I have an amp repair shop and im about to hire a guitar tech and have a question

[Andrew58]

Well im located in houston and pro audio/amp repair work is just amazing down here. just so much work i started my business 4 months ago and i have about 20 something items in my shop ten of which are ready to go. just in the past three weeks, its great work i love it so much work out there. My question is ive decided to start a guitar repair department at my shop. Ive worked at about 4 other audio repair places around houston and i know that amp techs usually make 40-60 percent. Now I have rent on the building innsurance costs elecctricity and have offerd to buy all the tools of course if a tech wants to use his tools hes welcome to, and after all that i need to make profit on the extra costs for keeping a guitar tech. I was just assuming guitar techs make 40-60 percent just like the amp guys. Can some one tell me what the typical pay is for example set ups would be 50 dollars, how many set ups should a typical tech be able to do in a 8 hour day and what payment per set up should i give. also i will be starting speaker recone and repair very soon as well so if any one knows anything about how those guys are payed let me know ok awsome thanks for the help guys.

[Andrew58]

I hate to bump it but i really need to get an idea of payment i have tried goggle and career search and want adds but the only thing i can find is info about guitar techs on tour with bands and thats a tottaly diffrent thing. Please let me know guys, i wanna make this venture fair between me and my guitar tech.

[billyz]

guess I am doing too good. I get 75%. I provide all my tools . The guy I work for would not spend the money to replace the tools I use. All the stew mac files, planes, sanders, grinders, drill press, drills, solder station not to mention the special pullers drivers, wrenches, glues, clamps, calipers, etc, etc.

[Andrew58]

maybe ill find it comes out to about that if i dont provide my new tech with anything and make him spend his entire time hunting for parts like i used to have to do at the first few shops i worked at lol. I mean ive got all the tools basically from drill presses to routers to hand tools soder stations tons of parts and will order the parts on my dime as i go. I actuelly have a guy that cleans the shop orders parts and does all the payment and adverising. I really need to keep my techs free to do their trade not be part scavangers. i honestly believe that is partly why the first couple of texas shops i worked at never made a profite even though they had lots of work. every one was doing everything accept the owner and the manager they did nothing no tech work but take all the profits. So does anyone know the average here? i mean im just about to hire him i really would like to know. 75 percent seams high but if every one ends up agreeing with you then fine thats what it is.

[stingray_65]

I've never been a Gtr tech, but I have owened buisness and worked for others.

as a start up buisness cash flow the first year is critical. there are times when just $100 can make or break you.

My .02

Offer him a starting percentage and agree to review an increase in 3 months. explain how his wages will grow with your buisness.

there are LOTS more gtr techs than there are job openings. If he's experienced he will see the oportunity to grow with you


Ray

[Andrew58]

well thanks for the input, but i still don tknow what the typicall percentages are. and i needed to hire him yesterday. Im gonna just tell him 50 percent and say if it works out after a couple months i can go to 60Now when i worked as amp tech for a couple of area chops it was typically 40-60 the 40 one i was supplied all the tools and parts the 60 one i had to bring everything. but odly the 40 one i still had to hunt fgor parts and the 60 one they supplied it. so im just gonna assume its fair to offer him what i got as an amp tech unlesss somne one tells me otherwise. HOw many set ups should a typicall guitar tech be able to do in an 8 hour day. im planning to charge 50 per set up.

[billyz]

If you are going to hire him, then just pay him by the hour, say $12 if he has some experience. If he is really any good he would probably be doing contract work or own his own business.
As for parts , I tried to push what one of my stores sell and has, which is not much except strings. I sell parts and make money on the parts, so that is good for me. My guy gets 25% and he does not have to source them.

So , I would just hire by the hour, then he knows how much he is making and you will make even more if you keep him busy.

BTW, I charge $45 for a standard setup, $55 for floyds, 12 strings, and 5 string bass. plus strings.

I know it is a bit unusual but I do amp work too, fender authorized too. I charge $65 for a tune up, service, bias clean and can fix most problems under that charge. $65 is my hourly rate for amp work. More than I get for guitar work. Good amp techs are hard to find, I fix a lot of previously worked on amps.

my 2cents 8)

[Andrew58]

oh well awsome we def should keep in touch then billy. I do love working on the old tube amps like i even got an old fender can delay in the shop atm and the guy wants me to removes the oil can completly and rebuild him some weird effect inplace of it. i was like ok. i think im gonna put in a tube ringmodulator useing those old weird 4 didode in one vacuum tubes that i have a bunch of laying around. ill do the old school diode bridge multiplier because it adds so many wierd artifaicts and sounds anyways. But yeah oh and an update i told the guy i wanna hire about going 50 percent and he told me no way and thet i should get 10 dollars per set up and he get the 40 and then i make what ever on parts and maybe we can talk percentages on repairs. that just doesnt seam like how it was at every shop i ever worked at. its like the moment i run a business just cause im young every one is telling me how i need to run it and what i got to do. i mean i love taking other peoples advice i mean thats thewhole point in coming in here but yeah. now im offering him the 12 dollars an hour thing and im sure hes gonna tell me how crazy that is. and how hes bringing all his own tools even though i said i had tools. its really annoying me at this point.

[billyz]

Funny, I had one of those oilcan Fender/Telray units. I guess they all leak out the mystery oil, I used to know what it actually was.

Starting up a business can be very exciting and full of obstacles. If you are determined and thoughtful, and have a good business mind you can Succeed.

Keep trying, you'll come up with something that works. Also, this guy might just be wrong for you. Why isn't he working for someone else or on his own?
look for a different guitar tech.

It is all about the art of negotiation, what's in it for you and what's in it for him.

[jrfrond]

I have owned, co-owned and managed shops in this business since 1980, so I speak from experience here.

First of all, you need to delineate where a straight setup ends and repair work begins. For instance, do you automatically clean up fret-end sprout? Tighten loose jacks? Clean pots and switches? This needs to be defined first.

Next up, in an 8hr. day, I wouldn't expect more than 6 setups maximum. Some will be more involved than others. You need to bank on extra time for some of them. Personally, I spend a minimum of an hour on setups, up to two hours if necessary.

Lastly, I don't believe in paying piecework, because it breeds a mercenary mentality among techs and quality suffers as techs try to hit their dollar mark and kick out more work with less attention to details. I was once involved in a study of this back in the early 80's and nothing has convinced me since that it isn't the truth. A salaried worker doesn't rush. However, many techs WANT to be paid by the piece, and many shop owners erroneously believe that this is the best way to pay a tech. It's not.

Concerning speaker reconing: like guitars, some are more demanding than others. Most of the time spent is involved in cleaning and prepping the frame, and some manufacturers use adhesives that are a plain bitch to remove, like Eminence and EAW, whereas JBL and E-V are fairly easy. Also, unless you can train someone yourself, a good recone tech is hard to find. If you can do it yourself, so much the better. The shirtsleeve approach always works. Despite the fact that I manage a very busy shop in the middle of a major urban area (NYC), I still hunker down and perform functions that no one else can e.g. reconing, guitar repair and wireless system repair, as well as digital troubleshooting. It helps if you know how to perform ALL of the functions in the shop.

BTW- any guitar tech worth their salt will have their own set of tools that they are comfortable working with.

[Enzo]

It is great to want to be a one-stop shopping experience for your customers. But keep it in perspective. Guitar repair really doesn;t have much to do with the electronic repair. Sure you solder wires on the jacks and controls, but mostly it is working with wood and brass. Or bone. How much sawdust you typically make rebuilding an old Fender Deluxe?

So does it REALLY make sense in your situation to offer guitar work? I am certainly not suggesting it doesn't since I have no idea what your situation is. When I used to work with luthiers, I always admired them as craftsmen who did a skilled job very well. I considered myself a technician. My job was to figure out electronic puzzles and solve them. I solder quite well, thank you, but I don't find on my bench the level of craftsmanship that goes into say putting the top back on a violin. My own skills are of a different sort.

But let's say it makes perfect sense. I also think that you should pay a guy for his time rather than piece work. Just seeing how many repairs he can crank out a day doesn;t always inspire the highest quality work.

But an alternative might be to offer a concession situation. A guy pays you monthly for the space. he conducts his business independently as a concession within your store. PArt of that space charge could go towards things like handling his counter work, handling his repair tickets. It could work a number of ways. he could have a door that locks when he leaves and he operates like the McDonalds at the airport or the bank branch at my local grocery store. No blending with your operation other than the same address. Or he could look like he was part of your store. A separate business, but his customers come to your counter from pickup and drop-off, pay you for his repairs, and he does the work in the back room. Or whatever. He would provide his tools, or your tools are an added monthly charge. Like renting an apartment furnished or unfurnished. His rent would include something for your assistance. There are many levels of that sort of arrangement.

COngratulations on your success.

[Dave Kerr]

First of all, you need to delineate where a straight setup ends and repair work begins. For instance, do you automatically clean up fret-end sprout? Tighten loose jacks? Clean pots and switches? This needs to be defined first.

I'm not in the business, just a hobby guy, but I'd have to say that as a customer this is the type of attitude I'd look for when looking for a repair shop. Rather than a flat fee, I'd be looking for an hourly rate on any work, and an honest appraisal of what's likely needed to make my guitar right when I bring it in (and "I can't know without taking 30 minutes @ $xx.00/hour" is a perfectly fine answer).

[Slobrain]

Andrew,

Go find Ron Pace and talk to him about any local talented repair guys, he might be able to help you find someone. Also talk to Ron about starting up a business, he is a pretty nice guy and does amazing repair work on guitars. I have had him do refrets and his refrets were works of art and perfect. Ron is the man when it comes to outstanding guitar work. He has been in the biz for along time in Houston and I used to drive over 50 miles just to get him to do those repairs I couldn't do.

Guitar Repair Shop in Houston Texas - Pace Guitar Repair - Gibson, Taylor, Fender, Martin Certified

Cheers

[jrfrond]

I'm not in the business, just a hobby guy, but I'd have to say that as a customer this is the type of attitude I'd look for when looking for a repair shop. Rather than a flat fee, I'd be looking for an hourly rate on any work, and an honest appraisal of what's likely needed to make my guitar right when I bring it in (and "I can't know without taking 30 minutes @ $xx.00/hour" is a perfectly fine answer).

Though I do have a flat-rate ($50) for a set-up, I always go the extra mile and take care of those small details that I mentioned above. I won't put a guitar back in the customer's hands that I wouldn't accept myself. After that, if the guitar needs a legitimate repair, then I will estimate the repair and call the customer with a dollar amount, and not make it like a "how much ya got?" type of thing. Anyone who brings ANYTHING to be repaired nowadays is hyper-aware of getting ripped-off. Both myself AND my company have an excellent reputation, and I will not destroy or mar it for a couple of extra dollars, because it is easier to ruin a rep than to gain a good one. If you look at our website (link below), I post the rates right there for our work. We do not deviate from those rates, because bargaining and haggling looks totally unprofessional. If someone doesn't want to pay these rates, they can go elsewhere, and I won't be insulted. We DO have wholesale and reduced rates for institutions and big customers (I said BIG, not FAMOUS; they pay too!), retailers, etc., but that happens with ANY business.