I think I have worked on this instrument before – a set-up, bone nut and saddle – but I’m not very sure. But it recently came to me in this state, with the owner naturally none too happy. He said that the instrument was in its case and when he took it out to play, […]
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Guitar repair – Without some basic instrument knowledge, you’re sure to be fooled!
Just a small, quick one this Sunday but about a very disconcerting trend among the youth today. There is a shocking lack of basic information – about the acoustic guitars that people own, and just about everything that concerns them (the youth). Day in and day out people (primarily youngsters) come to me and call […]
Guitar repair – This Hertz: it hurts no more!
Hello there, beautiful people! Long time no see. Long time no hear! Well, only I am to blame! Partly staying busy and a greater part, my laziness! Mea culpa! I am here now and bring to you this Hertz that was brought to me by a returning customer. It had some years on it but […]
Guitar repair – Sometimes, it JUST refuses to stick!!!
There are times in guitar repair – as are in life – when you get the feeling that the Almighty is testing your patience and resolve! A simple job like a bridge reglue, where you basically repeat steps that you have repeated umpteen times before to certain success, will yield horrifyingly discouraging results! Take for […]
Guitar repair – Not just guitars, the odd Veena too!
Yeah! A troubled soul contacted me recently, asking if could repair his Mohan Veena. Now, to those who were enjoying teenage in the mid 90s, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt winning the Grammy on his acoustic guitar improvisation – the Mohan Veena – was a big thing. At least to me it was. Why? I don’t […]
Guitar repair – Dealing with a Cort with saddle slot out of whack!!!!
This guitar came in recently with the lady owner complaining of fretwire buzz around the 10th fret – across the fretboard – but primarily on the ‘e’ string. I took one look at the saddle and saw the saddle falling forward. Meanwhile, at the nut end of things, the slots seemed a little too deep […]
Guitar repair – Exorcising this US-made Strat of fretwire buzz!
YEAH! I work on electrics too – but only fretwire stuff and (God forbid) structural damage. This pristine US-made Stratocaster from 2002 was brought to me after the owner – himself quite capable of taking care of his instruments – had tried just about everything to get rid of the irritating fretwire buzz. Out came […]
Guitar repair – Of quacks and their hacks!
In my last post, I had urged people to stay away from certain repairs in the interest of the instrument and their pocket. Guitar repair – Some repairs are JUST NOT DIY!! As if to rile me some more, along came this instrument from out of town. I must apologise but what looks like an […]
Guitar repair – Some repairs are JUST NOT DIY!!
‘N’ae pas peur d’essayer’ is French phrase meaning ‘Don’t be afraid to try’! I doubt the author was referring to intricate rectifications to your acoustic guitar! Glue-up jobs on acoustic instruments are not one of those things that I would advise my readers to undertake – unless they have an experience of instrument-making or woodworking. […]
Guitar repair – Important tip for buying a guitar (used or new)
Having a tall saddle is always a good thing. For one, it increases the break angle of the strings (the angle that the strings make, rising from out of the holes and leading up to the saddle). This, in turn, affects the sound emanating from your guitar. Greater the height, greater the break angle, […]
Guitar repair – why strings are imperative while diagnosing problems
HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS! While being a post about a repair I undertook recently, this also is an illustration and proof that you must always bring your guitar with the strings on, even if they are tuned down. This helps me check out a whole host of problems: belly, lifting bridge, action over the fretboard, […]
Guitar repair – Untangling the faults of this #Tanglewood – II
Last week I left you at the point where all was in readiness to glue the bridge to the top – well, almost all. When I placed the bridge on its footprint, just to see how it sat, this is what I got to see. Not encouraging at all. What the lifted wing tips told […]
Guitar repair – Untangling the faults of this Tanglewood – I
Among the new(er) guitars in the Indian market, Tanglewood is a brand that I have come to like for its simplistic yet sturdy design. Yet the Tanglewood that came to me recently had a lifting bridge, and one which seemed to have taken a bit of the top as it lifted. Also, the belly behind […]
Guitar repair – It’s not everyday that CF Martin comes visiting!
So, this came in a few weeks ago. It was a pretty all-Mahogany Martin (and I got so excited I forgot to take a photograph of the label in the soundhole!!) I looked it over and except for some battle-scars, along the lower bout periphery, could not figure out what was wrong with it. And […]
Guitar repair – The season of re-repairs has long begun!
Remember this one? Guitar repair – Tackling Techno trouble II Well, this was the second in the series of (failed) repairs initially undertaken during the jinxed period of July to October. It came in about a month ago for me to take off the bridge and try and reglue it. And as you can imagine, […]
Guitar repair – This looked like the next Jaws film scene!!!!!
So, this came to me – a comparatively new buy, which met with an accident. From the looks of it, something heavy seemed to have fallen on the guitar top, crushing it in and damaging the top-side joint too in the bargin. All in all, the crack/break stretched some 32cm. But first let me introduce […]
Guitar repair – A face-palming moment for me!
Sometimes, life presents such scenarios that just trying to visualise the solution can leave you sapped of all energy and leave you exasperated. And yet, in the end, it can all be very anti-climatic! Guitar repair is much like that! A return customer – and a loyal one at that – brought me a newly […]
Guitar repair – A saga of unending fault-correction!
Every few months a job turns up that challenges you to the core, forcing you to think – as if survival depended on it! It is jobs like these that keep that spark of creativity alive, which in turn, leads to a satisfied customer, and more importantly, a boost in self confidence: that is if […]
Guitar repair – Never say never!
This is an under-$45 (Rs 3,500) guitar. And mind you, this is not a toy but a functional guitar. You can well imagine the quality (or the lack of it) for that price. Repair in such instruments often exceeds the price of the guitar, and so, for the owner, the economics of it does not […]
Guitar repair – Tackling Techno trouble II
Last time, I left you with the bridge area of the ‘Techno’ clamped – with the bridge removed – as corrective surgery for the bridge footprint. If you wish to read about what transpired earlier, you can do so here Guitar repair – Tackling Techno trouble – I After a couple of days, the clamps […]
Guitar repair – Tackling Techno trouble – I
Some time back, as I stepped out of my house to run an errand, I spotted this man on a scooter with what looked like a guitar gig bag slung over his shoulders. He seemed to be searching for someone or something – phone in hand. Something poked me and I went up to him […]
Guitar repair – The jinx returns to jinx me!
That is a hobby file – not very thick, but with at least a 1.5-mm thick blade – going easily under a lifting bridge. That was one problem and the other was a huge belly for which the owner had brought in this instrument. It was a Hertz and an old one at that, with […]
Guitar repair – A PRS comes calling in pain!
If you didn’t know what the picture above shows, it is the neck block of a guitar, and loose from the bottom at that. Incidentally, this is just the second Paul Reed Smith that I have seen in the six years since I have returned to India. This was parlour-sized electro-acoustic instrument and the owner […]
Guitar repair – Cort(ing) trouble!
Worked on this Cort recently, which had a belly and a lifting bridge – naturally, throwing the action out of sync. It also had a tilting saddle And it had seen cleaner days But first take a look at this colourful thing. You know how sceptical I am about bridge glue-ups in the July […]
Guitar repair – Tanglewood: the quick and dirty!
You probably remember this one from before. So it returned for a bone saddle and nut, and a free set-up (you get one when you get a bone saddle and nut installed at the Garage). As you can see in the picture on the top, the ‘G’ and ‘A’ strings have managed to crush the […]