Repairing a cracked fingerboard

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. …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/repairing-a-cracked-fingerboard/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/8-string-nut/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/ibanez-usatk-restoration/

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, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/repairing-a-bridge-plate/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/acoustic-guitar-saddle/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/a-note-on-intonation/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/securing-a-floating-bridge/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/bloody-bass/

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/the-perfect-guitar/

Guitar wiring

tele strat les paul hybrid

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 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.strangeguitarworks.com/guitar-wiring/

Load more