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Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

When chips happen--customers, expectations, and responsibility

Hey all, I am really enjoying digging through the looth group. I have not yet watched all the ding kings vids or read all the amazing comments and articles here, but I've been appreciating some of the loothing for dollars stuff, seeing other people's intake sheets, discussions about dealing with customers, and it led me to this question: How do people deal with customer expectations, liability, and the inevitable accidents that can happ…

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Private member
@member some really solid perspective here, thank you. You're so right regarding the bit about some of the more abusive customers being the most obsessed with cosmetics, to paraphr…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Martin D-18VM No truss rod?

In the process of evaluating the repairs needed on this guitar I checked to see if the truss rod was working. There is hole in the transverse brace where you would normally insert a truss rod, but all I see is the end of a metal bar with a smallish hole in the center. I tried several allen wrenches that would fit in the hole, but nothing seems to grab. Did they really eliminate the adjustable truss rod on this vintage reproduction? Here'…

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Private member
A reproduction with that much wrong?!?! Did the thing go of a cliff in the back of a car without a seat belt, get thrown, and wash up 10 miles south?
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

The first tool to measure longitudinal neck torsion/twist - the LTwist® gauge

Dear looth community/colleagues around the world, During 2023/24 I have developed a digital gauge to measure so-called longitudinal twist of (bass) guitar necks: the LTwist® gauge. Just to be clear, this is about the "cork screw" type of deviation along the length of a neck, not the bow of a neck. I think there is no need to explain how a too severe neck twist can make it difficult or even impossible to set up a stringed instrument (guita…

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Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Repairing recessed jack hole 🕳️

Hello fellow looths ! I'm deciding on a repair method for the jack recessed/angled hole on this Aria Pro SB bass. What kind of direction would you take ?

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Private member
Thanks guys ! I'll definitly add wood thickness and use a longer jack then !
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Switch out output jack on an active P Bass?

Hi Gang, Has anyone switched out the plastic, 8 pin box output 18 volt active/battery switch output jack on a P Bass special for a standard TRS output jack or some other? I just got off the phone with Fender and they don't make this anymore and they recommend replacing with another plastic box from Molex and are sending a wiring diagram. The problem with all this is the plastic boxes have wimpy thin spring steel and wear out quickly.…

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Private member
Hi Gerry! Thanks so much for the reply. I got the wiring diagram from fender. Yes, much switching involved. Initially, one person told me they didn't carry the switch and indeed referred me to an…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Any Looths near Artesia, New Mexico?

Hey Looths! I've got a potential customer in New Mexico who wants to ship me his Carvin bass to my area, Nashville, TN, for some repair work. He was referred by another customer. He reached out to me because he lives in a very rural area and guitar repair folks are scarce. I'll gladly accept the job, but I'm hoping we may have a local solution for him. Is there anyone in this amazing group close to Artesia, New Mexico? Thanks!

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Bueller? Bueller?
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Broken hex wrench piece drill jig

I just opened a repair shop and the first repair was to remove a broken 1/8" hex wrench ball end from the truss rod nut of a Turner RB4 Renaissance Bass. I read of all sorts of theories on how to extract/remove. None of them had recorded actual attempts of the theories. There's probably others on here but I haven't found them. The ball end was loose and mangled at the rear of the nut sleeve. I tried fairly benign methods first. Heat…

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Private member
Slick move. What a clever setup, well done!
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Sourcing Concentric Volume/Tone pots for Sire Marcus Miller Bass

I've had a customer bring in a Sire Marcus Miller with a faulty volume pot. Currently I have an alpha concentric pot installed but it's too big for the cavity with all the wiring, pre-amp etc. and the knobs don't fit the shaft. I tried using insulation to widen the shafts but the discrepancy between the centre of each knob (Upper and Lower) has them bumping up against eachother and moving in tandem. Does anyone know where to source thi…

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Strange(?) bellying on Martin 000-15 SM

Just realized that I posted this on the main feed earlier and should have posted it here. Apologies for my poor posting skills. Will go and delete the original now.... Hello all, I’m new around here and excited to continue lurking and learning, taking in all the great content and the knowledge of all you experienced looths. I am more familiar with building than repairing, but I am interested in learning all I can about both. I’m happy to…

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Private member
Yeah, I don't know. I would start by calling Customer Service. They will either direct you to a warranty operation for verification or if they let you send the pics, they might just issue a Return Aut…
Private member DiscussionAmps, Pickups, and Pedals

Pickup baseplate repair

Hey! Any tips about the best way to fix those 1966 mustang bass pickup screw holes? At some point someone used larger screws and now holes are too wide for the original screws. I was thinking about using some cardboard and CA glue to fill the holes and then drill new ones with a smaller bit

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Private member
Some Mojotone flatwork has little chads that don’t get knocked free from the pole holes, you could try to plug with them and redrill and tap with a 6-32, but that seems dicey. I’d be happy to send you…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Finish repair on 70s Electra bass

Had a monster chip come out with some tape and repairing the chip went sideways. Stripped the 2nd fret and refinished the whole thing. Looking to get some opinions on the color matching. I see a few things from a precious removal i didnt fully get out of the wood with scraping and sanding. But just looking for overall impressions on the color match.

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Ian Davlin
That is a super smart move going between the frets. I would call this an excellent example of disaster avoidance. I do not see any reason to try a do over.