Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

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Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Slowy »

A big thumbs up to this guy. Recommend to me by Kloppsta and happy that he did, I am.
Gave him the white PRS (sorry Conway, SE). Bit of a meh instrument; played poorly, sounded fizzy and shrill.

Got it back today; feels great. He told me he stripped the old foil shielding and graphite painted instead. This wasn’t part of the brief but he knew I wasn’t happy with the sound. He went into detail about why this would improve things.

Short version, he knows his stuff. It’s still bright but the fizz has gone. Just played it for 2 hours and I’m smiling

Andries has a touch of magic about him. Will definitely trade again.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by NippleWrestler »

My experience was the opposite, so Warren gets my business now. Glad your guitar came back as it should though, that's the main thing.

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Zaulkin »

Yup, I've found him to be great!

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Kloppsta »

Andries is top notch. Always goes above and beyond :thumbup:
Little by little, by hook or by crook

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by KNNZ »

Thats great Slowy!
I've had bad experience with Warren (Audio Zephyr), so been thinking of an alternative, might give Andries a go

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Slowy »

KNNZ wrote:Thats great Slowy!
I've had bad experience with Warren (Audio Zephyr), so been thinking of an alternative, might give Andries a go
Funny innit; I found Warren to be good on the one occasion I used him.
Luthiers are like ice cream flavours.......
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Danger Mouse »

Yeah and my work mate is currently not having a good time with Gene at G Spot, despite the high praise he gets here.
The older I get, the more disappointed in myself I become.

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by sirvill »

I've never heard of a luthier with 100% good reviews, haha

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by sizzlingbadger »

My main concern is when luthiers do something to your guitar that was not agreed up front. If they need to do anything different to what was planned they should ask you first and not just go ahead an do it.

I don't care how good they are and whether what they did was great or not, I want to know first, its my guitar.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Slowy »

sizzlingbadger wrote:My main concern is when luthiers do something to your guitar that was not agreed up front. If they need to do anything different to what was planned they should ask you first and not just go ahead an do it.

I don't care how good they are and whether what they did was great or not, I want to know first, its my guitar.
You're right of course.
In this case, I'd used terms like, "Not sure yet if I even like this thing" and "Pickups seem completely mis-matched to the wood."
He asked what I wanted done and I said whatever he thought was best, so I might be guilty of inaccuracy in my OP.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Zaulkin »

Slowy wrote:
sizzlingbadger wrote:My main concern is when luthiers do something to your guitar that was not agreed up front. If they need to do anything different to what was planned they should ask you first and not just go ahead an do it.

I don't care how good they are and whether what they did was great or not, I want to know first, its my guitar.
You're right of course.
In this case, I'd used terms like, "Not sure yet if I even like this thing" and "Pickups seem completely mis-matched to the wood."
He asked what I wanted done and I said whatever he thought was best, so I might be guilty of inaccuracy in my OP.
Good point, especially for those who have weirdly specific preferences. I usually don't mind as long as It's an improvement and nothing major.

It sucks when they do unwanted stuff and charge you for it. When I was younger I went to a different luthier to get some wiring fixed. I specifically asked just to get the wiring done and that I would do my own set up (not that it really needed one anyway). When I went to collect it the guy said "So I've set up your guitar, that's $80 plus strings - if you want the wiring done that'll be extra". Haven't been back...

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by DongHua »

sirvill wrote:I've never heard of a luthier with 100% good reviews, haha


Sir, AshCustomWork, Legend \m/

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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by SimpleSi »

DongHua wrote:
sirvill wrote:I've never heard of a luthier with 100% good reviews, haha


Sir, AshCustomWork, Legend \m/
you'd have better luck getting adrian to make you a model plane atm :lol: (no actually! - they're cool)

don't think he'll be building/repairing any time soon. - Caught up with him about a month or less ago.


I always get help from Trevor Binford - he's a good friend and knows his stuff.
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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by Single coil »

I miss Adrian’s work and heartfully snide quips.
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Re: Andries Vorster. The Fret Shop

Post by hamo »

Single coil wrote:I miss Adrian’s work and heartfully snide quips.
The latter are thankfully still available on Twitter.
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