Water Buffalo Horn Nut

If you need a new bone nut, but want a black one, how about Water Buffalo Horn?  It’s not quite as tough as bone but it’s the best natural substance I’ve come across. This Bass needs a new one just because it’s broken. I’ve not got any pre-shaped ones so I’m going to have to […]

Fender Stratocaster – Build

Putting a guitar together may seem easy but the devil is in the detail! Despite what it says I suspect this neck isn’t genuine Fender, if it is, it’s a Friday afternoon special, the frets are all over the place.  If It’s to play nicely they’ll need levelling first. The masking tape is to protect […]

Gibson Les Paul – Fret Dress and setup

Wow, what a great guitar.  And a fantastic example of a great guitar at that!  It’s seen some action though, and needs a little TLC to bring it back to life. The frets are a little worn up at the paying end so that’ll need sorting out for a start. In preparation for a fret dress, off with […]

Gretsch – Bone nut

I love these, some great guitars coming out Gretsch these days.  Great value an very well made.  This one just has a slight problem, staying in tune. It’s probably the nut.  I’m not much a fan of these new fanged materials, I don’t think you can beat good old fashioned bone. Unfortunately I can’t find […]

Eastcoast – clean and setup

Not a bad little one this, I’m not sure about the colour of the neck, I don’t think I’ve seen such an orange finish before!  All it needs is good clean and setup though. All it needs is a little time to pull each part out and clean it thoroughly. Not forgetting the frertboard… That […]

Ukulele – Replacement heads

Not quite  guitar but I guess the science is all the same.  The trouble with this one, it’s not staying in tune. The only way to increase the tension is to screw the keys in a little tighter.  Trouble is if I do that I think the keys will just split.  Once of them has […]

Epiphone Les-Paul – New Pickups

These Epiphones aren’t bad these days, some of the parts aren’t quite top flight but then that’s how they keep costs down.  One of the simplest upgrades are the pickups. How about a set of Seymour Duncans. If you’re going to change the pickups then it’s probably worth replacing the pots’ as well.  It might […]

Vintage SG – New nut, setup and service

Some of these “Vintage” guitars can be quite good.  For some reason the nut slots on this one have been cut rather deep and the open strings are buzzing a little.  There are quick fixes but the proper thing to do is to replace the nut. Gently out with the old one. The new bone […]

1956/58 Stratocaster Re-Build

Here’s another interesting project.  Another mixture of old and new.  A good friend of mine, Russell, has been colleting some fine old parts and has decided it’s time to put it all together…. Some of these parts are older than I am, a 1958 neck and 1956/58 pickups, tremolo, neck and back plates etc. all in fantastic condition. The […]