There comes a point when even the best of guitars need a service and setup. Most people will have their car serviced regularly, why not your guitar? While the strings are off I always give the fretboard a good clean. The heads were a little stiff so a little light oil. and a bit of […]
Tag: guitar
Snap Dragon, folding guitar – Setup
Here’s something unusual, a folding travel guitar. I’ve never come across one of these before. I’ve seen some folding guitars before, but never one that really seems to work. Getting the folding joint right, so that it snaps into place accurately is a real problem, but these people have cracked it. Unfortunately the playing action […]
Kramer – Fret Dress and setup
How’s that for a guitar finish! Wow, I’m not sure if it’s quite my cup of tea but I just love it. Sadly it’s just not playing very well, there’s quite a bit of fret buzz high up the neck. The problem lies in the frets, some of them are just a little uneven. To uneven […]
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 […]
Rickenbacker 330 – Bigsby conversion
I’ve often said that any guitar can be improved by fitting a Bigsby. I guess that’s not exactly true, but how about this one! Fitting it isn’t difficult, it’s only 4 screws after all. As ever the devil is in the detail though! I’m figuring about there…. Just far enough down to cover up the witness mark […]
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 […]