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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…

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Ian Davlin
I never got the video.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Advice on getting this 50s parlor nylon back into good shape?

Hi all, I'm new here. I've been playing guitars for ~15 years and recently started as a technician at a music production school in London, where part of my job is maintaining the guitars. I picked up this 50s parlor nylon the other day and it's in bad shape but I don't know how to go about repairing it. The main issue is the bridge. The guitar was kept high strung and the bridge has twisted and lifted off slightly at the base. T…

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Private member
So now put the iron on low, heat the bridge for at least 5 minutes, then take it and the insulating cardboard off, and see if you can begin to work palette knives under the bridge. If it's not relativ…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Possible ground loop in Tele

Hello all, got a problem in a telecaster I rewired that has me in a twist. The basics: friend has a 2001 US Standard telecaster (left handed not that it matters). He bought it used and says it was quiet initially. A few years back he grabbed the pickups out of it and moved them to a new tele body with a torrefied maple neck he preferred. Recently he upgraded the new build with a Lollar CC tele set, and asked me to reinstall the original…

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Private member
Well, another update: I rewound the neck pickup, and flipped the polarity, so now the set is RWRP. Everything wired back up, and when the pickups are in series (position 4), it's dead quiet. The buzzi…
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 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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Private member
^*Pics are after*^ in case it was unclear.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Seeking Mid 70's Martin D28 High Action Assesment Input And Recommendations

I inherited a 70's D28 that is a players instrument. The action is too high for me, but the saddle is bottomed out. There is no obvious belly bulge. The top of the bridge has been shaved. Bridge pin holes are uneven in diameter. However, the bridge placement seems pretty close; within 1/32". A straight edge on the fret board sits about 1/8" below the top of the bridge. The fret board has plenty of finger worn wells, there is virtually n…

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Ian Davlin
Looks like classic neck reset/typical martin stuff. Only exception is the fingerboard. Might be worth hopping on a zoom call to chat about this one. Would you have time for something like that ?
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 DiscussionGeneral

Fret ends twisting while cutting tangs

Hey guys, Sorry, this may be a dumb question. I'm cutting some new frets for this D-28 with a bound fretboard. Does anyone know of a good way to prevent the fret ends from twisting when cutting the tangs? They're stainless steel frets, not sure if that would matter. I'm using a fret tang nipper from StewMac. It seems like no matter how little material I try to bite off at a time, the tang nipper twists the fret, which leads to the ends s…

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Private member
I use the LMI fret tang filer. I've used one for several years and when LMI announced closing I ordered another so I'm retired before I wear out two! :) I find filing the tangs is better than cutting…
Private member DiscussionDesign and Testing

Laminating carbon fibre in neck blanks + before and after measurements

Two pieces of maple, each of which were measured beforehand and then cut up and epoxied back together to keep things as consistent as possible. Even the orientation of the grain was the same to avoid any impact of vertical vs horizontal grain lines. The plain maple had one layer of 300gsm 12k unidirectional carbon fibre between each piece, the flame maple had two per lamination, which may be why it sees a smaller gain afterwards? Lots m…

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Thanks for this! I worked with FRPs, carbon fiber, etc. for years as a shipwright and never came across colored product like the Hypetex you mentioned. Very cool! Hypetex makes flax-based and carbon f…