Here’s a common problem. A nice guitar but the action is a little high. It can put you off, you’re not going o persevere if the guitar is hard to play. However don’t worry, as long as the guitar is basically sound and the frets are level it can be sorted. Looking up at the 12th fret the […]
Tag: Fender Guitar
Custom Shop Fender Stratocaster
WOW What a great guitar! It’s not often I get such lovely guitar on the bench. However It wasn’t quite playing as well as it should, so I gave it a bit of a tweek here and there. This really is something special, when Fender put you name on it for you. out of deference to […]
US Telecaster – Setup
Why should a brand new guitar like this need a setup. Simple answer, it shouldn’t. However it’s been built a long way away, in a Californian desert, and travelled half way round the world. How many temperature and humidity changes has it been through? It’s not really that bad, just needs a twist here and […]
Fender Stratocaster – Custom build
A collection of bits and pieces, put together should make a nice guitar… To make it a really great guitar, rather than just an average one I levelled the frets. Firstly making sure the neck is level.With it nice and flat, grind down the fret tops to a common level….Once levelled each fret needs to […]
Richie Sambora Stratocaster
Nice guitar but It’s got some problems. Probably been there from new, but now I’m going to put it all right… The first problem is the Intonation. No matter what the owner did it just didn’t sound right all the way up and down the neck.Looking at the nut the slot for the bass E […]
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 […]
US Stratocaster – How low is your action!
I’m often asked for a low action, but this is probably the lowest I’ve ever seen! Actually someone’s had a go at it and the owner wants me to put it right. I like a low action myself but this is un-playable.The tremolo is also sitting flat and locked in place… It didn’t really take a […]
Acoustic Pickup
Want an Electro-acoustic? Rather than trade in your much loved old acoustic for one you can plug-in, how about an upgrade? I did exactly that for the owner of this Fender. Not exactly complicated, just a little time consuming to get right.The first part is to cut the hole for the pre-amp… With the hole […]
Broken Jazzmaster Nut
A fairly simple repair although setting up some guitars is a little more difficult… The bottom of the nut blank didn’t quite fit the slot. It’s a 7½” radius rather than the 10″ of the fretboard. While the strings are off it’s always worth giving the fretboard a good clean and oil. Here is the […]
Fender Stratocaster, pickup switch
I do love these, they look just fantastic. This one just has a slight problem with the pickup switch. A slightly dry contact somewhere leading to an intermittent contact. Switch cleaner can sometimes do the trick but ultimately the only guaranteed way is to replace it… The new one in place… That should do the […]