Parker Fly Nut Work

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

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!

Fenix Strat and Yamaha RGX

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

Yamaha RGX

This fella needed some real TLC. It arrived to me with a couple of strings on it, (which were totally corroded) and the wiring was problematic – no signal coming out of it.

The body was covered in dust, and the fretboard was caked in gunk… Nice! Strangely this is a job I quite like doing because the reward is a fresh, brand new-looking fingerboard that it’s owner hasn’t seen on this guitar for quite some time!

After a complete clean up, tightening of nuts and simple wiring fixes, the guitar was ready for a regular setup and now she plays like a dream!

Fenix Strat

This Fenix Strat was an interesting guitar indeed. Made by Young Chang in the 80’s, it has a great weight, feel and finish.

I was originally asked overhaul the electrics on the guitar, however upon inspection they proved to be in a good state of repair so my attention turned to the condition of the frets.

On the top fret there were a couple of dents from where there had been an impact with the strings, and some wear near the nut from general playing. To remedy these I applied a fret stone and re-crown, polished them up and then she was good as gold!

I had to give the high E string but slot a bit of attention as it was fizzing, but once this was fixed, intonation and action set, it was time to plug in and do the final checks. Lovely!

Reverse V Gauge Change, Jazz Bass and Tele Set-Ups

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

Have you ever seen one of these before? This is a Gibson Reverse V guitar, which was released in very limited number in 2008, and the owner wanted the strings changed up from 10’s to 11’s.

It was an interesting guitar to work on, although a little unwieldy as it pivoted on the bridge end of the body. Great instrument, though!

Once that was done it was onto setting up a Fender P Bass – nice and straight forward, and cleaned up really nicely – and a Telecaster. Both of these were left-handed instruments.

The Tele ended up needing an extra bit of attention since the high E and B strings were ‘fizzing’ in the nut, but after a little attention and fettling they were good as gold again! What will come through the door next?

Ibanez Set-up

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

Just a quick post about an ibanez guitar in need of some love!

The nut was sitting white high on top of a couple of brass shims, and upon removal the action over the lower frets was much better.

I was also able to tweak the truss rod to allow a little more bow in the neck, then take the bridge down by a fraction, and now she’s playing super-slick! Oooh yeah!

Classical Bridge Saddle and Nut Replacement

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

Today I completed a bridge and nut replacement on a classical guitar. The saddle in particular needed some work to become thin enough to match the slot on the bridge, but she was there after a little sanding and coaxing.

With a fresh set of strings, a polish and tune up she’s ready to go!

Gibson Les Paul Nut Slots

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Aylesbury Guitar Repair

A recent guitar I did some work on was a lovely Gibson Les Paul that needed a little attention to the nut slots. The nut had been replaced elsewhere and the new slots were sitting a bit high, meaning fretting at the lower frets was slightly harder work than in other areas of the guitar. Tuning stability would be challenged as well, had they remained.

So, I was able to maintain the action of the guitar as well as cut the slots a fraction deeper to remedy the aforementioned problems. This can be a tricky job to do as you don’t really want to make any errors! Cutting too deep won’t do, so I was checking each time I used my file to take a little more out. Also, it was necessary to pay attention to the angle behind the nut which, if too shallow, would possibly make the string ‘fizz’, giving an undesirable sound and compromising sustain and overall enjoyment of the instrument.

This particular guitar was really special. It has been played a great deal and bears the marks you’d expect – worn finish under the forearm, just under the bridge pickup, and a healthy dose of buckle rash. But what this guitar lacks in ‘mintness’ it makes up for in swathes with charisma and character. It resonated beautifully, and was so easy to play, it was fantastic. A real pleasure to work on it.

So it seems so far so good with the nut slots and depth, and the client seems happy with the adjusted intonation, too.

Since this one, a couple of similar jobs have come in, and it’s exciting to see the variety of instruments that are around! I look forward to updating you all soon!