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Private member DiscussionAmps, Pickups, and Pedals

High Resistance for Gibson Mini-humbucker

I have a customer with a 2018 Gibson SG special with mini-humbuckers who is complaining about the pickups being too hot (distorting their amp too easily). I took resistance readings and, to my surprise, the readings are very high. The neck humbucker (see photo) reads over 16kohm and the bridge reads 23kohm. From the specs I've seen, mini-hums more typically come in around 6-7kohms. Has anyone seen this with Gibson mini-hbs that appear t…

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I might also try, before complete rewire, adding a 500k trim pot from pickup hot to ground to try to tame the high output. The trim pot would give you tunability for the output level. I currently don'…
Private member DiscussionFinish New Builds

Sparkle Burgundy Gibson Finish

Hi, I'm wondering how to achieve this color on a guitar. It's Sparkle Burgundy. I suspect the clear varnish has yellowed with age, which is why it has a coppery effect depending on the light. Can you recommend a varnish to achieve this effect? ​​Should I use a UV lamp after varnishing to age the varnish? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Ian Davlin
This is a guess, but I think that is a red translucent finish over bronze powder. Probably gold top powder. Some of the red has done been UVed out and the clear coats have turned yellow.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Warped x-brace on Gibson L-3

I watched the Guild F-20 video (https://dev2.loothgroup.com/groups/repair-and-restoration/forum/topic/cracker-x-braces-on-guild-f20/#post-60310) with great interest since I've been working on a Gibson L-3 with a similar problem. A little back story - The original repair request was to address a small pickguard crack on the sound hole side. After peeking inside, I saw 5 loose brace ends on the treble side. Still a pretty standard repair…

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That move of 3D printing the taper you want and running it through the sander to make a copy just blew my mind! Thanks for sharing Dave!
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Epiphone LP Limited Edition severe fall damage

Okay gang I have a doozy of a crack repair. Young guy brought in a Epiphone LP Limited Ed. He had picked up the case while it was unlatched at the guitar took a nasty tumble. Severe finish damage, and the wood has a shear split in it as well. The undercoat is thick with a thin layer of nitro color on top. Spoke with a sweetwater rep and they said that the finish was nitro. Here's the guitar specs via Zsounds: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson…

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Did you reach a solution yet KT? I have a similar issue with the same guitar, although my damage is midway down the neck. I may start experimenting with ideas this weekend in my attempt to avoid refini…
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

Thoughts on Saddle and Bridge Heights During a Reset?

Hey all, I’m curious to know people’s general thoughts on the appropriate or ideal saddle height after a reset. And, when to replace a bridge that’s been shaved down. I know there are a lot of factors (for me anyhow) and this question could open a whole can of worms when it comes to the specifics of the guitar, its age, style of bridge and desired sound. I’m providing an example I encountered recently, but would also like to know people…

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^*Pics are after*^ in case it was unclear.
Private member DiscussionGeneral

1950's Gibson L48

I'm not sure this belongs in this subcategory, but not sure where else to post it. Could use another set of eyes and expertise on this. Customer came through yesterday wanting to sell a 1950 Gibson L-48. It's been played and loved quite a bit, but despite that it plays and sounds very well. The tuners are cheap replacements, the fingerboard being well worn, and the missing finish in areas, otherwise it seems like everything is structura…

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gibson Hummingbird pickguard?

Would I be right in guessing this guard is an aftermarket job? It seems to have a stiff clear acrylic underlay (for want of a better word) - the guard itself is very flimsy and just doesn't look right? I don't have a lot of experience with this so would appreciate those with more commenting... cheers, Steve.

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Ian Davlin
That looks like late 90s early 00s factory guard. They were like those puffy stickers. Pretty gross. I would do a test, but probably the best way to get them back down is contact cement and force. Als…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Brand new Gibson Hummingbird with Wolf tones

A customer brought me a new Hummingbird with fret buzz a few weeks ago. After performing what may be the best levelling job I've ever done, the buzz was reduced, but still noticeable, though it sounded different than normal fret buzz. When I noticed that the sound was worst when playing F2 (on the A string or D string), I did a frequency analysis and discovered that the main top resonance was at 163.9 hz, and it all made sense. Those…

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I am getting way above my pay grade here, but if you accept that (1) a wolf tone occurs when the impedance mismatch between string and soundboard is minimized and a resonance is created (allowing vibr…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Pickguard template for a Gibson RD Artist ?

Does anyone have a template for the pickguard that goes on a Gibson RD Artist? It's kind of its own thing. I can't find one anywhere and I need to make one. I appreciate any guidance . Thanks in advance

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I just emailed a pdf.
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Replacing Nylon Saddles on a Gibson SB-400 bass

I need some advice on replacing some saddles. I have been restoring a "dumpster dive" 1972 Gibson SB-400 bass, with a Multiplex bridge. It has nylon saddles, one of which has a crack. The screws upon which the saddles ride are not removable, as the end has an enlarged cap (see picture). How do I replace the saddles without destroying the screws? I repaired the cracking nylon saddle by supergluing two layers of fiberglass wrap (used for f…

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I had a discussion with Joel Wilkens about the nylon gibson used for nuts and saddles and he had concluded that modern nylon formulations were not as tough. He recommended using 20-30% "glass filled"…
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

1972 Gibson SB-400 Bass

I recently took the neck off a 1972 Gibson SB-400 Bass. The tenon is 1" X 3 1/8". Foam cutters were used.

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Nice Pull!!!
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Mid-90s Gibson acoustic finish adhesion

A fella left his 1994 Gibson Blues King locked in a damp garden shed through a hot humid summer. See attached pics! The clear coat has lost adhesion pretty much everywhere on the neck, back and sides, and is starting to let go on the top too in places. But 95% of the colour underneath seems to be hanging in there. Customer is open to a full refin. But I'm wondering how exactly the colour on these was applied, why it seems relatively…

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Ian Davlin
I'll start swinging by late. Fair warning. My A game leaves the station at about 4pm these days cuz I'm old.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gibson J-50 Broken Heel

Hello all, Hoping that someone can suggest a clean way to help remove the heel of this neck from the neck block. This guitar came to me with the heel broken almost all the way through and wouldn’t ya know, the last little bit of the wood separated before the dovetail joint. I’ve had foam cutters in the space behind joint with some moisture to try to loosen the glue, but without the leverage from the neck, the joint has proved super stubb…

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And possibly add more heat probes. You can add at least two more to the situation. Personally, I'd put six in since you can see exact placement. One each, at the four corners and two in the middle…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

60's LG0 bare wood touch up

This 60's Gibson LG0 mahogany came in with a little bit of the finish scraped off just to the right of the bridge as you can see. I'm curious if anybody has any tips on how to touch this up? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Ian Davlin
I would start by using matte or dead flat lacquer.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

New Gibson L-00 retro with whimpy bridge

Hi Folks. I have a new Gibson L-00 retro on the bench. It came in because the saddle had pulled forward and was extremely loose in the slot. the saddle was a narrow affair measuring out at 3/32. It had buzzing issues as well because saddle was low and neck angle is actually high (straight edge is 5/32 above bridge). Previous looth tried to correct by shimming saddle but recommended me for bridge work. I re-slotted the saddle slot wi…

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Ya…ugly bridge way cheaper then neck agogo which would entail dealing with bridge anyway cause of intonation. Customer may be able to get new one because that’s the obvious problem, but as mentioned,…