Sims Custom ShopReviews 135

I recently had a guitar painted by Sims Custom Shop. I'm glad I contacted them. From start to finish, the experience was great.
They exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend Sims Custom Shop to anyone looking to have theirs guitar painted.

I bought this guitar in 2016 with a poorly repaired tremolo cavity by the previous owner. I took the guitar to a local tech and he removed the messy repair and routed/fit in a maple block and the guitar played like a pro. The bridge area was still an ugly site that over time I just couldn't bear to look at. Way beyond relic.
This is where Patrick Sims enters the story - I sent Patrick pictures and we discussed how to get this guitar back to looking respectable. He told me what his approach to the job would be and I thought the plan he had was solid knowing it would be a lot of work. BTW - I had -2- other guitar shops tell me they didn't want any part of this project. One well known shop told me he would charge over 2x the amount I ended up paying Patrick.
Long story short - after Patrick did the extensive repairs and custom paint and it looks amazing! The paint is in the artist category of beautiful! I opted to have the guitar's final look to be close to original, but it is much better in a subtle way. This old Roadstar used to be fondly called the Rescue by me. I have now renamed it to my Custom Shop Rescue guitar. It's simply beautiful. Patrick is one of the best guitar painters and repair people in the business! I could go on and on, but I'll close with the main point of I'm simply surprised at how much I enjoy looking at this guitar now. She's a beauty! (see before and after below)

Patrick did a fantastic job of matching the Buttercream color for my telecaster! Simply perfect, and my guitar looks incredible now!

I received my telecaster back from Sims today and the quality of work blew me away. Working with Patrick every step of the way was a pleasure—he's a pro and an artist. I recommend him to anyone wanting to upgrade or restore the finish on their guitars. I hope to work with him again on a Jazzmaster or Gretsch. Wonderful process and product.

Great work from Sims! We needed them to refinish a Jaguar body and they did a great job - stayed in contact throughout and the final product came out amazing. Will be happy to use their services again in the future - thanks again!

I wish I could give more stars here! I built a guitar over 30years ago, it is very unique in that it is acoustic and electric, and my own original shape too. I have toured with the guitar, I've recorded so many songs with it and its been really special to me. My only issue was that I was never happy with the finish that I put on it. It was a DIY poly spayed finish, automotive clear coat. This year I decided to take the guitar apart and make some upgrades and in doing so realized, hey this is the perfect opportunity to get the guitar re-finished as well. So, I started some internet searching and found a few guys. I was really impressed when I saw all the different type of work that SIMS Custom Guitars has done. The fact that they also have their own guitar line peaked my interest as well, and they are superb guitars! I decided to call SIMS, the conversation with Pat was direct, detailed & honest, we talked about expectations on both sides and he seemed like the kind of guy I like to do business with. Well, I just received my guitar back today and I could not be more happy! It looks better than the high end guitar finishes I've seen out there. The luster, gloss, depth, how the stain plays with the grain, its just amazing. I've already texted Pat a few times letting him know how over the top I feel!. I've never been more excited about re-assembling a guitar as I am today. Thanks again for everyone at SIMS! You make a musician proud to play!

Well, it took around nine months (was quoted eight weeks) and the body was finally completed and shipped back. The end result is fantastic — I couldn't be happier with the quality, color and craftsmanship. But, I just can't get over the fact that it took so dang long. I could have understood an extra three or four weeks given everything that's going on, but after month four I assumed it was a loss. An honest estimate could have spared a lot of frustration. The problem is most people will not accept waiting almost a year to have a guitar painted. I really hope Sims can figure this out because the guitar looks incredible.

EDIT - Finally received it back. It looks absolutely amazing. Would have given 5 stars if the lead time hadn't been exceeded by such a great amount and the communication hadn't dropped off here and there. Top notch work though.

Shipped a body to Sims Custom in December of 2018. PREPAID $369 to Sims Custom Shop, never received it back. Seller advised it would be ready in about "7-8 weeks". So, assuming he'd be taking the holidays off, I figured that he'd be shipping it back around March of 2019. On April 1st, he advised that it was "on the list to go out soon." May of 2019 he advised that it "shouldn't be much longer" and thanked me for my patience. Mid-July of 2019 he once again advised that it would be shipping in about 1 week. 7/22/19 was the last email I received from him in a really long time, couldn't get ahold of him. Then I noticed that he'd been posting a lot of pictures of work that he'd been doing on social media, so I hit him up there and in mid-October 2019 he advised that it still needed to be cut/polished, but didn't offer any sort of idea of when it could be shipped. I'd even advised him in an email that I'd take the body back in whatever condition it was in (even if it's unpainted, etc), I just need it back but he's been ignoring me for some time now.

I did a lot of research into having my Warmoth swamp ash guitar body finished. I had an idea, and out of everything I saw online, Sims custom Shop was the guy that I thought would make what I had in my head a reality!
After I emailed and sent him some pictures he was quick to get back to me and discus what I was looking for. He even gave the pros and cons of what I wanted and discussed some options with me. He was honest and straight forward with the turnaround time and as the deadline approached he stayed in communication with me.
The end result speaks for itself and this guy's talent!
Don't hesitate to contact him if you need a guitar refinished.

Worst customer service I've ever dealt with. After talking with him, I figured he'd be a good choice to send my warmoth Jazz bass to. Sent it to him the 2nd week of January and was told 6-8 weeks. Approaching the 8 week mark, I asked how it's looking. His response. "well do you know how long this COVID stuff will last?" Wouldn't give me any update other than "he's working on it". Let it slide for a few more weeks... now he's been affected by a tornado. Ok no problem, I'll wait. Now June comes around. It's at this time that I start reading reviews and see that all the bad reviews are the same. Extremely rude and long wait if they even get it back at all. I tell him I'm sick of being patient and this is getting ridiculous. Send him several messages. Call several times with no response. I then write a review on how bad the service is and how my project is a loss... THEN he messages me, but only to argue about the review I left. Was told that he won't refund me and that he won't steal it because it's a "pos" anyway, and I'll get it when I get it. I tell him he has 3 weeks before I dispute. 3 weeks go by, and "it's almost done". I wait another week. "Almost done" 2 weeks later, I finally receive it. Was exited, until I opened it. Small scratches everywhere. Color is uneven on the sides. Knick in the paint by where the control plate goes. I bring this to his attention. His first response. "I knew you would complain about something since I took so long." He said the color being uneven is because of the material I chose. I explained (then had to prove to him with a screenshot of our previous messages) that I didn't choose a material, just a color. He said I shouldn't worry about the Knick he left because "it should be covered by the control plate anyway". The control plate I wasn't going to use. Then he blocked me from messaging him. Anyway... this has been by far the worst customer service I've ever dealt with.

Pat Sims takes your guitar and makes you prepay. B\Very nice before that, once the guitar is there, you end up in a black hole. He does not respond to inquiries nor does he return your guitar. Despite him stating "Guitar has been painted and is currently hanging up curing. "Our turnaround time is generally in the 3 month range for something such as this." after three month of having the instrument, another three have elapsed. He won't respond to emails and have yet to get my guitar back! Do not send your beloved instrument to him. He is a scam artist.

I just had a conversation with this man on instagram about having some paint work done, and he wanted me to pay him by calling him and giving him my entire debit information over the phone. Something i've never done, even with major corporations. I tried to be really patient with this guy, but after i told him i didn't feel safe giving information like that over a phone call with someone i've never met and lives across the country from me, (and before any work was even done) he started talking to me like i was an idiot for not feeling safe with my information. At no point did i ever accuse him of potentially stealing from me, because honestly i dont think he would, but the fact that he cant even charge me through an invoice on the platform that he already uses is extremely sketchy and unprofessional. Wish this guy would'nt be so stubborn and is more willing to make his customers feel safe, because honestly his work is astonishing. Extremely poor business ethic :/