Tom's Guitar Service

Let's Talk Pick-Ups!

2011-09-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all!

Getting ready to attend the SEGAS guitar show in Raleigh, NC this weekend. http://guitarandampshow.com/

Kind of excited about meeting up with "Tom Brantley" who is now joined forces with my buddies at "Mojo Musical Supply".

"Tom has over sixteen years of experience repairing and refurbishing pickups with a premier boutique winder. He has rewound some of the most collectible guitars in the world for some of the most well-respected guitarists in the world - and virtually every type of pickup that exists."

Now you can throw any ad out there and with the right endorsements you will sell product!

But, I'm all about the product itself.

Now let me tell you a story. A couple of weeks ago, I had a really good client bring me in a "PRS Santana".

He brought her in for some new "pups" to be installed. (that would be guitar slang for pick-ups)

The pick-ups were in a "non-decrypt" box that I was not familiar with. There are so many boutique winders out there that I didn't even really pay much attention to the maker. Just another job on my desk.

Well I got them in and did a full set-up on the guitar and started my bench test. WOW, The new pick-ups made me feel good and fuzzy!

The minute I plugged in I knew something special was speaking back!!! Better said by the man that owns the guitar............

Hey Tom,

Took the PRS Santana to rehearsal last night with my R&B band and it just sounded amazing. And it plays *SO* much better than before. Both pickups are so fat and clear - even with the coil tap. Thanks again for the tip on the MOJO pickups - they really are the bomb. You know it's good when even the drummer says, "Man, your guitar sounds frickin' awesome" - I have to agree!

You're the man! See ya again soon..take it easy.

When a pick-up winder makes my job this easy, I give praise!

Pick-up construction is an art, lot's of wanna-be's out there, this guy's got it down!

But Tom, how does a pick-up work?

I'm gonna rip this apart so you all can see whats inside! Oh Boy!

After popping the top cap, I yanked the coil off.

Lots and lots of very fine wire that's wrapped around some magnets.

Here we have what's left after disposing of the wire.

Six pole magnets mounted in a base.

Here's how it all works!

The magnets produce a field that the guitar strings vibrate in.

When the strings vibrates, it stirs this magnetic field and makes the electrons move in the wire path.

The electrons produce a current with this movement of the field. Kind of like paddling water and watch it circle out.

This is the output of the guitar.

How much wire, size of wire, how's it wound, type of magnets, physical structure, there's so much that makes the difference between a sweet sound or not!

Tom Brantley has got this down!

"VERY IMPRESSIVE"

Now go to MOJO http://www.mojotone.com/ and have a look for yourself.

Or come on down this weekend and check out all the wonderful exhibitors at this years SEGAS!!!

http://guitarandampshow.com/

Sure to be a good time!!!!!!!

Peace, Tom

Nashville Style Bridge Rebuild

2011-09-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done a miserable job of posting and updating this blog.
Gonna try real hard to rectify that!!!
Here's a tutorial on rebuilding a Gibson Nashville Bridge.
First of all let's talk about the two different styles of Gibson
bridges used through the years.
ABR-1

The original bridge that Gibson used on the first guitars produced.

Saddles drop in from the top. A retainer spring was added soon after this production to prevent loosening saddles when strings break.

This is a modern version of the ABR-1 still in use today.

Nashville Style

The Nashville style bridge has saddles that are locked in by the intonation screws. The saddles can't be removed without destroying the retaining spring!

However you can change them out with a rebuild kit that has new springs provided.

But Tom, how do you do that? Here we go!!!

First thing we need to do is get the old saddles out.

(click on pics to enlarge)

You can see the new set of saddles and springs here. I've also removed one saddle and intonation screw.

OK, let's flip her over!

Find the ends of the retaining springs and pry them up with a small screwdriver, they will bend and stay in this position.

Push the ends up and grab the top of the spring with a pair of pliers and yank that sucker out!

Once you get the spring out, you can back the intonation screw all the way out and remove the saddle.

Installing a new retaining spring.

Now take the new retaining spring and with the curved section down, push it into the bottom front of the saddle slot. The two clips (ends) should line up with grooves pre-cut into the base.

Now it gets a little tricky! While pushing down on the retaining spring from the bottom, you're gonna take the intonation screw and pass it through the bridge and catch the loop of the spring.

Perfect! The screw will hold the spring in position. You may have to angle the screw to get it to the spring, then just push straight.

Once you align the screw onto the spring, push it through with your fingers, you may have to keep pushing up from the bottom side to accomplish this. Push it until you are 1/2 way through. Then drop the saddle in and insert the tip of screw into the threaded hole.

Now take your screwdriver and tighten the saddle all the way back, to set new intonation spring onto screw lip.

WARNING!!! Always drop the saddle in before you begin to check fit. Sometimes the plating on the saddle will make it too snug. You can tap them in or file them down a little.

Make sure you have the saddles angled the way you want them before you drop them in, because once the spring sets, you're done!

There you have it! One rebuilt Nashville bridge. These rebuild kits are available in nickel, chrome, and graphite. You can find them online from many sources. Good Luck and Stay Tuned!

Peace, Tom

Gibson Dove / a Bridge Reset story

2011-02-12T15:49:00.001-08:00

Random Pictures!

2011-01-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

I've been going through a bunch of pics from the last 5 years. These are a few that brought back

some good memories. Thought I'd share them with ya"ll!!

The Ultimate Man Cave!

2011-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

VG Stratocaster!

2010-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Again! Here is a cool piece that came across my desk this week. An American VG Stratocaster. Basically this is a Strat, with a onboard Roland GK system, including full sound banks! Pretty Cool. I'm not saying dump your 72 for it, but if ya got the extra cash this might be a fun toy! I like toys!! Here's a little info:
Roland Ready Stratocaster^® at a Glance:

Solid alder body in Arctic White polyester finish with three-ply white pickguard.
Three standard single coil pickups with ceramic magnets plus integral Roland GK-2 pickup.
One-piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard with modern "C" shape.

Now Your Guitar Can Sound Like Virtually ANY Instrument
Imagine the possibilities: Now you have access to all of the sounds that keyboard players have been using for decades from the instrument that you know and love - your guitar. Horns, strings, pads, leads and even digital models of other guitars are right at your fingertips. Connect the Roland Ready Standard Strat to a GK-enabled device such as the Roland GR-33 with a sound engine equivalent to the popular JV-1080 sound module and you're ready to go. Choose a preset and your guitar becomes an entirely new instrument. Or you can plug into the Roland VG-88, which uses advanced COSM technology to "model" the most popular guitars and amplifiers in history and your tonal possibilities will take off. {click pic for HQ}

Ok, enough of the marketing crap! Let's take a look at this! This came in to have a set of "Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot Pick-Ups" installed. Not a big deal until you get into this nightmare! Customer was also mentioned that the passive signal from magnetic pick-ups seemed to be fluttering. She's a good looking ax.
Looking at the back, you can see the access panel for the battery pack (4 double AA's). Below the trem back plate is the panel which accesses you to the electronics, and a hard drive of sorts.

Back plates off. What you see is the heart of the COSM system. Shielded and packed nicely. Not going to mess with any of this!!!!!

Check out the mass of wires feeding to the front of this guitar. They all feed to pick guard controls. I was concerned about getting the guard free without yanking any wires.
Preventative repair work!

Let's have a look under the pick guard, pretty scary!!!!!! Compound switches! Circuit boards! Compound pots! Lots of wire harnesses. 10 years ago this would have scared the crap out of me!!!!! But as my good friend "Andy Turner" always said, "man did it" Love that.

The large round switch you see is the master selector for standard strat output, or COSM or a mix of the two. 1/2 of the 5 way is controlling pick-up selection the other half is feeding COSM signal into output.

I'm going to trace all the original pick up wires back to there source and unsolder and replace with the "Fralins" While I'm in there
I will trace out the circuit with a multi-meter and try to determine how this functions. Do not have a schematic. Trouble shooting for pulsing signal. I've determined that the magnetic pick-ups are feeding directly to output. No pre-amp or buffer involved. There is no reason why this signal should waver. Got to be dirty pots or 5 way switch. Maybe output jack. Cleaned everything!!!! No more erratic signal!
After further examination i did determine that the input jack did indeed have some issues! This was not a standard input jack. It had a grounding switch built in to it, in addition of a independent contact switch. The second switch had gotten bent closed, preventing the power supply to shut down. Also it grounded over to tip, making a weak signal. Fixed all that up!
Replaced the original pick-up system with the 'Fralins". Got her all back together and now it's time to set her up!
My client does not use the trem system so i suggested that he "block it out". Wedging a piece of wood between the trem block and trem cavity, locking it into place. This will give a little more sustain and a little more edge!
Completed said job, this girl rocks! Traditional Strat and so much more! I'll give it thumbs up! (if your into this kind of stuff, I'm not). Peace, Tom
www.tomsguitarservice.com

Toms Guitar Service on Facebook

2010-10-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000474371757&ref=ts

1934 National Duolin Resonator Guitar Neck Reset

2010-09-12T12:14:00.001-07:00

Welcome back old friends and a shout to all you new guitar freaks! I hear "Guitar Center" has linked up to my humble blog. That rocks! Check out their blog at http://guitar-center.blogspot.com/

Due to public demand I will now keep constant updates on this blog!

Well what a way to get posting again then by getting the chance to work on this awesome National Duolian!

This beauty came in from a collector from High Point, NC. Sounded absolutely amazing before I touched it. (God, I hate that!)

The action was set for slide and slide only. In order to make it finger style playable the neck angle will have to be reset.
First a little history.
1934 Duolian specs:
14 frets clear of the smaller body, Basswood neck replaces mahogany, 10 inch fingerboard radius, "Duolian" decal replacing stamped "Duolian" name in peg head.

"All guitar players dream about their dream guitar; for some it is a vintage 1958 Les Paul, others a 59 Fender Broadcaster, still others a 1960 Fender Stratocastor. But these guitars are earthly chattels; given enough cash you can attend the trade fairs in America or you can go to Tokyo, pass the money over the counter and you will be able to take one home. But there are some guitars you only see in pictures, guitars you can only examine on LP covers and admire in old black and white photos. You do not even wander through the day dreaming of possessing one because some things in life just cannot be had. If you are a guitar collector or a Blues fanatic, a vintage National Steel guitar is simply the jewel on the crown. But who can have a vintage National? They were made in the 30’s and you don’t even find them in second hand guitar shops even at 48th Street in New York. You see Tempa Red using one, you see Bukka White cuddling one and Son House stroking one but that’s about it all, how on earth are you going to get hold of a vintage National Steel?"(taken from) http://www.48chicagoblues.com.

This instrument was purchased from Gordan Bonham, a Master blues player from here in the US. Check him out at
http://gordonbonham.com/
This beauty has seen lots of playing time and she just keeps getting better!

OK, Let's talk neck reset. This instrument was constructed in 4 main pieces - neck, body, cone & cover. It is assembled by sliding the extended neck leg, through the neck hole, and then butted against a bottom block. Stand-offs tie in the top with the bottom and also support the entire neck assembly. Wedges are used to change the angle of the neck.
Look closely at where the neck rod ties into the hole edges. See the 2 shims between the body and rod. The neck is attached with only 2 set screws at the sound hole and the rest is wedged and then glued.

To disassemble the instrument pallet knives, and or heat, is used to release hide glue.
Each wedge has a small amount of glue to set them. The bottom block and the top access point of the neck are glued. All of the original glue must be removed. Hide glues vary and don't mix well. You don't want to mix old with new. This instrument being built in 1934 had glue that was tight but quite brittle. No heat needed just Patience. CAUTION: Never force joints apart, this must be done very carefully so no wood is harmed. Sometimes the hardest part of any repair can be getting it apart!

Ok, I've taken this instrument completely apart and placed all the pieces to clean up all glue and any splintered wedges.

Cleanup is performed with chisels and dental tools. (cause they work!)

You can see the resonator cone and the protective cover that protects it at the bottom of the picture. (click for big pic)
At the top you see my cup of Krankies Coffee cause it works!

In this shot you can clearly see the neck access and bottom block. Two stand-offs sit on top waiting to be re-sized. The stand-offs were originally set with nails through the neck rod. The nails had to be cut to pull them out. Look closely and you'll see the nails.

Original end block was wedged into place and then glued. I will keep the original shims because they're strong and original and will not play into the reset. The placement of the block will be reset and new glue applied. If you look closely you can see the footprint of where the bottom stand-off was.

Time to plug in the hide glue pot. What's hide glue you say, it's just what is says. Animal skin is ground up and when mixed with water and heated it gels into a honey like consistency. Why hided glue? First of all it's how the instrument was made originally. I try to keep as close to original as possible. Second it works very well and has quick set-up time and can be heated and reversed if you have an issue.

After trimming and new angle is achieved, the instrument is tuned to full pitch. It should hold tension without glue. The glue is used to make sure everything stays in place.Then small applications of glue are used to set each wedge. You can get a little sloppy here cause clean-up is easy with water (I'll get that drip)!
After carefully addressing all glue joints I begin the process of pouring the neck.
The process seals the entire back side of the neck joint and reassures a good solid transfer of vibration and sound.

Jigging the guitar in a upright position,glue is applied to the joint and it will sit for about an hour.

Here's a picture you never see. These is inside the body looking towards the neck.

The glue puddles nicely around the neck and keeps everything tight and happy!

I also take the time to paint each stand-off with glue to reassure stability.

New nails have set the post and then hide glue tops the hole. This neck reset came out fabulous. take a look at the rail running directly to the top, no shims!!!! No shims means Big sound!!

Cone and cover are remounted with tailpiece. I used a string to check my fingerboard and to shim the cantilever section of the fingerboard.

The cantilever section of the finger board is shimmed to the correct angle and then its held down with 4 sheet metal screws. Inlays cover the holes and are held in place with hide glue. If done correctly the heel of the neck must be re-cut to match new angle and this one snugged up just fine, i love to carve!

This instrument is simply FABULOUS! I set action at 4 1/2/64th's at 12th on High E and 7/64th's at 12th on low E. Perfect finger style action. Thank God, I do believe it sounded better when it went home, to its happy owner. I know it plays like butter! That was a pleasure to work on!! Thank you so much for the opportunity. Stay Tuned!!!
If you've never been here scroll down lot's of cool pictures here if you love guitars!

Peace, Tom http://www.tomsguitarservice.com/ remember check out my friends at http://guitar-center0.blogspot.com/

Taylor Authorized Guitar Repair!

2010-05-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

For all of you asking, YES I am! Taylor makes wonderful guitars and I am proud to be associated with such a fine company! No that's not a Taylor above, it's a Hofner 176 catalog picture, so let's get on with it!
It's been a while since my last blog and I've taken hundreds of pics of lots of repairs so it's time to get them posted!

BET YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ONE OF THESE.
HOFNER 175 (Galaxy) - red/gold

This is one of the most successful guitar manufactured by Hofner. Model 176 (called the name with Galaxy). The differences with the 175 model are: mute bridge parts, the on/off switches settled on the every pickups, volume control of each pickups are replaced under the pickups.

This example is also the variation of the RARE COLOR. the Vinyl covered finish which colored red and gold psychedelic pattern. A collector told me that there must be the 3 versions of Rare Color, red/gold, black/gold and black/silver. but I haven't found the black/silver one.

The most psychedelic guitar in the hofner made! The solid model 175 was made as the copy of Fender Stratocaster in the mid of sixties, but hofner put the 3 original humbucker Pickups for it. The model 175 and the model 176 (called Galaxy) are the well-sold guitar in the 60s era. (176 was manufactured and sold more than 15,000 copies in the 60s). 175 was made after the successful 176, omitted the on - off switches of each pickups.

And this one, rare-colored model 175 (Hofner has the same number model-175 but that was the telecaster-shape solid guitar, it was made in 1969, this psychedelic 175 was made in 1964). The crazy coloring is on the vinyl cover (not painting, the vinyl covered the body overall). Also available the red/gold version. The neck scale is 610mm, very short scale with decorative red perloid position-mark (Fat and strong neck!). Also the headstock has decorated with red perloid material. Tulip machine heads top off this bizarre creation

http://jazzgitarren.k-server.org/hofner.html

This fine example of the 175 lives right here in the south. This beauty came in for a few issues and left in marvelous condition!

I love workin' on this stuff!!!

"click for big pics!"

STAY TUNED MORE BLOGS COMING SOON!!

PEACE, TOM

djl Vintage Audio

2010-02-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

The place to go to get your electronic gear repaired is in Greensboro NC at djl Vintage Audio, also known as The Institute Of Tone Science and the home of Mega Tone Amps, where you will find unique guitar and harmonica tube amps, effect pedals, and more. Finding an electronics repair shop around here that knows what they're doing and can fix it fast is good news to musicians who know how frustrating this process usually is. Their shop is factory authorized with most of the major manufacturers. Their speciality is keyboard repair, speakers, and tube amps (designing, building, restoring and modding them). The Rangemax clean boost pedal is a must-have on your pedal board! All repairs are backed up with a 90 day warranty and there is no extra charge for rush service. They offer services not found anywhere else, for example you can take your guitar and amp into their demo room and taste test 28 different ten and twelve inch guitar speakers in their tone lounge. Bass or PA speaker cabinets can also be upgraded with the extensive line of Eminence drivers that they offer. If you ever wondered what your amp would sound like with other preamp or power tubes, then set up an appointment with Dale to audition many different current production and vintage (new old stock) tubes that they stock. If you're looking for a unique one of a kind retro amp head, then consider one of their cool old tube PA amps from the 1950's that they restore and voice for guitar or harmonica. The guys at DJL are the only ones I trust to repair my amps and I highly recommend you check out their shop!

CHECK OUT THIS AWESUM SPEAKER WALL FOR COMPARING SOUND AND FINDING THE ONE YOU LIKE!

BEAUTIFUL WORKMANSHIP!

MEGATONE AMPS

THEY'RE RIGHT IN GREENSBORO, NC!

This should answer the call that I get many times a week!

PS ask Dale about Auto-Cruise Biasing! Peace, Tom
CHECK ALL THESE AMPS OUT AT THE WHEREHOUSE STUDIOS GRAND OPENING FEB. 18TH www.tomsguitarservice.net/WherehouseStudios.html

GRAND OPENING! THE WHEREHOUSE GUITAR STUDIOS

2010-02-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

I AM PLEASED TO ANOUNCE THE GRAND OPENING OF THE WHEREHOUSE GUITAR STUDIOS!

WE WILL HAVE AN OPENING CELEBRATION PARTY ON FEB. 18TH AT 8:00 PM LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, DEMO'S FROM MEGATONE AMPS, STOMPBOX PEDAL BOARDS, AMP AND LOOP SET-UPS, MEET AND GREET

COME ON DOWN AND CHECK IT OUT! www.tomsguitarservice.net/WherehouseStudios.html Peace, Tom

TOM'S AUTO HARP REPAIR!

2010-01-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

GREETINGS ALL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I started my new year with the acceptance of a Oscar Schmidt auto harp for repair. I don't typically take this type of work but the owner is a good customer.
Most of you have never seen how a auto harp works so here's a breakdown of the instrument.
An auto harp is a fixed stringed harp that has bars that mute certain strings to produce chords on the remaining free vibrating strings.

Here's a view of the harp with its cover off, you can see each individual bar with its chord identification on it.
Each bar is spring loaded and sits on post at each end.

{click each pic for high res}

The instrument is disassembled for the installation of a pick-up which will mount under the strings.

This is good opportunity to show just how this contraption works.

I've lifted one tone bar off so you can see the damping pads that mute individual strings when pressed down.
Over time these pads will wear out from use but these look great for the age of this instrument.

In order to keep the bars in order I use tape to hold the assembly together and lift it off the harp as one unit being careful not to loose any supporting springs.

Is that modern art???????
Ever wonder what all those pads look like from the bottom side.
I wonder who took the time to figure out the combinations of pads and had the desire to make it all work.
It all works like a piano in reverse instead of striking the notes in a chord, these block the notes not needed!

Those pesky springs will pop off for no apparent reason and of course they are proprietary and very hard to find replacements.
You can also see the access slot that was cut under the white support bar. This is quite surprising because the instrument was built in the seventies and I'm not sure if a pick-up system was even available then.

A broad shot of the harp. The 2 slots you see under the white bars is where the pick-up strip will secure

One pick-up system ready to install.
This is a long magnetic pick-up which will pick-up ever vibration emitted from the strings.
It is connected to a control panel which will provide vol. and tone controls and will be mounted on the instrument.

I had to make one alteration to instrument.
The control panel has one wire that has to pass under the mount. The manufacturer provided slots but not enough room to pass the wire under. The solution was to take a small rat tail file and make a groove.
GROOVY!

The pick-up has been installed!
Damn where did those springs go??? {just kidding}

I reassembled the instrument and everything is working just great!

NOTE: one auto harp a year is my limit, limit has been reached!
Peace, Tom

IS THAT YOU? SANTA CLAUS

2009-12-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

Nope, it's just me letting my hair down for the holidays!

MARTIN D-35 HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

2009-12-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

A HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ALL!
It's been a very busy autumn season here at the wherehouse. I'm glad to say "The Wherehouse Guitar Studios" will be opening for the new year!
We're finishing up all the small details and just about ready to rock!!!!!
Let's talk about this Martin D-35 that came in for reconditioning.
Here is a catalog pic of a new D-35.

(click all pics for high res)

The D-35 came to be because of a fire in the Martin factory in the mid 60's. Based on the D-28, the D-35 was born in 1965 and used a 3 piece back of rosewood to utilize scraps of quality wood that would have gone to waste. Martin took it one step further and cut the braces down to 1/4" giving the guitar a livelier sound!

Elvis, Johnny Cash and Rory Gallager have all chosen the D-35 and this model is still available today.
This particular D-35 was an early 70's model that had very typical aging problems. Martins are consistent on how they age and all probable problems were found on this instrument.

This is not to say that this instrument was not taken care of, in fact this guitar was in immaculate condition.

Here's a run down of problems found.

*Bridge lifting

*Pick guard shrunk and lifting

*Crack on top on edge of pick guard

*Binding repair

*Partial refret

I started by pulling the bridge. There is no effective way to reglue a bridge without first totally removing it and cleaning up the mess underneath!

You can see how much bridge has lifted just look at the glue separation.

If you look at the edge of the pick guard you will see the typical
crack that appears in between the soundhole and the bridge following the grain right where the pick guard was glued. This crack is due to top movement against a shrinking pick guard. This will have to be cleated.

Here we have a properly clamped bridge! You can never have enough clamps, get as many as you can this reassures even, total coverage!

I leave all bridge resets clamped for 24 hours so I know the glue is dry.

Let's move on to the pick guard. I cut a template from 1/4 wood the same size as the pick guard. If I try to pull this guard off to clean up the old glue, I could pull or possibly crack the top underneath so I'm going to work with what's here. After cleaning up as much glue residue as possible, I use compressed air to blow out the rest of the dirt. Then a liberal amount of glue is injected under the guard making sure I have total coverage.
The template is then waxed off on the contact side and clamps are applied.

OK, All clamps removed and what you can't see is the cleat that I applied to the bottom side of this crack to level it up and reinforce it and it appears that it worked beautifully!

The tricky part of this repair is that originally Martin shot lacquer over the entire guard and body. You can see the original finish on the edges of the guard. I must now clean this up and reshoot some new coats of lacquer to blend this back in.

Coats have been shot and dried. I'm now wet sanding the new finish with Micro-Mesh to blend the top and guard back together like new.

I also took the the time to fill the crack with finish, and level it off so it blends in too!

Let's move on to the neck! As you can see we have some binding issues. A big piece is missing and the rest is all loose.

There is significant fret wear to justify a partial refret using the same size wire to keep the original look.

A new piece of binding is glued in, I under sized it a bit so I could shade in some yellow finish to match the original binding
After shading in the color, a few coats of clear is used to seal it all up.

A little bit of wet sanding and some buffing and this problem is solved!

Time to get some new wire on this neck.

Most guitars receive the majority of playing within the first 10 frets, so that's how many I decided to replace.

Frets pressed in, then glue for maximum security! Filed level and then dressed out for that shinny look.

One shinny look to go!

Next problem, A dried up ebony fingerboard that has decided to crack right down the middle.

This is actually more of a cosmetic problem. The board is secure to the neck so I'm simply going to fill the crack with a mixture of ebony dust and glue.

The crack has been taped off so only it's exposed. Then my mixture of goo is applied leaving a little extra so I can level it when dry.

Here we have the filled crack before leveling. The taped has been pulled that prevented a gigantic mess when addressing this issue.

Ah yes, as I expected, this crack has completely disappeared!! Yea!!!!!

(click for big pic)

A few shots of a completely restored Martin D-35

I'd like to find this under my tree!!!

This instrument came down from Va. and I would like to thank the owner for trusting me with this beautiful guitar. It was a joy to work on,

and oh my! What a sound!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

PEACE, TOM

Sideways Fret Job!

2009-10-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Did you ever see a Strat or Tele from the seventies that had been refretted, and looked as if the finish was hit with a sandblaster around each fret? What you have witnessed is a misdiagnosed refret! Back in the seventies in order to increase production Fender came up with a machine that could load frets in sideways from a continuous roll of fret wire. The top of each slot is solid and continuous which holds the fret absolutely secure. This fell out of practice and all guitars now a days are fretted by pressing in from the top.
Repairmen who are new in the field are not even aware of this practice and this is where a problem arises! If you pull the frets out of a sideways loaded board, the fret tangs will rip the wood all to pieces and destroy the finish line.

SO TOM WHAT DO YOU DO?
Well here we have a beautiful 70's Tele that happens to be one of the Fender's that I speak of! As you can see the divots on the original frets are severe even though the neck is in very nice condition.

Step one is identifying how these frets were originally put in. I'm sure that the years Fender did this are available with a little research. I've done so many refrets that at a glance I can tell. NOTE: Any repair shop that can't identify this, should not be doing refrets!!!!!
The fret removal is done by carefully heating the frets with solder before the point of burning the finish or wood.
Then tap the fret out sideways

I use a punch on the end of the fret. If I can't get a good catch on the fret I'll put a nick in it with a file. Then tap it out slowly watching for any damage to the board. Once the fret begins to slide I tap on the very end so the pressure is going sideways not down into the board.

{click pics for high res} except this one I can't get it to work!

If all goes well what you're left with is a very clean slot with a nice unbroken finish line.

The key to any refret is the removal of the previous frets. This step is critical to a great refret!

Preparation of wire is the next critical factor in a refret. In order to get these frets back in sideways the ends have to be absolutely perfect.

I achieve this by hand filing and then clean all burrs with a wire wheel

Once the frets have been prepped I tap them back into board by hand carefully watching how they slide back. If you break wood at this stage you've wasted all your time and that would be a shame!

{click pics for high res}

Now it's time for a full fret leveling and dressing. Then when I polish the frets I don't tape off the board so the buffing shine up that lacquer finish on the neck and blend it back into each fret!

Once I finished with the neck I reassemble the guitar and set it up and double check for any problems under string tension

This is great sounding TELE DELUXE, deluxe meaning BIG PICK-UPS!

This beauty gets played alot! Check her out at http://www.possumjenkinsband.com/ !

Peace, Tom

A very busy September!

2009-09-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

September,
I made it through a birthday, my wife's birthday, my tenth wedding anniversary and all kinds of repairs!
I can't believe how many of you have found my little hideaway. That's pretty cool!
Here's a few pics of stuff I've worked on this month.

A Hallmark Guitar.
{top, click for high res}

A beautiful Les Paul shipped in with instructions.

Refrets are going strong!

A large side cut that's being reinforced with inside rails for a drop in pick-up system.

5 broken necks this month, I'd like to say that's a record but it's about average!

The Wherehouse Guitar Studios will be opening very soon. I'm really excited about this project which will not only include personal studio lessons but also ON-LINE VIDEO FOLLOW UP and ON-LINE LESSONS!
Please keep an eye on http://www.tomsguitarservice.com/ for further info!
Peace, Tom

The "Wherehouse" guitar studios

2009-09-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

CLICK ME!

KUSTOM K200 / CUSTOM KUSTOM

2009-08-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be out at your local music store or pawn shop do not over look this little jem produced by Kustom in 1968 the K200.

{click pics for high res}
"In 1968, Kustom developed and marketed a great Rickenbacher influenced guitar.
They sound very good and play wonderfully. Bud Ross was trying to develop a new line of
guitar, so he assembled a team to design and build the K-200 Kustom guitar. I believe they
were made in Chanute KS. I have heard that Roy Clark was involved with the design.
Bud Ross also had contact with Shane Mosley, designer and builder of Mosrite guitars
about Kustom being the distributors for Mosrite after the Ventures company dropped
distribution due to financial difficulties. The Kustom-Mosrite deal never saw the light of day
and there might be a connection between Kustom making its own guitars and the deal with
Mosrite not materializing. That is the story as told to me anyway, and it seemed
like my source was reliable enough for me to offer this information to you.
All in all, this guitar model is under appreciated. It was definitely a guitar of its time
and was designed to play all of the popular music styles of the day. It holds up good today." {http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/kustom6.htm}

This little beauty came in this month for a set and clean up.
I've had very little experience with these guitars and was excited to finally get a chance to work on and hear an original K200 in mint condition

This has the original DeArmond Rowe
pick-ups which were used in a number of early 60's guitars.
A large single coil design that sound absolutely marvelous!

The distinctive dot inlays are a sure give away when hanging on an obscure wall.

The necks are small and very fast.

With a steel nut and zero fret you don't see many guitars that look like these.

The truss rod assembly is quite interesting, it's a single ended rod but has a steel plate that stabilizes the rather small rod, this provides pressure on the entire width of the neck, great idea!

After I finished up the job at hand I got to plug her in and spank her

a bit!

Can you believe a just got my hands on a "Custom Coupe 36"

what a great match to check her out with!

This 36 Coupe is a new amp that I tried at "Yesterday's Music" in High point NC

This particular amp was a limited edition and is powered with 2 6l6's at a total of 36 watts.

These are in current production and sound incredible!

I plugged in and within a few minutes decided to take her home. That love at first sight thing. Oh my wife's gonna love another amp!

http://www.yesterdaysmusicstore.com/

A little tuck and roll, a lot of rock and roll!

The K200 through this 36 Coupe brought a tear to my eye.

But at last, I must give back the K200 to the very lucky owner who taught me a thing or two!

Peace, Tom

Gibson Robo

2009-08-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

{click pics for high res}
Well if you haven't had a change to check out the Gibson Robo, here's some pics and info.
This Les Paul I'm told is from the first run of Robo's.
The guitar body is a Studio style with a bound neck and diamond block inlays.
Notice the odd ball control nob where the bridge tone is located.
At first glance it looks like any other Paul except it's heavy as hell!

Here's some of that extra weight! Each one of these tuners has a servo built into it.
A servo is a little solenoid motor that turns the string post.

The strings can be tuned manually by pulling out on the tuner buttons. To tune automatically just push them in to activate servos.

The guitar has battery packs that are rechargeable and battery life is quite impressive.

Whoa! This is the control cavity. The brains of the system live in here, along with a battery and a bunch of wires!

There are additional wire ribbon cables run through the guitar to tie the systems together. The tailpiece has sensors that pick up the pitch of each string. It is then sent to the on board tuner that sees if it's correct.
If not it sends a current to the tuners and loosens or tightens the string!

The odd ball nob is the control center for the whole system.

When pushed down the guitar is a normal Les Paul. When you pull up it deactivates your sound and goes into tuning mode.

Different colors on the nob indicate where tunings are (in or out).

It is also capable of doing open tunings for slide work or whatever notes you desire!
There are 3 colors that glow from the nob. Red, blue and green telling you what stage of mystery the control is in.

OK Gibson it was fun to play with but practical? I think not.

The components are not built well and the tuners feel a bit chintzy.

They've been having some problems with the ribbon cables so I've been told.

BUT, If I had an extra $2500.00 I'd get one and hang it on my wall next to my autographed "Les Paul" picture. God rest his soul. Peace, Tom

A Jazzmaster Update!

2009-08-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a 59..... with ground string to the bridge post

I was checking my emails today when I found this input on my last Jazzmaster Blog!

"hey, i read your page- i liked your comments and work!
but that crazy ground wire to the bridge insert- that's how Fender did it on the original jazzmasters- late 1958 until early 62 or so (with a guitar string for ground, no less! a .12 string approx). After that, they started drilling holes to the tremolo cavity. they even sanded off the anodizing on the gold guards (late 58-early 59) where the string was so that the string would touch the back of the aluminium.
so, yeah, a shortcut taken by a current Fender employee, but that's actually how the old ones were done with a guitar string! :)
jt"

Well "jt" you're dead on correct! I guess in my quest for perfection I overlooked the learning curve that Fender also went through. It's been a while sense an early untouched Jazzmaster has been on my desk and I guess my memory is worst than my eyesight!

I always invite input from all of you!! It rocks when I learn something new. One apology sent to the Fender Techs and a humble you're right "jt".

Peace, Tom

Elvis Costello meets Mayberry!

2009-07-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Elvis Costello Jazzmaster released
Fender has officially released the Fender Elvis Costello Jazzmaster. According to MusicGadgets.Net, it features alder body, maple neck, “C” neck profile, rosewood fingerboard, 21 frets, 25.5″ scale length, Vintage Style “Floating” tremolo bridge (with tremolo lock button), 2 special design American vintage Jazzmaster single-coil pickups, 3-way pickup switch (very Gibson style :D), 2 circuit modes, lead and rhythm, that are switched using a 2-position slide, and master volume and tone controls.

MISSION CONTROL WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
Come on FENDER where is quality control?
Here we have a fine Elvis Costello Jazzmaster that came by because it was making a static noise especially when using the tremolo.
Sounded like a grounding problem to me but when I put a meter on the guitar everything checked out.
So I began by pulling the bridge to check the ground wire and how well it was making contact, and to my amazement it was completely missing! (See arrow down below) This didn't make any sense because the strings were tied into ground from my meter test!

Low and behold look what an amazing Fender tech has done! Instead of installing the ground wire to the tailpiece it has been installed under the pickguard and to the bridge pivot mount. The bridge post pivots in these inserts to make the tuning more stable. The bottom of the post are pointy and screw into the bridge legs.
YOU WOULD NEVER RUN A GROUND TO THIS POINT!
This is a shaky ground point at least.

What is unbelievable is that the hole for the correct placement of the wire has been predrilled from the factory but they didn't use it

If you look above you'll see the hole where the wire should come through to securely mount to the tremolo tailpiece.
The wire Fender installed is under the bridge pickguard at the top of the arrow.

Maybe I should forward this picture to Fender so they can see how Costello's guitar is actually wired.
After installing this wire and screwing the tremolo down all the problems were solved!
I will say this was a beautiful instrument and very well made. That's why I get concerned when I see stupid sh*t like this and have to charge the customer to fix it. Done with that!

You ask "Tom, how do get all this stress out of your system?" I go to Mayberry on the weekends.
I'm lucky and blessed to live in North Carolina, this is some of the most beautiful country in America. The picture above was taken this morning. We did a ride around Pilot Mountain or as you might know it as Mt. Pilot from the Andy Griffith series. Mt. Airy is right in this area and is where Andy grew up. This is what Mayberry was based on!

This is a shot of the "Blue Ridge Mountains" (click for big pic) and a long hard climb but well worth the effort!
There's nothing like a 50 mile ride on a Sunday morning in the mountains.

At least when I get back I'll play that Jazzmaster and appreciate all the good stuff that went into it!!!

Peace, Tom

A CENTURY!

2009-07-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like a century since I last blogged. But as a client said today

"I can wait for your next blog if business is that good, I'd rather have you working on guitars!"

Thank you all once again for all the work, it's always a pleasure working on your instruments!

Bikers know a century as a hundred mile ride. I did 3 last year and really don't know why!

But what I'm referring to is a relatively unknown Gibson acoustic made in the thirty's.

In 1933 Chicago hosted the Century of Progress International Exhibition. This commemorated the 100 years that had elapsed since its incorporation in 1833. In the middle of the Great Depression, the 1933 to 1934 Century of Progress exhibition attracted 48 million visitors.

Gibson sought to capitalize on this event, focusing on the exhibition's emphasis on scientific progress. Gibson unveiled two instruments in 1933 that were decorated with "pearloid", a celluloid plastic which had the look of pearl. The L-Century guitar and A-Century mandolin featured pegheads and fingerboards covered with this material often called "mother-of-toilet-seat" (since it was not "mother-of-pearl", and this celluloid was often used for toilet seat covers during the 1950s). Gibson produced these Century instruments from 1933 to 1941. http://www.provide.net/~cfh/century.html

Check out this board!

I did some fret work on this a few years back and was surprised to find the pearl was applied to the fingerboard on a layer of cheese cloth.

The cloth was probably the backing materiel that supported the pearl and soaked in the glue that holds it to the fingerboard. (Notice the missing inlay on 3rd fret)

This old girl came in for a number of reasons. The missing inlay, some of the binding was missing on the body, the pick guard was lifting and it needed a bridge reset.
Here's the 3rd fret with a new piece of nitrocellulose pearloid cut and inlayed to match the original ones.

The bridge was lifting from the back but the sides were snug.

I use a series of sharpened artist spatulas each one I shape and hone sharp cutting edges to work a bridge off.

There are many methods of removing bridges that I use (heat, water, steam or dry) it all depends on the job.

Here you can see just how bad the bridge was. This is how far my pallet slid under without any pressure.

While removing the bridge you always want to remove as little wood from the top, under the bridge, as possible. The problem is that usually some glue lets loose and then the extra pressure starts to split the wood on the top apart

As you can see the glue around the pins has degraded and separated while the wood grains have broken where the glue held.

Quite a mess and difficult to get back down evenly.

I generally clean all surfaces of old glue and then re-glue and clamp.

But in this case I'll use a different method which you'll see down below!

This guitar's original guard was lifting at the edges and was brittle and shrunk a bit.

Here I'm making a template with a paper trace of the guard.

It's too old and brittle to remove and remount.

I've cut a wood form that will hold the guard down at the problem areas and allow me the clamp with even pressure.

I'm going to clamp all pieces back at the same time so everything is pre-cut to size.

If you look closely you can see that I have taken a very sharp 16th chisel and scored a crisscross pattern deep into the bridge and also into the top.

Since there was broken wood I decided to keep it intact. It will make it remounting it tighter and keep all the original wood. The chisel cuts are to increase the surface area so the glue has lots of holding strength

Clamps, Clamps, Clamps!!!!!!

Using spool, bridge and C clamps she all goes back together.

I used wood glue for this entire repair. The set up time is long enough for the glue to soak in the bridge and evenly squeeze under the pick guard.

12 hour clamping time and all clamps are released. I'll clean up the residue and let it sit another day to make sure all the glue is cured up.
This guitar is always a joy to work on, thanks Lance!

"The Catacombs" is now under construction and will be opening in the fall!!! Get ready to learn. We will also be offering on line "Video Lessons" that will rock your socks off!!!! STAY TUNED!!!! Peace, Tom

Creating A Fabulous Pickguard !

2009-06-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

I got this buddy ya see, who has an insatiable appetite for fine instruments. This beauty is a Heritage custom one-off. He ordered it last year and waited a life time for it to arrive.
She is certainly an awesome instrument.
The only thing that wasn't ordered was a pick guard.
Now if any of you know Heritage Guitars, they usually make their guards out of wood.
After going through hell trying to order a pre-made guard, I decided how hard could it be to make one?

I cheated a little bit! My friend wanted a L-5 guard originally. So I ordered one (that of course didn't fit!) and sold it and kept the package.
I used the package for a trace to give me a starting point for my cut.

I chose a beautiful piece of rosewood from the back of an old acoustic. The color was not correct but the grain looked great.
Here's my trace on the back. I've left allot of extra room on the inside to custom cut pick up slots.

If you look closely you'll see the original binding that joined the back together

Now a quick cut on my Rockwell Model 14 bandsaw and we have a ruff to work with.

I always over cut my line a little, you can always take away but you can't put back!!!!

Here the new guard get trimmed down to it's proper size and all edges are cleaned up for the binding to be applied.

And of course let's sand the surface to give it that smooth look!

I start with 400 grit and then work it up to 1800 micro-mesh.

As I mentioned earlier the color really didn't blend well with the guitar, the fix is to give it an ebony staining.

The stain is floated in lacquer thinner and rubbed into the wood until the desired color is obtained.

After this is done and dried I apply a few coats of clear coat lacquer to seal it up and lock in the color.

Time to apply the binding. This will be done by stacking two pieces of binding together to form the correct color combination. It's mounted and glued then set with tape until everything is dry and in place.

After it is dry a scraper is used to blend the top edge into the guard and roll the edges for a finished appearance.

Click for a large picture!!

A finished product and if i don't say so myself, looks pretty damn good!!!

Thanks Rob for letting me mess with this! It was a fun project!

Peace, Tom

They're Coming!

2009-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Just Another Sunday!

2009-05-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

As many of you know one of my favorite things to do is ride a bicycle! Every Sunday I get together with my good friends John Anderson and Rob Wall, two well seasoned riders with thousands of miles under their butts! I have a great deal of respect for them and love to get "my" butt kicked every Sunday. The word was a 60 mile ride with relatively no climbing involved. I was psyched and ready. Our good friend Phill was going to join us, another strong rider! We were going from Yadkinville NC to Roaring Gap NC and back. Beginning at about 9 AM we were off! It was beautiful and we were flying. After about an hour of riding (relatively flat with some rolling hills) John told me too look up and here's what I saw. I took this picture to share my grief. That arrow is pointing at a house. That house is at the top of Roaring Gap. Come to find out there's a reason why they call it a gap! When we made it to the bottom it was about 5 miles to the top, 1742 feet of climbing.
After 70 miles, 4 3/4 hours of actual riding time in 85 degree sunlight I made it back to my Jeep. Thanks Dudes, I've never been in such pain!

I just awoke from a wonderful post ride nap and I thought I'd share my day with you! Please check out my buddies websites they're both great guys!
http://rightbikefit.com/ / John Anderson
http://www.bodycomplete.us/ / Rob Wall
Peace, Tom

MOSRITE GUITARS!

2009-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Three Mosrites in one week! All is well in the cosmos!

(click pics for high res.)

The Mosrite company was started around 1952 by Semie Moseley with the financial help of a friend, Rev. Ray Boatwright, who bought Semie his first woodworking tools around this time. He used the first part of his name and the last part of his friends to make the company name that would become part of music history. This beauty is a early 90's Ventures Reissue. It was one of the last runs Semie did befor his death, with a set neck and side input it's quite a beautiful piece. These instruments were made in Morganton N.C. * http://www.tymguitars.com.au/mosriteinfo_history_01.html

The owner of this immaculate instrument told me that it came directly from the home of Semie and was part of a Private collection that belonged to his wife.

If you look closely you'll see the plastic sheet still on the pick guard!

This instrument is virtually untouched.

What a treat to be the first to set this guitar up and get a chance to check it out!

Everything on this guitar was built "in house". I was surprised to see Bondo like filler holding the bobbins in the pick up covers.

The Vibrato was also casted in house with a very coarse finish.

Everything on this guitar seemed a little more "in house" than the production models from the sixty's.

Here's another Ventures Model. This also is a more recent edition made in 1987. It is hand signed and dated on the back of the headstock.

"Semie had built around 25 of these guitars in 1962 and '63 and lent one to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures to use on some recording sessions. This was to change everything! Nokie bought a guitar off Semie and within a year the distribution deal with the Ventures would make Mosrite a household name, at least in the surf/instrumental guitar world.
It was probably Nokie who made the Mosrite name famous."*
This guitar was as clean as the first. The input was on top and had a bolt on neck

This was made in 1987. The casting is different with a smooth finish and it's very apparent that this was a separate run with it's own tooling.

"Nokie was the lead guitarist for the Ventures, an instrumental group and by late 1963 the entire band was playing Mosrites on songs like "Walk don't run" and the theme from "Hawaii 5-O". On the back of one of their albums they had "Guitars courtesy of Mosrite Distributing Corporation". That was enough to start the ball rolling and soon they had orders from dealers. This was the start of Mosrite's heyday. Initially building 20 or 30 guitars a month, the orders kept coming in and eventually Mosrite was well on the way to being a credible American guitar manufacturer."*

Here's that signature!

OK, Here we have a 1966 Joe Maphis Model that belongs to a good friend of mine.

These 60's instruments were made during the height of Mosrite production.

They are built extremely well and sound marvelous which makes them very desirable and collectible too.
It's interesting to see all the different neck mounts they used on different productions.

Quite uncommon to see this from a single manufacture.

You won't see any set neck Fenders,

OK, they got them but it's not what they're known for and how many bolt on Gibsons do you own?

Here's the headstock, with a floating nut and 2 screw truss rod cover.

Nice thick rosewood slab for that nut to sit on with some tasteful binding sealing it all in.

Nice work indeed!

These are the bridge trees from the 90's "Ventures Model".

You'll notice there are 3 different heights and the string wheels are not consistent.

These were assembled incorrectly when this was made and I had to rearrange them in a different order to keep the radius and wheel size correct.

A properly set up bridge!

It truly was a pleasure playing all these wonderful Mosrites.

The only Mosrite I have is a 60's Ventures neck that the late "Sam Moss" gave to me, I guess I'll leave it up on the wall, it works there.

If you ever see one of these cases you'll know there's something special inside. You better grab it up.

Check out this link below for further info on Mosrite guitars!

Peace, Tom

*http://www.tymguitars.com.au/mosriteinfo_history_01.html

I Love Joe Cocker!

2009-05-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

Check this out!
http://www.elwp.com/Joe%20Cocker.html
Peace, Tom

Tom, you still there?

2009-05-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all you faithful followers of the Wizards humble, yet informative blog!

I've been busy!!!!
This is how my shop has looked for the last few weeks. I haven't
had time to post all the very cool stuff I've had the pleasure to work on. I'm expanding my business and "Tom's Guitar Studio" will soon come to life, I've got some great teachers ready to go so stay tuned for more info!

I've got posts coming on "Gibson RD Artist", "Mosrite Guitars", Binding a beautiful old Guild acoustic, A Les Paul Silver Burst with a nasty neck break!

Once again Thank You all for the business, I'm blessed and lucky to have such great clientele!

Peace, Tom

Only a GIBSON is good enough!

2009-04-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE ABOUT THE STOLEN INSTRUMENTS. FIRST OFF THEY WERE NOT STOLEN FROM ME OR THE SHOP, BUT FROM A CUSTOMER'S HOME. I'LL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED ON THE CASE WHEN I FIND SOMETHING OUT. I HOPE THEY FIND THEM!

OK, I GUESS I'LL GO OFF ON A RANT!
GIBSON WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING????
Gibson is still producing many fine instruments. I work on them all the time. So when I got a call from a customer that said his vol. control on a new L.P. was dropping off with no taper I told him to bring it on in and I would drop in a new 500K CTS pot. I check the values on these and make sure they function properly.
Imagine my surprise when I turned the guitar over and found a clear control plate, with a circuit board proudly gleaming in gold.

In this guitar there are 2 pick-ups, a 3 way switch and 4 potentiometers. 2 Capacitors make up the tone circuit.
Magnetic pick-ups function by converting the string vibration into current. This is done by the strings vibrating in the pick-up magnetic field. This stirs those electrons in the coils and produces an output signal.
Generally these parts are connected with 18 - 22 gauge wire providing a nice FAT path for those electrons to travel on. These traces are paper thin.
Now if you're going on a trip do you take a single lane road to make time?
I think not. You want a four lane SPEEDY highway with no connections to get lost in.
This board has lots of connections, in fact everything plugs together with plastic connectors!

All this card does is save Gibson money!
There is NO reason for this mentality.

Here's how I addressed the problem.
NEW GUTS!!!

All connections are soldered.

22 gauge multi-strand wire used to jump pots and grounds.

I did pull the caps off the board and reused them . Genuine Gibson parts don't ya know.

It's bad enough the prices have gotten so high on these beautiful instruments.

At least they could build them the SAME way they have for the last 50 years. I would like to meet the "Exec" that came up with this idea.

It's obvious he knows nothing about guitars, and only relates to profit margins, SAD!
Maybe I should start using see through plates on all my repairs.

Damn, That looks good!
BACK TO ORGINAL!

Now this really tops it all off!

Why would you want a locking input jack???

The plug will not budge until released.

I guarantee this idea will bring in lots of future work!

How's this for irony,

The money spent on this input jack, was probably saved by using the circuit board! DUMB!

Maybe I'm being to harsh on Gibson.

Here's the back side of a 1964 KAPA guitar made in the USA.

The pick-ups are mounted with masking tape!!!

Yep, that's original!!!!!!!

Ya gotta love it!!!!!

Peace, Tom

From"The Bellamy Brothers" to "Between the Buried and Me"!

2009-04-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

You never know what the day has in store for you.
I started my morning out with a cup of "Krankies" coffee and got ready to settle in with a set-up.
My good friend "Chuck Ward" brought in this wonderful BONGO bass.
I have blogged about Bongos and already sang their song, so let's talk about "Mr Ward"!
Chuck is an outstanding musician with a keen eye for fine instruments. Of his numerous accomplishments he has recorded on many of "The Bellamy Brothers" hits and is multi talented on numerous instruments.
And like myself, he is a lefty!
Fortunately I chose to learn how to play right handed so I wouldn't have to hunt down these hard to find instruments!

~Click above for high res pic~
I've gotten to know so many wonderful people through their instruments, and that's the best part of my job.

Chuck is a "Wind Controller" plays keyboards, Bass and Guitar.

Why a Bongo?

Take a look!

This pick-up and pre-amp system is one the best on the market. It combines both magnetic pick-ups and piezo.

With 2 Concentric Tone Pots, Vol. and Bal. this bass can dial in any sound the player needs.

Lots of headroom due to its 18 volt system gives it deep bass and a pristine top edge.

Thank You! Chuck for letting me mess with your stuff! http://www.bellamybrothers.com/

http://tomsguitarservice.blogspot.com/2009/03/left-handed-bongos.html

Right around lunch time I got a call from

"Dustie Waring"

from

"Between the Buried and Me"

If your not familiar with this progressive metal band, you sure as hell should be!

These guys ROCK.

Dustie just received this "Custom Dustie Waring PRS" and is leaving for some shows up north tomorrow. He needed it set in a dropped tuning.

I told him it wouldn't be a problem. Bring it in and pick it up at close today.

It's always a pleasure seeing Dustie, but I really wanted to see this guitar too!!!

SHE'S A BEAUTY!

Right down to the flying bird inlays and awesome 10 top, this is one of the finest guitars I've had the pleasure to work on.

The pick-ups were custom wound at "Dimarzio"for Dustie and were shipped to "PRS".

Fret wire is a tall wide.

Dustie prefers double locking "Floyd" systems and the weight of his other PRS's and Ibanez's were a bit much.

~Click above for high res pic~

This custom weighs less than most and it certainly has no problem resonating

I'll have to check my collection, but I'm pretty sure I don't have the "Custom TGS" Paul Reed Smith, Damn!!!!!!

Notice the ebony buttons!

Dustie's Set-up specs:

4/64th's high E at 12th

5/64th's low E at 12th

11's C# Tunning

Dustie making sure I've done my job to his liking.

Is that a Maiden shirt? Excellent!

This guitar is a monster, and maybe some of us "old rockers" could learn a thing or two from new players like this!

It's been a good day. Peace, Tom

http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com/

The Pleasure Was Mine!

2009-04-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure this week of setting up an "Eastman 803" Jazz Box Guitar.
A stunning instrument!

The level of craftsmanship is superb and attention to detail is unsurpassed.
With that being said, the real pleasure of the day was meeting the owner "Ray Burnett".

Ray hails from the Greensboro area and has a long history of excellent playing.

It was amazing to watch "Ray" with such a light and gentle touch just "Milk the Soul" from this "Eastman". I spent Saturday afternoon with "Ray" talking and listening. (I should have talked less and listened more!)
He is an awesome player.
After spending the last couple of weeks tweaking my amp for that special "TONE". I realized after listening to "Ray", that I had once again forgotten the most important factor, the player!
"Ray" likes to play with his Vol. around 3 -4 on his guitars.
He performs through an "Evan's" amp which are known for there pristine clean reproduction.
End Result: What you hear is lots of natural headroom from a very fine player, producing his sound with his hands and the guitar in his lap.
When did we lose this concept?
Or as "Ray" says "I just like to hear what the guitar is capable of doing".

Thank You "Ray" for making my Saturday a pleasure.

Eastman Uptown professional archtop guitars are each carved entirely by hand. The solid maple back and sides and solid aged spruce top are complimented by a 3-piece maple neck with a solid ebony fingerboard. All Eastman guitars feature X-style bracing. Heavy-duty tuners, a classically designed tailpiece, and a J.W. Eastman fiberglass case all come standard. Available in several finishes.
Specs:
Solid Spruce top
Solid Maple Back and Sides
Ebony Fingerboard, pickguard, bridge, and tailpiece
Ivoroid binding
Kent Armstrong Humbuckers
25" scale
2 3/4" body depth
16" lower bout
1 3/4" nut width
hardshell case

Peace, Tom

An Illuminating Amplifier!

2009-04-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have gotten a few request to show the "Illuminator" in detail on my GT-75.
The indicator light was installed at DJL Audio http://www.megatoneamps.com/
I did some modification to the mount and location to enhance the effect.

Please "click" on each photo for hi-res!

This picture was taken through the grillcloth from the front of the amp.

Pretty cool huh? I probably could have taken a "xanax" and

none of this would of happened, but what the hell, my illness is

part of my joy! Peace, Tom

KICK ASS AMP REPAIR.

2009-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from a little R&R and while I was gone some magical things were being done to my amp.

My main rig:
"Early Nineties Groove Tube Solo-75"

Tube Configuration:
2 6L6's ----- 5 12AX7's

Speaker Cabs:
1x12 Open back loaded with "Celestion Anniversary" copy of a EV 12L.

4x10 Open or closed back, loaded with "Eminence Copper Heads".

Custom built cabinets by "Ken Jones" Revamp Corperation.

All covered in Rough Blonde with Oxblood grill cloth.

It's been a while since I've had any work done to my amp so I gave it to my good friend

"Dale Laslie" at "DJL Vintage Audio".

I wanted new power tubes and to also have my pre-amp tubes checked. I also had a blown "Class A" resistor. I don't use "Class A" but might as well get it done.
My last request was to make my amp look like his custom built "WEZO 45". The darn thing looks like its on fire, pretty cool!
http://www.megatoneamps.com/

With that being said off I was to Charleston, SC.
Dale gave me a call when I returned to let me know the amp was ready!

Here's a great shot of my amp in daylight and look at those suckers glow!!!!
DJL Re-tubed with GT RCA Black Plate 6L6's.
The V1 driver 12Ax7 was replaced with a JJ 12Ax7 because it was noisy.
The rest of the pre-amp tubes were fine.
The Bias was reset to 32 milliamps.
A red indicator lamp was added to illuminate the power tubes!

Here's how that glow is achieved.
What a nifty idea!

And I swear the amp sounds better!
(some kind of red light spectrum interaction, with floating "B" ions emitted from the tubes, I do believe)
OK maybe not,
It's DJL!!!!
This is the best my rig has ever sounded. Dale has my up most respect and recommendation.

Here's a shot of my new 6L6's
The preamp tube to the left with the black bottomed shield is my V1 driver.
This is the first stage of both channels.

Note: Preamp tubes last allot longer than power tubes.
I change power tubes once a year and preamp when there needed.

The work performed on this amp was superb.
Turnaround was excellent.

So here ya all go!
IF YOU HAVE A AMP REPAIR OR ARE INTERESTED IN CUSTOMIZING YOUR RIG OR WHAT EVER.

CALL THE GUY I USE!
"DALE LASLIE" 336-724-6767

http://www.megatoneamps.com/

Peace, Tom

Magnolia Plantation SC

2009-03-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Still on vacation and

I don't believe I've seen anything so surreal and beautiful as "The Magnolia Gardens" at "The Magnolia Plantation". If ever get a chance to go to Charleston you've got to check this place out!

Got to get back to my R&R!

Peace, Tom

Double click for a nice desktop display taken by "Tom"!

(of course my wife dragged me here but it wasn't as bad as I expected!)

Greetings from Charleston, SC

2009-03-28T20:16:00.008-07:00

Howdy!

It's 1:00AM from Charleston SC, the wife and I needed a weekend off and here we are !

All's Good!

and the beer's COLD!

Peace, Tom

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!

2009-03-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Now how cool is this!

Y'all remember the Gibson L-2 rebuild. The fine gentleman who brought this in originally, found this picture of his grandfather who bought it new!

It's such a pleasure to work on guitars that have significant personal history.

Thank you for the opportunity to address these repairs with your trusted heirloom! Peace, Tom http://tomsguitarservice.blogspot.com/2009/03/restoring-1932-gibson-l2-board.html

??????

2009-03-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have many friends that come by to see me, sometimes I enjoy the company, sometimes not so much. I'm not being rude, but merely trying to concentrate on the job at hand.

And then there's a very select few, whom I've let have free run of the shop. To achieve this status there are many mysterious conditions that apply, too many to be listed here! With that being said.

I was working at my humble desk today while a friend was working in the shop. I stepped out of my office and this is what I saw?

http://www.tomsguitarservice.net/French.html

I'm not sure what the procedure is, but he does seem good at it!

LEFT HANDED BONGOS?

2009-03-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

I received a call from a very good friend and customer of mine who said he'd like to bring his "Bongo" in.
I have never turned away a repair from a good customer, so to my dismay I told him to bring it on in with glee in my voice.
Now while this call is going on, I can't help but to develop this picture in the back of my mind when I hear bongo. I mean no disrespect to "said"customer, I was just a little out of my realm!
AHHHHHHH!
Imagine my surprise when I found it was a Ernie Ball 5 string bass "A Lefty".

Selected basswood is carved into THE most distinctive body style ever — very well balanced and responsive with a super-tight 5-bolt joint to a selected maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. A neodymium humbucker with 3-band EQ provide huge tone with precision command. Schaller BM tuners with tapered string posts, easily accessible truss rod, matching headstock, and a graphite acrylic resin-coated body cavity for supreme noise shielding add up to true MusicMan luxury.

This is certainly a beautiful instrument.

She was in for a set-up.

Upon initial inspection the action was quite high (over 7/64th's on high G).

The neck also had an under bow or sag in it.

After my standard clean-up of frets board ect. I began the readjustments.

The first thing I did was attempt to tighten the truss rod. I like to get necks flat as possible without excessive attack buzz. This will also keep the action more consistent the entire length of the neck.

Ugh! Could not budge the rod.

When this occurs Do Not Force It!

I pulled the neck from the instrument and loosened the rod adjustment completely to lube it up . What I found, in my opinion, is the best truss rod system design I've ever seen.

Bravo ERNIE BALL!!

Let me explain. First of all the truss rod is based on the original "Gibson"

single ended rod. A piece of threaded rod, which is attached at one end of the neck anchored securely. The other end has a nut with a large surface flange which squeezes the neck together, causing the neck to bow up. It's kind of like squeezing a balloon between your hands.

Why EB rods rock.

1. It's the biggest rod I've ever seen!(did I just say that?) This rod appears to be 1/4 inch and has large threads with a great pitch. It would be very difficult to strip this rod.

2. The rod feeds from the bottom, and the adjustment is on the bottom. This increases the actual area the rod addresses. This reassures a even adjustment from top to bottom of neck.

Here's how it all works!

As you tighten nut "A" against the bottom of neck, it's drawn towards the threads at point "D". Point "C" is ankored so it just pulls on the neck itself squeezing point "B" up. It moves up because the rod is closer to the fretboard where there is less wood resistance than below, so it naturally pushes up. When you loosen nut "A" the neck will relax to it's normal state.

I was surprised to find what appeared to be a "factory" shim in the neck pocket. After setting the neck flat there was no reason to shim the neck. I set it up at 2/64th on high G at 12th and 5/64th on the lowB at 12th. The saddles were not bottomed out and all the angles looked fine! Now the neck is full wood to wood at the pocket and even more sound is achived!

After the set-up this baby played like a dream. Ernie Ball makes a damn fine instrument

This was one of the finest basses I've worked on that's new production, and it's quite impressive

If your in the market take a look at these "BONGOS" they ROCK!

Peace, TOM

STOMPBOX PEDAL BOARDS

2009-03-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

I'm proud to announce that "Stompbox Pedal Boards"
are now in production.
All boards are custom made and "Step it up a Notch"!
Come check us out!
http://www.tomsguitarservice.net/StompBox.html Peace, Tom

Guitars & Toilets

2009-03-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN COMMON.
SO WHY "TOM" ARE YOU POSTING THIS?
My input on the "State of the Economy".
My wife has been bugging me for months to replace our toilet in our bedroom bathroom.
Of course I didn't "jump right on it".
So, after my wife brought the new toilet home, she decided I better
install it.
A total success!!!
This is a "American Standard" toilet.
We were told these were the
"Standard" by which you compare.

BUT LOOK WHAT LURKS INSIDE!
AND THAT AIN'T NO SH*T!

MAYBE THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

PEACE, TOM http://www.tomsguitarservice.com/

Restoring a 1932 Gibson L2 Board

2009-03-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

PLEASE CLICK TO ENLARGE EACH PICTURE!

This restoration turned out very well, and a family heirloom has been

brought back to complete playing condition.

Peace, Tom

BACK UP AND BLOGGING!

2009-03-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all!
If you've been in the shop lately you know my PC went back to gateway to get fixed. Well she's back!!!

Stay tuned for some massive updates including a forum coming soon!

The shop is really taking on a life of it's own!

All my inner circle friends are making

my business a joy to share with you, and many thanks to all new clientele for making my business a continued success!

Here's my glass enclosed shop, the one I always wanted after seeing "WURLITZER'S" repair dept. in Boston.

Here's a few repairs going on this week!
OOPS, Let's slide some glue in there.

A cool model 3000 Rickenbacker Bass,

short scale and bolt on neck make this a very special piece indeed circa 1960's?

No I didn't get the picture upside down. If you never seen one, this is a Hendrix Strat USA and this is how they put the logo on. I kind of dig it! By the way, it is a lefty.

But strung like a righty!

My wife and I welcomed a new member to our home. It's a PRS CE22GT. {Ok, maybe she didn't welcome it, like you've never been there.} This was made in 1995 and features a solid mahogany back with a maple top and original dragon pick-ups. I bought it to sell, but damn if i'm not going to keep it! I hate it when that happens.

I'll be back soon with more of my world. Peace, Tom

WHO IS THIS MAN?

2009-02-15T20:07:00.001-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/lyndonamps

An Incredible "Bill Monroe"

2009-02-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

GREETINGS ALL! Busy week and awesome weekend! Let's get started! First of all I had the honor of doing some fretwork on a fabulous Gibson "Bill Monroe" F-5. These I would consider the flagship of all mandolins and this one certainly didn't fall short on anything. Simply put this was one of the finest built and sounding F-5's I've ever had the pleasure of playing!

This partial refret was the first time this instrument has had any work done. The frets were totally worn out but the instrument was pristine! The customer wanted to maintain the original "Fret Nubs" so it would look original. here's a short photo essay to show you what goes into this type of job.

Here's a clever amp a client brought in to show me, it's an old "Shoe Shine Box" Converted into an amp!

A SHINE AND AND A TUNE PLEASE!!

LOT'S OF GREAT JOBS COMING UP THIS WEEK! KEEP POSTED!

PEACE, TOM

A CRACK UPDATE!

2009-02-09T14:24:00.001-08:00

I decided that a follow up was needed for all you "crack heads" out there.
Here's that Les Paul all ready for wet sanding and buffing. The customer was not concerned about seeing the crack line. He just wanted to be reassured that the fix would hold. This went back together really well and there will be no strength problems here! I applied 18 -20 clear coats of nitrocellulose lacquer to seal the neck and make it smooth and continuous to the touch. {what?}

Here I am giving away trade secrets again. Maybe I shouldn't even show this picture, it's kind of archaic!
Oh well, here's how I jigged the Les Paul. One clamp is holding the break together while the combined weight of the books is providing sufficient pressure to keep the "end grains" tight.
You want to be real careful with a jig like this, it's not real scientific but it works! {yep, that's a candle in the jig!}

Remember that broken mandolin neck? Here she is all done!

This was a broken headstock.

I jigged and reset the headstock. Shading in black finish to hide the crack lines, the break has disappeared completely!
That was covered with 18 - 20 coats of nitro and left to cure for a few days.

Once cured a series of wet sanding and buffing with various compounds brought the beauty back to this shaded neck.
The only discernible difference is that the shading extends about a 1/2" further down the neck than before. A small price too pay to get her back up and singing!

I also managed to work in a fret dressing on this "Jazzmaster".

This is a reissue and very well built. {overseas, figures.}

During a normal week I like too work on 2 -3 big jobs each week while keeping a quick turnaround on all other work!

I took this picture because it was an excellent example of what a worn, flattened out, wide jumbo fret looks like.

The fret on the left has been freshly re-crowned. {not polished yet.}

The fret on the right has not.

You can plainly see the difference in the surface area the string touches between the two.

The crown is the very top of the fret that your string touches

If your playing big frets, keep em' dressed!!!!

Oh what a shame!

Here's a G&L that was bought off the Internet and unfortunately it has two nasty breaks on the top of the heel.

This sucks because it's a 3 bolt neck.

I pulled the neck and indeed it was cracked all the way through.

I suggested that the customer send it back. I've NEVER seen this happen before and I'm leery about gluing this stress point back together.

Peace, Tom

What's Up with the Broken Necks?

2009-02-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

54At daybreak at the second crowing of the cock,Those of Tunis, of Fez and of Bougie, By the Arabs the King of Morocco captured,The year sixteen hundred and seven, of the Liturgy. The Necks of Many Fine Lutes Shall Burst Into Pieces Upon The Coming Of Tom.

Nostradamus Quatrain Century VI #54

Ok, maybe I added a little to Nostradamus's original thoughts but damn, I've done nothing but fix broken necks this week! This beautiful Les Paul Custom up top, took a fall in a "Guitar Center", now it's come to see me. Above, we have a beloved Washburn that got knocked over in church. I've known this instrument for a few years and the customer really wanted it back in playing condition. This was a particular bad break in that the headstock was bent and splintered and would not fit back on.

A lot of patience goes into straighting out all the wood pieces, so complete wood to wood contact can be made.

Dental tools rock! I'd like to thank Dr. Keith Phillips DDS, Dr. David Blankenbeckler DDS and Elizabeth Ernst RDH for all the tools they have given me. I truly appreciate people like this, that make the world a wonderful place to live!

After cleaning up the paths, I did a dry fit and now a wet fit.
I'm looking for lots of squeeze out of glue to make sure all broken areas are covered.
After cleaning up the excess glue
it was time to get her jigged up!

Oh Yea!!
That's what it's all about. A cool looking and balanced jig, that's providing equal pressure all the around the break, while keeping the correct neck angle. I've learned through the years that it doesn't matter how you jig it, it just has to work!
When I popped this jig off the neck held just fine under tension. Some clear filler, wet sand and buff and she was giggin' again!

Here's a repair I'm just about done with on a "Kentucky Mandolin" which also had a broken headstock. The customer called me and wanted to know if I could fix this sight unseen. We both got lucky! The finish already was darkened near the break and it was shot with nitrocellulose Lacquer. Once the headstock was glued back on, I was able to re-shoot the headstock fade, and then clear coat the entire neck. This break is GONE! Some new frets and someone is going to get a very special friend back!!!

Peace, Tom

Hug That Neck With Love!

2009-01-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!
You get out this monster.
This is a "sixties" heat press.
Early guitars did not have adjustable truss rods, they just had support rods. Necks would frequently bow up and down do to adverse weather condition. So these heat press's were manufactured to bend necks back!
I was lucky enough to get this one from my good friend Keith Roscoe of "Roscoe Guitars".
http://www.roscoeguitars.com/

I happy to announce that the rebuild I did on a 1932 L-2 Gibson Parlor Guitar is complete! Stay tuned for a photo essay on this project!

Here's a shot of a Ivory Nut I carved for a special guitar. I kept the back raw to show the contrast between it and the milky white top. The top is buffed to brilliant shine. Ivory has an outstanding sound transfer according to some.
I can't say I hear a big difference but it sure looks good!

The next time your painting, Take your spatula and slide it under your bridge, STOP!!!!!!!
If you can do THIS you might want to bring you guitar in to see Savannah and me. This guitar needs a bridge reset. Here I am taking the bridge off the top before cleaning and prepping for a refit.

CLAMPS, CLAMPS, CLAMPS!
They might just look like clamps to you but there like dental tools to me. (Huh?)
Here we are putting that bridge back on.
These clamps were redesigned by my good buddy and biking friend Dave. Now they "ROCK" and make my life, and this job a lot easier.
Thank You Much Dave!!!!

Look at this little beauty!
This is a replacement JAZZMASTER bridge the customer found on the net.
It does solve all the related problems I've seen with the Fender style.(buzz, rattle, buzz)
Not sure who made it, but it sure works!!!!

Lot's of work to do, I'll keep this updated with all the cool jobs!
Thank You Much!
Peace, Tom

MY ONE TRUE LOVE!

2009-01-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

NOPE, IT'S NOT A GUITAR!

IT'S MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE GEORGIA.

As I was organizing my up coming week, I realized that the grief that you get from the amount of work, stress, and jerks you have to deal with all life long, DOESN'T MEAN A THING! when you have a great wife like mine to go home to every night .

I Love You Honey!

Guitar Repair Tip Of The Month!

2009-01-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Once you tighten up the tone nut your ready to go.

Anybody that owns a semi-hollow body has certainly had this

happen to them! This is not a hard fix, just be careful

not to scar the F-hole edges.

Note: After you have passed the guitar string through the input hole

and out the F-hole, put it through the input jack and bend it a couple of times

to keep it in there. Once you have pulled it through, tug and it will slide past the bends and out of the jack!

Peace, Tom

TOO MANY GUITARS!

2009-01-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

NO SUCH THING!!!!

Savannah's gonna have to find a new place to lay down.

This has been a very busy week indeed. I would like to thank all the new clientele, and all of my wonderful customers for their "word of mouth" advertising.

Don't worry, I'm puttin' in some extra "closed" hours and turnaround is still within a week!
Maybe faster if you bring Savannah a treat!

2 "Rics" on 1 day what are the odds?

Here's an amazing thing. Both of these basses had no tension on 4 truss rods, (2 per bass). Nuts were completely loose.
I do believe both of these customers will enjoy the lower even action they never have known!

A natural finish and a signature "Ric" sound give this Bass all one needs to fulfill any gig in style!

This old girl needed some electronic work (stereo and such) and a good old set-up.

Now here's a beauty. It's a "Andrews" custom guitar.

Very interesting construction with a aluminium frame in which the pick-ups are mounted in suspension, free from all vibrating wood.

The controls are "off board" in a separate control box which offers a multitude of tone setting.

I'm currently in the middle of a vintage reconstruction of a "1931 Gibson Parlor Guitar".

The job includes a fretboard recondition, new frets, addressing numerous cracks, resetting braces, rebuilding the original tailpiece, fabricating an ebony bridge that will match its original base and setting it up to original specs and sound!

I will be posting a full "step by step" photo essay of the entire job on my web page. http://www.tomsguitarservice.net/ I'll post a link from here when I get it up!
I think you'll find it most interesting!

Peace, Tom

WHERE THE HELL IS TOM?

2009-01-12T16:38:00.001-08:00

HERE I AM, PONDERING THE NEW YEAR!

Man, I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last entry. My holidays were awesome!! And once again all of you have made my business a wonderful success!

I did have the great pleasure, over the holidays of visiting

-------------"Lynch Guitars"

Ray Lynch and his son Chris, have been building, modifying, and repairing guitars for the last 20 years or so. I remember meeting them back in my "Music Loft" days. Ray had proudly brought by a hand built acoustic guitar and I remember how full and lovely it sounded, but I was coming off the eighties, rockin' (and drinking a bit much too!) to really care.

I've always kept in touch through the years and I got to tell you I was BLOWN AWAY by the fine instruments I was greeted with on my visit.

Look at this beauty, if you like the fancy inlay, "Chris" has got it covered. But don't think for a minute that inlay is what sells this instrument. The resonance of this instrument came before the inlay!

Here's a "Lynch" coming together awaiting a bridge and final set-up.

I played 6 or 7 different guitars and was amazed at the vibrant response and overall sound quality. Every guitar was very consistent which tells me that "Ray and Chris" have achieved that level of construction and attention to detail that puts other name brands to shame.

I've played many "FABULOUS" acoustic guitars and "LYNCH GUITARS" should not be overlooked!

Master builder "Ray Lynch" planing a neck.

In the next few week stay tuned for massive WEB PAGE updates http://www.tomsguitarservice.net/

I plan to do a tour of "Lynch Guitars" for you all to see and please call about attaining one of these beauties for yourself! Check them out at www.raylynchguitars.com

Peace, Tom

A CHRISTMAS DISASTER!

2008-12-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

Ya all know this lovable animal, It's Savannah! I know this has nothing to do with guitars, but this kind of stuff is what goes on in my life, feel my pain!
It all began when my wife, Georgia decided to get together with the girls at the office and buy their Boss a "Country Ham," and by the way they ain't cheap!
It was a beautiful thing, all wrapped up in it's salty cover with a string to hang it on. I, being from Boston had never seen such a thing. Up north we have ham, just ham. Ham doesn't need extra salt, but it seems my southern friends love the stuff. By the way when I first moved here 15 years ago I tried some "Country Ham" at a diner not knowing about the salt content. It was after many beers, and I was real hungry. One bite of that biscuit, and it came out as fast as it went in.

"I DO NOT LIKE THE COUNTRY HAM, I DO NOT LIKE IT, SAM I AM!"

My wife brought the ham home and put it on our dinning room table. Sometime that night my wonderful dogs, Savannah and Sarah decided that they too, love the "Country Ham"!
So they proceeded to pull it off the table with other selections, and have a festive holiday treat!

This is what I found the next morning! This is my living room and it looks as if Savannah had a full course dinner. I do believe you can see the ham in her tummy right above her back left foot. Of course my wife had a fit, and the sound of her voice gently acknowledging the situation is how I awoke. Thank God it was the dogs, it's usually something I did!
Ya know, this wasn't the worst part. That was the next night when the dogs digestive systems
released their vengeance into the world, but I won't get into that!

Peace, Tom

Merry Christmas and a Happy Super 400!

2008-12-14T19:03:00.001-08:00

It's always a good day when a "Super 400" comes into my humble shop.
On Sat., this gorgeous 1961 Gibson came in with a broken saddle. The owner who I consider a good friend of mine, had a gig on the weekend and needed her up and running.
Here's a little history. This particular piece was very early in the series. According to Gruhin Guitars, the pick-ups are not PAF's, but another prototype Gibson was working on, and I got to tell you they sound amazing!. The entire guitar was built by a single Gibson Luthier.

For being a "61" it couldn't be in better shape.
The original owner still owns this guitar and has done a fine job of keeping it in supreme condition.
The finish is like new and it's completely original.
Let me also note that this guitar is part of this player, like father and son.
I could see a wonderful connection between the two when he played for me. What a treat, for us all!

These instruments are getting very rare due to the heavy collecting industry which has taken the majority of "Super 400's" out of this country, and that's just a damn shame!!!!!!!!!!!!
So when one comes in the shop it is a very special day indeed.
The pickguard is original, It didn't look like anything I've seen out of Gibson but the owner reassured me it was.

Here we have some very early nobs and to top it off a first production run "Bigsby Trem" You'll also notice the "ABR Bridge" has a different look, I'll get into that more in a minute.

The top on this is in fabulous condition, a few cracks have occurred but were fixed by the "Gibson Custom Shop".
The repair work was done very well.

How about that truss rod cover? It's hand made and in inlay in glued in from the back, never seen one like it.
You can tell this was constructed by one man because it has his touches all over this guitar (like truss rod cover).

To my surprise, when I flipped her over I found this wonderful diamond inlay on the back!
I'm not familiar enough with 400's so I not sure if this is special to this guitar, or became a production standard.

Now how does someone gig on a guitar like this (and it has been played a lot) and keep the back looking like this, amazing.

These have a completely carved back and the craftsmanship on this piece is simply superb.

I also find it amazing that none of the binding has shrunk enough to separate and break. Most these old vintage pieces have common issues with age, But not this one.

Here's what she came in for. The low E plastic saddle (Gibson says it's nylon) snapped in half. I've replaced it with a brass one. Luckily enough I know have some plastic ones, I've just got to find them, this will get him up and running tonight.
Look closely!
There is no retainer spring or holes to mount one, now that's an early ABR!
This guitar made my week a very special one, I wish Santa would bring me one! Peace, Tom

A COOL WINTERY MIX!

2008-12-11T19:16:00.001-08:00

A VERY DIVERSE WEEK INDEED!
Have a look at this beauty.
This is a "VOS Gibson Les Paul".
These have been finished in nitrocellulose lacquer and then aged to look like vintage guitars. Very well done indeed and these are fine instruments.
I miss the days of lacquer finishes. Everything now a days is being finished in polyurethane.
What's the diff?
LACQUER:
Soft deep shine. Softer finish that will dent before it breaks. It's very fixable if dents, cracks or breaks should occur. New lacquer will melt into old lacquer, making seamless repairs achievable.
POLY'S:
Very durable hard finish. Glass like polished finish.
BUT: If you scratch it deeper than a nail catch or crack or break it, THERE IS NO REPAIR!
Your only option is a total refinish which can get expensive.

WHOA!!!!
Here's a custom "put together" out of different guitar parts. It came in for some wiring problems and set-up.
we dropped in a Carvin humbucker (the one with a billion pole pieces) and strung her up. Damn! what a sound.
It doesn't matter what the headstock says, or how much you paid.
I love working on stuff like like this,
this is what it's all about, and come on, look at that finish, he did it himself!
I'd be proud to jam with this.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE...........

Ok, That's the only Pete Seeger song I can think of. This is actually a "MUSE" long neck banjo.

It was made in 1963 in Boulder Colorado. Vega also produced these along with some other obscure companies. With all this said, everyone knows these as "Seegers". I guess he's the only guy who played them. By the way Pete turned 89 this year!

Tele, Tele, Tele...................

And yet another customer customized guitar. We got a Fender Telecaster with added Bigsby, Mini-59 Seymore,

and a Phat Cat in the neck. The Phat Cat is a P-90 clone in a humbucker package. They sound awesome. The bridge is mounted on two stud inserts with a custom gold mirror bridge plate. Very classy piece!

I set this up with 250K pots.

A lot of people don't get the 250K/500k diff.

a 500k pot will let more very top and bottom frequencies through while a 250K will cut them back. 250's are typically used the filter hum out of single coil pick-ups, but there is no rule! This set-up on this guitar sounded better with 250k's.

The bottom end was tighter and the top was smooth. Great sounding guitar.

Peace, Tom

A HOLIDAY REFRET!

2008-12-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure last week of refretting this awesome 1980 Gibson Explorer.

The owner decided this would be a wonderful Christmas present to himself and the Explorer.

I was informed that he was indeed the original owner and that he had to tract this particular model down. This has a gorgeous quilt top which delivers just the right amount of "edge" to the sound. Gibson's "Dirty Finger" pick-ups were marketed for that "heavier sound". More output than previous PAF models yet they aren't at all muddy. The original fret wire was like "6100 Dunlop Wire" but the crown wasn't as tall. She was played quite a bit, and little by little the frets degraded, getting pitted and blocky. There was not enough height left to get a good feel on the strings, and intonation got real sloppy with hand position changes. She was put in case and that's where she's been for the last few years! What a shame for both the owner and this guitar. Well all that's about to change, and I glad I could be part of the process. The owner decided on "6110 Dunlop Wire". This is quite a bit taller than stock, and a lot wider. I could throw numbers at you but what does it all really mean?

WIDER = MORE SUSTAIN = EASE OF BENDING = FULL FAT TRANSFER OF SOUND.

TALLER = EFFORTLESS TOUCH = EASE OF BENDING = NO BOARD DRAG

This type of sound lends it self well to rock!

I decided to take high-res pics of the entire refret step by step!

This guitar was a joy to work on, and man what a "ROCK MACHINE".

http://www.tomsguitarservice.net/refret1.html

Hope you enjoy this photo essay as much as I enjoyed working on this guitar.

NOTE: Lord, this guy could play!

It's a joy to hear someone with such total control over an instrument, and that can draw out musical emotions that are hiding in a piece of wood!

Peace, Tom

The Family E-Greetings!

2008-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

FIRST BLOOD!

2008-12-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a treat for you all to see for the holidays! This is a beautiful "Huss & Dalton" acoustic made in Virginia. These are some expensive boxes, but deliver in the sound and volume department! The guitar was built with a med. size fret wire.

There was quite a bit of wear and she wouldn't play in tune.
I was expecting a straight ahead refret," that's the attitude that will doom great work", but as soon as I started pulling, I noticed something really unusual!
As soon as heat was applied to the fret, it literally fell off the board. There was no tale-tell cyanide smoke, (super glue). Every fret I pulled came out the same way. After cleaning up the board I was quite surprised to see slots that were lined with epoxy glue. There are a few company's that choose to glue in there frets. The procedure is as follows. You over cut the fret slot by a couple of thousands and then glue-size the fret board with glue. Blow out the excess and then lay in your frets. Then all the frets are clamped for a 24 hour period and you have a very secure dead on fret job.
OH BOY! DOES THIS PRESENT SOME REFRET PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!!!
This guitar has binding on the neck which is also shot over with finish to blend into neck. To pull binding and re-saw is not an option. The only solution is to re-cut each slot with a saw end and clean up with dental tools!
Here you can see the caked up glue lining each slot. The problem with epoxy is that it doesn't break down with anything and is very hard to saw through. I did use a drop of super glue remover in each slot and it did make a small difference!

It drew first blood, not me! Man, I had blood everywhere!!

After sanding down the barbs on the frets, (I was concerned over fret compression because the epoxy won't give like wood) I pressed them in tight to the board. Then after waxing off slots I applied two wickings of super glue to set those babies!

Making sure there is no fret movement, I then proceed to the dressing stage of the job.

I choose a tall-medium fretwire that will maintain the original sound but give extra life do to its height.

Going through many sanding stages we get level and polished!!

A good coating of oil and wax will seal that board and swell that wood and seat those frets forever!

This was a very difficult refret. Years of experience played into this, the final result was dead on REFRET that plays as good as it looks!!

How modest is that?

Peace, Tom

Did you know about the "B" string?

2008-11-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

It's come to my attention that some of you are not aware that my good friend Mike Bennett and his wife, Tami have opened a wonderful music store called The"B"String.

The store is located in the Arts district in downtown Winston Salem NC. Mike has an extensive background in music sales, instruction, repair and he's just a damn friendly guy, who you can trust.

A fine selection of guitars can be found here, everything from custom to vintage!
"B" has a full teaching studio with a great teaching staff.

You got questions about vintage stuff? This is the guy you want to talk too.

Looking for that vintage guitar or Christmas gift, stop in to "B"s and have a look.
Yes! "B" has strings and accessories.

The store is always open when you need them!

I send many of my customers here to get the parts and strings for me to work with. We all support each other in this music community.

http://www.bstringguitars.com/

The "B" String 560 North Trade Street, Winston-Salem, NC 336.734.1800 Michael Bennett, Email

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-11-27T13:45:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

Greeting all!
Happy Holidays!
The shop is slowly making progress. At least it's starting to acquire a personality of its own. At least Savannah is settling in!
By the way, I now have a doorbell. It's located at the top of the door.

"Thank You "everyone for all the business you've been sending my way.
All of my customers are a joy to work with and I really do appreciate the "word of mouth" support and recommendation. I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday season!

I'm planning a open house in December, stay tuned for further info.

This is my buddy "John". It seems he has an inseparable growth between his legs. Savannah would like to mention that this is what happens when TREATS are involved!

Oh No! A Mandolin bridge that couldn't take the pressure!!! This was actually a bridge that I cut down previously to acquire the action I wanted. The grain in the wood was too loose and she snapped!

My fix was to recut the top of the bridge with a beautiful piece of Brazilian rosewood. All my bridges are handcut, and custom fit to your instrument

Here's a big ol' girl that came in for a new pick-up and a set-up. This was another import but the construction was very impressive and fretwork is dead on!

With the advent of C&C routing the quality on these instruments have improved drastically.

US markets need to take some lessons!!!

Peace, Tom

Bones, Boss and Dogs!

2008-11-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Just a typical Sunday afternoon at my home.

GROOVE TUBE'N AGAIN!

2008-11-20T18:10:00.001-08:00

Greetings All,

Savannah says "the new shop is coming along nicely".

Busy week!

Spent some time with this Taylor which took a nasty fall and chunked out some wood and popped the back out.

3 refrets, numerous set-ups and wiring jobs.

But the best part of this week was getting my "Soul-O 75" back up and running.

My previous post featured my blown amp. After numerous hours of compulsive retrospect, I've decided the best fix is the non-fix!!!!!

The "class A" operation of this amp is achieved by switching the voltage directly to the tubes with a resistor in line to drop the current. This resistor is what blew on my amp. In the 12 years that I've had this amp, I've never run in "class A". This is a "class AB" based amp. The "class A" mode is not a typical option on these amps. The only time I used it, was to demo for customers.

By simply removing the resistor the amp will now just fizzle out without causing any harm!

The yellow insert in the pic says "This is where the blown resistor was connected / tube pin to ground (through resistor) / class "A" cathode bias"

Amazingly enough the overheated 6L6's work, and sound just fine. I'll leave them until a problem arises.

Reassembled the amp, checked the bias and gave her a good burn and then spanked her hard!!!

Oh! She's back and I swear the tubes sound better than ever.

The AB class sounds just wonderful and I won't miss the class "A" mode. For those of you that don't quite understand "amp class ", check out this link http://www.aikenamps.com/ClassA.htm

Peace, Tom

POP! DAMN!

2008-11-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

An expolded resistor, which blew out of it's heat sink casing.
"That's a hot tamale"!
My main rig is an 80's GT Soul-O 75 Amp. This amp was manufactured by "Groove Tubes" for a few years and it's a wonderful awesome amp.
I was doing a little stress playing on Friday and flipped her into "Class A" mode. This runs the tube full out with cathode bias. Unfortunately I was distracted and left the amp sitting with it's fan off, idling at full power. Here's the result.

As I was working I heard a loud "POP" over my stereo, and as I walked out of my office I smelled burning electronics!

Now the amazing thing is that after I let her cool down, I turned it back on and it worked just fine.
The resistor blew apart but it still functions.

The innards of a "GT Soul-O 75"

The GT 6l6's over heated to the point where all the power was focused on the step down resistor (the exploded gold thing!).

It blew it apart and was so hot that it melted my fuse holders! (above left)

The labels on groove tubes indicate over heating when they are shot! These still sound "great". I guess their "broken in" now!

Now that's a smoking tube!!!!

I'll order a new resistor, two new fuse holders and tubes (I don't trust these after baking them) this week. I'll re-tube and bias. I'll post pics of the procedure for you home tech heads!!! Peace, Tom

70's Vintage Strat

2008-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

Spent a lot of time this week getting the wood shop together! I'll shoot some pictures next week. I'm getting set with my good friend "Greg Waddell" (http://www.stringsonwood.com/) to start a project, recreating a 1958 Dan Electro C2. These guitars were a single cutaway with 2 lipsticks. The frame the guitar body was built upon ,was a different construction than the 60's models. We are planning to use woods instead of Masonite and a few other changes. Stay tuned for further info and pics of this project, which may become production!

I also had the pleasure of working on this 70's Strat. These guitars have big beefy necks. The original frets were a bit small for the necks. being maple didn't help the feel either. Someone in the past had the wonderful sense to refret this neck with 6100. (.110W X .055T ) This is a great wire for this neck. She came in for a set-up cause it wouldn't play in tune. There was quite a bit of fret wear, and unfortunately with this wide wire when you lose the crown or peak they will not play in tune very well.

Solution: Fret Dress.

Level the frets to divot point, and recrown frets. The pics above show a very good view of this wire leveled next to one that is leveled and crowned. Proper crowning is the key to intonation. then a series of sandings to a polished state. Notice that a small amount divot exist until the final buff. This insures a clean fret surface while maintaining as much as the original fret as possible.

NOTE: This wire was very tall and will handle a couple of dressings, if done properly without hacking off unnecessary meat!!

She set up beautifully and sounds awesome! Peace, Tom

Now that's a cleat!!!

2008-11-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Greeting all!

Did ya all study the MYSTERY PICTURE? (Nov. 5th blog)

Well here's a close up of what it is. IT'S A CLEAT THAT'S GLUED TO THE BRACE! (a cleat is a small piece of wood that is glued to the inside top, crossgrain to reinforce a crack or split top)

The arrow is pointing to the actual crack from the top. The shop who fixed this guitar (NOT MINE!) missed the crack completely but managed to glue it securely to the brace! NICE WORK.

The point I am trying to make is that no matter where you take your instrument to be fixed, do some research first. Good honest repairmen are hard to find, and for god's sake, ALWAYS check your repair, even if it means getting a mirror and light to see what was done.

I make it a point on every repair to show customers exactly what I've done to their "loved one".

Remember people, BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! There are shops that will take your money and do crap work hoping you'll never know. "Tom's Guitar Service" is now an independently run business. Whats that mean to you? When you leave an instrument with me, I'm the one doing the work, and you can absolutely bank on that! Give me a call! Peace, Tom

Busy Day!

2008-11-05T17:02:00.001-08:00

Now it's time to kick back with my cat! "Mia"

Here we have an awesome Aria Pro II Titan. For those not familiar with this period of Aria, it will hold it's own against most 335's!!! I believe this is very early eighties, completely original and in mint condition.

She's come in for some new fret wire. Dunlop 6100 is the choice. Wide, tall, great sustain and bendability (is that a word?).

This really is a beautiful instrument.

When I completed the refret I was amazed at tonality and soulfulness of this instrument. Truly a lucky owner!

Here's a shot of the fret board right after I pulled the frets. I use heat to pull frets. The goo you see are the natural oils of the wood, plus years of finger mush. When the fret is heated these oils let the fret slide out without ripping up the end grains. You should never see pulled wood around new frets and this is the main key to making that board look good when your done.

ORNERY P BASS (LEFTY)

Ended my day with this beauty! I actually set this up and rewired in new pick-ups last week. To my surprise when I pulled it from the case today, the neck was back bowed (stinking weather!) and the vol. pot suddenly decided to go south for the winter. Keep an eye on your necks cause if they're going to dance it will be now!!!!

Readjusted neck, new 250K vol. pot and she's ready.

Always remember that I back my work up 100%. I want my clientele happy!!!! Peace, Tom

Mystery Picture!

2008-11-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

Here we have the inside of a Taylor 810 which unfortunately got crushed on the bottom bout. The repair was done by another shop, so I was dying to have a look because the top repair didn't look too good. Now look real close in the mirror and what do ya see. Hint, customer was told crack was cleated. I'll shoot ya all a close up tomorrow!!!!! Peace, Tom

OUCH!!!

2008-11-04T13:02:00.001-08:00

Well I was out riding my bike this weekend and decided to work on bunny hopping!! This is where you jump large objects (which really have no business to be jumped) by pulling up on your front wheel, and lifting the entire bike off the ground with your pedals. This is achieved because your feet are clipped in to your pedals. I was doing great until I jumped a large fallen tree, and in the middle of the pull, my shoe clipped out throwing the balance and me to the earth! I guess in a sick way the pain makes you feel alive!

Well it's certainly fall again! This is a pic looking out the front door of my home. I certainly love living in the south. Tomorrow I will post some new repair photos for ya all to see! Peace, Tom

What was on my desk today!

2008-10-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

A cool Jazz bass with a Gibson EB pick-up installed in the 70's. Full set-up and re-wired (had some caps in vol. path, only god knows why, but I'm sure it was the thing to do at one time!). Very nice piece indeed

And next a fret dress on a beautiful Martin D-28.

Fender P-Bass new re-issue. Full set-up and restring.

More coming stay tuned! Peace, Tom

Dropping in a Strat Pick-Up!

2008-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here we have a cool Tele with a bigsby trem. The customer wants a blade dimarzio strat pick-up installed in the bridge. Tele bridge pick-ups and strat pick-ups are NOT interchangeable.
So we need to do a conversion! I pried the ground plate off the original tele pick-up, Then using a heat based glue attached the plate to the strat pick-up.
Next Problem!
The mounting wings on the strat pick-up will NOT fit in the pre-cut tele body.
This is because a tele bridge pick-up does not have wings.
2 options:
1. Cut off mounting rings
2. Rout body to accept wings.
I chose the second option because I didn't want to destroy the wings in case it was ever used on a strat again. I was able to open the body using a dremel tool and the cut is completely hidden by the bridge plate!
Once completed the pick-up looks just fine and fits like a key.
I've got some cool jobs this week, please check back!
Peace, Tom www.tomsguitarservice.net

Clamps and Such!

2008-10-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

OK, back to work.
Here we have an acoustic which got baked in a trunk.
The results were a pulled bridge, and a top which separated off the kerfling. (kerfling is not a small "gnome".) It's the accordion looking strip of wood on the inside of the guitar ,which increases surface area and a ledge for the top to attach to. I addressed both repairs at the same time. Owning lots of clamps is a wonderful thing!

I pulled this picture out of "The Archive" This was a broken violin scroll, or as you would say, "a broken headstock". They are a Bit*h to jig back together. Every one I do is an adventure. As you can see , I'll use anything to get the pressure where I want it.

Peace, Tom

Comming Clean!

2008-10-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, A few days ago I told you about my buddy Rob. Turns out that I'm the one trying too lose a few pounds.

I'm also real good with photoshop! This is an untouched pic of us both.

Damn he makes me look like a "Fat Bastard"!

By the way Rob's an old "Pro" in all forms of biking and very good at it.

We all need to get out there and get fit, although that beer was mighty tasty! Peace, Tom http://cycletherapybikes.blogspot.com/

MMMMCAMINO!

2008-10-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

As I arrived to work today I smelt me something wonderful in the building. Just down the hall from my humble shop is "The Camino Bakery". If you've ever been to "Krankies Coffee" [along with numerous locations around Winston] and had pastries, breads, cookies, sandwiches and other culinary delights with the "Camino Lable" you know what I'm talking about! I quickly followed the aroma to the source and this is what I found! I realized how beautiful and yummy the prep. table looked, so I got my camera and took a picture.
That's Cary, she rocks! and all of her creations do too!

After saying "Good morning to all" I ran upstairs to "Krankies" and fulfilled my aroma driven quest.
This is a normal operating morning at the bakery, which is a VERY good thing for all of us.

Bring yourself on down and have a taste of things the way they should be!!!
Peace, Tom
http://www.caminobakery.blogspot.com/

StingRay that Rocks!

2008-10-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure today of working on a MM StingRay. If you don't already know, these are damn fine instruments. Very resonate, and factory pick-ups don't get much better than these.

This instrument is in for a much needed fret dressing and a new bone nut. The set-up and intonation were both WAY out of whack so it was a special treat bringing it all back together!

The majority of these fine MM basses are consistent and always worth a second look at that store or on line. Peace, Tom

Time To Ride That Bike!!!!

2008-10-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

A little change of "pace" today.

Here's my good friend Rob, he's trying to drop a few pounds and likes to ride with the "Wizard" . I invite all you bikers to get in touch and we'll ride, oh yes we'll ride. Lookin' Good Rob!

Peace, Tom

Dropping in a Trem!

2008-10-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well today was spent routing a recess area on a EVH Ernie Ball. The original set-up had the trem floating above the body, the problem was there was very little clearance between the top and the trem. The back pull was none existent and it was marring the top.

To my surprise I also found shims under the neck bringing the action even closer when removed. I'm a firm believer in wood to wood contact on neck joints. NO SHIMS!!!! if possible.

By cutting down 3/32nd's into the top I am able to achieve the perfect trem adjustment and was able to remove shims from neck. I used a flat black based shielding paint to seal cut and buffed edges out. Once set up I readjusted intonation due to angle change and set action.

This EVH sounds better than new and the lower profile feels great!

Pedal Boards!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well I've dedicated this past week to the installation and complete wiring of a new "Revamp Pedal Board" built by my very good friend "Ken Jones". Ken and I started this idea of a permanently built board. They are constructed out of birch ply and feature Sub-Board wired audio and dc power supplies. Covered in the tolex of your liking! A real classy way of getting your sound to the gig in a vintage suitcase.

All the pedals are permanently mounted to the angled surface and input, output, loop, footswitch are jacked out the back.

These are custom built and designed around the player. Shoot me an email for more info!

Peace, Tom

Greeting All!

2008-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my daily thoughts. Starting Tuesday I'll be posting jobs that I'm working on if anyone has interest!