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A friend of mine is currently having some trouble dealing with a luthier, and it's even more awkward because the luthier is the father of a mutual friend of ours. Has anyone ever had any similar issues? Did you manage to sort it out, and if so, how?

A few months ago this guy offered to build a fretless acoustic bass for my friend Mike, and the agreement was that it would be a bit of an experiment because he had never built one before. The bass would be £500, and Mike would pay a £300 deposit upon receiving it, followed by the other £200 if he decided to keep it (he would be under no obligation to keep it, as the bass was being built as an experiment and could therefore potentially go wrong).

Two weeks ago Mike received the bass, and there are several problems with it:
- The input jack is a mini jack (???)
- The intonation is completely off unless tuned down a step
- The string spacing is uneven
- The sound-hole is cut jaggedly
- Probably a couple of other things I've forgotten...

Basically he isn't happy. So he rang the luthier to explain all the problems he had with the bass, and to tell him that he did not want to keep the bass, and that he would like his £300 back. The luthier has refused to take the bass back, but has agreed to let him off the remaining £200. This is a bit of a crap deal because the bass is essentially unplayable, so Mike has offered to give it back in return for £250 (so that the guy keeps £50 for labour), but the luthier wouldn't accept that offer either. He has said that Mike can either keep the bass, or sell it to someone else (but of course who would buy it in the state it's in?).

What rights does Mike have in this situation?

damn, if he put a mini-input on it, he's going to need a 1/4" output jack to replace it with.

also, just have everyone else tune down a half-step.

Provided you friend has proper backing, I would immediately warn that I'm seeking legal recourse. The luthier has already clearly chosen to back out of the terms of the agreement, so that pretty much outlines his intentions, at this point. There's no two ways to deal with this in my opinion.

I would print out any emails or other record of exchanges between myself and the guy regarding this deal, assuming there are any. There might be enough there to hold him legally liable to issue a refund. Otherwise, have him ask the "luthier" for receipts on all parts and labour. That should be enough to establish some kind of work was commissioned, at least.

As for the friend connection, I wouldn't worry about it too much. When somebody tries to screw you out of that kind of money, I think it's completely warranted that the gloves come right the fuck off. If your friend can't understand that, then I say the genuineness of his friendship becomes rather suspect.

Shitty deal, though. I'm sorry to hear your friend got burned.

That guy is a total scumbag if he refuses to take it back and refund ALL of his money. Did he pay him the 300 upfront? Or when he picked it up? Intonation is something you would notice right away, and if it doesn't intonate it might as well be a fucking birdhouse instead of a bass. I would advise him to demand all of his money back. That's a terrible way for a luthier to represent himself.

hotrodperlmutter wrote:damn, if he put a mini-input on it, he's going to need a 1/4" output jack to replace it with.

Yeah I meant output sorry dude.

All good advice so far. The only issue is that I don't think there's much of a paper trail to work with - as far as I'm aware it's mostly been over the phone.