I had mentioned a few blogposts ago that guitar types or brands have a habit of coming in twos or threes. Remember? Well, last week I worked on a Cort, and here’s another Cort – an AD810 – with a small problem. Could you spot the problem? Well, the broken headstock was just 40% of […]
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This Cort: cost-cutting, callousness or counterfeit?
I had never been a great fan of Cort guitars, but unfortunately for me, I had never had the opportunity to study a high-end model. I got that opportunity recently when I worked on a natural finish MR710F, and I was actually impressed. Solid spruce top, solid African mahogany (Okoume) back and sides, solid bone […]
Resophonic? Resonator? Dobro…whateva! I did it!!!
Remember how in the India of the 80s, the craze among musicians was owning a ‘Casio’? Music shops stocked them as many prospective customers came asking for a ‘Casio’. What those people actually wanted was a ‘keyboard’ but since the Japanese electronics giant, Casio, was among the first to come out with the instrument, somehow, […]
Ghost in the ‘B’ string of this Martin exorcised!
Recently, I worked on my first Martin in India – one from the X Series. This was not the high dollar D-28 or D-35, but featured high-pressure laminate (HPL) back and sides and a Richlite fretboard and bridge. Richlite is an incredibly durable, extremely versatile, and highly sustainable material made from resin-infused paper – 65% […]
Green Hornet in trouble; guitar neck a casualty when you leave instrument tuned!
SILLY ME! Last time, I talked about how the bridge, the top get affected when you leave your instrument tuned to pitch, standing in a corner (or lying in its case) for months. I was so taken up by Luc’s shattered bridge that it slipped me that besides the bridge and the top of the […]
Whoa!! Not just suicide but hara-kiri!
Taking a break from reporting on repairs, I decided to dedicate this post to something that I have stressed off and on, but something the importance of which cannot be stressed enough. I found the photograph above in one of the many guitar groups on Facebook. I wrote to the author, seeking his permission to […]
Do you recognise this logo? And why a set-up is important
After religiously striving for excellence in 50 instruments, made pretty much from firewood, does one get to work on a Martin, Gibson or a Guild guitar. The photograph above is the Guild logo, embroidered on the semi-hard case of the Guild guitar I worked on recently. But more on that later. If you ask me, […]
If only floating bridges weren’t so much work!
Though archtops and floating bridges go back to the early 1890s, it wasn’t until Gibson came up with the ES-150 (the first electric archtop, in 1936) and its later variants, that they became popular. Whether swing and jazz movements, a rage during that time, were a result of this evolution, or whether the music craze […]
A damaged bridgeplate & the evolution of Jolly JIMM!
Regular readers of this blog are familiar with how peeved I get with cheap (Rs 3K – 3.5K) toys that masquerade as guitars. New readers may understand it this way: granted that you wish to learn how to play the guitar and you aren’t sure whether you will be able to sustain the drive to […]
A broken truss rod and straightening a bowed neck!
GREETINGS GUITAR GEEKS! As promised, I’m back! I hope all of you had a great time putting 2020 to sleep and a wonderful time ushering in 2021. May it be a year of health, happiness and prosperity for all. During this ‘break period’ I worked on a clutch of guitars, but allow me to begin […]
With prayers for a blessed New Year!
Just a short note this time to announce that I am taking a break from the blog to rejuvenate myself, to collect my thoughts, and to spend some time with my family. The next blog post will appear on January 10, 2021. However, your favourite acoustic guitar repair shop – Lucknow Guitar Garage – will […]
Yama-ha-aa-aa-ha-ha-ha – the one that refused treatment
In all my years into guitar repair, I finally met the guitar that refused to be treated and was as obstinate as only it could be. You will recall that I had put this F310 into three types of vices and for 14 days. But, I am sorry to report that it spurned all my […]
3/4th Ibanez in for string change but danger lurking nigh!
I consider myself to be a professional and so, I do exactly what the customer wants me to do: not one bit less, nor one bit more. However, I do go over the instrument with a fine-tooth comb and if I find something that requires attention, I bring it to the notice of the customer. […]
Compensation, intonation & what a truly compensated bone saddle can do
It struck me just the day before yesterday that all these years, while I have been talking about swapping plastic elements for a bone compensated saddle and nut, I have never really explained compensation, what it is, its importance; intonation, and what part a compensated saddle plays in intonation and all of that. Before we […]
An initial set-up on this beauty! Did you get one done on yours?
Before you drive your swanky new two-wheeler/four-wheeler out of the showroom, the mechanic there, almost always, makes some very small adjustments to the engine that makes the vehicle run the best that it can. No two vehicles, even the same variants from the same manufacturer, are the same. And so, some may require a little […]
Bolts in bridges – a recipe for disaster; when will Indian guitar manufacturers learn?
Around the time when America was at the peak of The Great Depression (1929-39), Gibson, then a 30-something-year-old guitar manufacturer, incorporated a few design changes that stuck on for a few decades. One of these was the use of nuts and bolts as fastners in an acoustic guitar bridge. How do you know if your […]
A facelift after taking ‘Irene’ out of a spot of bother
This Fender CD-60 came in with a complaint of higher than comfortable action. Sure enough, as I checked it, the bridge was rising under string tension and even without it. Not much, but it was. As I went about checking out the guitar, I could only nod my head in appreciation. What added to the […]
Wait, save, buy – the LAGT88D (a review)
As promised, here is a review of LAG Guitars’ T88D, which I repaired last week. At the outset, let me clarify that I am not linked to LAG Guitars in any way, and by doing this review, I am not benefiting in any way. However, I will go on record to say that I (personally […]
With a shattered top, is it ‘Bye-bye, Beauty’?
This beauty was being shipped outstation to its owner when an in-transit mishap caused a massive break in the top board. Though in two parts, the break, thankfully, was along the grain of the wood and in one plane. This France-made guitar, available only at a single outlet in Lucknow, was being shipped by the […]
Split bridges – here’s an Ibanez!
What was that I said about guitars/problems/brands coming in twos and threes? So, here’s an Ibanez with a bridge that could have been split right into half, but just to complicate the problem, it is split in two places which is almost in line. Though this was a laminate guitar (top, back and sides), it […]
Soothing the pain of another F310!
Remember, how I had said that guitars (brands/models/similar problems) come in twos and threes? Well, here is another Yamaha F310! Problems: Bellying, cracked bridge, saddle too low and miscellaneous. ADVICE: Whenever you feel that you will not be playing your acoustic guitar for the next couple of weeks, tune down the strings. DON’T LOOSEN COMPLETELY, […]
The curse of the Yama-ha-ha-ha-ha-aha-aa-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!!!!
OK! So, I called it a joke, laughed my head off at it, and now it has turned around and bitten me you know where. So, I am typing this standing; I can’t sit! For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, this happened last week: https://lkoguitargarage.com/yama-ha-ha-ha-ha-aha-aa-ha-ha-ha/ I received […]
Yama-ha-ha-ha-ha-aha-aa-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!!!!
This landed up on the counter needing attention seriously. The owner said that he had got the instrument previously repaired at that big music shop in the vicinity of Fun Republic but besides the old fault lines opening up, new ones developed (encircled in red). If you hadn’t guessed it, the guitar was But, more […]
Want to get your acoustic serviced FOR FREE????
This is your chance!!! However, do call before coming and stick to the time you give. You wouldn’t like to wait, so don’t make others wait too! If you missed it, there is 10% off on accessories too!!
So, how tough is installing a pickup in a guitar?
I think I have said this before but during the period of the lockdown, and even now – when people are avoiding physical contact – embers of lost passions are being rekindled: gardening, cooking, writing, music…Nice! People are getting reminded of musical instruments that they had left standing in store rooms, years ago. They are […]