My knobs are loose.

Hallo, the problem with our Guitar dealers/shops/repair services is that they need to make a profit! It is nice to cherry pick whats on offer, i.e, looking at/playing the guitars, testing the pedals, having a cup of tea, attending the playing celebrity, , and occasionally buying some new strings, but they are making a living , and its difficult enough nowadays having to contend with the online offers.
Luthiers work to an hourly rate plus parts, it is expensive.
There is another way, and that is to do it yourself. Building a good guitar, or repairing one is time consuming, but also very satisfying. I have been building my own guitars for over 2 years now, offered my services free for 1 week at a local luthier, a very good one fortunately, and learnt how to solder, wire up, read schematics, and the principles of different approaches.
It is a great feeling to find out just how good your own guitar sounds, and as you get better at the work, so you can experiment and try different pickups, wiring combinations and tone altering components.
If you do not have the time or patience, or inclination, then pay a luthier!
I think guitars have never been cheaper, or better. Whilst they dont have the benefit of age, new guitars nowadays offer a greater choice/quality for your money than ever before, in my opinion, and sound good too. We are pretty lucky. Back in the early sixties when guitar bands were flourishing, the players would have bitten our hands off for a small selection of what we have today....... Glad you sorted your knobs out. Best wishes.

Hello board,

I have an old hollow-body electric and all four knobs are loose, and something inside seems to vibrate
when I strum too. I asked a local music store about repairs and they said for the cost of repairs it's
best to just buy a new guitar. Do such repairs cost that much? Or can one buy a repair kit and do the
work oneself?

Edit: egads...surfed the net on the subject and found the darn things can be removed and tightening is easy. I'm also pissed off now at that music store. Holy crap.

Okay -- good to see you figured it out quickly. Couldn't figure out why loose knobs would "total" a guitar. That's the type of repair someone in the biz should show you how to do gratis.

Edit: egads...surfed the net on the subject and found the darn things can be removed and tightening is easy. I'm also pissed off now at that music store. Holy crap.
No joke. Avoid those people and warn your friends.

Would anyone know how to replace a fret?
I've taken my guitar to our local GuitarCenter but every time I go, the one guy who does that has been out.
And yesterday, I found out he just went on vacation for over a week.
So now I'm considering doing it myself.
Anyone have any experience with this type of surgery?

Thanks for the back up guys! The guitar I refer to was bought by my dad in 1966, so it has sentimental value for sure--a family heirloom no less. Mind you, it's not a name brand item and was made in Japan. It's easier to play on than my acoustic so once my fingers begin to get tired or sore I switch guitars to squeeze out a wee bit more practice.

Ken, I hope you get advice about your fret situation...don't fret, you're on the right message board. :D

A lot of folks, including me, like those old Japanese guitars. Possibly they hoped you'd trade it in on a new one for next to nothing.