Month: May 2023

This is a return customer. Then, I had swapped the plastic nut and saddle for a bone one, I think.

The guitar came back to me recently with the complaint of a buzz on the 1st/2nd frets of the high ‘e’ and low ‘E’ strings.

But what caught my eye was the condition the guitar was in. It seemed it hadn’t been loved in a long time.

What also caught my eye were the string slots. It seemed somebody had tried to lower the 1st fret action by deepening the slots. I am all for experimentation but with a couple of fail-safes: proper knowledge and right tools. If those too fail – somehow – then one should be ready with an alternative, whatever it is that one is experimenting with (nut/saddle/strings).

When strings sit on the fretwires, a buzz is bound to appear. Also, with slots so low, who is to say that the string is not rattling inside the slot but on the fretwires? When string slots need to be lowered, the nut too needs to be brought down proportionately.

Anyway, now that the problem had presented itself, there were two ways out: either fill the slots and re-cut them, or, replace the old nut with a new nut. The cost difference was negligible and taking the latter route meant lesser work for me. Thankfully, the owner agreed to replace the nut.

Work commenced with taking the crusty old strings off the guitar, and as I was taking them off, I saw this:

the perfect example of how NOT to wind the string around the peg. See, just because the manufacturer was kind enough to provide you with a certain length of string, it does not mean that you HAVE to use all of it!!

Just two or three winds of the thicker strings and five or six of the thinner strings (B and e) will do just fine.

Next, even though cleaning and polishing the instrument is usually the last step in the list of jobs, I had to clean the guitar first to begin work on it. Then began the deep clean, burnishing of the fretwires and a drink of the fretboard elixir.

Before I had taken off the strings, I had checked that the action of the guitar was on the higher side, Shaving the saddle was out of the question for it was already lower than what I would have liked to see. The way out? Cut string slots/string ramps.

These help create an an acute angle as the strings come out of their holes and travel to the top of the saddle.

Checking the fretwires for high spots, I was surprised to find many but none that would cause a buzz around the 1st/2nd fret area. Wonder if you can make out the marked areas on the fretwires (damn the watermark!).

Those were dealt with before treating the fretboard to a delicious drink of the magic potion.

The old nut was knocked out, measured and its dimensions transferred to a new one. As the nut sat snug in its slot, it was time to string up the instrument.

The choice of strings of the owner was

And before I let you go, I’ll leave you with some shots of the finished job.

All cleaned up, I could even read the name on the headstock: ‘gb&a’!!!

Can you guess what this is and what its possible use could be?

This has been the reason for my preoccupation over the last few months.

The way guitars are constructed in our dear India, you must shell out upwards of 15K to acquire a decent guitar. Anything else in the lesser price bracket is a disaster waiting to happen. Notice, I have not named brands and models, instead I quote a price range.

Like I have said often, after you cross that 15K price barrier, you get an instrument which has elements which justify the price. Elements? Almost everything used in the instrument is of a (comparatively) superior quality – most importantly – the bridgeplate. The bridgeplate is the heart of your guitar.

But not all of us can afford to shell out 15K – 20K for a guitar. An overwhelming majority falls for a 4K – 5K instrument. What the quality of elements is in this guitar, I leave to your imagination. So, within six months (a year at best) you will find the instrument develop a belly that an ‘expensive’ guitar may not sport in a decade!

Why does this phenomenon happen? String tension tries to pull the top up of the guitar. It is the job of the bridgeplate to counter that tension and prevent any bellying from occurring. Because the material used for a bridgeplate in a ‘budget guitar’ is just any piece of wood that the manufacturer managed to lay his hands on, the bridgeplate is found woefully inadequate.

The first photograph is a cheap bridgeplate which has seen better days, while the third one is what you would expect to see in an ‘expensive’ guitar. The second photograph shows the positioning of the bridgeplate on the underside of the guitar top.

Keeping all that I have said till now as the background, I had my thinking cap on, trying to figure out a way to deal with the deluge of of cheap guitars that come knocking at my doorstep.

The solution to the problem is what the Western world calls a Mitchel’s PlateMate (a mate of the bridgeplate) developed by Mitchel Meadors, a talented Bluegrass musician and inventor.

The PlateMate gets stuck on the bridgeplate and takes the brunt of string tension on itself, providing years to the bridgeplate. This has a two-fold effect: a) the bridgeplate is protected from damage from the string ball-end, and b) since the bridgeplate is not taking the tension of the strings directly, it stays ‘unstressed’ for longer.

On Mitchel’s site, the Plate Mate sells for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. That’s Rs 1654+ shipping and handling!!!!!

Would you pay 2.2K – 2.5K for the Plate Mate to be installed in a 4K – 5K instrument? I wouldn’t!!

StewMac, a respected but frightfully expensive luthier store, also in the US, charges $26.66 plus shipping!

And, here’s where I come in. From those strips of metal, I shall shape individual PlateMates that are made to fit your guitar only. Think of it as buying a readymade shirt and getting one stitched to your measurements and it will be done at 1/3 the price of the bigger players.

Right! So, the bridgeplate is protected and bellying will be delayed by installing the PlateMate. What effect will it have on the sound of the instrument?

Most finger-style players – those who love to arpeggiate chords – will love what the PlateMate will do to the sound of the instrument. However, country/bluegrass style musicians who cherish the bass response of their instruments may not like the modification.

But, then again, that is my assumption. If you are a country/folksy musician, maybe, you will like the change of sound, after all!

If you wish to protect your bridgeplate, do drop into the Lucknow Guitar Garage and experience the transformation the PlateMate can do.

 

 

Yeah, I know I have been missing our dates for long now. However, the thing is that while I have been decidedly occupied, the work that has been coming in has been mundane, or,  something that I have already written about. It would indeed be boring to be repetitive!

So, now that I am relatively free, I decided to send your way little pointers and hacks that would make your life easier, should you find yourself in a bind. These are things that spring to mind as I write. That is why the ‘I’ in the headline: there will be more tips and pointers that I will put down, as and when I remember.

 

Taking a coin to bridgepins

All of us have encountered that particularly obstinate bridgepin that refuses to exit its hole – try what you may. Try too hard and you end up breaking the peg!!

What I usually do in such cases, is slip my hand into the soundhole of the guitar, a coin in hand. Reaching underneath the pin, I push up the pin from below with the face of the coin (and not its side). Unless someone decided to super-glue the pins in (wow!), they’ll pop right out.

 

Packing a guitar

You may be sending it to an outstation friend/sibling/cousin, but the mistake that most of us make is to try and protect the body. That is not where are attention should be focused.

Of course, once it is in a hard case (imperative for shipping), the body is protected. No matter how much you throw the case around, the top and back of the guitar are generally protected. However, the impact is very likely to knock the headstock off the neck.

The headstock-neck joint is what needs extra protection, and the best way to provide that is to wad up enough newspaper below AND ABOVE it, when the guitar is in the case. The quantity of wadding should be such that when you close the lid of the case, you have to use  force to close it.

Let’s not even begin to talk about semi-hard cases being used for shipping!

 

Saving your instrument from heat/direct sunlight

Summer is upon us, here, in North India. It is time to take extra care of your guitar and especially if you know that your instrument is a solid wood instrument – or at least if it has a solid top.

Don’t leave it in a room that gets direct sunlight and is seldom opened. Long hours in direct sunlight is another guitar killer. What happens is that heat/direct sunlight sucks moisture away from the instrument, affecting it cosmetically and structurally. While the former makes the guitar look ugly, the latter affects its life. For more, read earlier posts about humidity and how it affects your instrument.

However (for those of you in the region), if humidity issues have affected your guitar enough for it to need special attention, please feel free to WhatsApp or call me. You will find my contact details on the top right of this page.

 

Never leave a capo on the headstock of the guitar

A capo hanging on the headstock is the worst thing that can happen to a guitar. It adds weight to an already susceptible region of the guitar, dampens vibrations and causes finish damage.

For performing artistes among you, I suggest you keep a chair/stool/small table handy to lay your picks (plectrums) and your capo (if you use one). While the guitar is in its case, keep the capo in a pocket of the case. Sitting perched on the headstock, the capo adds weight to it putting the headstock-neck joint under stress. Imagine the less-than-an-inch material behind the nut of the guitar. You’ve added the weight of a capo to it, and it just needs a good knock to the guitar to snap the head right off the neck! 

If that does not happen, the capo sitting on the headstock for long, will certainly damage the finish discolouring it or even damaging it, as the rubber/synthetic material used on the capo will react with it.  

If you do manage to break the headstock on your guitar, feel free to get in touch with me and I’ll try and do the best I can with it.

Until next time…!