Benjamin Strange

New Orleans, LA

I am a bassist, guitar tech, and founder of Strange Guitarworks. When not working on guitars, I create experimental music under the moniker of UFO Death Cult, utilizing microtonal instruments of my own design. "Intonation is a social construct."

Most commented posts

  1. Fixing a broken Gibson headstock — 1 comment
  2. 8 string nut — 1 comment
  3. Fretwork on a Gene Simmons Punisher bass. — 1 comment
  4. Acoustic guitar debelly — 1 comment
  5. Guitar wiring — 1 comment

Author's posts

Ten years!

Ten years ago I was fired for the first time in my life. I was blindsided, in complete and utter shock, and I suddenly found myself unemployed and quickly going broke in San Francisco. I had been becoming increasingly disillusioned with San Francisco, and had been yearning to move back to the city that most …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/ten-years/

Replacing the output jack on a Parker Fly

When I was 17 years old, I had already become bored of the same-old, same-old approach to guitar design. My jaded teenage eyes were already sick of seeing Strats and Teles over and over and over again. I thought these were grandpa guitars, and I yearned for something new. Then I discovered the Parker Fly, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/replacing-the-output-jack-on-a-parker-fly/

Converting an acoustic guitar to left handed

Left handed people have never had it easy. Lefties have been burned at the stake, bump elbows with righties at the dinner table, and struggled with scissors in elementary school art class. Left handed people also have limited options finding a guitar that suits them. Left handed people comprise of 10% of the population, yet …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/converting-an-acoustic-guitar-to-left-handed/

Installing a Fender LSR roller nut

Whammy. Whang bar. Vibrato bridge. Wiggle stick. No matter what you call it, they are going to knock your guitar out of tune if it’s not set up properly. The main culprit for guitars going out of tune is the nut– strings catch and bind in there, and they don’t return to pitch. While a …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/installing-fender-lsr-roller-nut/

Defretting a bass guitar

I have been playing bass guitar 29 years, and for almost that entire time I’ve been an exclusively fretless player. I first defretted my bass in 1998, after only playing for five years. I remember that ordeal quite well: I yanked the frets out of my Peavey B-Quad, and filled the slots in with bondo, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/defretting-a-bass-guitar/

The secret of the PLEK machine

What is a PLEK machine? What does a PLEK machine do? Is the PLEK machine worth it? There are lots of questions out there regarding this machine, and even more bad answers. Who in 2021 would believe that the internet would be rampant with mis-information? The PLEK machine is a complex tool, and I will …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/the-secret-of-the-plek-machine/

Making a brass nut

The nut on your guitar is often overlooked, yet it is one of the most important lynchpins in making your instrument play it’s best. Since every neck is slightly different, one can’t just buy a nut and expect it to fit – they have to be made from scratch, every time. We make a lot …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/making-a-brass-nut/

Your guitar is out of tune. Deal with it.

“Intonation is a social construct.” If you’ve hung around our shop long enough, you’ve probably heard me say this, as it’s one of my favorite aphorisms. What do I mean by this, and what does this have to do with your guitar? Well, your guitar is out of tune. In fact, EVERY fixed pitch instrument …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/guitar-is-out-of-tune/

Acoustic bridge coming off: FIXED!

Acoustic guitars can be designed to sound good, or can be designed to last – it can’t really be both. Most builders try to find a middle ground, and many are very successful at finding a perfect balance. However, guitars are mostly made of wood, and sometimes wood just won’t cooperate. Occasionally we see this …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/acoustic-bridge-coming-off-fixed/

Installing a Kahler into a PRS

We rarely see Kahler equipped guitars in our shop – I don’t remember seeing any at all in the last seven years. Yet over the last two months we’ve seen at least five (three of which we removed and returned the guitar to stock, like so: http://www.strangeguitarworks.com/filling-a-kahler-route/). A few weeks back our friend Gregg asked …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/installing-a-kahler-into-a-prs/

Load more