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
Today I worked on a beautiful Gibson Les Paul Classic that needed a bit of attention. There wasn’t anything massively wrong with the instrument, but it just needed some elbow grease in a few areas.
Much of the hardware was heavily tarnished and lacked the lustre of a new instrument. Similarly, the fret wire was dull and starting to corrode in a couple of places, and there was also a little rust on a few of the pickup pole pieces.
To remedy this I used some metal polish along with my Dremel multi tool, and the hardware came up a treat!
The frets were fairly tidy in terms of wear, so I just needed to bring them up to a vibrant shine as above, and they now look great!
To finish I fitted new strings, adjusted the intonation and the pickup heights for an even response.
The fair amount of weight to the guitar, and 60’s neck carve really suited the instrument, and it sounded wonderful through my Marshall during testing.
Before and after…
Today has been another interesting day in the workshop! So far I’ve replaced a couple of reverb tanks in a couple of amps, and I’ve been able to finish the SG off.
I got the replacement tanks from Hot Rox Uk, and the service was quick and efficient. They’re competitive on pricing so it was a good experience dealing with them.
The tanks are direct replacements for a Fender Blues Junior and a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special, although the later tank is made by TAD rather than Belton/Accutronics, which is the brand you’re most likely to find in many Marshall, Mesa and Fender Amps and many more besides.
There are notable differences in the construction of both tanks – the Belton appears to be more expensive to manufacture, so we’ll have to see if it translates to a better tone/experience with the customer.
The SG client opted to get a new set of Gibson Classic ’57 and Classic + ’57 pickups with shiny chrome covers. These differ only slightly from the previous pickups, but sound great now that they’re in the guitar. They sound bright to my ears, in comparison with ’57s in a Les Paul I’ve got, but still lovely and versatile and definitely better than the stock pickups these guitars come with. It’s been a real treat to work on this guitar, and I look forward to the next one!
A customer has brought me their trusty Gibson SG standard to remove the pickups in readiness for some replacements that they’re sourcing.
The pickups to come out of the guitar are Gibson’s own Classic ’57’s, and these ones in particular were originally in a Custom Shop Historic Les Paul, hence the ageing on them.
These are beautiful-sounding pickups, rich in warmth and pristine clarity. They sound fabulous. I can’t wait to see what goes in in their place! Stay tuned! 
