Policies
Please see below for :
payment options, shipping information, turnaround time, April 2009 notice, consent form, Sept 2010 notice, disclaimer…
Payment Info and Options
A 50% deposit is required to accompany your guitar and the balance is due upon completion of the restoration.
You may pay for restoration work (including deposits) or purchase Montreux or Vintage Clone parts by the following methods:
– Paypal (payment should be sent to [email protected] )
– Western Union
– International Money Order (available at most post offices)
– Bank cashier’s check (bank draft)
– Personal check (funds must clear before merchandise will be sent)
Please inform via email or phone call as to which payment method you would like to use.
Thank you
Shipping
Please phone Gord Miller at 1-877-394-8676 for shipping address, instructions, and options.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT CAREFULLY…
Turnaround Time – August 2007
Wow, what a difference a year makes!
I know it sounds cliche, but in this case it’s absolutely true……
A year ago when I first posted this website, I had six customer guitars in my humble shop and I felt like I was busy. I would get maybe two email enquiries a week… or maybe a phone call or two…. and boy was I excited by each new prospective customer!
Then I displayed my work at the Dallas Vintage guitar show…..
I feel very blessed that so many great vintage dealers and collectors out there have become fans of my work. I’m doing what I love (a lot of people tell me it shows) and I’m fortunate enough to make a decent living from it. I still get jazzed when someone receives their guitar back after we restore it and they light up like a Christmas tree. Definitely the upside of what I do…..
The potential downside is that along with increased success comes increased stress and responsibility. I’ve been telling customers that I have about thirty guitars here right now. I actually counted them the other day…FIFTYSEVEN. Fifty seven guitars and two employees in a shop roughly 300 square feet. And lots more on the way……..
Every day the website seems to average about 25-30 hits from different people. This seems like a lot to me (after all, I’m not www.divasgonecommando.com!) Every time I check email (about 5 times a day) there seems to be 3 or 4 new enquiries. An average day would bring about a dozen phone calls as well….
I’m sure you understand from the above that I am a lot busier now and that a good portion of my time is devoted to corresponding with people. It is my policy to spend as much time as required with a prospective customer so that they feel confident sending their guitar to me for restoration.
In light of all this, I am increasing my estimated turnaround time to 24-28 weeks.
April 22, 2009 Update
The past 6 months have brought some changes to GM Vintage which have affected turnaround time. We were profiled in Tonequest magazine and have been discussed frequently on the Les Paul forum and will soon be featured in Vintage Guitar magazine… as a result our workload has shifted from about 80% Fender restoration to about 80% Gibson restoration . I now have a great new assistant (thanks Dan!) so we are able to keep up pretty well with straight refins.
Turn around time for straight refins (Fender or Gibson) is 24-28 weeks. The exception to this would be when poly finishes have to be stripped so we can do our thing…this can and has taken up to 20 hours on certain guitars.
The bad news is that our wait time has increased… the good news is that we are busy because people are happy with our work. I hope you will decide that your guitar is worth the investment of the required turnaround time.
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I do not want to make promises I can’t keep, and I would rather pleasantly surprise you by finishing your job early than promise a shorter wait and give you an unpleasant experience.
After we receive your guitar, we may not actually start working on it for a month or so. We typically strip 6 or so bodies at a time… same goes for prep work and actual finishing. So, if you call me 5 days after the guitar arrives, I may not have much progress to report!
Typically, you will receive around 6 phone calls or emails from me during the time I have your guitar. I believe in the importance of good communication and I want to make sure I have the finish and aging on your guitar 100% perfect.
I respectfully ask that you limit the number of email enquiries during your restoration to matters of importance, as each email or phone call takes me away from what I love doing (and what you love me to do!)…. which is restoring your guitar.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Please be patient. Please don’t ask if you can pay extra and be moved to the front of the bus (the people you may ask me to bump have become loyal customers…. and in many cases, good friends). I am creating a work of art for you and I’m sure you plan on keeping your guitar for a LONG time. If you are the impatient type who needs it yesterday, I’m afraid GM Vintage might not be your best choice at the present time. If you want a great restoration and are prepared to invest the time to make it happen….I’m up for the task. I look forward to restoring the mojo to your guitar.
Gord Miller
August, 2007 (Updated April 2009)
Found a way to chop a few hours off headstock restorations………
Consent Form
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY
Great advances have been made in guitar refinishing over the last few years. Many shops are now able to offer very authentic aged restorations….it is now possible to do very realistic lacquer checking and even make a new finish blacklight like it is decades old. It’s getting to the point where it is becoming difficult for even experienced dealers to be 100% sure. While this means a more realistic restoration for honest people…( which 99% of you reading this are!) it has also become easier for unscrupulous people to pass off good aged restorations to less experienced buyers.
Another development over the last year is that some restorations GM Vintage has done in the past have been popping up on Ebay being advertised as such. While I don’t have a problem with my work being mentioned by the seller, it is not uncommon for a prospective buyer to contact me and ask if I can provide information regarding any repairs we did to the guitar. Please understand that I have to divulge anything I know if I am asked…if the guitar was ever repainted in the future and the repairs were discovered, I would certainly look less than honest. If asked, I will certainly describe your guitar honestly in the most postive light possible.
I love old guitars and I know you do too. Almost everybody I have dealt with so far have been great people and I’m happy to call many of you my friends. None of us want to see anyone shell out hard earned money on a refinned guitar that they thought was original, and believe me…this can and does happen.
With this in mind, for the protection of all parties…GM Vintage is instituting a new policy. Below you will find a printable form. We ask that you please print this form off, fill in all pertinent information, sign the form and send it to us along with your guitar. This form will also have your contact information so I can get in touch with you easier if I have to.
The vintage guitar industry is by and large a group of honourable people with a common interest…let’s all watch each other’s backs. GM Vintage thanks you for your cooperation and support.
Printable Form: PDF Form
Important Notice – September 2010
Due to new developments in the guitar industry, GM Vintage has made the decision to no longer be involved in the assembly of Fender® style guitars for our customers. We are still happy to paint Fender® licensed bodies for you, but we can no longer put them together. We would also like to reiterate our previous policy: We cannot supply logos of any guitar companies to our customers except when we are doing a restoration to an authentic vintage instrument.
GM Vintage values the good relationship we currently enjoy with the major guitar manufacturers and we wish to protect this. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.
Kind regards, Gord Miller
Disclaimer out of Respect
My respect and admiration for the genius of Leo Fender and Ted McCarthy are matched only by my fear of the Fender and Gibson legal departments! Please let me state very clearly:
My focus is restoring old Fenders and Gibsons to their former glory with as much mojo as I can conjure up. I’m not into making bogus vintage guitars (there are enough of those on ebay!) Sorry, but I cannot supply decals except where thay are needed for restorations of authentic guitars. We will apply aged finishes to new bodies, but our invoice will clearly state that the body is new. This is for the protection of both parties. GM Vintage Restorations is in no way affiliated with Fender or Gibson . Thank you for your support on this issue.