Before I get to the meat of this blog post, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has patronized my brand new guitar repair shop over the past few months. Meeting all of you has been a real pleasure, and I’m honored and humbled that you’ve trusted your guitars to my care. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/repairing-a-cracked-fingerboard/
Mar 12 2013
8 string nut
This week I had the pleasure of working on an Ibanez RGA8 that my friend Robert brought in for a standard fret level and setup. During the course of the job, it became apparent that one of the biggest issues affecting the playability was the 8 string nut, which was a locking mechanism even though there …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/8-string-nut/
Mar 07 2013
Ibanez USATK restoration
What does a guitar tech do when they’re not working on a client’s guitar? Work on their own guitar, of course! Today, I completed a restoration on an old Ibanez USATK, made for Ibanez by Bunker Guitars in the early 90s. I’ve been after one of these instruments for years – they only made 400 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/ibanez-usatk-restoration/
Mar 01 2013
Repairing a bridge plate
This week I had the pleasure of working on a vintage Gibson LG-1 acoustic guitar, owned by the fantastic musician Seth Walker. These were considered beginner guitars back in the day (the LG stands for “learning guitar”), but now they are starting to command increasingly higher prices as their perceived vintage value rises. It’s not surprising, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/repairing-a-bridge-plate/
Feb 20 2013
Acoustic guitar saddle
An acoustic guitar’s saddle is one of the most important parts of the guitar. The guitar’s action, radius, intonation, and tone are directly directly influenced by the saddle, so it’s important that it’s perfect. Unfortunately, not every guitar enjoys this luxury: This poor Ibanez had lost it’s original (most likely plastic) saddle somewhere along the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/acoustic-guitar-saddle/
Feb 15 2013
A note on intonation
Intonation is an extremely tricky subject, and the study of it is one of my hobbies. Historical tuning systems, the mathematics behind various temperaments and scale degrees, and application of new theories is absolutely fascinating. Yes, I’m a serious nerd. Delving into intonation is a daunting task, but I’ll try to distill it to it’s most …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/a-note-on-intonation/
Feb 06 2013
Securing a floating bridge
Hollowbody guitars are often equipped with a floating bridge, which are prone to shifting while playing, travel, and during string changes. Floating bridges are usually only held in place by string tension, and as they’re very easy to knock out of place, it’s easy to throw your intonation all out of whack. The solution here …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/securing-a-floating-bridge/
Feb 04 2013
Bloody bass!
Occasionally, being a guitar tech is dirty work, especially in a town like New Orleans. Over the years I’ve seen some really funky, and sometimes downright disgusting guitars, which I’ve been tasked with cleaning up and getting back into fighting shape. You would not believe some of the stuff I’ve encountered: sweat, blood, beer, unidentifiable …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/bloody-bass/
Jan 23 2013
The perfect guitar?
It’s a common misconception that just because a guitar is brand new it should be perfect. Unfortunately, that’s not the case: most guitar manufacturers pump out hundreds, if not thousands of guitars every day. Just one of Gibson’s many factories can complete upwards of 800 guitars a day! As much as we’d like to think …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/the-perfect-guitar/
Jan 18 2013
Guitar wiring
Finally! I’ve been blogging about my guitar work here for a while, and now I’ve got a chance to show off my guitar wiring skills. I’m no electrical engineer (although I have taken a handful of electrical engineering courses over the years), but I’d like to think I’m pretty handy with a soldering iron. When …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/guitar-wiring/