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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Do I need a refret?

Hi, thanks for this great resource. This is my first post here. I work on my own instruments and have little experience with advanced repairs. Recently I acquired a ca. 78 Sigma DR28H. I bought it because it sounded great and came with a pickup installed. I wanted something for open mics and gigging. With light strumming it sounded fine but I found some buzzing when I took it to a jam. I made a nut and saddle , adjusted the truss…

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Private member
Someone was just asking this recently and you may find the answers insightful: https://dev2.loothgroup.com/all-forums-all-topics/topic/fret-levelling-how-low-is-too-low/ It sounds to me like a good idea…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Weird situation with PRS SE Angelus acoustic truss rod

I've got a PRS SE A50E acoustic in with complaints of high action. Checked the relief and it was sky high. Tried to flatten it, and it wouldn't go, so I started experimenting. When there's no string tension and the (single action) truss rod is slack, there's loads of relief. Tightening the truss rod works fine and the nut turns easily until the neck is flat, then resistance goes up but the neck won't go past dead flat. It behaves as…

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Ian Davlin
With all that extra relief it's probably hard to tell, but is this a double action rod? As far as compressing into a back bow, it can be done if the untensioned relief isn't crazy. It dounds like you…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

93 Charvel Surfcaster Rolling Nut

Seeking referrals for a machinist or fabricator to replace the bass side of the rolling nut on a 93 Charvel Surfcaster. The original had been lost and replaced with something similar but not the correct dimensions and taper. Thank you, Mark Images

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Private member DiscussionRepair and Restoration

Pedulla Bass Truss Rod

Hello, Looking for any suggestions for replacing the missing hex nut on a Pedulla Bass. This is not a standard size and from limited past experience this is fixed to the end. A flat 5-6 mm nut seems to fit but not securely without removing material under the nut shelf. Thank you, Mark Images

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Ian Davlin
Private member DiscussionGeneral

1964 jazz bass calamity

Any suggestions if this can be saved? It is a neck I received for free upon replacing it for a customer. The wood was missing and the rod is missing the adjusting nut. The truss rod had pushed the inlay out as well as the wood damage . I wasn't sure if it could be a structurally sound repair. I have no idea of the neck rigidity or action with strings. I wont be online because of a previous dr. appointment but I figured it would be a go…

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Private member
The Elders are correct .It is a 1976 neck. I was presently working on a different neck , a 1965, so it was on my mind. Thanks to all for the suggestions. My initial instincts were what Doug had reco…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Buzzing following nut replacement

Hello, I replaced a nut with a tusq nut. Nut slot height is correct, neck relief is good, action is good. But I’m still getting buzzing on low E and A strings on frets 1-3 primarily. I checked the fret height on fret 1 and it is sitting lower in that area specifically .038 inches. Vs .040 inches for the rest of the frets. I’m thinking this is what’s causing the buzz. Is my thinking correct? Is there something I can do other than a fret lev…

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What is the neck relief?
Private member DiscussionElectric Builds

Nut slot and action trouble

Hi everyone - I recently ran into trouble making new nut for one of my necks that needed to be trued and re-fretted. I roughed in the nut as usual and then, with the bass guitar fully assembled and strung up, I started cutting the slots to depth. I use the StewMac digital nut slot depth gauge and have had good results in the past. I marked the nut's lowest points (radiused) using the guitar nut scribe tool (first time using this!) and c…

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Ian Davlin
That's actually not how that tool was intended to be used. That is essentially plotting a like to the top of the fret. With a bass, you would need much more than that. When James and I came up with th…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Early 80’s Jazz Bass Fingerboard Separation— Bi-Flex? Washer issue?

This jazz bass has come in with a cracked and separated fingerboard near the nut. I believe this is an early Bi-Flex but am not entirely sure or familiar with them. The truss rod is functional and tightens up when turned. Top of the walnut plug is missing and the washer appears to be crooked or dislodged. Not sure what purpose that washer serves. This is probably the thinnest bass neck I’ve ever seen and it’s no wonder that this fingerb…

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Private member
Good call Ian, I can definitely get strings on there. I suspect it won’t do well under tension. It’s incredibly thin, neck has pretty much a shallow v profile. Hardly any fingerboard too. Might need a…
Private member Discussion3D Printing

Free 3d printed stuff up for grabs

Santa heard I had a challenging year so he got me a 3d printer for Christmas. I’ve been printing like crazy, learning the machine. This has resulted in a bunch of tools that either don’t work for me, were attempts at mixing colors, or have very minor printing blemishes. Two lots up for grabs to anyone in the US who wants either. I’ll mail to you for free. First one to claim each gets it :) First lot has parametric nut and saddle sanders…

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Lot #1 still available. I'll likely be adding to the lot as I print and eff up but still make usable prints.
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Dealing with a zero fret...

Hey everyone, I have a Vaccaro bass guitar and I'm getting a lot of open note buzz on it. In truth, the bass could stand a refret but that may or may not be in the cards. Additionally, the truss rod nut is stripped. I'm also wondering if this nut is designed to come out? I imagine it is but it's kind of funky. A 1/4" Allen wrench is still too small to grip it. So the questions: 1. How would you deal with the zero fret and the nut? The st…

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Private member
The divots in the zero fret almost look intentional, though that doesn't make sense since one of the big advantages of a zero fret is that it can be levelled together with the other frets. Are the fr…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Just one string buzz from 1-12 even with really hi action.

I work in guitar repair for over 20 years and this strange buzz happen only 3 times and i really going crazy. Five years ago a all parts strat neck in G string, change string, leveling frets twice thinking i made a mistake, in some point i made a rudimentar neck jig to tried to repair that neck. Work in that guitar for 3 weeks and string heigth like 3.5mm and yeat, buzzing with not so hard picking just the G, even in other tuning like F…

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Private member
Thanks Ian! It’s a brand new guitar, client contact the dealership and it’s in process to return and get other one. I really want to open and understand why this happened, not know why it’s a big bumm…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Classical intonation puzzler.

I have a Yamaha Classical on my bench that's giving me a run for my money with a mystery intonation issue. All but the B string are perfectly intonated with the usual compensations we see. The B string however is almost an entire 1/2 step off (sharp) at the 12th. Right from the get go the scale starts going sharp incrementally at every fret. I can find the fundamental harmonic on that string but it's sitting halfway between the 11th and…

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Private member
I recently had a similar experience with a Yamaha classical, only in my case the B string was flat at the 12 fret. This was with a new set of name-brand strings. The harmonic was almost halfway to the…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Mystery Buzz

Hi Everyone,I hope you’re having a great weekend! Can anyone help diagnose my mystery B string buzz? I tried to attach a video but the site won't take it. I’ve tightened all hardware and the b string is not hitting any frets. I’m giving it a set-up and when I had to lower the nut slot height of the B string it improved a bit. When I capo at the first fret the buzz disappears so it seems to be something going on at the nut. …

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Hi Ian, I just sent the email. Thank you for your time and attention!
Private member DiscussionElectric Builds

Truss Rod Length - Is there a "rule of thumb"?

Friends - My "go-to" truss rod for my basses has been the rod sold by LMII; however, since they are now out of business, I am evaluating what other rods are suitable for bass guitar necks. The attached photos are all showing truss rod lengths from the front edge of the nut slot location on the blank. One photo shows my last LMII rod (23 1/2" in length) vs. 2 other rods, one longer (23 11/16") and one shorter (22 1/4") -- all measured f…

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Private member
I think that the 22.25 is fine to run. It lands over the neck pocket and those last few frets are getting sanded down to create a fall off anyway. Have you ever thought about changing the design and…
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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@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 DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Nut overall height vs slot depth

Question for the group.. Let's say you start with a new nut blank and leave it too tall, but cut the slots to the proper depth. So you are left with a scenario where the strings are fairly buried in the nut (not protruding from the top), would that affect playability or just potentially cause binding issues and look bad? Thanks, James

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Private member
Said above perfectly - I also believe that when having high "walls" in the slot, the strings don't ring out cleanly.
Private member DiscussionElectric Builds

Custom Headless neck for Ibanez 7 string

Hey Loothers, A client reached out requesting a neck with wider nut for his headless Ibanez 7 string. He would like it built with rosewood for the neck and the fret board which has been stored for years at a consistent 45 to 50 % humidity in his home. The frets are angled to make it play more ergonomically but it is not a multi scale instrument. He plays finger picking fusion style and simply needs more neck width at the nut to play mu…

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Private member
@member Its plausible that no one wants to touch this project, but I'm curious if we should have a "help wanted" section for folks that might want to pick-up jobs. Maybe not a need, but thought I…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Hofner Committee tuning key and nut repair

And another one — putting it in general as while this is an acoustic, the particulars are more relevant to the brand than the type of guitar. This is a very early Hofner Committee (serial 20XX, maybe 1954?) that has suffered some minor blunt force trauma. The mounting posts for one of the tuning keys snapped. While repros may be available, I assume with something this weird and vintage repair is probably more feasible and affordable. Bu…

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I am wondering if you could replace the tuner gear mounts. Drill correct diameter hole in the right thickness of steel and shape the rest including the legs to be peened with a file. You might hav…