taiwan. Are there any colleagues based in the EU who can share some advice regarding reliable couriers, estimated costs, and any specific precautions I should take? Thanks in advance!

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Private member
Thanks Michael, it seems that dhl have the best option for ship to Asia.
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Determining Cost of Parts...

Hey everyone, Recently I've been struggling to determine how much to charge the customer in regards to parts for a repair. The best example of this I can give would be guitar strings. Occasionally I'll buy strings on sale, other times when they're not on sale, and since cost of strings often varies, I may buy strings at the start of the year, and at the end of the year the price will be different. So the question is, what variables do I…

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I would recommend getting an account with a few wholesalers. That’s trickier if you’re a sole proprietor and don’t have the FEIN and reseller permit but that’s all obtainable. I also recommend not bei…
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Business Insurance?

What do I need to look for in getting proper insurance for my business? I'm a solo guitar tech working out of my house in Texas. Any insurance company recommendations? What kind of coverage do I need to be looking for?

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I would look to the Hartford, it’s cheap and they have musical instrument specific policies that can often be included gratis for small businesses, my policy on a 500 sq ft retail and repair in WA is…
Private member DiscussionResumes

Luthier Jobs

Hello. I just graduated from my third Luthier school. I’m looking for guitar building or repair jobs. Any suggestions for places that are currently hiring? I have built 3 guitars from scratch so far in school and I have experience working at Santa Cruz Guitar Company building acoustics. Attached is my resume. Thanks. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iezmmah84aws61u5r5c1u/Music-Resume.pdf?rlkey=utsnkjbddncbufsznnm14iaet&st=2wwk2pct&dl=0

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Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Looking for Dan Armstrong plexiglass reissue brass saddles

my customer bought this used with the original saddles replaced by nylon saddles and would like to restore to the original brass saddle inserts. anybody got a set or an address where I can get them (made)? thx Age

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Ended up getting steel bearing rollers, diameter 4mm. Very precise, hard and perfect fit!
Ian Davlin DiscussionJob Postings

Career Opportunity - Mike Lull’s (Bellevue WA 98005)

We’re Hiring: Experienced Luthier Mike Lull’s Guitar Works is looking for an experienced Luthier to join our team. We’re seeking someone with strong hands-on experience in instrument repair and restoration who’s ready to work in a collaborative, high-quality shop environment. Our demand for our acoustic repair and restoration services as well as our own line of guitars/basses is growing year over year and we’re looking to add to the tea…

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Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Call for Luthiers and Small Makers

Call for Luthiers and Small Makers Daymaker Music – Bainbridge Island, WA Daymaker Music is opening this November in downtown Winslow in Bainbridge Island, and we’re inviting makers and luthiers who value craft, sustainability, and community to help us shape what customers see and hear when they walk in. We’re looking for small makers, independent luthiers, and custom builders who want their instruments on a dedicated wall of our new retai…

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Thanks for the callout. I'll reach out soon to learn more. Best, Chris
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Workshop Layout

Hi everybody, Can anyone share their workshop layout? I have recently moved country and I need to transition from sharing a 300 sqm workshop to having my own, which will be significantly smaller. I would find it very helpful if someone - especially luthiers operating in a small workshop - could share their workshop layout, even just by describing it (what machines are essential in your space, what machines do you outsource, etc). I mainly b…

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I bought a way big CNC and that was mostly a mistake. The capacity is cool but it takes up so much of my floor space. I use it in ways I didn't really think I would. I could definitely get by with…
Ian Davlin DiscussionJob Postings

Job opening at Seven C Music

Seven C Music is a full service guitar specialty shop located in St Petersburg Florida. The owners are David and Joel Hosler. Both have extensive backgrounds in repair and service along with other staff members. Seven C is currently looking to add a qualified repair technician to their group. The opening requires working experience of five years or more diagnosing and repairing both acoustic and electric guitars. This is not a back r…

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Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Workshop motivation.

To all the amateur looths who also have a day job, how do you make time to actually do your looth work? My evening job has me away for 11 hours a day, 7 days a week. Add in sleep time and meals, I only have about 4 hours a day for everything else. What do you do to get motivated to be in the workshop?

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Do your luthiery in small steps. Know that the repair or build will take longer then if you could commit 100% of you work time to it.
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Client booking Questionnaire

Good Day all. I am just about to undergo a small project with a local programmer to make a simple client booking and job sheet creator. The idea is not to compete with shop flow etc but to be a simple solution for booking, assessment, job sheet and tagging guitars. I'm sure some of you like me book with a calender write out an assessment sheet and a bit of sticky tape on a case. Then an invoice to boot. The goal is that once a booking i…

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This is all great info guys and I will take a look at the podcast. The more data like this I can get the better I can hope to make the program/app Andy
Ian Davlin DiscussionCustomer Relations

For your customers.

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Ian Davlin DiscussionJob Postings

Northampton Community College Luthier Instructor

https://northampton.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NCC/details/Luthier-Instructor_JR3840 The staff and faculty of Northampton Community College share a single goal: to help students transform their lives through education. It's a goal that reaps rewards thousands of times over the course of a career. Employees at Northampton receive competitive compensation and an array of benefits while working on campuses located in a region with a very h…

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Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Instagram Woes...

I'm struggling to set up my business's social media presence. I have a Meta Business account, Facebook is working, but when I try to link my Instagram account from Meta Business Suite I get a message saying my Instagram account has restrictions because I didn't follow "advertising standards or other policies or term." I got this message immediately after setting up the account before posting anything or having any opportunity to violate…

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That’s annoying! I’m sure it’ll be fine to not have them linked. I changed my settings so that only some of my IG posts are also posted to FB. My FB posts are aimed for local people and my IG posts ar…
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Authorized repair center

Listening in on the great zoom call today, a question was asked by the Stewmac representative, if the shop in the hot seat was an authorized repair center for any major brands. How many of you shop owners are authorized repair centers for the major brands? Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor and so on…. Do you have any wisdom you can share or contacts to get signed up to do work for the major brands? Also do you find doing warranty repairs i…

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You just call the company's and ask for a customer service rep. There are advantages and disadvantages. It can be a slippery slope regarding the pay scale as Al mentioned. One of the company's has a h…
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

What lines do you carry and which ones feel worth it?

Hey! I am in the process of switching to full time repair from a home shop and in preparation have picked up a few product lines. So far I have D'Addario, LR Baggs, K and K and Fishman. I worked at a retail store and did all the ordering so it was easy to get these set up. Does anyone on here have opinions or suggestions for lines that they do well with. I do a lot more acoustic than electric work but was considering seymour duncan as a l…

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I’m a wholesale partner with stewmac that gives me 20% off, is the builder partner something different I should look into ?