PRS Repair Warning In Western NY

[Lifeson]

I purchased by dream brand new CE24 flame top with an upgraded Mann bridge from a top PRS dealer in California. When I moved to Western NY I did not know where to take it for an adjustment. The closest PRS signature dealer was 2 hours away. After searching the net I came across a local repair guy in Buffalo, NY called Mark Umphred. He was supposedly a luthier, had a history with the local music scene, top ratings and pictures of his restoration work looked good.

After a ridiculous long wait for a basic adjustment, I got it home and when I started to inspect I found all kinds of screw driver scratches behind the bridge and the back of the body was all scratched and marked. In addition, the body was dented from the trem resting on the body and not floating and worst of all, the guy dressed the nut down without my permission and took a chunk out of the head stock edge with his file!!

The guy never had the balls to be up front about the chunk out of the head stock and when I went to go pick it up bitched I was a few minutes early. I then had to send the guitar back to PRS to fix everything. My impression afterwards was that he mostly works on cheap basses the band scene kids use even though he stated he had customers with nice vintage stuff. If so, feel sorry for them!

Moral of the story - check everything in detail before you take your guitar home after repair and if you have a nice new PRS that you want to keep mint preferably take it for service to an authorized signature dealer or ship it to the PRS Tech Center.

DO NOT!!! take your PRS to Mark Umphred in Buffalo, NY.

 

[Black Plaid]

Sorry to hear you had such a traumatic experience, accidents to happen but this sounds like gross negligence!

 

[Tucson Thump]

I purchased by dream brand new CE24 flame top with an upgraded Mann bridge from a top PRS dealer in California. When I moved to Western NY I did not know where to take it for an adjustment. The closest PRS signature dealer was 2 hours away. After searching the net I came across a local repair guy in Buffalo, NY called Mark Umphred. He was supposedly a luthier, had a history with the local music scene, top ratings and pictures of his restoration work looked good.

After a ridiculous long wait for a basic adjustment, I got it home and when I started to inspect I found all kinds of screw driver scratches behind the bridge and the back of the body was all scratched and marked. In addition, the body was dented from the trem resting on the body and not floating and worst of all, the guy dressed the nut down without my permission and took a chunk out of the head stock edge with his file!!

The guy never had the balls to be up front about the chunk out of the head stock and when I went to go pick it up bitched I was a few minutes early. I then had to send the guitar back to PRS to fix everything. My impression afterwards was that he mostly works on cheap basses the band scene kids use even though he stated he had customers with nice vintage stuff. If so, feel sorry for them!

Moral of the story - check everything in detail before you take your guitar home after repair and if you have a nice new PRS that you want to keep mint preferably take it for service to an authorized signature dealer or ship it to the PRS Tech Center.

DO NOT!!! take your PRS to Mark Umphred in Buffalo, NY.

Sorry that this had to be your first post.

 

[Warmart]

Very sorry to hear, I would be beyond livid!

 

[Glide-bpm]

I purchased by dream brand new CE24 flame top with an upgraded Mann bridge from a top PRS dealer in California. When I moved to Western NY I did not know where to take it for an adjustment. The closest PRS signature dealer was 2 hours away. After searching the net I came across a local repair guy in Buffalo, NY called Mark Umphred. He was supposedly a luthier, had a history with the local music scene, top ratings and pictures of his restoration work looked good.

After a ridiculous long wait for a basic adjustment, I got it home and when I started to inspect I found all kinds of screw driver scratches behind the bridge and the back of the body was all scratched and marked. In addition, the body was dented from the trem resting on the body and not floating and worst of all, the guy dressed the nut down without my permission and took a chunk out of the head stock edge with his file!!

The guy never had the balls to be up front about the chunk out of the head stock and when I went to go pick it up bitched I was a few minutes early. I then had to send the guitar back to PRS to fix everything. My impression afterwards was that he mostly works on cheap basses the band scene kids use even though he stated he had customers with nice vintage stuff. If so, feel sorry for them!

Moral of the story - check everything in detail before you take your guitar home after repair and if you have a nice new PRS that you want to keep mint preferably take it for service to an authorized signature dealer or ship it to the PRS Tech Center.

DO NOT!!! take your PRS to Mark Umphred in Buffalo, NY.

He'd be getting a bill for the PRS Tech fixes for his damages to my guitar!!!

 

[Wakester]

I purchased by dream brand new CE24 flame top with an upgraded Mann bridge from a top PRS dealer in California. When I moved to Western NY I did not know where to take it for an adjustment. The closest PRS signature dealer was 2 hours away. After searching the net I came across a local repair guy in Buffalo, NY called Mark Umphred. He was supposedly a luthier, had a history with the local music scene, top ratings and pictures of his restoration work looked good.

After a ridiculous long wait for a basic adjustment, I got it home and when I started to inspect I found all kinds of screw driver scratches behind the bridge and the back of the body was all scratched and marked. In addition, the body was dented from the trem resting on the body and not floating and worst of all, the guy dressed the nut down without my permission and took a chunk out of the head stock edge with his file!!

The guy never had the balls to be up front about the chunk out of the head stock and when I went to go pick it up bitched I was a few minutes early. I then had to send the guitar back to PRS to fix everything. My impression afterwards was that he mostly works on cheap basses the band scene kids use even though he stated he had customers with nice vintage stuff. If so, feel sorry for them!

Moral of the story - check everything in detail before you take your guitar home after repair and if you have a nice new PRS that you want to keep mint preferably take it for service to an authorized signature dealer or ship it to the PRS Tech Center.

DO NOT!!! take your PRS to Mark Umphred in Buffalo, NY.

I live an hour south of Buffalo. I've never heard of this guy, so says a lot about reputation. Fortunatrly for me, I do all my own work. There's way to many amateurs trying to sell themselves as pros out there. If you need help in the future, I'll either give you my number or the number of someone I trust if its too big for me to do.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

This isn't the place to air grievances.

closing thread.