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Private member DiscussionDiscussions

Anyone know where I can find a Thumbwheel tone control assembly like this?

Client wants me to add a Tone control similar to this (pic) to his archtop. where can I get one? Thx!

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I get them from Mouser Electronics but you can also get them from WD Music Products https://www.wdmusic.com/alpha-thumbwheel-potentiometer-250-kohm-500-kohm-details.html#menu
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

1960s Silvertone archtop neck pull

Dovetail was 9/16” deep, and 1 9/16” wide at the back. 15th fret was 1 mm tail side of the end of the dovetail socket but a slight angulation towards the headstock landed in the right place. Hide glue, released easily. Nice everyday player, finish and binding beautiful, good spruce top, warped poplar neck.

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Thoughts on Restauration Roger Archtop

Hey everybody, I should restore this Roger Rossmeissl Archtop. There is a lot of work to do. The owner is aware of the possibly-much-more-work-than-value situation. I am still thinking about how to aproach it, I want to start working on the guitar in August. It seems that there is not much warping in the top, few wood is lost. I do not know what happened to the guitar, but sometimes I hear a voice coming out the corner of my workshop mumb…

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Thanks Ian! There are no splines, I think it will be it s first real repair. Some breaks have old transparent tape that is already corroded into the finish. The customer said something like money is n…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Mandocello neck block

I am building an archtop mandocello (A style) and I'm trying to find out how to make the neck block. It would be more or less like an A style mandolin neck block, but obviously quite a lot bigger. More or less like the image attached. The blank should be aprox 10 x 8 x 12 cm. I'm trying to find a piece of hardwood big enough for this, would it be acceptable if I made some kind of laminated piece? And how should the grain direction be idea…

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Ian Davlin
The traditional A style mandocello neckblocks were mahogany. There are some really good reasons for laminating them because there are forces on the block that make any single grain orientation a damne…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Heating Pad (or other) Recommendation for Backbow?

Have an electric archtop that has a .012" backbow strung with 12-48s with truss rod completely loosened. 3 piece maple neck with a Ziricote fingerboard... Any tips or recommendations to straighten this neck would be appreciated... Currently trying humidity (in the case). Thank you! David O'

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Hi Tom and John. We're trying to slip the glue joint and heat the lignin in the fingerboard. Lignin is a natural glue in wood that holds the cell structure together and acts much like glue we use and w…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Gretsch Rally Hell

Just sharing some info to procrastinate my nth attempt at getting this thing together. and some venting. If you get one of these in with electronic issues, estimate high. Customer brought in a Gretsch Rally in pieces that he picked up from the last repairman (who died), and just wants it to play. Minor binding repair and a weirdly-angled zero fret were relatively easy to deal with. The dead electronics are the main problem.…

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I would even consider using 2.5mm TRS or TRRS connectors. (Similar to what Guitar Fetish uses on their pickups.) That would allow modularity of the components, and even easier installation. Only drawb…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gibson L-50 archtop with loose back braces

Anyone have success re-gluing back braces on a Gibson f-hole arch top? I've got an L-50 in the shop with very small f holes. My jack braces won't even fit through the holes. The back is flat like a standard guitar with transverse ladder bracing. All 4 back braces are loose on the ends. I think I can get a go-bar on the lower 2, but the upper 2 will be very difficult to reach. I'd rather not take the back off if possible. I wish I h…

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Ian Davlin
Do you know the move of flipping the the feet on the bridge gluing clamps to do tight to get to back braces ?
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Mandocello top tap tuning

Hi all, I am building a mandocello, Gibson style but with f holes, currently working on the top. I got to a point where I carved it to about 5 mm in the center and about 3,3 around the edges. If has some flexibility but still feels quite stiff. I tap and listen but having experience only with flat top guitars I don't really know what I'm looking for in terms of tap tone and flexibility. I know there is no correct answer to this, but anyo…

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One more update. I have been generating Chladni patterns for the top. I normally do this with the closed box, as most luthiers seem to think that on free plates it's not very useful, but I found this…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Epiphone archtop neck reset difficulty

I have an old epiphone archtop on my bench that I am struggling to get the neck off of. I think it's a 50's Zephyr (non cutaway, single NY pickup in neck position). Anyone have any experience with these? Is the neck not a dovetail joint? I'm no stranger to neck resets but this is putting up a fight as if it's been epoxied in place.

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I managed to get it off after about 7 total hours of fighting it. Thanks for the link to the other repair, I really just needed confirmation that it was a dovetail. I ended up using a combination of d…