Service Guitar Repair

Nashville Flood Victim Survives!

Last Fall, I received a phone call from a client that had purchased an instrument, in as-is condition. It had beed severely damaged from the flood in Nashville, TN., earlier in the year. The company that made the instrument was no longer in business and could not perform any repairs. There were various forms of damage and he wanted me to perform a complete restoration and bring it back to its former beauty.

This was a bit of an unusual instrument, being an Azola upright electric bass. Restoration is in my blood, so I was pleased to take on the job.

The most obvious problem was with the finish. It was flaking off, just about everywhere and was beyond any repair or touch-up. A full refinish was the only solution.

There were a couple of cracks, in the ebony top, that had developed from the wood becoming wet and unstable. A couple of glue joints had also slipped a bit and some areas of the once beautiful figured maple neck were stained from the water damage. After stripping the finish completely, I made the repairs to the wood.

This bass has an onboard pickup and active EMG preamp. It was installed at the factory before the top was glued to the body and was not designed to be able to be removed. This made it difficult to restore. I was able to remove all of the corroded and failed electronic components at either end of the wiring harness and trust that the wire was still good in between them. The preamp was completely green with corrosion and was making no sound, at all. It needed to be replaced.

The original finish was a deep amber color and owner wanted it refinished in the same hue. So, after matching the color and technique of the original satin finish, repairing all of the wood damage and replacing and restoring the electronics, this beauty was back to it’s original glory:

August 30, 2011
Categories: Finish, Restorations . Tags: restoration refinish amber lacquer aged lacquer azola bass upright bass electric bass pickup emg preamp . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: 1 Comment

1971 Fender Jazz Bass – Lake Placid Blue (finally!)

Well, this one’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally finished. I’ve been sharing the re-finishing process with you, but this baby wasn’t ready until the wiring harness was restored, as well. The pickups and two of the pots were original, but the tone pot had been replaced, sometime in the 80′s. Whoever performed that task also decided to get creative with the rest of the wiring; adding unnecessary wires and solder globs to the party. Here is the look I achieved by adding a vintage pot and NOS capacitor to the tone circuit. All extra wires have been cleanly removed and replaced with a proper job.

"like new again"

So, here it is: the finished product! And boy does it sound and play like a dream! This beautiful bass is now officially for sale. It will soon be available on ebay, or you can contact me, beforehand, if you’re interested. Thanks for looking!

October 9, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: 2 Comments

Back To The Jazz Bass

Here’s a quick update on the 1972 Fender Jazz Bass, from an earlier facebook post. (much earlier) This is a job that nobody likes, including me. Today I have finally decided to strip the finish from this classic bass. It was poorly refinished, long ago, with a thick and hard polyurethane-type product. You know: something that grandpa might have suggested, back in the day. Although a bad decision back then, today we are starting a proper procedure:

A Real Can Of Worms

Stripping an old finish like this is a messy job. There’s no way around it, especially when the finish is too thick and requires multiple passes of paint remover, just to get close to the wood.

Signs Of The Past

I’ve decided to leave a bit of the original Lake Placid Blue finish to authenticate the Fender body as well as verifying the original custom color.

Lake Placid Blue

It’s a real challenge, when refinishing, to retain the original curves and contours of the body. You can go too far and make them look unauthentic. I like to be really careful, during the last removal and use a sander to make sure that I’m staying level, and not distorting the lines.

Almost There

This was an all-day project, but it payed off with great results. It always does when you put time into the prep stages. It’s easy to get impatient, but a thorough job here will ensure that the undercoats and top coats will go on smoothly and look professional. Stay tuned, I’m not stopping here!

August 22, 2010
Categories: Finish, Restorations . Tags: 1972, bass, Fender, Jazz Bass, lake placid blue, refinish, vintage . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: Leave a Comment

Honey, I ran over my guitar!

I recently got an e-mail from a good customer that was very worried about saving his guitar after backing over it with the family van! OUCH!

He stated that he had forgotten about setting it down after removing it from the back. Fortunately, it was in a hardshell case when this happened.

(Photo staged for dramatic effect!)

Crunch!

The case had definitely done its job and was destroyed beyond repair. The guitar had its share of bumps and bruises, including top and side separation, missing chunks of wood from the side and binding damage.

Laminated sides can get a bit messy

Binding separated and shifted from its track

After manipulating things back into place and gluing the top and sides back together, I was able to get the binding back in place and repair its distorted state back in to form. A bit of wood filler was required where the laminated sides had lost a chunk, but I was able to match the original color and feather in the lacquer finish around the repair area, quite nicely.

This was a happy ending to a story that had a very scary start. Brad was very happy with the results and is shopping for a new hardshell case, I’m sure!

April 24, 2010
Categories: Restorations, Upgrades/Modifications, Vintage Guitars . Tags: binding, broken guitar, D-1E, finish touch-up, Guild . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: 1 Comment

As The Years Come Flaking Off

One of my favorite things to do is the cleaning and restoring of vintage guitars. It comes from years of working at Guitar Maniacs with my dear friend: Rick King. This is where my repair business started, in 1993, and grew into what it was, when I took it home in 2000. I am forever grateful for those years of being exposed to so many amazing guitars. I was able to develop techniques that would otherwise be unknown, due to the shear amount of opportunities to develop them. So…when I received a call from another dear brother: Frank, I was elated! He set up the story by saying ” So, this older gentleman comes up to me at church and says…” (This is always a great start to a guitar story.)”I’ve really enjoyed listening to you play guitar and I’ve been thinking about getting back to playing my ol’ guitar” (“my ol’ guitar” can mean a number of things from trash to treasure) but, this time it was pure (neglected) treasure…

This 1957 Gibson ES-350TD had been in this man’s possession since about 1960 and had been sitting in this lonely (but really cool) brown case for the last couple of decades. It was dirty, out of adjustment, very corroded and downright unplayable. Frank told him about my services and soon, it was in my shop for the full treatment.

I offer a complete cleaning that includes dismantling, detailing, reassembly and full set-up package for $150.00. It also provides the owner with a document that authenticates the guitar and provides an “Opinion of Value” This is very helpful for insurance policies too.

We’re still looking for a couple of missing parts that have been misplaced over the years, but this one really came out stunning!

1957 Gibson ES-350TD

This is the first year for the famous Gibson “PATENT APPLIED FOR” or “PAF” humbucking pickups. Who can tell me what’s unique about the one’s in this model?

Unique PAF Pickups

These frets were a both green and gray from years of corrosion. They came out like new!

Shiny!

This is one beautiful guitar:

logo tailpiece

early "non-retainer" ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge

Classic Gibson headstock styling

If you have any of these old amber switch tips, don’t throw ‘em out. They’re quite valuable.

original amber switch tip circa 1950's

These are the same knobs you would find on a Les Paul Standard “Burst”

late 50's style "bonnet" knobs

worn gold plating

hand written orange label

Needless to say, this guitar now sounds and plays amazingly well. Frank has been able to test drive it a few times, for his new friend, and has become quite attached. Can you blame him?!

Roll Over Beethoven!

March 2, 2010
Categories: Appraisals, Restorations, Vintage Guitars . Tags: 1957, ES-350TD, Gibson, Guitar, Guitar Appraisal, PAF, Patent Applied For, restore, vintage . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: Leave a Comment

Wow! I’m a columnist.

What lurks inside the pages of Christian Musician Magazine?

From this issue forward…

JAN/FEB 2010

Its my new column: “Ask Joe”

I’m so proud to be a part of this informative magazine. I have been a subscriber for years and it is full of helpful information for all facets of the musician’s challenges, as well as great gear and artist/album reviews.

The column is a Q & A format, so anything goes, from technical and repair questions to performance and recording rigs. Check out their website: www.christianmusician.com if you’re interested in a subscription. See you there!

February 10, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: 1 Comment

Vintage Gibson Fix

Here’s a cool product I recently found very helpful for vintage Gibson acoustic guitars with the adjustable bridge. These guitars originally came with either a wooden saddle (one of Gibson’s brilliant ideas, from the 60′s) or ceramic. I much prefer the sound of the ceramic version, because it gives a brighter sound, much like a traditional bone saddle, and it doesn’t wear as easily as the wood version. Unfortunately, finding and purchasing a vintage ceramic replacement can be very difficult and quite pricey. I’ve seen people ask way too much for these. Some owners choose to completely remove the adjustable bridge system, fill in the entire original slot with rosewood and install a stable saddle in its place. I’ve never been a fan of doing this to otherwise perfectly original instruments. I’m very opinionated about being good stewards of vintage instruments.

GIBSON WOOD SADDLE circa 1960's

GIBSON CERAMIC SADDLE circa 1960's

Recently, my good friend Bruce brought in a 1968 Gibson B-45 12 String (see 1st photo) for a fret re-crown. He was excited to have newly acquired this cool old Gibson, but because this guitar also has a trapeze tailpiece, instead of bridge pins, to secure the strings, the sound was quite dull, combined with the wood saddle. Imagine the disappointment. Enter new product…

Graph Tech "TUSQ" replacement for Gibson adjustable bridge

The folks at Graph Tech; mostly famous for graphite replacement saddles for electric guitars and “TUSQ” material for acoustic guitars, have created a great alternative to the pricey, and elusive, ceramic saddle. It is made with their “TUSQ” material and costs only $12.95. We went with it and the results are quite impressive. I am now keeping them in stock, so let me know if you need one installed!

1968 Gibson B-45 12 String with "TUSQ" replacement saddle

December 15, 2009
Categories: Upgrades/Modifications, Vintage Guitars . Tags: 12 string, 1967, 1968, 1969, adjustable bridge, B-45 12, ceramic saddle, Gibson, Modification, Modify, Service Guitar Repair, Upgrade, vintage, Vintage Guitar . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: Leave a Comment

Out Of The Box

Here’s a cool solution to a common problem. My good buddy Doug needed a 5 string bass with an active circuit. Problem: December is a tough month to be investing in an expensive bass, but his need was immediate. The solution: we found an inexpensive bass with lacking electronics and performed an upgrade. Doug has always been fond of Lakland basses with the pickup configuration of a Music Man Stingray style pickup in the bridge position and Fender Jazz Bass pickup in the neck position. So we started with this OLP brand passive version of a Stingray 5 String and gutted everything but the bridge pickup. Then the fun began. I carefully located and traced where I wanted the new neck pickup to go.

Then I routed the body and installed a compatible neck pickup. In this case the best match was a Fender Standard Jazz Bass 4-string pickup. The pole pieces easily covered the width of the 5 string’s span. I followed up with a 3-band active EQ circuit and a coil tap switch for the bridge pickup, allowing for the standard Jazz Bass configuration of 2 single coil pickups.

Lastly, I removed the soft plastic nut and replaced it with a hand-carved bone nut. After a full set-up package and a new set of strings it was time to plug in!

I must say that both Doug and I were more than surprised by the results. This configuration proved to be very versatile and useful. He called me the next day to say that it was the best sounding bass he’s ever owned. Doug has owned some pretty high-end basses in the past, so this is really saying something. This whole project cost less than $600, including the bass! It was a huge success!

December 7, 2009
Categories: Upgrades/Modifications . Tags: bass, Custom Guitar, Modification, Modify, Service Guitar Repair, Stingray, Stingray 5, Tacoma, Upgrade . Author: serviceguitarrepair . Comments: 1 Comment

} Byrd Guitars {

I thought it would be fun to share something very unique with you. James Byrd is an incredible musician and guitar designer who approached me a few years back, to build his Super Avianti model guitars. They are James’ masterpiece design that employ a very unique combination of features, inspired by some of his favorite guitar models. Features include: patented headstock design, off-set “V” body style and Strat type pickups and bridge. Let me tell you, these are very, very special guitars and I am proud to have had the privilege of building the last 20, or so. Here are some photos of the latest one. You can read more at the Byrd Guitars website.