Customer Feedback:
Joseph Rodino, November 2016 to this site:
We were lucky to have found Bob to set-up the Ric 4001 bass my son surprised me with as a gift earlier this year. Bob was very honest, obviously knowledgeable, and since he didn't think it would take long, suggested we bring another guitar. We brought my son's Epiphone Casino, and Bob set them both up beautifully, finding that the pick-up of my Ric had become wedged in the cut-out. We got excellent work at less than one set-up would have cost anywhere else. Extremely satisfied. Thanks, Bob!
Kevin Wilson, May 2016 to this site:
Great service from a man who knows what he's doing. Great job Bob on the frankenstrat can't wait to get the other guitars over to you. Thanks again for the good work and fast turn around.
My response:
This after a fret job on his 59 Stratocaster neck, where I secured the loose frets and re-leveled them all, as they were not uniform and buzzed all over the place, and smoothed out the sharp fret ends too. Someone had done a terrible fret job to it before selling it to Kevin through the mail. The fingerboard was shredded from having the old frets yanked out violently, and it was unplayable even at extremely high action.
It floors me that someone would try his hands at re-fretting on an instrument with a high value, instead of on a cheap POS, where it wouldn't matter as much if you got it all wrong!
I did not publish this job, as it is hard to see the difference and get good before and after photo's with my measly camera, but here is one shot that shows how I marked the high frets in order to map out the fingerboard. You can also see that the frets were not crowned (rounded) and harder to see are chips of rosewood missing everywhere, and sanding marks across the grain. As often happens I spaced taking after pictures, but Kevin will be back, and maybe he will supply me with one to put here.
Ryan McClain, October 2015 to this site:
What a great find! A rare blend of quality work, friendly demeanor and true professionalism. I've only had one other experience getting my electric guitar repaired, and it wasn't good. The guy took forever, lost parts, didn't communicate and seemed a little overpriced. The experience with Bob was a 180° difference. He came in under time, under budget and kept me apprised of the progress every step of the way. My "road worn" guitar has had new life breathed into it and I can't recommend RDE highly enough.
My response:
I performed a complete re-fret on his Fender Squier Stratocaster.
I did not publish this job, as it is hard to see the difference and get good before and after photo's with my cheap camera.
Robert, September 2015 to this site:
I found Bob to be an engaging and outgoing professional with a passion for his work.
His expertise was evident in the end result of my Les Paul setup. It now plays better than ever.
I can highly recommend to anyone to take advantage of Bob's talents to make your guitar come alive. He is a talented individual that guitar players in the area should add to their arsenal.
My response:
This was just a setup, and pictures can not show how well the instrument plays. Robert came back with a beautiful PRS and had it setup by me too.
Nathen Sienecki March 2015 to my Facebook page:
There is a hidden gem among luthiers in this area by the name of Bob English. If there is anything you need done to your guitar or bass he is the guy to see. Very fair price, quality work, and fun to talk to. He kept me updated on every aspect of the work and the final product is outstanding! I won't go to anyone else.
My response:
Here is the bass I made fretless for him, the finish on the fingerboard is mirror like, and it is near impossible to take pictures of it in a way that does it justice because of the glare. You can read about it here.
Brendon Stigner October 2014 to this site:
Awesome job on the Bullet Bass! It plays like a dream and sounds awesome. Thanks Bob!
My response:
To see the rewiring go here, it is the first entry "an 80's Fender Squier Bullet bass". I also set it up, but that is not something that can be shown easily. He dropped of a Fender Jazz bass for setup after this one.
Mike Shelby September 2014 posted this to my Facebook page:
Bob is an interesting fellow and extremely knowledgeable of his craft. The work done on my guitars is very exact, which it does require when doing nut building. But these are not built from the typical materials. He builds them from brass stock and carefully fits them and even adds/laminates a strip of wood to them for added appeal. When Bob is finished it is like having a different guitar. The sound is open and the tuning is flawless as the strings move through the slots with the slightest movement of the tuning pegs and it looks nice too. Also Bob does not make you wait to have work done. He gets right on it a.s.a.p.. RDE gets my highest recommendation.
My response:
The added wood laminate although appealing, serves to make the nut as thick as the one it is replacing, so there is no gap. There is no industry standard and the brass stock can not be bought in every conceivable thickness, but rather in 32nds of an inch increments.
If you want to read about and see the work I performed on his guitars click here.
Willard Wonka (an alias) posted this to my Facebook page:
Thanks bob. My soloist plays awesome and was setup perfect for the show thanks for the good work man. \m/\m/
My response:
If you want to read and see the work I performed on his Jackson Soloist click here.
To follow up (late 2015), Willard has brought me several other Jackson guitars since then, with all kinds of work needed. If you have a hard time finding a Jackson Randy Rhoads, it's probably because he has all of them!
Dave Teegardin July 2014 on facebook:
Bob is a master at his craft. Head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. A really nice guy with a ton of knowledge that will make your instrument the best it can be.
My response:
If you want to read and see the work I performed on his brand new Oscar Schmidt Ukulele click here.
Howard Berberick July 2014 on facebook:
Bob is a fantastic skilled Luthier. I highly recommend his services. He did a great job on my Kustom bass.
My response:
If you want to read and see the work I performed on his 1968 Kustom 200D click here.
