What The Heck Is Luthier? 

Recently bought a 60s Baja Telecaster 2nd hand. Stuck 9s string on it and the neck had zero relief even with the truss rod fullly disingaged. Fret buzz from fret 1-6. Thought I'd bought a problem. However after sticking 11s gague string on it the neck now has relief and playing great with zero buzz! I'm no luthier but once you know the science behind guitars there is always a way of fixing issues

I bought a P Bass pretty cheap on Ebay and the truss rod couldn't be adjusted. I wound up having to pull the fretboard off to fix the truss rod. I wasn't worried because I didn't have much money in the bass. It worked out fine but as Chris said, not simple at all. One of the biggest challenges of working on a guitar with a finish is having it look good when you get it back together.

A luthier is a lute maker who decided to make things that sell better.

If you find a good luthier/guitar tech, stick with him. The wrong person can really mess up your instrument. Incidentally, in Texas, you have to licensed to do plumbing, electrical, and all sorts of other blue collar work.

I've bought a number of ukuleles from goodwill online, some had clear issues from the start, others had surprises once in hand. My top crack repair is less than perfect but the instrument sounds good. My bridge replacement seemed to go fine but failed and required a second(seemingly more successful) attempt. I wouldn't sell my services as a luthier but I enjoy working on my own project instruments.

After being a concrete delivery driver for 35 years I've noticed that out of hundreds of concrete finishing companies(our customers) in my region that I could only count five that did excellent exacting work. I suppose the same thing applies to any profession

I would bet in most cases, a guy is going to think, "hmm... local guitar tech (e.g. Guitar Center)," when he thinks of getting work like this done. But most local guitar techs (luthiers) won't have the tools or skills to handle something like this.

As you say, the premise of the question is questionable. What about the current neck makes you think it needs a new truss rod and carbon fiber rods? Seems like a solution looking for a problem! If there is something wrong with the neck, building a new one or buying a replacement is the way to go. Just like Leo Fender intended!

So many terms the definitions are loose on. I hate when people ask if someone is a "professional." Well, yes, they want money for the work they do. Are they good I have no idea. It's same ase mechanic. I've met plenty with those certs that are horrible working on cars. Ase always means to me. yes they can pass a paper test about being a mechanic. The master ase cert holds more water cause it requires time on the job. Another one in my experience is people use the term "certified welder" that means they past the test for the weld job they got hired to do. My welding teacher would always say "I got a corner full of certifications because I have to pass a test for every job I do. You want a few?" Lol

A good luthier (or any decent professional, regardless of the field) would try to understand the problem the customer is experiencing and offer him options to solve it, helping him to make an informed decision. Carbon fiber and 2 way truss rod might just be something the customer came up with, not being able to nail the issue properly to start with.

I have an import Epiphone Casino that I plan on replacing the fingerboard on eventually to make it look more like a vintage one with dot inlays and rosewood fingerboard so this was helpful, I have a long way to go before I build up that kind of confidence but I think it could be fun and nice to practice on a more inexpensive instrument.

In the USA there are no legal consequences as "Luthier." Plumbers, electricians etc.. must understand city, county and state codes.for public safety. They are legally bound to rhe license. Luthiers have no legal binding with the government.

5:35 "Removing a fretboard can be a challenge." (Chris being VERY understated.) How fun!

Luthier played the boogie woogie. -Johnny Cash.

What the heck is a Luthier?? That's easy. It's a character in the Superman comic and movie series. Lex Luthier, right?? LOL 😂 Great information on truss rod and neck work!! It's great how you detailed the processes involved and the notable costs. Another possible avenue is to go to a place like Warmoth or similar and just order up a factory made neck with the features you want. But, again, that's not a cheap adventure, either.

It would be easier to just buy a new neck online.

guy asking aboutt bass mods, just buy a Dingwall

Chris, Great Video! One again some honest and valued opinions! Thanks.

Maybe just define luthier as someone who builds. Repair and tech work are completely different skill sets. I can build a guitar, but don't ask me to delaminate yours.

Thanks for your explanation, Chris. I'm a luthier with one year of experience now. I can design and build a complete electric guitar, but can't do all the repairs yet. If a customer brings me a guitar, I make an estimation of the work, and tell what the steps are I'm probably going to take. If I doubt whether I can fix a problem I just do the analysis and don't charge if I could not fix it, so I worked for free. However, this way I learn by studying a guitar I don't know without destroying it. I expect the problems to arise when a customer does not know anything and is not interested in your explanation and says something like: "Well, you are the luthier/expert here! You're supposed to know what you're doing." That's where you might get into trouble when you're not transparent enough. Some customers will try to put you in an expert role you're not comfortable yet and I think you shouldn't let that happen.

Excellent topic.

I decided to build a kit guitar one day and now i have about 80% of all the luthier tools with a dedicated tool box for them. I do all the work on my guitars thanks to videos like these, i have not however, replaced a truss rod, that may be out of my comfort zone.

Two years ago, for my 50s, I started building my first electric guitar from scratch. I designed it, because I wanted some specific characteristics, bought wood, parts and some tools. It took me almost a year to complete, but it was an awesome and rewarding experience and now I have a guitar that I'm very proud of, it sounds pretty well, and I really enjoy playing. All of it was possible also thanks to your videos, plus other sources online. I'd say that building from scratch, even if difficult, is less scary than doing some heavy job on a working instrument, because in the worst case you end up with something that does not works or that doesn't satisfy you, but at least you didn't ruin anything. Now a dear friend asked me to setup his guitar, that las some buzz. He brought that guitar to a luthier that could not solve the problem, so he asked to me to have a look. I accepted, but I admit that put my hands on someone else's guitar it's something that sends shivers down my spine. Ok, this is not like removing the fretboard or whatever, but I don't want to understate it.

Seems like a good option would just be to build a new bolt on neck with a carbon truss rod and keep the original as is if you want to go back to it.