The Hub

Hey hive mind! Has anyone ever seen an acoustic saddle modded like this? If you have, what's the purpose of this notch under the b-bump? A client dropped off a bunch of guitars for repairs and setups this weekend and this saddle was in an early 2000's Larrivee dreadnought. It has a factory installed K&K Pure Mini under bridgeplate pickup and sounds great.

Being new here, thought I would post an introduction. My name is Paul McGill Mcgillguitars.com I have been making guitars since 1976. I have lived and worked in Nashville since 1985 when I relocated here to work in the repair/restoration shop at Gruhn guitars. 410 Broadway, now a novelty shop. I was there a short time before commiting full time to guitar making as I had done prior to moving here. My main influence as a guitar maker was Ro…

I've built some acoustic guitars and I want to get into some electric builds. On that note, I have a highly regarded player around here asking if I could wire an existing solid body to his liking. He is providing two 500K pots, two P90 pickups and a 3 position switch. He wants two volume controls, no tone control. He's quite an accomplished player and I don't know enough to question him. I got a Seymour Duncan diagram from their si…

This is a local musician's main acoustic. It's a 2014 Gibson J-29. As you can see the bridge was lifted when I got it, and the top has been pulled up into a bulge. The bridge came off pretty clean, but I noticed how the spruce broke behind the pins. I didn't score this side of the bridge, but it looks like it must have been scored for the wood to break that cleanly. Could this have come from the factory like that? I don't know why Gibso…

Customer brought in on this '70s Gibson Heritage acoustic with severe bridge damage. I need to replace the bridge, but I don't have the tools to cut or design one in shop. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey. I have this hand made Spanish heel acoustic for repair, I’m doing a wedge under the fretboard to change the angle. It have a warp in the top ( also really weird brace ). My tendency is to leave it as it is, and work my way around it. Then I thought maybe someone here had any success reversing it or making it better.

I'm interested in getting people's perspective on string height. I've seen recommendations for a standard string height based on the instrument type (such as https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/neck-building-and-repair-and-setup/string-action-gauge-instructions/). But this doesn't take into account how the instrument is used, playing style, and personal taste. What would your recommendations be for the following sc…

Hello everyone, just received a southern jumbo acoustic, and found out there is a bug gap on the x brace as picture. Does it happened from the factory? And how could I do if I want to make it good? Thanks!

Just finished up with a great group for my Online RhinoCAM course, now the cycle begins again! Starting next week, so don't sleep!

I had lunch with a friend and client this week and we got on the topic of 'who did what and where' in the area, in terms of guitar repair. They brought up something that really felt like an object lesson in how rumors are propagated by people that don't understand the work that we do and I felt compelled to share. This was repeated person to person and originated from the shop it happened at: a certain someone at a certain music store…

I've been asked to spray a couple of guitars opaque white using urethane. I've never sprayed much other than clearcoat on acoustics. I'm not sure how to go about this. Since they want urethane I thinking of getting Mixol and mixing that with the lacquer and then using the same lacquer untinted for the topcoats. I see a lot of negative reviews about Mixol. I know how reviews can be so I would like some advice on MIxol or an alter…

Hi, I made a video of how to make a Bird's Beak Joint, in the style of Martins till 1917. I used it for an electric build, but posted in acoustic. Because acoustics are the natural habitat of those Bird'sBeak Joints. If you are interested click here: if you have questions ask me ;-)

Working on a Gibson acoustic with a loose pickguard. It appears to be adhered to the lacquer, but I haven’t focused on it yet. I’ll be working on removing it tomorrow so I’ll find out for sure. I have the 3M adhesive to re-adhere it if the guard is adhered to the finish. Anyone have insights, tips or thoughts? It’s been quite a while since I’ve done this, but seem to remember the adhesive worked well.

I have some acoustic building templates for anyone that's interested. I bought these from Allied Lutherie before I got into CNC work. Now that I'm drawing my own stuff I don't really use these at all. Maybe someone would find them useful? Includes: 1 - L-00 template for outside form (1/2" mdf) 1 - L-00 template for side bending form (1/2" mdf) 1- L-00 body profile template (1/8" polycarbonate) 1 - J-45 template for outside form 1 - J-45 temp…

I had a customer contact me and he told me that he has a Zager ZAD80CEOM and that the bridge is staring to raise at the back. He says the gap is about 1/32" and would like me to remove the bridge and reapply it. I have yet to see the guitar in person and I'm a bit hesitant to take it on. I've never performed this type of operation before, although I do have some theoretical knowledge of it, just not practical. Some of the question I hav…

I recently picked up an inexpensive acoustic with a belly bulge and lifting bridge for some repair practice. I got the bridge off and used the TJ Thompson belly reducer to reduce a lot of the bulge. However, some of the wood stuck to the bridge during removal and the wood left on the guitar is now uneven and has some chipping. Should I remove the wood from the bridge, carefully remove wood from the top of the guitar to get the bridge area…

Happy New year everyone!!! I have an LMII neck angle jig but only have the dove tail templates. Would like to try a bolt on for my next acoustic build. With LMII's unfortunate departure do you know where I can get the templates for the mortise and tenon? Is anyone making these? perhaps our friends fortunate enough to have a CNC? I tried making one for a ukelele build but with the tools I have, not confident in the accuracy. Any leads are…