Troubleshooting problems with acoustic guitar saddles can often be problematic. This document is really useful to help one’s understanding and appreciation of just how important it is to set up these pieces of equipment well, and also suggest ways of fixing them.
Have a read, and if you’re not sure about something, please get in touch.
http://www.fishman.com/files/advanced_undersaddle_pickup_installation.pdf
This Epiphone SG guitar required some much needed TLC in order to make the electronics work as designed.
A third-party selector switch had been installed in such a way that the pickups only worked independently of each other. This meant that the middle position did not work at all, so the choppy, funky, scooped sounds synonymous with this combination was inaccessible.
A replacement switch was purchased, and soldered back into the correct configuration – the previous switch direction was connecting the opposite pickup to the one described on the switch surround. Needless to say I corrected this as well.
The fretboard, frets and body received a thorough clean and polish, leaving the guitar looking and feeling much like it would have done in the shop, making this a very satisfying job to do!
This Epiphone SG guitar required some much needed TLC in order to make the electronics work as designed.
A third-party selector switch had been installed in such a way that the pickups only worked independently of each other. This meant that the middle position did not work at all, so the choppy, funky, scooped sounds synonymous with this combination was inaccessible.
A replacement switch was purchased, and soldered back into the correct configuration – the previous switch direction was connecting the opposite pickup to the one described on the switch surround. Needless to say I corrected this as well.
The fretboard, frets and body received a thorough clean and polish, leaving the guitar looking and feeling much like it would have done in the shop, making this a very satisfying job to do!
This Parker fly is a real beauty. A problem with it however, was that the nut slot for the G string was a bit tight. This resulted in an accurate tuning stability when using the tremolo system, and when returning to pitch after use, the string would be sharp, leaving an undesirable sound.
In order to remedy this, I widened the slot slightly so that the string could pass freely after lubrication. I then attended all of the other slots in the same way as well, and then the guitar began to behave in the intended way.
This is a stunning instrument and a really interesting axe to work on!
This was an interesting repair to do. Not only was the fretboard in serious need of a fret stone/re-crown and set-up, but the instrument was also creating a sitar-type buzzing sound which was less than pleasant!
The fret stone was straight forward, taking out some fairly serious pits, then re-profiling and polishing to a crowned, smooth surface.
The next job was to fix the buzz. Typically, these sorts of sounds are generated by problems with either the nut or the bridge, and can be narrowed down by process of elimination.
The sitar sound was continuing to be created when any note was fretted, however it was eradicated when picking between a fretted note and the nut. Therefore, the bridge was the problem.
This was a pretty simple job to ultimately fix, and the guitar is back on the road and ready for action!
This month I spent a couple of days rebuilding my poorly Fender Blues Junior with the chaps at Vyse Amps in Pinner, London.
The amp has been my go-to combo for 8yrs, and being 12yrs old and seeing a lot of action, it has had a lot of heat cycles through the solder joints which is the root of the problems coming through. The power amp valves’ solder was beginning to crack, and the tracks on the PCB were lifting and ultimately breaking.
The solution to this – which would become endemic throughout the rest of the amp in time – was to remove all of the original components, and replace with a new circuit built in an old-school ‘point-to-point’ fashion which would enable me to make modifications or replace any faulty components much more easily for the life of the amp.
Since completely changing everything except the cabinet and reverb tank, the amp has taken on a different character, but is a beautiful alternative to the Blues Junior I knew and loved. It’s now got a Celestion G12H Anniversary Edition speaker, and in conjunction with the up-rated electronics is more articulate as a result. I’m still getting to know the amp, but can’t wait to see how it performs on gigs and shows as they come in!
this Ibanez Jem was in need of a basic setup, only with a couple of extra tweaks.
The action was high for the player, so put a paper shim under the back of the neck to increase the neck angle, raised the bridge (to enable increased raising of pitch when pulled back – as it’s designed to do – with more ease).
I also straightened the neck a touch and checked the balance of the pickups… A Hipshot Tremsetter system had previously been installed, and since it was no longer required, the arrangement in the image was removed and replaced with a more conventional claw. I added an additional spring in the back to match the tension/balance of the strings, so it’s super sleek and more or less plays itself! Fantastic guitar!
Today was a very interesting day – I went on an amp servicing course which was thoroughly revelatory! I highly recommend it to all guitarists and bass players as it can really help you appreciate how to maintain and sustain your kit.
The only slight downside is that an amp I took which I thought was fine and dandy turned out to have a fairly critical problem… It seems a trip to the music shop is in order…!
It’s been another busy week here at Aylesbury Guitar Repair, with an interesting mixture of jobs required to be done.
The first was a rather sorry, 30yr old Tangelwood acoustic, whose frets were in appalling condition littered with dents from strings, bizarre diagonal ‘grazing’ and one or two frets with flattened edges under the high E string. Furthermore, the bridge saddle was so low that the guitar was more or less completely choking out around the 5th fret up, and as such was more or less unplayable!
The owner just wanted a basic setup, so the guitar could be played along the length of the neck – not the most demanding of requests on the face of it, although the work to get it there was fairly substantial!
I started by levelling the neck and fret-stoning and re-crowning the frets, then polished to a high shine.
Next, I set about cutting a new bridge saddle from a bone blank, only this one was about an extra third deeper than the original to get sufficient clearance, but with a friendly action to aid playing.
Once the new strings were added I checked the string spacing, action, the intonation, and once satisfied I polished the guitar to finish the job.
This is a completely different guitar from when it arrived, and was very fun to do. Delivering a like-new instrument is always a buzz for me, and I know there will be many hours of enjoyment as a result of the work that was carried out here.
The next guitar was an Ibanez whose pickup selector switch was malfunctioning – there was a spot between positions 1 & 2 where the guitar cut-out completely, and would often get stuck there mid-performance. This was clearly unideal, so a replacement was required.
The switching for this guitar is quite complex, utilising an OTAX VLX91 switch that has double the number of contacts available to create many interesting pickup combinations when using 4-conductor cable.
A a H-H equipped guitar, the sonic options for this guitar are very varied with the following…
1. Neck wired series
2. Neck wired parallel
3. Neck and bridge together
4. Inner coils
5. Bridge wired series
With this you can get some lovely warm tones, powerful ones (courtesy of the DiMarzio Evolution pickups) and single coil out-of-phase-type scooped ones.
The wiring was a little bit tricky in places – quite precise and fiddly – but the job was done first time and the owner is super happy with a more taut switch, minus the unwanted killswitch bonus!
Another job that took place today was a setup on an incredible Overwater bass. This is a custom-made instrument that needed thicker strings to accommodate the new owner’s preferences in feel. The action needed to go too, and this was helped by the increased gauge, and then the intonation needed some adjustment.
I typically find that 5-string basses are quite challenging to get perfect on the Low B, but the Hipshot bridge on this bass was fantastic and settled really well! Highly recommended.
What was interesting on this instrument was that the fretboard was so flat – there was minimal radius in the fretboard, but it was wonderfully playable!! An all-round beautiful instrument!
So the Martin got finished beautifully – the action was so good that any electric guitar would be proud to bear it, and it really plays effortlessly.
I’ve since received some school basses that have a myriad of different issues, including missing jack sockets, missing pickguards and exposed wiring, and intonation issues. They need some serious love but I’m sure the results will make them a real joy to play in the end!
Next, this Ibanez walked in. It needed a fret stone, re-crown, setup and also needs it’s switch replacing as there’s a spot on it where the signal cuts out completely!
I started with the fret stone and re-crown so that I could batch some soldering together once I get the go-ahead on the basses.
The pits that were present in the frets came out really easily, and they polished up beautifully after lots of elbow grease! Once that was all done I set about lowering the action (came down by a 3rd so is now mega-low!) and now it’s so easy to play. Unreal, and so exciting! It’s a new guitar. One tweak of the intonation on the high E string and it was good to go!
