When you buy a new two-wheeler or four-wheeler, ideally, the showroom fine-tunes the vehicle before handing it over to you. What that little fine-tuning does is, it removes any small flaws that might have existed, making the vehicle perform to its optimum. Exactly in the same way, a new guitar – acoustic or electric – […]
Author: Amit Newton
An experienced guitar tech with over 16 years of experience working on acoustic Gibsons and Martins in the Gulf region.
There is nothing that cannot be repaired; the only consideration is the price at which it comes. And yet, if there is sentiment attached, no price is too high!
WhatsApp/Call me: 7080475556
email me: guitarguyhelp@gmail.com
Tuning out tuning issues
When you put on new strings and are tuning it up, have you noticed how some strings go ‘twang’ and lose tension completely? It happens because the ball-end of the string was not seated properly and was actually stuck to the end of the bridgepin. The tension that you give it while tuning it up, […]
Hummingbird hanging fire too long
Sometime back I had posted this guitar which needed a pick-up to be installed in it. https://lkoguitargarage.com/recognise-this/ I was awaiting a specialised drill bit to work the end hole of this guitar and finally received it yesterday. Here is the finished product. As you can see, these photographs were taken after I had strung […]
Venerable Vanilla gets a new look
It is not uncommon for players to dress up their instruments: decals, stickers, signatures, et al, have decorated acoustic guitars, probably since the time they were begun to be made. A change of hardware on the guitar, then, is quite common to improve performance as well as the aesthetics of things. I had to take […]
Wishing to buy a ‘real’ guitar?
This post is aimed towards the intermediate-level player, who has now played for more than a couple of years and has attained a certain level of proficiency. Wishing to buy a ‘real’ guitar, what are the things to bear in mind. What to look for 1) The first and foremost thing to take note of when […]
Spot-fixing frets – a little shift, big problemo!
Often, when the season changes you develop a cold and a cough. In much the same manner, your acoustic instrument is likely to develop a string buzz. The reason for this is that wood being a dynamic material, expands and contracts under the effect of temperature and humidity changes of the environment. The wood expands […]
Stunning and hot: Chilli!
Chilli here is in great shape – as you can see. It’s a 12-string Jumbo. I had to change its strings and give its fretboard and bridge a little drink of the magic potion, which while nourishing them, also made their grain pop. Eventually, I shone up Chilli even more. This one is special. It […]
What a stunner and in what great pain!
Extreme beauty – natural or manmade – has the ability to leave one speechless. I was too, after seeing this abalone-inlaid, solid-spruce-top, laminated-rosewood-back-and-sides beauty. Suffice it to say that I have not seen a more beautiful acoustic instrument in my life, and believe me, I have seen a few. I could not believe my eyes […]
A date with Snow White’s cousin, Black Beauty II
Black Beauty II (I have already dated Black Beauty – read earlier posts) was handed over in my care with the complaint of having an excruciatingly high action. I checked the usual culprits: the relief in the neck and whether the bridge was lifting. The bridge was, thankfully, stuck solid but the relief in the […]
Snow White ready to go home
If your remember, last time, I had said how the bridgeplate was a problem in this guitar. After much thought, I shaped two pieces of wood, stuck them together and then stuck and clamped them adjacent to the bridgeplate. The idea was that this would only lend strength and support to the not-so-stout bridgeplate, helping […]
A date with troubled Snow White!
This neatly finished guitar with abalone binding came in with the (apparent)complaint of a high action. It needed new strings too. Simple enough? Spoken too soon! As soon as I hear high action, my eyes automatically go to two places: the relief in the neck and whether the bridge is lifting under string tension. And […]
Choosing a guitar – for kids!
YES! I know I have written about how to go about choosing a guitar, but I am being forced to write about it again with a special focus on children, thanks largely due to the sudden flood of queries from parents. FOR SMALLER CHILDREN What size to buy The ideal age to start learning […]
The saddle, slot, are talked about the least. Let’s talk!
Happy New Year, good people (even you baddies!)!! May all of you have the best year yet! My New Year resolution: not to miss my date with the Lucknow Guitar Garage, ever again!! But without ado, let’s talk about saddles and their slots. But first… …for those among us still uninitiated in guitar anatomy, […]
Which strings to use; how often to change
Those, in my opinion, are the two most FAQs by newer guitar players. Often, even experienced players don’t ‘know’ why they use the strings they use! Ask them and they say things like, “I have always used these”!! Here, I will concede that the range and types of strings available in the market can make […]
Recognise this?
I will be installing a pick-up in this baby. The pick-up resembles one from the L.R. Baggs’s Anthem series greatly. But before anything else, try and identify this beauty. That is the whole purpose of this post! I have purposely blackened the logo and the name on the headstock, as also on the label inside […]
A simple job but not so easy
This Epiphone came in for a general check-up, cleaning, fresh strings and a bone saddle and nut. It had been in disuse for a number of years and now that the owner had time on his hands, he decided to make use of it by brushing up on his strumming skills. Otherwise a solidly built […]
A bridge too far…from the top!
This pretty guitar with an equally pretty bridge of nicely figured rosewood came to me looking like this. The gap between the bridge and the top was big enough to let you drive through a truck and must have resulted when the owner left it standing for months with the strings in full tension. A […]
A set-up…a new life
This Ovation look-alike came in for new strings and a general set-up. It was pretty much like Ovation down to the fiber bowl-shaped back. However, most amusing was the strings’ artwork on the headstock. The extra length of the strings needs to be cut off for it is of no use and can only cause problems. […]
Run, if you see your guitar tech doing this
The action on your guitar is high and you take it to your technician to correct it. If he says it is a two-minute job, and picks up the hex key (Allen wrench), stop him then and there. By picking up the hex key, what he intended to do, most probably, was to work the […]
This troubled Takamine!
This troubled six-string came in with the complaint that the action had got particularly high on it. During routine inspection it became clear why. The bridge was lifting badly all round the end facing the end block. When a bridge lifts like this, the action is bound to increase, making playing the instrument a pain. […]
Your guitar’s action has gone high…overnight!
Yes! It does happen! You played your guitar the night before and when you pick it up in the morning, the action on the instrument is sky-high. This happens more often than not due to humidity – too much humidity – which is not often discussed. It is also possible that the neck may have […]
Tips, tricks & tools
A guitar player of any proficiency level must have a few essential tools to help him/her maintain the instrument. The No. 9 wrench is used to keep the tuning machines snug and doing their job properly. The stringwinder is used to hasten a job that you would otherwise do by hand A brush is always […]
Sentimental treasure restored…almost
This photograph was sent to me to see if I could rectify the problem. For the life of me I could not fathom what fungus could have caused the fretboard wood to lose its colour like this. I called the instrument in for closer inspection and when I saw it in person, I slapped my […]
Three-fourth misery
This baby of a baby was brought to me with the complaint that the thinner strings were buzzing. A very pretty, all-mahogany, three-fourth size guitar, I was surprised to see major divets on the frets over which the ‘e’ and ‘b’ strings ran. The surprise was due to the fact that the owner’s father informed […]