The Hub

This is just a rant against the Stew-mac touchup pens. Ive just never had them functionally work, without creating more of an issue than there was in the first place. Through an "act of god" I chipped a small bit of freshly buffed and polished laquer off the headstock of a Taylor that I refinished. The guitar had that nasty bubbling around the tuners and CA glue didn't fix the issue, so I stripped the front of the headstock and airbrush…

Hello all, new member here. I've been working as a touring tech for 20 years and just noticed this section of the forum was empty, so I figured I'd give it a kick. Are there any topics\questions\ideas\etc that people would be interested in hearing about or discussing from a touring perspective? If so, drop a comment here and I'll see if I can address it or post any relevant photos\content. I'm leaving Wednesday for a month in Europe fol…

Hello All. I'm new to the group and a beginner in terms of building (only built a couple so far). I was hoping I might gain some insight on the effect bridge type has on tone on a solid body guitar. I have been building guitars with hardtails but I'm curious about wraparounds. Of course, with hardtails the whole device is screwed to the top where the connection on a wraparound style bridge is not as direct being held up by studs. Any th…

I have a 46' J-45 in need of a new neck. I figured I would scour the interwebs for a possible replacement before I go commando and build one to spec. Let me know if anyone has anything in this vein!

I rarely use pickguards on my builds, as most of my guitars are intended for fingerstyle players. That said, I occasionally need to install one, and I've yet to find a cutting method that consistently meets my quality standards. I’ve experimented with several techniques for cutting clear pickguard material, but the results are always somewhat disappointing. Using a brand new X-Acto blade gives a reasonably clean cut, but there's almost a…

Heres a link to a youtube video I just quickly put up unedited of my latest build!

I'm nearing the end of my first build. I have about 1 mm gap above the top at the end of the fingerboard extension. I've read and seen some guidance to clamp that down while gluing the extension. Others seem to build in a wedge-shaped shim - although it seems that is mostly done with neck resets and not new builds. A straight edge on the frets is just slightly above the top of the bridge so I think my neck angle is good. What are your t…

Here's my latest build. Carpathian spruce and mahogany dreadnought 😁😁

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Initial frequency analysis of this D28 copy (done with a temporary 35g bolt-on bridge and the back plate taped on) is VERY LOW. Main air resonance 83.5hz and top monopole 156.6. It's standard Martin scalloped X-bracing with a torrefied Adirondack top. Since I can still easily access the bracing, I'm thinking of going in and laminating wood on top of the X brace to stiffen it. Other options would be a very light bridge, though I'm not…

There are two new sub forums in New Builds and Repair and Restoration called “share your content”. Got a new youtube video ? Share it there. Got a new Instagram Reel ? Share it there. Did you just cut a killer new miter and just want to share it ? Share it there. Anything you want to share that doesn’t involve a question, share it there. Speaking of which, I should probably share this there.

There are two new sub forums in New Builds and Repair and Restoration called "share your content". Got a new youtube video ? Share it there. Got a new Instagram Reel ? Share it there. Did you just cut a killer new miter and just want to share it ? Share it there. Anything you want to share that doesn't involve a question, share it there. Speaking of which, I should probably share this there.

Hello, Just heard of this group and decided to join. My name is John Read and I live in Indianapolis, IN, USA. I have been building Martin style acoustic guitars for 5 years and am on scratch build #28. I am also the website administrator for both kitguitarsforum.com and asiartisans.org/guitarmaker.org. Loothgroup looks to be a fantastic, next-generation communication tool and I look forward to joining into the conversations. Here's my c…

Hello Friends – I am about to start a new bass guitar build using a flame maple top over an alder body. This is my first time attempting such a book-matched top. If anyone has some general tips on how to re-saw the flame maple blank for a well-matched pair I would be most grateful. Many thanks!

Dear ladies and gentlemen, I was assembling the latest build early this evening, and I could not stop thinking about how could I do better. Which is a good thing you may think, but in the today era of social media where you can basically follow every of your inspiration as a guitar builder you, well at least certainly me, cannot stop thinking about 'how X can be so damn consistent on every build?' So I started to wondering if its actually…

Hi! This is a new build but suddenly it's also a finish repair. I tested Ken Parker's Epoxy + Tru-Oil approach on the fretboard of this ukulele before committing to the rest of the instrument. It's a single (very thin) coat of West System epoxy (using the clear hardener), then 3 coats (so far) of Tru Oil. It's well-cured, about three months. The bad thing happened yesterday: attempting to dress a fret end, I was using thick double-side…

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share a new (free!) tool I made, a website for designing fretboards. https://fretboard.buzz. It's similar to FretFind2D, but modernized, with many more features, including fretboard markers, a 'flip' for converting any design to lefty, support for mixed units of measure (use both metric and imperial at the same time), etc. I spent months building it, I would love to get your feedback. Thanks!

Hi Gang, I hope someone can help me fix my f**kup. This is a new build. I burned the top trying to steam out a dent preparing for finishing. At least the dent is gone. I started sanding, but it wasn't going away. I looked on the inside and I see a little discoloration, so it goes all the way through. It is just north of the tail block. Is a "decorative Inlay" my only solution? I will await suggestions while I reevaluate my life choice…