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Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

feedback on Les Paul Headstock repair

I need some suggestions from the many great repair senseis out there.The customer is fine with a structural repair and not concerned about making it invisible. I told him you will see anything I do. He was fine with that and has a budget of between $700-1000. It's a clean break. nothing missing, It closes tightly.. I was thinking either 1) the generic double splines one on either side of truss rod and touchup as best I can. Or 2) the ab…

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Private member
With a break like this with plenty of surface area, I would just glue it without any additional supports. My glue of choice is hot hide glue, but there will be lots of opinions on that and many option…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Sad Old '71 Hagstrom Swede

Greetings Wise Elders and fellow seekers of the Looth Group! I hope you're all keeping well. I humbly beseech thee for thine sage wisdom and experience. I purchased a 1971 Hagstrom Swede. This guitar was basically put in a case and then forgotten about for a few decades. I felt sorry for the old man and have taken it in as a stray / project. I would like to get it playing again. There are many scars on this guitar, I have looked for as…

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Private member
Thanks so much Ian, much to consider. Your tip about the white glue is something I didn't consider at all.
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

2003 Fender DG-14SCE Solid Top Acoustic

This guitar does not have a dovetail. It has five dowel. Three in line and two at the top on either side of the truss rod. Remove truss rod nut before sliding neck straight out.

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Private member
I thought that is where I posted this!
Private member DiscussionGeneral

70's Tele Neck w/ truss rod issues and a bulge behind first fret

I've got a client with a '72 Tele. It needs a re-fret, but the truss rod isn't functioning. In fact it's backed out of the channel significantly, and there's a bulge in the neck underneath the first fret which suggests to me there's something going on with the truss rod anchor. The puzzling thing is the wood in the neck has bulged, but the skunk stripe and the finish don't appear to be disturbed at all. I'm thinking I'll probably hav…

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The only other potential thought I have outside of maestro's James and Ian is, while it's hard to know via photos; has the neck been refinished? I'm seeing some sheen in the worn areas which I wouldn…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Bass Neck Stiffness, Can't Get Enough Relief

Hello, I hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend so far. I was recently asked by a friend to work on a cheap S101 bass someone had given to him. It had no electronics and it was severally back bowed. After finishing up the electronics, I did the set up. He wanted the guitar tuned low, to Drop C. So, I went out and bought some Ernie Ball Power Slinkies 55-110. Once I got to the nut depth check, it was clear there were large, g…

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9m✎🗑 A standard heat treatment, with the neck clamped in an upbow, should help. I have been using an Aria neck heat bar for 50 years with more successes than failures. You can find the Aria on eBay for…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Heating Pad (or other) Recommendation for Backbow?

Have an electric archtop that has a .012" backbow strung with 12-48s with truss rod completely loosened. 3 piece maple neck with a Ziricote fingerboard... Any tips or recommendations to straighten this neck would be appreciated... Currently trying humidity (in the case). Thank you! David O'

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Hi Tom and John. We're trying to slip the glue joint and heat the lignin in the fingerboard. Lignin is a natural glue in wood that holds the cell structure together and acts much like glue we use and w…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Les Paul Truss Rod Spacer and Nut

I have a 2024 Les paul in fine shape. One thing i’m curious about is that the nut and truss rod spacer appear to have been modified but there are no finish marks in the cavity to suggest a repair. is this a normal factory install adjustment and have other folks here come across it in les pauls?

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Ian Davlin
Speaking as a former factory worker: anything is possible.
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
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Ian Davlin
I never got the video.
Private member DiscussionCustomer Relations

What do you do when you get a knock off guitar on your bench?

I have a "fender", which I believe is a knock off, in my shop. I didn't immediately catch that it was a fake, but as I worked on it it's become fairly undeniable, in my opinion. For the neck — the fretboard is made from two pieces of rosewood, the headstock decal doesn't look right, the truss rod is metric, the tuners don't look like a MIA Fender, and there's no walnut plug on the truss access. The model name being wrong is suspicio…

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Ian Davlin
My opinion is to avoid mission creep. Repairing instruments and authenticating instruments are two different jobs. Only one of these jobs are you actually being paid for. I've never experienced any up…
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…

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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 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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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 DiscussionElectric Repair

1950's Gretsch Neck Reset

I had a vintage Gretsch semi hollow come through the shop this week and it's left me with some questions. First off identifying the instrument's model has been a trick so far. The only information I can find is that is was likely built in and around the early 50's Second, it's in need of a neck reset. I'm not particularly well versed in resets for hollow and semi hollow guitars, especially one of this age and design. I'm very curious…

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Ian Davlin
That neck is coming off because it wasn't put on very well when it was made. In my opinion, slipping some glue in there and trying to clamp it shut will result in the next guy (often you) having a har…