Some Interesting 80s Basses
Following on from the “70s Bass Extravaganza” earlier this year I have two early 80s basses in for set up this week. Gibson Grabber Bass The first is a lovely 1982 Gibson Grabber Bass. It was suffering from uneven frets and a rising tongue caused by some unwise heavy shimming of the neck with a [...]
Read MorePE-1000GC Aria Pro II Gerry Cott Signature guitars are like buses…
… you don’t see one for ages then two come along at once! Although I used to own one of the original PE-1000 guitars and wish I’d never parted with it, I can’t ever recall seeing one of the blue Gerry Cott signatures before. In the space of two weeks however, I have worked on [...]
Read MoreGretsch 1967 Firebird Jet Refret – mystery holes
When refretting this 1967 Gretsch Firebird, I noticed two small holes in the 14th fret slot and another two in the 2nd fret slot. I’ve never seen these before but imagine that they are for locating pins to ensure correct positioning of the fretboard when it’s being glued to the neck? There is not much [...]
Read MoreAnother LSR Nut Refit (rosewood this time)
Here’s another LSR roller nut rescue, this time on a rosewood board Stratocaster, the previous LSR roller nut repair being on a maple ‘board. This time the fitter had cut the slot too far back, and had removed the rosewood behind the existing nut, rather than just 3/32″ in front of it. They had also [...]
Read More70s Bass Extravaganza!
Over the last few weeks I’ve been fortunate to have some unusual 70s basses in the workshop. It was a coincidence that they were all here at the same time, although the two fretless basses were brought in by the same person. Wal Pro II Bass The Wal Pro series of basses was introduced [...]
Read MoreJLD Bridge System in Gibson J-200
The top on this Gibson J-200 has bellied a bit, so much so that the lacquer on the top has started to crack. Consequently, I had trouble getting a low action and thought the guitar might be suitable for the JLD Bridge system, which can correct bowed tops. Installing the JLD system was straightforward enough. [...]
Read MoreGibson J-50 Partial Refret
This vintage Gibson J-50 played great but the lower frets were getting worn and needed attention. The original frets were wide and low, and if I dressed them, it would have resulted in very little height indeed. I agreed with the guitar’s owner that a partial refret was the best option. I replaced the first [...]
Read MoreDIY SOS – Fender LSR roller nut refitting
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, or so they say. The owner of this guitar fitted a Fender LSR roller nut himself and I have to say showed some skill in cutting the wood away. Unfortunately he misunderstood how the nut should be fitted and cut away far too much wood. I tidied the [...]
Read MoreGibson Les Paul Traditional neck split
Here’s another nasty break, this time a longitudinal split in a Les Paul neck, caused by a fall. All that was required was to glue and clamp both sides before refinishing the back of the neck using my nitrocellulose lacquers.
Read MoreGibson Les Paul Headstock Break
This Les Paul was only a week old when it suffered this catastrophic break. Unusually, the fall was so severe that it broke the fibre headstock face right across between the E tuners. Although not an easy repair the break had plenty of surface area for glue. The repaired headstock was relacquered and the repair [...]
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