Sick of standard pickup position?

Remember her?
Yes she is back to visit again :) I still remember the first time i saw her, she was opting for a Bigsby bridge installation. Later on she got herself stars tattoo on her neck, followed by a esquire style single ply white pickguard. Now she is back for more!

I start by covering her in some old school woolen blanket to make her feeling cosy.

If my friend(a particular luthier) saw this, he would go.. "that's what happens when your edges are blunt!"

I took some foundation and did some touch up.

Yes, some very unusual position! When we were discussing on paper, it's all a mystery. I'm totally new to see such a pickup installation.

Position 1: Dimarzio Fast Track (Neck)
Position 2: Dimarzio Fast Track (Neck) + Stock Tele Bridge Single Coil
Position 3: Stock Tele Bridge Single Coil


My conclusion is that, this guitar is now something very versatile! The fast track actually sounds good at that position and retains the esquirish look! I do hope to be able to get her owner to do some sound sample of this experimental installation. I say it's Les Paul in the making(the owner not me, i'm just his worker for this project).

Tutorial ( String Changing for Archtop Bridge )

Many people often miss this part when restringing an Archtop guitar. Since an Archtop's bridge is not screwed onto the body or held in place by any support, it is common that people cannot find the intonated perfect position for the bridge after restringing. This problem can be easily solved! Works well for violin or other string instrument of same nature!


1st
Tear a low tack masking tape into 3 pieces. I'm using the 3M blue colored low tack tapes. It should look like the following illustration.

2nd
Make sure you are using the original edge of the tape and then tape it as close to the edge of the bridge as possible. Look at the following picture.

3rd
You'll no longer worry when your bridge came loose after you've loosen your string! Perfectly marked in place. Also do note that i keep the end of the masking tape up. This helps to reduce the chance of creating a ding with your nails or scratching the finish when you are removing the tapes.


Anyway this belongs to my client's beautiful Epiphone Joe Pass model which is currently going through re-inlaying process. He has cleverly opted for the real deal, high grade mother of pearl :D

Tutorial (Decal Application)

In this post, i'll try my best to show you how to apply a decal to your headstock. Do not skip any of the steps while going though this tutorial. If you have any question, you can simply post in the comment box and i'll get back asap.


1st
Cut the decals to size, keeping a small gap away from the printed area. Check if it fits nicely on the headstock or in your case the desired position.


2nd
Soak them into warm water. Cold or room temperature water will work as well but warm water allows the decal backing to be separated from the decal faster. This allows the glue of the decal to remain. Cold or room temperature water will take longer to allow the decal and backing to separate, also causing the glue of the decal to be less effective. It should take not more than 2mins for warm water.

3rd
Look carefully in this picture, the decal and the backing are now able to slide away from each other. Always slide and not peel like you would on sticker. It should be a very easy and gentle process, soak more if you need to apply pressure to slide it out.


4th
Slide the decal onto the desired location, adjust while the decal while it is still wet. You may use your finger but not any sharp object. The decal is very fragile at this stage.


5th
Use your finger to slide out excess water underneath the decal. Be gentle as the decal tends to tear at this stage. After that, use a lint free cloth or anything mild to wipe out the excess water.

6th
If you have been following so far and not skipping the steps, good. The next info is the most crucial part! The above 5 pictures have a big problem. To apply a decal, always make sure your wood is already sealed with a layer paint or sealer. If you do not do so, the clearcoat will cause a color difference. So basically, the first step is to prepare your desired area with a nice coat of finish. After that, do step 1-5. Step 6 is clearcoating the area. If you choose not to clearcoat it, you'll face decal tearing problem. Decal itself is actually very fragile but decal covered with clearcoat will be very strong.

Good Luck!

Spot The Difference!

Haha! The above image is just for some self entertainment :) I was restringing a client's guitar and was asked to use this set of strings. The packing for each string got a hand sign to tell you what number it is.. I was mischievous thus the special version of the E string appeared :D

Anyway the Gibson SG project is currently on hold as i need to source for some wood in order to fill the cavity. Here's a simple repaint, price is listed on my price.

The original

After paint stripping

After first layer of white.
Final product will be a glossy white.

Neck Reinforcements Have Arrived.

Alright.. so the neck is now glued back with the headstock.. But is that safe? Considering the tension of strings are pretty powerful. Personally, i'm not that much of a scientist so i'll prefer to play safe. I found some Nato wood lying around and decides to put them into action. For those who don't know, nato are the "asian" mahogany and have pretty much the same characteristic and are often used in guitar neck building.

Sawing these nato into shape is quite ridiculously tough. They are indeed the choice of wood for neck building.

So i carefully mark out where i plan to inlay some reinforcements.

Test fittings are as important as you trying out your jeans before buying. These sits about 3-4mm deep, depending which side you are on.


Finally. Now i have a safer feel when i'm going to string up this Gibby. Don't worry, since i'm going to coat it with white paint, it won't be visible. Anyway, it still looks ok :D

Saving Gibson Sg

So recently i acquired a Gibson SG from my friend.

Friend: Hey vincent, you want a free guitar?
Me: Oh why not? What is it?
Friend: It's a Gibson SG
Me: WHAT?! YOU KIDDING ME? FREE?
Friend: Yeah! BUT! It's broken
Me: In 2 parts? Should be easy to fix..
Friend: No.. in 3!

So here's Saving Gibson SG! Let's take a look at what i received, not for the faint of heart!

We could see here how the "neck thru" is actually done. So yeah, i prefer bolt on joints way better :D

Very nasty break at the headstock -> neck portion

So i start with the headstock to neck portion first. I used paint stripper to remove the paint on the back of the headstock so as not to damage the Gibson signature series number and "made in usa" stamp marks. However! A careless mistake caused the front logo to be left with "son"! Don't worry, that can be fix easily ;)

This is actually known as the Gibson SG-X. Made in the late 80s and early 90s for a very short period. Many people (includes professional luthiers) have never seen this model. It's considered rare for Singapore. It has 24frets instead of the usual 22 and have very different pot positions.

However, i'm not interested in the original SG-X look but rather the 60s SG Jr!

courtesy to www.rocknrollvintage.com

I'll be posting more on the progress of how i will attempt to save this SG and give it a new life! Or you can say how i turn a real Gibson to a "fake" Gibson!
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