Squire Stratocaster – Service and setup

There comes a point when even the best of guitars need a service and setup.  Most people will have their car serviced regularly, why not your guitar? While the strings are off I always give the fretboard a good clean. The heads were a little stiff so a little light oil. and a bit of […]

Water Buffalo Horn Nut

If you need a new bone nut, but want a black one, how about Water Buffalo Horn?  It’s not quite as tough as bone but it’s the best natural substance I’ve come across. This Bass needs a new one just because it’s broken. I’ve not got any pre-shaped ones so I’m going to have to […]

Gretsch – Bone nut

I love these, some great guitars coming out Gretsch these days.  Great value an very well made.  This one just has a slight problem, staying in tune. It’s probably the nut.  I’m not much a fan of these new fanged materials, I don’t think you can beat good old fashioned bone. Unfortunately I can’t find […]

Vintage SG – New nut, setup and service

Some of these “Vintage” guitars can be quite good.  For some reason the nut slots on this one have been cut rather deep and the open strings are buzzing a little.  There are quick fixes but the proper thing to do is to replace the nut. Gently out with the old one. The new bone […]

Fender Jaguar – Fret Dress and Setup

This was an interesting one.  A 1970’s Fender Jaguar that’s seen some use!  It’s actually in quite good condition, just a little worn.  I’m sure it can be recovered and turned into something special…. The body’s been rubbed down to bare wood at some point, but looks cool! One of the switches has been broken, […]

Ibanez – Setup

Here’s a lovely guitar, just not behaving properly, needs a little work. The first thing is the bridge. The trouble with the wooden bridge is that intonation is always a bit of a compromise. The “Tune-o-matic” option means each string can be adjusted separately.  Since it’s a floating bridge the tape is there just so […]

Classical Acoustic – New Nut and Saddle

This needs a little TLC if it’s going to play again.  The bridge saddle is badly damaged so I’m going to make a new one. The nut’s broken as well, so that’ll need to be replaced as well. First the nut.  From a bone blank. Next the saddle, using the old one as guide. One […]

11 String Tanglewood – Bone Nut

An odd one this, one of the strings wouldn’t stay in it’s slot.  I thought the nut was broken but the slots were at a bit of an angle.  Easy answer, a new bone nut. A nice guitar though. While the strings are off, a good clean. and oil… I don’t have any 12 string […]

Hohner – Re-Wire and setup.

A bit of a battered Hohner, in need of a little TLC…… The owner wants some new pickups fitting for a start, these pickups’ll sound fantastic but I fear it’ll need a little more than that… I think it’s a bit of a waste to fit a great set of pickups like that but leave the […]

Squire Stratocaster – Upgrade

I know this is a budget guitar but it should have been better than this.  However a little bit of work and I’ll get it playing nicely…. The first thing I did was to remove the nut.  It’s a good job I was planning to replace it as the old one came out in bits….. I’m […]