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Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Yamaha SL550 fret job

Refretted my Yamaha Studio Lord 550 with jumbo frets. This is my second fret job. First was on a bolt-on BC Rich neck. The Studio Lord (Les Paul copy) was my first set neck project. It is pretty good. No fretting out. I set the action at 4.5/64 on bass and 3.5/64 on the high strings. Today I noticed that if I bend a high F to G (13th fret on first string), the note frets out (I can get to F # no problem by bending from the 13th).

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Maybe look into adding some fall away.
Private member DiscussionShare Your Repair Content

Budget ukes build; screw-up and recovery

This is equally suitable for "New Build" and "Repair and Restoration" sections of Share Your Content...! I have recently done a few posts on Instagram about my plan to build a number of "cheap and cheerful" ukuleles which will (I hope) promote both my brand and the little country of Luxembourg, where I live. They will be on sale in a craft fair later this year, so will be priced to attract casual passers-by. I made some fun marbled paper…

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Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

The first tool to measure longitudinal neck torsion/twist - the LTwist® gauge

Dear looth community/colleagues around the world, During 2023/24 I have developed a digital gauge to measure so-called longitudinal twist of (bass) guitar necks: the LTwist® gauge. Just to be clear, this is about the "cork screw" type of deviation along the length of a neck, not the bow of a neck. I think there is no need to explain how a too severe neck twist can make it difficult or even impossible to set up a stringed instrument (guita…

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

New Gibson L-00 retro with whimpy bridge

Hi Folks. I have a new Gibson L-00 retro on the bench. It came in because the saddle had pulled forward and was extremely loose in the slot. the saddle was a narrow affair measuring out at 3/32. It had buzzing issues as well because saddle was low and neck angle is actually high (straight edge is 5/32 above bridge). Previous looth tried to correct by shimming saddle but recommended me for bridge work. I re-slotted the saddle slot wi…

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Ya…ugly bridge way cheaper then neck agogo which would entail dealing with bridge anyway cause of intonation. Customer may be able to get new one because that’s the obvious problem, but as mentioned,…
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

Zimmermann 7 string Leipzig 1930s? guitar

V shaped not a true dovetail and should have a bolt

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Private member DiscussionTouring Tech

What touring tech topics would interest you looths?

Hello all, new member here. I've been working as a touring tech for 20 years and just noticed this section of the forum was empty, so I figured I'd give it a kick. Are there any topics\questions\ideas\etc that people would be interested in hearing about or discussing from a touring perspective? If so, drop a comment here and I'll see if I can address it or post any relevant photos\content. I'm leaving Wednesday for a month in Europe fol…

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Hi Peter, I got into touring by meeting musicians through repair work. I started out in a cool little used and vintage shop in Portland called Old Town Music. I started doing a lot of repairs for Mode…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

tuners for 70s Martin D12-20 12-string

I've got a 70s Martin D12-20 12-string on my bench (slotted headstock), it needs new tuners - the original tuners have several bent worms. The only 6-on-a-plate tuners I can find are the Golden Age from StewMac. The spacing looks right, but the Golden Age posts are about 1/8-inch shorter according to the specs on StewMac, 1-inch vs the 1 1/8-inch on the originals. Will that be a problem?

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I didn't see the replies... never got an email alert like I thought I would. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks for your input everyone. I ordered the StewMac GoldenAge tuners. They fit perfectly, even the mounting scre…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gurian ebony pin puller for neck removal

Hey all I have a Gurian in the shop that needs an neck reset ,,it sure would be swell if anyone in the group knew of one .I did a reset without one once about 2 years i pulled it off but i dont want to go thru that again! thought id ask to see if there someone out who might know?

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Loose Truss Rod Nut

Hi Folks, I'm new here so I appreciate any input upfront! I had this guitar come through the shop and I've run up against something for the first time. The neck needs a little relief but when I went to adjust the truss rod the screw was already completely loose thus I couldn't perform that action. I tightened it just enough to get the truss rod nut to connect to the truss rod without making an actual adjustment to the neck in the wrong dire…

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Ian Davlin
Sometimes the truss rod can hang up the adjustment if there is surplus glue etc in the channel. Sometimes you can free up the relief just by flexing the neck. I usually grab it by the headstock and pu…
Private member DiscussionFinish New Builds

Acrylic clear coat partially dissolved sunburst

Hi all, I'm experiencing a problem with finishing a steel string guitar. After spraying a sunburst with Colortone liquid stains diluted in thinner (which I left curing overnight), I sprayed a very thin coat of SprayMax 2K Clear coat (https://www.spraymax.com/en/products/product/clear-coats-and-spot-blender/2k-clear-coat/) and, to my horror, saw some of the black paint disappear. The amount of SprayMax I sprayed was very little, yet some o…

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Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

1980 Daion 12-string

Model is "The '80". Daion built some nice guitars in the 70's and 80's out of a small shop in Japan. Nice old all mahogany 12 string. It's my instrument so doing a bolt on conversion. Forget about trying to get the neck off one of these (apart from Kung Fu) - neck construction seems to be based on multiple dowels (a bit like some Japanese furniture I suppose)

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Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Locating a wrap around bridge

I have a BC Rich Mockingbird (Bronze) that I am practicing my tech skills on. I refretted it and that came out pretty good. I pulled off the old rusty wrap around bridge and am replacing it with a Wilkinson preset. I'm in the process of trying to locate the studs/bushings and I thought I had a good idea on setting the scale length but then I was watching this super elegant repair, where Dan comments to add 9/64ths(?) or so to the scal…

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Right. The BC Rich Bronze had a wrap around bridge with individual saddles for each string. The studs were tilting towards the nut so I pulled them and used a dowell to plug the holes. I've put tog…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Any Looths near Artesia, New Mexico?

Hey Looths! I've got a potential customer in New Mexico who wants to ship me his Carvin bass to my area, Nashville, TN, for some repair work. He was referred by another customer. He reached out to me because he lives in a very rural area and guitar repair folks are scarce. I'll gladly accept the job, but I'm hoping we may have a local solution for him. Is there anyone in this amazing group close to Artesia, New Mexico? Thanks!

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Bueller? Bueller?
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Stainless Steel Fret Wire

Hi, does anyone have experience with Stainless steel fret wire on acoustic guitars or more specific on classical guitars? Up to now I only used the traditional Nickel/Silver fret wire but recognised that after a few months they start to get mat or tarnish despite polishing them. I wonder if that is because of the origin (Producing Company) of the fret wire or due to the alloy? During my search for fret wire that is not Sintoms and also av…

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I just re-fretted an original Taylor for a customer in Stainless and the customer was over the moon with the results and can’t get over how well it plays now. Really depends on the player I think. I j…
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

1970s Guild S-90

This thing had a conveniently placed hole in the neck pickup cavity that ran all the way to the end of the tenon, presumably the entry point for the long drill bit that drilled the access from pickup cavity to control cavity before the neck was originally fitted. I injected several pipettes of hot water into this hole while heating the fretboard extension area with a silicone blanket to loosen the extension from the body. Reactivated hi…

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Ian Davlin
That is crazy looking. Thanks for sharing !
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Bigsby B60 vs B70

I've got a Gretch G2420T with Bigsby B60 on my repair bench. When the customer plays, the strings are coming out of the saddles. We're thinking of replacing the B60 with a Bigsby B70 to increase the break angle over the saddles and bridge. Any concerns with that? I noticed the B70 is only on center block models. The G2420T is hollow body. Will the inside braces support the B70 enough?

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Ian Davlin
That B70 appears to have the roller out in front to keep the strings down. If it's in the financial cards, I'd think that could work. The question is whether the extra length is going to be weird.
Private member DiscussionDesign and Testing

Wolf Note?

I have built a steel string guitar that has an annoying high pitched pulsing overtone. The guitar is an x-braced OM style with a thicker depth (more in line with a dreadnaught depth). I have built several of these that do not have the annoying overtone, so I don't think its the specific shape that is causing it. The overtone occurs when the note B2 is played on the G string, 4th fret. Interestingly, it does not occur when the open B stri…

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A bit hard to tell from your description, but is what you are describing as an oscillation a beat frequency? If so, it is possible you have multiples of two resonant frequencies that are nearly colli…
Private member DiscussionTotal Vise

Quick question - Erlewine neck jig and Proper workstation

Just starting to research these items, so forgive the noob question/s… Can these two items be combined? I.e. could one fasten the Erlewine neck jig to the Proper workstation? Or are they two completely different items? Does the Proper workstation allow you to do fretwork under string tension, or is that only on the Erlewine jig? Or could you possibly buy both items, then switch them out on the same mounted post? My primary issue I’d like…

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I do have not the real “Erlewine Neck jig” but a wooden one I cheaply made after the Dan’s ones on the Stewmac books and videos. Quite basic, it was meant to be a first trial to test everything… but i…