The Guitar Trade - Stringed Instrument Repair in the Tri-Cities

05/25/2024

Simple cavity route will allow this guitar to run 18volts for a Sustainiac on the front end.

05/25/2024

As a product of the 80’s myself, I am drawn to this guitar. I thought it was worth sharing.

05/25/2024

It’s cool when a stainer works out to match with a fender maple neck. Check ✔️ that box!

02/25/2024

A refret on a Martin D-45 this morning. It’s been a jam packed weekend for guitar repair!

02/25/2024

Working on a shred machine this Sunday morning…

02/25/2024

This guitar was fun to work on! I owned a model like this in the 90’s. So I had a kinship to this guitar. This particular guitar, the neck collapsed on the body. I had to reinforce the neck pocket and the bracing near the top. After that, I had to reconstruct the sound hole. Shame on me for not taking a pic of the final result (I’m bad about doing that).

02/25/2024

Sometimes you need a boost to get the action just right. ☺️ a wooden angled shim can do just that.

01/24/2024

I love watching crappy action movies while I perform fret dresses. It keeps the mental gears going while through the motions. Always does the job

01/06/2024

It was a great Christmas break. I just got back into the repair with an 80’s Les Paul. Fully re-fretted. It’s ready to rock once again!

12/03/2023

Three of my latest finishing projects. The goal is to get them out before the end of this year.

12/03/2023

K&K mandolin pickup installation this morning on an Eastman mandolin. Sounds amazing acoustically. Now it sounds great through the PA.

11/18/2023

Hearbreaking for the moment…. But not for long

10/15/2023

I always love love love the opportunity to try new things. Installing any kind of pickup now after 28 years is generally a breeze. installing a Fishman Upright bass pickup was no exception. The most challenging part about it was the transport to the wood shop to and fro. Those things are “hercing”. It sounded amazing and the customer was thrilled. Thank you for the new skill set.

10/15/2023

A customer bought a guitar, sight unseen.

He strung it up; the next day, the top of this acoustic guitar exploded! It got to me this way in the first pic.

The sound plate just cracked in half, falling up through, sending the bridge off the body. I was able to fabricate a new rosewood sound plate underneath, fortifying the structure. Able to secure a bridge back in place.

It was on life support last week, but hallelujah, it is back to life!!!!

09/27/2023

I am so bad about posting repair jobs. Just noticed that my last one was in June. I don’t know how many tens of guitars I’ve gone through since then. I thought this one was particularly interesting.

I was asked to route and install a jag single pickup between the bridge and the tailpiece with an on/off switch independent of the blade switch . It’s been a long time since I have ever turned away a repair/mod ever. I was kind of curious how it would sound. So what the hay! I jumped on the opportunity in a heartbeat. 💗

06/10/2023

So this is a Strat body that has taken a life of its own. From raw wood, to a traditional white blonde, to a blue burst (my idea till the spray gun didn’t cooperate with me). Than rather strip it, I decided to to make it a gold top with a forgivable polyurethane finish. After everything it had been through. It’s still at beautiful at as I could make it out to be. 😊

06/02/2023

https://youtu.be/Wfd2uRT-XLQ

Just worked on this guitar for a customer. He won it off an eBay auction from the guitar player of Limp Biskit. This Kramer Voyager needed some TLC but now it is ready to shred onstage once again; maybe not as high profile but it will shred no less…

The Wes Borland ArtistFirst collection is only available at ANALOGr.com

05/12/2023

Had a moment’s break from customer repairs to work on finishing up a Strat body and neck I’ve had sitting around. Used a gold glitter spray paint from home depot, followed by quite a few clear coats of polyurethane to seal the deal. It’s gonna be purdy…🥹

05/10/2023

I have a customer who liked the look of his Tele. But it was open bare wood… After I applied a sanding sealant, 15 coats of glossy nitrocellulose lacquer, wet sanding, and a go-around on the buffing wheel… he now ❤️🎸🎶LOVES it!

04/24/2023

Now this repair did tug at the heart strings a little bit for me. The customer whom brought this guitar into me remembers this jazz box as his father’s back in the day, playing in clubs and socials. He hadn’t seen it for a number of decades as it was in cold storage. Water damaged and warped… unusable :(
But with some TLC, I was able to bring this beauty back to life to enjoy for many generations to come!

04/23/2023

Just got this one in for a refret and a new nut. Just in time to be given as a gift for a budding guitarist.

04/22/2023

For this Les Paul’s 40th anniversary, the owner decided to have it with new taller frets and a bone nut. What a way to ring in its birthday!

03/30/2023

I have a customer who loves the look of the natural mahogany on his guitar. I am just preserving it by shooting it with a clear gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. It will take time and many coats to get it glossy smooth but it will be well worth it!

03/09/2023

Getting ready to plate the neck. weirdly the neck had to come off for pickup change and pot swap out. Doing that right now before we seal the tomb. lol

The finish was flaking off beforehand. I shot it with a flash coat… which is basically clear nitro with 2/
3 parts thinner and retarder. It sealed the body nicely. After a week and a half, I can lightly put it on a buffing wheel.

Can’t wait to put it in the hands of the son of the original owner. It was in storage for 30 yrs. With water damage.

Story in progress…

02/11/2023

Mid morning wiring job. I never seem to take pics when I’m in the thick of it, just after the procedure is complete.

Jazzmaster “4 way Tele” wiring mod. Custom pickguard and aluminum pickup covers. After a set-up it’s ready to roll for the weekend!

01/28/2023

Making progress on the Harmony Roy Smeck. A lot of gluing, suturing, and drying at the moment. I see a nice little jazz box in the future.

01/27/2023

Gibson Guitars…the 70’s… co***ne decisions…

I had a customer with a ‘75 Gibson J45. Decent guitar other than the flawed bridge with a plastic insert where the strings and bridge pins go. The plastic split and couldn’t hold the bridge pins in place anymore. Essentially unplayable as it came in.
Removed the old bridge and replaced it with a quality all rosewood bridge. Now the thing is a player again!

01/27/2023

Now I don’t like changing my own oil in my car so I get why someone wouldn’t enjoy restringing their own classical nylon string guitar. Take the stress out of your day and let us do it!

01/21/2023

I once rigged a neck steamer out of an old espresso machine a long time ago. This morning I had to break it out on an old Harmony Roy Smeck that needed the neck to be removed.
It came from a customer whose guitar was his father’s. So of course there is a sentimental value. It needs a whole restoration starting with the neck removal first. Then on to brace and body regluing.
I love this stuff!

01/20/2023

When your frets look like this, it might be time for a fret dressing. Surprisingly this particular guitar didn’t need a refret; there was enough to level and crown.