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Guitar Repair: Martin 000 Eric Clapton

This is a bit of a self-indulgent post, but I was so pleased that I needed to tell someone. I had taken in a Martin Eric Clapton signature model (picture posed by model, left), and the lacquer was separating all along the back of the neck.  Because it was a nitrocellulose lacquer finish, I was able to repair this, and have no evidence marks where I had thinned and added laquer to the original finish. The... [Read more]

How I Defret a Six String Bass

What’s better than a six string bass?  That’s right: a six string fretless bass. The reason why I am a bass player and a luthier goes all the way back to when I was 13.  My parents had just got Sky, and I was flicking through to MTV.  The channel was showing a European festival, possibly Rock Am Ring; the first thing I saw was Les Claypool, eight finger-tapping a solo in “Tommy... [Read more]

Custom Guitars: Rosettes

I’ve been thinking about rosettes quite a lot recently. The rosette is the decorative circle around the soundhole. They come in many guises. Martin Guitar Soundhole Rosette This is a Martin rosette. It’s an example of what you may find on many guitars, with a few rings surrounding the soundhole. Spanish guitar rosettes tend to be more elaborate, with beautiful marquetry patterns. You... [Read more]

United Breaks Guitars

With more than two million views of his YouTube video, it would seem that musician Dave Carroll has finally persuaded United Airlines to listen to his complaint.  They have arranged a meeting with him.  I guess it’s because he has the sequel to this song in production, and a third in the planning stage. The serious point of this is that since September 2001, most airlines won’t allow... [Read more]

Banjo Repair: A Five-String With A Past

This one is from the 1920s.  The frets were a  bit of a mess, and there was a great big hole in the skin.  It was brought in by a customer whose father played it professionally in a banjo group from 1926 until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. I replaced the skin with a goat skin vellum. This is a difficult procedure, which involves wetting the skin and trimming it to size. Once I’d... [Read more]

How To Grow Your Own Guitars

I was at a trade show a couple of years ago, and there was a stand there run by Madinter.  Madinter is a Spanish Luthier supplies company.  Unsurprisingly, it specialises in Spanish guitars, but when it comes to wood, it’s much the same.  A piece of ebony for a fingerboard is just the same, regardless of the guitar.  They have some electric wood, too.  I like the fact that it is... [Read more]

Broken Headstocks, Snapped Guitar Necks and My Solution

A lot of thought goes into the feel of a neck.  Its profile, width and depth are always an important consideration when buying a guitar.  What is considered less frequently, however,  is how the neck was constructed. As a guitar repairman, I glue a lot of headstocks back onto guitar necks.  In many cases the guitar has been dropped, or has fallen from a stand, and the headstock has snapped on impact. ... [Read more]

Wenge: the "new Brazilian Rosewood"?

There is an ongoing search for the “new Brazilian” – and there are some great-looking woods out there that have tonal qualities on a par with Brazilian.  African Blackwood is probably the most talked about at the moment.  It is a dalbergia, and therefore a “true” rosewood.  It grows in such a way that its logs will yield very few sets suitable for guitar building. So,... [Read more]

Custom Guitar: Brazilian Rosewood

I am currently making a 00 acoustic guitar out of Brazilian Rosewood.  The wood was cut a long time ago and looks quite dull; but with a finish on, its rich chocolate browns are accentuated.  I love the look of this sapwood, as I really like contrasts.  Brazilian tends to have a thin black pencil line between the heart and sap, which makes the sap stand out even more.  Beautiful.  It... [Read more]

Building A Custom Guitar: Two Acoustic Guitar Tops

I’ve got a couple of new acoustic guitars on the go. This is the top.  I’ve just glued the x-brace into it.  I carve the braces by hand once they’re glued in.  I can’t shape them first, as I make them tall and thin, coming to an almost-point, so I wouldn’t have a surface to clamp. So I glue in the x-brace and carve it before any other braces are in, as they would only... [Read more]

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