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Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

pickup wiring?

I've built some acoustic guitars and I want to get into some electric builds. On that note, I have a highly regarded player around here asking if I could wire an existing solid body to his liking. He is providing two 500K pots, two P90 pickups and a 3 position switch. He wants two volume controls, no tone control. He's quite an accomplished player and I don't know enough to question him. I got a Seymour Duncan diagram from their si…

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Thanks Ethan
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

1950 Martin D28 with localized scary thinning.

Hey all. I've got the above-mentioned guitar on my bench. It had a neck reset and what appears to be a new bridge pad put in 14 years ago. It's a crack-free guitar except for a couple of little hairlines running from the back of the bridge to the upper tone bar. I thought that was a bit weird. Inside, everything looks okay until I turn off the inspection light, at which point I can see the rosy glow of daylight through the top - this…

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In classical woodworking theory, yes - crossgrain glue-ups are a real no-no, but we get away with it in guitarmaking all the time. We're the rebellious bad boys of woodcraft! In this case I went w…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Opinion on figured wood for top

Hello everybody, I am about to embark on building an acoustic with a top other than spruce. I have some mahogany and looking to buy some koa. I have always heard and read that when looking for spruce tops that the tighter and straighter the grain on the top the better. Should this hold true for other species as well. For example, looking at the sample koa selection in the picture would the center option have a better sound than the optio…

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Aloha Mark, I've made a number of different sized ukuleles using figured wood for the back, sides and soundboard. I've also measured the physical properties of tops made from other woods and koa as wel…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Celluloid Rot

Someone came to me with an old Gretsch afflicted with binding rot. The cream binding was mostly intact, with some pitting and discoloration in various spots, and only a couple of pieces loose. The owner was aware that the only sure cure was the removal of the old binding, and then rebinding the guitar. They didn't want to invest that much money into a repair. I rediscovered a StewMac video from 2017 called "Guitar repair using kitchen…

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Well, given enough time, we shall all be dust. I just hope the Gretsch doesn't come back.
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Busted acoustasonic strat

Anyone got any good tips for regluing a brace in an acoustasonic strat? I can get in there with a magnet and little violin clamp, but can't get effective pressure all the way down with those. Does someone make small scissor jacks? The gap between the top and back is 1.25 inches, so I can't fit even our cut-down normal one. I'd like something a little more elegant than wedging short sticks between the brace and back, but will use th…

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Here it is clamped up.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Trussrod and refret

Hallo, I have an old archtop (plywood) that needed a refret. There is no trussrod. I talked to the owner, he knows that my work will maybe/eventually more expensive than the value of the guitar. But it was only after leveling the fretboard that I realized that the fret slots are completely off. I talked to the customer again, and we agreed, that I should put a new fretboard on the guitar. I have one, that I took of an old guitar, and reuse…

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just for giggels: from fret to fret in mm: 33,8 32,8 28,9 29,9 28,6 24,3 24,8 23,8 22,0 19,6 19,6 19,6 (!!) 16,4 16,4 14,5 14,3 13,9 13