A Typical Week at the Workshop

This time I thought I'd show a typical week at the workshop - the jobs that come in, work that gets done.


I'm not going into any detail about any of the guitars although I might write a bit about some of them at a later date. I just want to show the sort of work I do and the variety of instruments that come in.


I started the week with a partial re-fret on a Guild. The player gigs a lot and the guitar was booked in for Monday morning to be ready to play in public Wednesday night. It needed the first 9 frets replacing and a new Fishman undersaddle pickup.
















The next was a handmade Strat the player was finding a bit heavy. He wanted as much wood removed as possible without it being visible. He was much more concerned with the weight than any tonal difference removing wood may cause.

I get a huge variety of guitars through my hands - this one is a classical with a split top. This was purely a structural job. I glued up the split and fitted cleats to the inside for strength.




















The next is an unusual one. Its Japanese and from the late 60's or 70's but with no name on it. It had a wiring fault resulting in only one pickup working.


This is a Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton signature model. Its first owner had left a sticker on the pickguard. With time the pickguard faded and now there's a mark. I simply had to change the plate for a new one.













A very unusual German mandolin came in with the top coming away near the tailpiece and in need of some strings and a set up.






I was asked to give a written quote to an insurance company for an Ibanez Artwood that was damaged in transit.







An 80's Carvin - in for a set up





An Epiphone casino - for a set up

























A 60's Levin. This is a beautiful old guitar and in need of major surgery. The truss rod is forcing its way out of the back of the neck. The neck also needs removing to correst a poor neck angle. Gonna be in the workshop a while.






A Corona Strat - set up







A Cort acoustic with splits in the neck




























A Strat put together from 'Realtone' parts - in for a set up























A Fina acoustic guitar in for a replacement EQ. I got a new one from http://www.guitarparts.co.nz/ for $90 - great deal








Gibson SJ200 - this one just had a minor problem with the nut.




















Jay acoustic guitar. This one had the head broken completely off. It's quite a common repair for me. These pics are halfway through the job, I've re-attached the head but haven't cleaned up the lacquer yet.








A Karina parlour guitar with some damage to the lower bout.









A very nice old K.Yairi in need of a new endpin jack socket. I prefere to use Switchcraft jacks whenever I can.







And finally a '97 Fender Strat in for a set up




So these have been the jobs I have had through the workshop in the first week in August '09. There is such a variety of work there's no way I'll ever get bored.
















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I am no longer repairing guitars - since covid 19 I now work full time making pickups

www.mrglynspickups.com

Set Up

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Setting up guitars is hard. I think its one of the hardest things I do.

There's a popular idea among some players that they should be able to set their own guitar set up, if you're any good as a player then you should be able to do it. I don't agree with this.

There are so many factors which interact with each other it becomes a complicated task - everything interacts with everything else. Change one little thing and it all needs to be changed. Each extra element - string guage, tuning, player's approach, truss rod, nut height, required action, type of music, type of bridge, woods eg. increase the complexity exponentially.

I always like to have a chat with the player about their playing style and requirements. I often ask to see them play to get an idea how they attack the string with their plucking hand. I try and tailor a set up to the player, after all its not me that's going to be playing their guitar.

As well as making adjustments to get the most out of the instrument (and the player) I do a lot of extra stuff with a set up. Its all this extra stuff I'm going to talk about.

This is just what I did on this particular instrument - a Les Paul would have been treated differently. I can't think of a way to write comprehensively about set ups - even exactly the same model as this one might need a different approach. So this is just an example of what's involved, I adapt these techniques and use others as and when required.

I try and make my set ups as personal to the player as I can and this is an example of the extra stuff I do to try and achieve this.

I'm going to talk about setting up a Strat - although in this case its a Godin version of the Fender.

Check out www.myspace.com/georgeandqueen to hear this guitar in action.

The first thing to be done in the set up process is measure the action.
I need to know the starting conditions - if the player wants a higher or lower action I need to know where it was to begin with.





Then I strip the guitar down completely. On a Strat I spend a lot of time on the bridge.

Every screw needs to be removed, cleaned, lubricated and put back. On this bridge the small grub screws that adjust the saddle height on the bass strings were seized. They needed to be heated up to release them.

I have a stand to hold the bridge while working on it, there's a platform to hold the parts and a place for the tools. This speeds the process up and keeps everything in order.

This is the bridge after the work. Not only does it function better but it will last a lot longer too. With regular maintenance a Strat bridge should last for decades.

The body where the trem rests on it is vital to the bridge's performance - it needs to be clean and lubricated for the tuning to be stable.

The earth wire to the trem claw was disconnected on this guitar so I soldered it back on to the volume pot casing.

Next I buff the frets up to remove any corrosion and to help playing feel and tone. It is a joy to bend strings with highly polished fretwire - the string just glides.

There's a lot of wear in these frets but that's not my job today. I've already spoken with the owner about it and that's a job for another time
I mask the fingerboard off to avoid buffing the wood. I don't want to damage or stain the fingerboard.

The buffing arbour is a very useful tool - saves a lot of time and effort. Its geared down to run at 900rpm to stop things getting too hot. The pyramid shape makes it really stable - if you want to make something tall without it falling over that's the shape to make it - nothing new in that idea :-)

The final stage of the preliminary set up is to polish the body and neck. My favourite polish is 'Mr Glyn's Luthier's Finest'. It would be  - I make the stuff. It's available direct from me or www.guitarstuff.co.nz . It only needs a very light spray and it leaves no residue. The 125ml bottle pictured lasts me about 3 months so it will last you years.

So then its into the set up proper - stringing, truss rod adjustment

filing the nut slots with special files and setting the action, pickup height and intonation.

Typically this guitar also had loose strap hooks and jack socket. I often change pickup springs and solder loose wires.

All these little things get checked for and sorted out with a set up.

Here's my workshop check list I use when setting up electric guitars - the acoustic and bass check lists are slightly different :

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Mr Glyn’s Guitar Repair

Guitar set up check list (electric guitar/bass)

1) Discuss set up requirements with customer inc. desired action, playing style, string gauge, tuning(s), picking technique(s), any problems with present set up…
2) Measure and note action on treble and bass sides at 12th fret
3) Play guitar to check for string buzz on all frets inc. 3 semitone bends on 1st ,2nd and 3rd strings
4) Sight neck, check for ‘rising tongue’ and neck angle
5) Check neck for twists
6) Check neck/body join
7) Check strap hooks are secure
8) Check fret wear
9) Check for lifting or loose frets
10) Check for uneven fret height
11) Check for dented or damaged frets
12) Assess truss rod relief
13) Check nut slot depth, bridge height and general instrument condition
14) Check electrics - pots, switches, jack, pickups…
15) Check pickup height adjusting springs, replace if necessary
16) Check pickup height
17) Clean pots, switches and jack with contact cleaner if required
18) Remove bridge
19) Remove, clean, lubricate and re-fit all bridge screws/bolts
20) Polish frets
21) Clean and oil/polish fret board
22) Check tuners are securely fitted
23) Re-fit bridge, make sure mountings are secure, lubricated and adjusted.
24) Fit strings and tune to pitch
25) Adjust truss rod to set neck relief
26) File, polish and lubricate nut slots
27) Adjust action at bridge
28) Measure action on treble and bass sides at 12th fret – compare with starting action and customer’s requirements.
29) Set pickup height
30) Intonate
31) Stretch strings
32) Play guitar checking all frets and bends, tremolo system(if fitted), pickup balance, all switching options, tuning stability…
33) Apply ‘Fast Fret’ if required

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Its so much more than just a little tweak

Glyn

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I am no longer repairing guitars - since covid 19 I now work full time making pickups

www.mrglynspickups.com