The Hub

The latest builds, repairs, and conversations from across Looth. Activity
Filters AND Search Strings breaking× Type Articles× Type Discussions× Reset all
Private member DiscussionShare Your Repair Content

Introducing the NutBuster

Hello All I have been using Ted Bergstrand's online nut calculator on Benchmuse.com which is excellent. It allows you to have a consistent gap between each strings vs the progressive gap that the Stewmac rule gives you. Or you can do consistent centers to the strings. I have definitely found measuring the nut with calipers to work a lot better than the stewmac rule and don't use the rule anymore. I wanted some additional functionality…

1 reply
1 reply
LikeShare
Private member
PS All Hail Ted Bergstrand who introduced me to many very useful things. Kind of nuts how many things I use now that Ted turned me on to.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Help needed to pinpoint my mistakes please!

Hi all, I am a newer guitar tech and after dozens of repairs this particular Simon & Patrick Luthier Cedar top SP6 acoustic dreadnought from the 90-ies with a bolt-on maple neck has been an incredible challenge. It came with a maxed out and stuck truss rod with a considerable up bow in the neck, extremely low saddle with barely any string break angle, so it needed a neck reset. Later on I figured out that it also has a pretty dras…

21 replies
21 replies
LikeShare
Ian Davlin
I never got the video.
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

The Neverending Fret Buzz

Hi everyone, Every once in a while, I come across a bass that simply refuses to stop buzzing. Right now, I’m working on a bass (I won't name the brand, but it’s in the €2,500 range) that has a slight fretboard hump near the neck pocket. I figured that was the culprit, so I performed a fret level under string tension. The frets are now perfectly level... yet, it continues to buzz across the entire fretboard, even with fairly high a…

8 replies
8 replies
LikeShare
Private member
After further testing on a bass with the same issue, I discovered that in some basses, the neck has a specific resonant frequency. This causes the neck to vibrate, making the string move erratically.…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Bigsby B60 vs B70

I've got a Gretch G2420T with Bigsby B60 on my repair bench. When the customer plays, the strings are coming out of the saddles. We're thinking of replacing the B60 with a Bigsby B70 to increase the break angle over the saddles and bridge. Any concerns with that? I noticed the B70 is only on center block models. The G2420T is hollow body. Will the inside braces support the B70 enough?

6 replies
6 replies
LikeShare
Ian Davlin
That B70 appears to have the roller out in front to keep the strings down. If it's in the financial cards, I'd think that could work. The question is whether the extra length is going to be weird.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Gibson J-29 bridge lifted

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…

4 replies
4 replies
LikeShare
Private member
I did inspect inside and everything seems sound. The bridge plate looks to be in good shape. I didn't measure the as-received dome height to the outside edges, and I can't do it now because I've alrea…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Fretwork Processes...

Hey everyone, I could use some advice as far as the fretting process is concerned. I’ve been doing guitar repair since around 2008, I opened my business doing guitar repair in September of 2021, and I’ve always felt that fretwork has been the most challenging part of this job. I’m getting to the point now where I finally feel like I’m getting the hang of it, but I’m not where I want to be yet. I should mention that I use the Erlewine…

6 replies
6 replies
LikeShare
Private member
Hi David, I'll throw my two cents in here. Rather than go through my thoughts on the entire fret level and crowning process, I'll toss some of my observations in. Firstly, if you haven't watched it, I…