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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 [...]
How I Defret a Six String Bass
by Jim · Leave a Comment
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 [...]
Custom Guitars: Rosettes
by Jim · 3 Comments
I’ve been thinking about rosettes quite a lot recently. The rosette is the decorative circle around the soundhole. They come in many guises.
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, [...]
United Breaks Guitars
by Jim · Leave a Comment
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 [...]
Banjo Repair: A Five-String With A Past
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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 [...]
How To Grow Your Own Guitars
by Jim · Leave a Comment
I was at a trade show a couple of years ago; there was a stand there run by Madinter, a Spanish luthier supplies company. It specialises in Spanish guitars
Broken Headstocks, Snapped Guitar Necks and My Solution
by Jim · Leave a Comment
As a guitar repairman I glue a lot of headstocks back onto guitar necks. Often the guitar has been dropped or has fallen and the headstock has snapped.
Wenge: the "new Brazilian Rosewood"?
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A few months ago I was talking to Ervin Somogyi. We were discussing woods and geeking out. Following a tip off, he had produced a guitar body out of Wenge
Custom Guitar: Brazilian Rosewood
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I am making a 00 acoustic guitar from Brazilian Rosewood. The wood was cut a long time ago; with a finish on, its rich chocolate browns are accentuated.
Building A Custom Guitar: Two Acoustic Guitar Tops
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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 [...]
Hello. My name is Jim Fleeting. At my workshop in Ripon, North Yorkshire, I create custom guitars and basses for customers around the UK and Europe. The Guardian describes me as one of the UK’s leading luthiers, which is nice of them. I built the UK’s first nine string bass and popped up in Guitarist and Guitar & Bass magazine, after winning an award from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. I also head Jim Fleeting Guitars’ thriving repair shop.