Telecaster Build

I’ve just been given a mixed bag of bits, some old some new, to put together…. I think there’s a very nice Telecaster in there somewhere!  But where to start?How about at the top, the machine heads.  First the guides.. they’re rather tight so rather than hammer them in and risk damaging them I pressed them […]

Epiphone Les-Paul – Fret dress and Nut

A nice little guitar.  The trouble is they’re built to a budged, seemingly without much care.  However I’m going to make this one play really nicely.  While I’m at it I’ve been asked to fit a TUSQ nut.  Not something I like to be honest, but I’ll stick it on and see how it works.  […]

Custom Build

An interesting little one, finishing of a project.  Most of the hard work has been done, and they’ve made a good job of it, but I’ve been asked for a little help with the last little bit to get it playing properly… The first thing, the wiring.  A couple of dry joints just needed sorting out…..With the […]

Left/Right hand Stratocaster

Here’s an oddball, is it a Left-hand or Right-hand Strat? The owner had it custom made but it just needed a few tweeks to get the full potential from it. The first problem was the nut.  The grooves were much too shallow which made the playing action at the first fret way too high.  But […]

7 String Ibanes GIO- wonky neck

This proved to be an odd one.  I’ve always rated Ibanez very highly, if you’re looking for a starter guitar you can’t do much better than a second hand Ibanez.  This one proved to be a little more troublesome though…. At first thought it had a couple of high frets at the top end… but […]

Sambora – Fret dress and setup

Not something I’ve come across before, but what a great looking guitar! I just needs a little work so that it plays as good as it looks. The biggest problem are the frets, they’re quite uneven so need levelling before it will play well.  First job then, neck off and levelled. Tape up the fretboard to protect it, and […]

Tanglewood – Fret dress

It’s nice sometimes to get stuck into something a little more out of the ordinary, I would probably pass this one by in a shop if it were for sale but it’s nice, nice but with a few fundamental flaws.  Once they’ve been sorted out it’ll be really nice… First thing first, the nut.  A plastic […]

Washburn – Rebuild and upgrade

Not the greatest of guitars, but with a bit of work this one is going to something special!I I’ve been given almost a free hand to do whatever I want so I’m looking forward to producing something different. The first thing it needs is a god clean. The next step is to sort out the […]

Bone Nut and Setup

This one’s seen some service and needs a little TLC.. Frets are a little worn for a start, not terribly even either so a dress will sort both problems.While I’m at it a bone nut, the old one’s a bit wonky anyway.It’s got to come out to do the dress anyway.With the neck perfectly flat…..level […]

US Telecaster – Cleanup

Whenever I get anything through the door there is always a thought, would I like to add this to my collection?  This was a real yes and no! Yes its really nice but no, its left handed. What it needs is a little TLC, well a lot of TLC, a good clean and a fret dress. Under […]