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 […]
Tag: Fender Guitar
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 […]
US Fender Stratocaster HSS to SSS conversion
A nice US built Strat’ but the owner wanted it converted back to the standard three single coils. The most obvious thing is the pick-guard, I’ll have to get a new one of those or it will look naff. Rather than re-use the old switch and volume pot I think it better to replace them with new […]
Fender Telecaster setup
A quiet day in the workshop today, a couple of odd bits and bobs. Did have a rather nice Tele’ in need of a setup. Nothing really wrong with it, just needs a tweek here and there. The neck set was a little high, so about a 1/4 turn on the truss-rod. The action at […]
Bare Knuckle Pickups
Had a mexican Strat’ on the bench today for a pickup transplant. I think the best way to improve the sound of any Strat’ is to re-fit it with Bare Knuckle pickups. Their range is great and they all sound fantastic..
Fender Sonoran fret dress and setup
These are great little guitars. This one is brand new but the owner want’s to see what I can do to improve it. Since there isn’t really anything wrong with it I guess the devil is in the detail as they say. The neck has slightly too much set in it so that’ll be easy […]