Manchester Guitar Tech
I quite like the new Gibson Custom Shop cases with the yellow lining that come with the newer ES models. It harks back to the cases of the 1960s and shows off the guitar beautifully. The case that came with my ES-330 has a mottled grey fur interior and the outside is heavily marked from …
A regular customer of mine asked me to scallop the last four frets of his Ibanez Jem. Once the scallops were cut and sanded, I sealed the bare wood with a couple of coats of Clear Satin nitrocellulose lacquer.
I was asked to fit a Floyd Rose locking nut to this Warmoth neck. I was slightly dubious that it would work, especially as Warmoth will not cut the shelf for a locking nut on their Vintage Modern necks. Thankfully, the truss rod nut is sited well back from the nut so fitting the nut …
I spent just about all of today rewiring this jazz-style guitar. It was made by Skiffle Cat who may well now be defunct? It’s not the greatest guitar in the world but it is very servicable and now sounds the business. Last time it was here I dressed the frets, gave it a new Tusq …
Another EJ-200 lefty conversion, this one in sunburst. These really are cracking acoustic guitars with bags of tone and volume. This example (sourced from Thomann) has much better neck angle than most so I was able to get a low action with plenty of height left on the saddle. I’m thinking that I really should …
Here’s another Epiphone left hand conversion I did recently, this time a natural finish guitar. I invested in a Stewart Macdonald saddle routing jig and yes, one day I’ll take the protective paper off it! I used a Graphtec Tusq nut and saddle as I like the consistency of the material, plus it’s easier to …
This Höfner Model 4575 “65-3” guitar which dates to 1965/66 and I’ve just rewired it as the controls were unreliable. despite a good clean. Alan at Project Guitar Parts supplied the switches and also a reproduction pickguard and bracket. The pickguard needed to be cut to accommodate the pickups. Eagle-eyed aficionados will spot that the …
I made the Tortoiseshell pickguard for this Fender USA Deluxe Jazz Bass the other day. For some reason, Fender don’t make this bass with a torty ‘guard but I think that tortoiseshell over 3-tone sunburst is a classic look. The material is genuine 4-ply cellulose nitrate which smells great when it’s being cut. Making a …
Last week I refretted this maple board Stratocaster with huge wire – 0.057″ high. I removed the old frets, left the finish intact and laid the new frets onto the strips bare wood that were exposed. I used Sintoms fretwire which was an absolute pleasure to work with. It held the slot tightly and the …
It was my pleasure to make pickguards for two Martin acoustic guitars this week. The pickguards are made from Tortis, invented by John Greven and sold through Luthiers Mercantile. This material makes beautiful pickguards, it polishes to a high gloss and the edges can be rounded for a very organic appearance. Martin OM-18GE Martin 000-42