A lovely guitar, just has a couple of setup problems. The intonation on the B string wasn’t very good. The bridge saddle isn’t compensated, the top is rolled over in a straight line The neck relief was rather large. I don’t even need to measure it, I can see by eye there’s too much curve. […]
Tag: Intonation
Martin Bone Saddle and Nut upgrade
There’s nothing really wrong with Martin Guitars, but pretty well any guitar can be improved. A simple upgrade for any acoustic is to replace the Nut and Saddle with bone ones. This Guitar seems to have some intonation problems. I’m not sure quite why, the action is a little high, the strings are a little […]
Custom Stratocaster – Build
I usually enjoy a complete guitar build, something to get my teeth into and turn out something nice. It helps to work with the customer first mind you, to make sure I get bits that work together. The trouble with cheaper parts, from various places it can be a bit of a challenge! At first […]
Burns Steer – Setup
What a great looking guitar. I’ve never really liked Burns guitars but this one’s rather lovely. It’s an odd sort of thing, It’s got a sound hole, but there really isn’t any sound coming out of it? Some of the frets are a little worn…. and just a little uneven. A fret dress will sort out […]
Fender Stratocaster – Service and Setup
What a lovely old Strat. In need of a little TLC but basically sound… The bridge is all a little manky, rather corroded, but I’m sure that can be sorted. It’s just a case of taking it all apart and getting the wire brush in there. That’s better, just needs setting up again. Another thing […]
Columbus – Service and Setup
I do love big semi-acoustics, and you don’t have to spend a huge amount to get a nice one… This one’s pretty good. I’m sure that wiring isn’t original, and its in a rather untidy place. The volume and tone are rather crackly so they need a good clean. While the strings are off its also […]
Gibson ES335 – Setup
What a beautiful instrument, Gibson seem to be doing a bit better with their quality these days, just needs a tweek here and there to make the most of it. It looks like Gibson are finally getting their act together, the frets are nice and even at least. It’s even got a nice Bone nut. […]
Epiphone Les-Paul – Fret Dress
Nice looking guitar, just not playing right. The problem is with a couple of rather uneven frets. Unless they’re sorted out it’s never going to play well. With the strings off and the neck levelled it’s just a case of grinding the frets down to the lowest common point. You can see where the 4th, […]
Ibanez – Setup
Here’s a lovely guitar, just not behaving properly, needs a little work. The first thing is the bridge. The trouble with the wooden bridge is that intonation is always a bit of a compromise. The “Tune-o-matic” option means each string can be adjusted separately. Since it’s a floating bridge the tape is there just so […]
Washburn – Fret dress and setup
A rather lovely guitar, in need of a little bit of work to get it playing properly though. A lovely piece of wood. Some of the frets are rather uneven. Big fat frets with some very low points, so it’s going to be quite a bit of work. There’s quite a bit of wear and tear […]