Mike The Guitar Mechanic

[Gone]

Just took my Martin to this guy 2 days ago and picked it up today. He is Thai and one of the nicest guys I have met. He has a very nice shop and takes his work VERY serious.

My old nut and saddle bridge were made out of plastic and the action was not good as I had attempted to sand it down myself as I have done on many guitars but thought it was bone. As mentioned....it was not.

Anyways he replaced the nut with a bone template he has and trust me it is a lot of work to customize these bone blocks. lifted the original saddle/bridge by applying some plastic resin and then set it all up for 1200 baht.

Bone nut = 700 baht

Labour = 500 baht

This is an amazing deal and I would recommend anyone to use him if you need work done on your instruments. I think he specializes in Electrics but he is an awesome mechanic on acoustics as well.

The funny thing is look at his operating hours. lmao

Edited August 6, 2012 by Gone

[Rimmer]

Good one Gone pleased you got your Martin fixed OK

[stailmanki]

Thanks for that one , I've been wondering for a while if there are any good repair shops here.

I have an old (1972) Takamine acoustic that needs an overhaul/set up.

I hope this guy can fix the major problem which is that open chords are fine but bar chords up the neck sound off key , maybe the neck & or bridge has been warped from all the travel and different temperatures.

[Gone]

Thanks for that one , I've been wondering for a while if there are any good repair shops here.

I have an old (1972) Takamine acoustic that needs an overhaul/set up.

I hope this guy can fix the major problem which is that open chords are fine but bar chords up the neck sound off key , maybe the neck & or bridge has been warped from all the travel and different temperatures.

Thanks Rimmer.

Yes mate he will be able to fix it for you for sure. I have heard about Mike for years but have just never needed his skills. Now I know first hand that even compared to some guitar mechanics back home, this guy is right up there. Very courteous and to be honest I really think that he loves his work more then the money it brings him.

He is busy tomorrow but I will be bringing my slide guitar to him the next day to discuss what the best pickup would be to put in and I will have NO worries about this guy drilling holes in any of my guitars. lol

Glad I could help/recommend. Let me know how your Takamine turns out mate. Yes for sure in a humid country we need to take extra care and replace strings quite often as you know.

[raro]

He's an absolutely great guy! Very savvy and very reasonable prices. Fixed a broken neck in my les paul for 1,000 baht.

sent from my Android phone

[Gone]

He's an absolutely great guy! Very savvy and very reasonable prices. Fixed a broken neck in my les paul for 1,000 baht.

sent from my Android phone

1000 baht? Holy Moly !!!!!!!! That's a good deal. You would barely get a set of Nashville Straits for that back home. Funny you said but yes he is very savvy. I'll let you know what he does to my slide guitar later this week.

[stailmanki]

Great, I will ask him to look at the fret board too which has worn away where the previous owners have thrashed out C,F,G,D chords & now buzzes when other chords are played.

I have 2 more weeks work before R&R so I will take it to him 22nd and post back the results.

Thanks again.

[Gone]

Great, I will ask him to look at the fret board too which has worn away where the previous owners have thrashed out C,F,G,D chords & now buzzes when other chords are played.

I have 2 more weeks work before R&R so I will take it to him 22nd and post back the results.

Thanks again.

Great. Like I say he really takes his work serious and even buys things like .......how did he put it.............ancient bone or something. Anyways it's bone from old Buffalo (kwai) etc with different older looking colours etc. in case a guy comes in with a very old guitar and wants a nut or saddle bridge replaced and doesn't want a bright white one put on he will accommodate to your guitar needs.

I'm sure he will do an amazing job on your Tak and can't wait to hear your feedback.

[petercool]

He and his shop are old time and love what they do and you could not find nicer guys to deal with.

I had a buddy come all the way from Shanghai to use him.

[raro]

He has this sign on his shop...

Sometimes we fix them

Sometimes we sell them

Sometimes we buy them

Sometimes we play them

But we always love them

Refused to do potting with my tele pick ups because of some possible damage. To find that out he had to disassemble the entire pick guard. He refused payment on the grounds that he didn't do anything...

sent from my Android phone

[Gone]

He has this sign on his shop...

Sometimes we fix them

Sometimes we sell them

Sometimes we buy them

Sometimes we play them

But we always love them

Refused to do potting with my tele pick ups because of some possible damage. To find that out he had to disassemble the entire pick guard. He refused payment on the grounds that he didn't do anything...

sent from my Android phone

Can't get any more honest then that. I'm bringing my slide into him today to see if he can install a pick-up in it. He has already told me he has never worked on one of these but wants to take a look. I will keep you posted. If anyone here has any experience how/where to put a pickup in a resignator guitar please tell.

[Gone]

Forgot the picture.

[joeed]

He has this sign on his shop...

Sometimes we fix them

Sometimes we sell them

Sometimes we buy them

Sometimes we play them

But we always love them

Refused to do potting with my tele pick ups because of some possible damage. To find that out he had to disassemble the entire pick guard. He refused payment on the grounds that he didn't do anything...

sent from my Android phone

Can't get any more honest then that. I'm bringing my slide into him today to see if he can install a pick-up in it. He has already told me he has never worked on one of these but wants to take a look. I will keep you posted. If anyone here has any experience how/where to put a pickup in a resignator guitar please tell.

Check this link, they have 3 models for Resonator guitars:

http://schattendesign.com/NR-2.htm

If you don't need something permanent it's ok; you can also check out youtube, they have video samples of this.

[Gone]

Thanks for that joeed however I have been investigating too and it does seem the best way is to use one like the link you provided. The thing is they don't sell them here.

[PMK]

Super guy - larger than life character. Thanks so much for posting about him.

I found the shop this way:

Going south down Central Road from Sukhumvit, maybe 1-200 m past Foodland there is a large yellow bank on the east side. His soi is directly opposite, that is, the same side as Foodland. The shop is very small, easy to miss. It's on the right, about 30 m in, behind the first large tree. I did not see the famous sign outside.

[gerrygoat]

Super guy - larger than life character. Thanks so much for posting about him.

I found the shop this way:

Going south down Central Road from Sukhumvit, maybe 1-200 m past Foodland there is a large yellow bank on the east side. His soi is directly opposite, that is, the same side as Foodland. The shop is very small, easy to miss. It's on the right, about 30 m in, behind the first large tree. I did not see the famous sign outside.

http://goo.gl/maps/CWQ7i

[Katoom]

A big +1 from me. I actually found the shop via another thread in this forum.

I am a new player and before I travelled here last month I bought a second hand Yamaha FG345II, about 30+ years old (sadly, the S/N has faded over the years so we could not make it out), maybe produced from 1982-84 in Taiwan. I played for a couple of weeks and then decided Mike could have a look and see if anything needs doing. It definately needed a clean up anyway and a second strap button fitted.

Mike, as has been said is a really nice guy and obviously loves his work. He had the guitar for a week and I got it back yesterday. Man, it looks beautiful with a nice clean fret board and frets, now the action is very easy and wow, it sounds so different. Mike said that the saddle/bridge at the 6th string was too low and there was not enough lift on the string to give enough pressure on the body for the correct sound. He sorted that out, did a full set-up, clean and fitted the button all for 900Bt. The set-up is 600Bt.

Big thumbs up from me!

[luudee]

Now if I could just find a nice guitar teacher for my daughter, I would be thrilled !!!

luudee

[craigt3365]

Have you tried the "Yamaha" shop at the top of Thepprasit Road? Can't remember the name, but Suraya, or something like that. I know they give lessons there.

I've also got a friend who plays professionally here that does lessons. If interested, I'll find out where he's playing and you can stop by and meet him. Very nice guy, fantastic guitar player. Lives in Pratumnak, I believe.

[AbeSurd]

Going south down Central Road from Sukhumvit, maybe 1-200 m past Foodland there is a large yellow bank on the east side. His soi is directly opposite, that is, the same side as Foodland. The shop is very small, easy to miss. It's on the right, about 30 m in, behind the first large tree. I did not see the famous sign outside.

Forgive me if I correct your directions...

"Going WEST down Central Road from Sukhumvit [ie towards the beach], maybe 1-200 m past Foodland there is a large yellow bank on the SOUTH side. His soi is directly opposite, that is, the same side as Foodland. The shop is very small, easy to miss. It's on the right, about 30 m in, behind the first large tree. I did not see the famous sign outside."

Currently there is a Ducati motorbike dealership on the corner of the soi where the shop is.

[thai20144]

Now if I could just find a nice guitar teacher for my daughter, I would be thrilled !!!

luudee

Youtube is a great place to learn Guitar.