The Fret Shop — Local services in Huntsville

Had a warranty repair done on my sons telecaster relating to the neck pickup. After waiting for about 45 days for the new pickup to arrive from finder I picked up the guitar without testing it at the store. When I got home I plugged it in to find out that it had a major ground issue. The hum was so intense it seemed as though I was summoning lightening. I returned to the store agitated because it was clear it wasn’t even tested after the repair & $56 dollar setup. David assured me it was normal noise a telecaster makes. He said he had a custom shop telecaster that was even worse. However I played the guitar a lot before the part failed and it didn’t have any loud feedback or 60 hertz hum. (4 gen noiseless) After a lot of back and forth and him calling fender to tell them that the customer is complaining of normal noise. I took the guitar to guitar center and compared it to other noiseless telecasters and even a squire tele and it was obviously way way worse, unbearable! So I sent the guitar back to sweetwater (These guys are awesome) were it was purchased and the guitar tech there told me what the issue was. David at the fret shop had soldered an additional ground on the front pickup and that that solder joint had made contact with or caused interference with the coil wrappings. So it was replaced and now works as it should. Once again the guitar sounds beautiful and clean. I had to pay to have this repair done plus a new pickup along with shipping because it was the result of an improper modified solder failure that I didn’t approve or authorize. I can only assume David is dishonest or hard of hearing and also I’m sure he is the most unprofessional person to deal with. All the time wasted for a $30 part I could have easily replaced myself SMH I thought well it’s covered by warranty. lol.. I try to shop local because we all should but I’ll never spend another of my hard earned dollars here. I was taking lessons here as well, the rooms upstairs are kind of musty smelling just FYI.

Yes of course I am leaving the review for the appropriate business! It is my sons guitar that his mother and I bought for him. 2018 MIM Telecaster thin line deluxe. It was repaired under his name so it wouldn't cause confusion if he needed some other warranty work done in the future also the registration & the warranty card is in his name. FYI I'm obviously wrong about your guitar techs name but it was the same guy that has done work on my guitars, my girlfriends guitars and my sons guitars. To my knowledge he is the only tech you have or had at that time. I took a video of the unbelievable sound that it was making, I have the part that was causing it, I have documentation from the technician at Sweetwater that repaired it and I will be happy to share that with you if you actually care. I prefer and try to support local business but I will not be treated the way I was or lied to period! That guy (whatever his name is) has 0 credibility with me. One bad apple. Everyone else was very pleasant and Andy is awesome, its unfortunate.

The white wire is not factory and was not otherized. The solder has made contact with the coil and or melted the insulation on the factory wires. It literally sounded like it was summoning lightning. Instead of saying oops and fixing it he tried to convince me it was normal. The whole experience...

So if you are reading these I bet you see the polarity of the reviews. People seem to love it or hate it. The difference is who you deal with there. I've always seen 3 guys and one young lady. There is a big guy with a goatee who isn't friendly at all and you can tell he gets annoyed if you play with an instrument. Then there is a pretty generic looking guy that does most of the repair work. He is the embodiment of the a*hole guitar shop/ comic book store type guy. You're beneath him and he makes sure you know it. If you can get past these two the young lady is very nice, and I've seen her make women more comfortable in what is usually a very male atmosphere. She also seems to know most of the store's products equally so if you are looking for a dulcimer ask her. The last guy is the only reason I still shop there. Tall, skinny dude with a Rock a Billy haorcut. Hands down one of the nicest people I have ever met in a store. He could not care less if you came in there without a dollar to your name or a single chord to play. He loves music and wants to spread that around. If anyone there had the skill to warrant being haughty it would be him, but he is the last one there to do anything other than brighten your day. I take friends in there who have social anxiety etc. or are just nervous because they don't play and he puts them right at ease. I would love to write this place off, but one great employee can make a difference. He doesn't even know the difference he has made with some of my Army buddies that can barely handle being out of the house, but thanks to him there is one place they can go feel like a regular guy perusing a store. When my son is old enough he is who I want him to take lessons from. Truthfully he deserves a better...

I had previously left a 3 star review due to being given a random string after one in the $15 set I had just bought was found defective as I put them on....did not want a random string, I wanted what I paid for!

Now recently I went in trying to find a small part I needed to repair my guitar. The guy behind the counter said, "I'm pretty sure the repairman stocks those. When my colleague is finished with the customer he is helping I will find out."

The colleague in question was the owner, and when he got through he informed me, "you can bring the guitar in, we will write up a work order, put it in the queue, and see if we can fix it".

I don't care to pay someone to put on a small part that I can put on myself which probably cost less than $1! I drove to Harmony Sounds in 5 points and Bill (the owner) gave me one with a smile. That is twice that Bill at Harmony has helped me out by giving me a part free of charge. I know it's a very inexpensive part, but I really appreciate Bill at Harmony's attention and focus on customer relations. Bill gets all my future business which would have been split between him and the Fret Shop.....actually heading there today to finish paying off a $3,000 instrument I bought that day after he s graciously gave me the part I needed!

Will not return to the fret shop in the...