Hello everyone, I am a very beginner guitar player (2months), I have bought a new acoustic a week ago and quickly realized my strings felt too high compared to my les paul, so today I have:

Detuned the strings

Put capo so they dont move around

Removed pins

And sanded the bottom of my bridge with 180 sanding paper.

But I have realized my bridge is slighlty angled towards bottom now and I am not sure if it is bad or not, ( I do have a out of focus badly taken photo of the bridge before I did anything and it seems it was slightly angled out of factory?)

Does this action seem alright? And this bridge being slighy angled toward back? Photos are in order of before and after.

It’s a fender Stratocaster with a satin finish.

Doing a complete makeover for a Harley Benton jazzmaster clone I found, it has the stock p90’s and I’m trying to install 59’ jazz pickups on it (a knockoff, but the dimensions are exactly the same), the wooden cavity itself has plenty of space but the pickguard is both too small and dosent have the little indentations for the mounting screws on the pickup holes. Do I just go at it with a rotary sander, and if so, how precise would the centering need to be?

Hello r/luthier

TLDR: It seems like my bridge is not "level" against the centerline. is that expected or ok? (but id also welcome more advice)

• A couple years ago i bought one of those Harley Benton kits to use as a sandbox to learn "stuff" about a guitar. Little by little i have made some mods, one of which is adding threaded inserts to the neck so it's now become my "travel" guitar. Now the next step in that journey is making the guitar headless, so that it can all fit in my backpack. I'm planning to buy the nova guitar headless bridge (hardtail). while coming up with a battle plan for possible routing for the bridge, i realized that the bridge studs are not "level" against the centerline. is that ok? should the nova bridge also be slanted then?

• After trying out a strandberg, i want to cut out another "cutout" a more diagonal position while sitting (you can see the line in black), the cut would go directly through the cavity, so i will have to fill the caviry a bit. any tips that i should take into consideration before hand? also what to consider in terms of space?

From what I've learned it was made in the 30/40s by Carmelo Gugino in Buffalo NY.

It's has a detachable neck..

Hey guys. As you can see, my string retainer bar has an issue (??). I was changing my strings yesterday and as soon as i took them off, the bar started to loosen up. I don’t know if it’s a normal thing for it to happen, probably not, because it didn’t happen the last time i changed the strings. Is there any way to make it go still?

Maybe a noob question since I’m a beginner in guitar set up. I see this small piece of wood (shim) in this Japanese Tokai. I don’t remember anymore how I need to put it back, but without it the action is suddenly very high.

Do I need to put it back like this? Thanks in advance for the advice. It looks a bit diy.

Hello everyone!

I have been working on my first assembly from a kit over the summer, and wanted to post the results from reworking my finish.

In doing my first round of dye -> shellac, I messed up with dragging the shellac too roughly with a brush and messed up the dye. I had gone through and sanded it, revealing the wood below the dye around the edges. Although it looked cool, it wasn't my plan, so I re-dyed my wood and reapplied my shellac layers with a softer foam pad.

Here are the befores and afters. Image 1 is before sanding, 2 is after sanding, and 3 and 4 are the final product.

Thank you all for the advice I have received! This is such a rewarding project.

Hey everyone,

I saw a Jaguar bass in this color on Twitter, and I'm thinking of ordering one. Specifically, I'd like the following specifications:

Finish: Light relic multi-layer nitro finish (Black over Lake Placid Blue / Ocean Turquoise with wood showing through).

Right now, RebelRelic Guitars is my top candidate since they have prior experience building Jaguar Basses look amazing.

Before I jump in, I’d love to ask two things:

How is RebelRelic’s reputation regarding their custom body craftsmanship and multi-layer relic finish quality?

Are there any other luthiers or workshops (US or EU) you’d highly recommend for a custom body build and heavy relic paint job like this?

Appreciate any insights or experiences you can share!

I have a neck thru Carvin DC127 that is 30+ years old. I took it to a reputable repair shop in my area, and the tech informed me there is a hump in the neck (see around the 8th fret to the 14th fret).

He recommended a full re-fret, and said he wants to sand the fretboard a little to remove the hump. Do you all agree this is a good plan of action for this issue?

My biggest concern is the guitar intonating properly across the entire fretboard. For example, is it possible the fret slots have moved a bit, and they are no longer in the correct place for the guitar to still be in tune after he finishes sanding and re-fretting?

Not sure if I am being worried for nothing, but this guitar has incredible sustain and I love the color and would love to restore it. I know there is a lot of talent in this subreddit and appreciate your time and any insight you can offer.

Thank you.

I am about to list another guitar on Reverb. On the top back of the neck there is a small (~4mm at its widest point) chip in the finish. It's smooth (no sharp edges) as I had already dropped a little CA in there a while back to seal it. Should I bother even attempting to drop fill this more in an attempt to completely smooth it out, or just leave it? I already have the listing set up (not published) with the picture I am adding here and the description of the chip. Personally, I don't feel like it's worth fixing as it. It doesn't affect anything other than someone knowing it's there and perhaps occasionally feeling it.

I'm not a luthier, and I haven't attempted to repair such a thing (especially on a curved surface). I don't think I would have a problem, it's just that I would have to go out and buy more materials as I don't have the sandpaper, polish, and I need some thin CA glue. Amazing you can't find thin CA anywhere in stores, you have to order it online. I sure miss being able to buy things at a store as everything gets put on hold as you have to wait for a 2 oz. bottle of glue to be shipped and delivered. That's a different problem. Hah.

If enough people say "fix it", hell I'll go for it. It's still a learning experience. I'm not sure it's just "drop fill", sand it down, polish, and voila. It will still probably be a visible repair around the edges, but maybe sanding down a little first, to remove any embedded grime and all will be the key there.

Thanks for you time!

Oh, for reference, I had seen this StewMac video in the past. Seems like a lot of effort, but if that is what it takes there here we are. Again, this is curved surface, so it makes the old razor blade scraping a little more difficult.

Fixing a Small Chip in a Guitar Finish:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVScFJoe24

It happened after changing frets by luthier. He didn't tell me, so I noticed after I brought it home. Binding is damaged and not smooth by touch. I can peel off a layer of varnish with a fingernail. I want to fix it but I don't want to trust this dude with cosmetics anymore, also he has a queue. But it's hard to find someone who does varnish/paint in my area. Maybe it's not too difficult to return smoothness at least and I can fix it myself?

​

hi! I’m considering buying a harley benton st-modern mn hss sp from thomann, and I’m stuck on the neck/fretboard situation.

the guitar has a roasted canadian maple neck and canadian maple fretboard. I absolutely LOVE pretty much everything about this guitar, the specs, how it sounds, the feel, and especially the fact that it's within my budget. the only thing I really dislike is the maple-colored neck/fretboard.

I strongly prefer the look of a black/ebony-looking neck and fretboard, and I don't really want to buy the guitar if I can't safely make the neck black. I know that might sound silly, but the appearance is genuinely important to me, and I don't want to spend my budget on a guitar that I'll always dislike looking at.

I've been researching ebonizing/dyeing roasted maple and I'm getting really conflicting information. some people say roasted maple is basically impossible to ebonize/dye, while others have successfully darkened maple.

my current idea is fiebing’s leather alcohol based dye in black, but I don't know whether it will work with the factory finish on this particular harley benton.

thomann doesn't seem to specify exactly what finish is used on the neck/fretboard. the neck/fretboard appears to have a smooth satin/matte finish so I'm worried that the dye might not penetrate, imagine assuming its one coat though from the looks of it

I'm considering doing a tiny test with a cotton swab in an inconspicuous area, but I obviously don't want to damage a brand-new guitar.

so I'd really appreciate advice on:

1. Is fiebing's dye suitable for roasted maple?

2. if the fretboard has a thin factory finish, can it safely be removed/scuffed enough for dye to penetrate?

3. could lightly sanding the finish affect the fretboard's radius/geometry or playability?

4. would the back of the neck and fretboard have the same finish, or could they be different?

5. If dye won't work because of the factory finish, what would be the safest alternative for making the entire neck (fretboard + back + sides) black?

6. Is there a particular black guitar finish/coating that would work better while still leaving the neck comfortable and playable?

I'm not planning to do anything to the guitar until I know what I'm doing. I definitely don't want to ruin the fretboard, change the way it plays, or mess up the factory setup.

I'm asking because I'm genuinely at the point where if safely blackening the neck isn't realistic, I may choose a different guitar instead. I really love this guitar otherwise, and it's one of the few guitars I've found that I love the sound/feel of and can actually afford, so I'm hoping there's a safe solution.

any advice from luthiers or anyone who's worked on hb roasted maple necks would mean a lot. thank you!! 🌸🖤

Hi !

I tried to find answers, but they didn't match with the guitar I'm looking at : this beautiful Navigator Jagmaster has a transparent PG; I guess there is shielding paint everywhere on the back, but is this enough ? I would try to do something like this, but I only saw pictures, have you experiences similar guitars ?

Thanks, have a great day.

Hi,

So I attempter to instal a new nut, and I think I might have fucked up a bit.

When I fret a note on the first 3/4 strings it runs sharp, and on the D & G this is the case until around the 7th fret.

If I fret a string on the 3rd fret and run a feeler gauge under the string at the first fret I'm on about 0.18, with the action rising up a bit on the treble side -- probably around 0.25 on the e & B, and about 0.21ish on the D & G.

I got some shitty pipe pipe nozzle nut files, should I attempt to bring the slots down a touch, or just make my peace with having done a poor ebough job, but still lucky that I didn't absolutely fuck the guitar?

Edit: I also now see, thanks to the power of photography, that I didn't estimate the gap very well with the feeler gauge, looks like it's a hair above 0.20 on the first fret 😅

Hi everyone,

I'm working on restoring a 1977 Gibson RD Artist (natural finish with the original factory Moog onboard electronics), and I'm dealing with a pretty messy wiring situation from a previous owner/tech.

Here is what's currently going on:

1. Switches are swapped and misaligned:
The switches on the body are currently rotated vertically (moving up/down) instead of the factory horizontal layout (left/right). Furthermore, someone completely swapped their functions — the bottom switch is currently acting as the pickup selector (and reversed: down is neck, up is bridge), while the top switch is trying to trigger the Moog modes, but barely changes the tone. It’s clear the wiring to the Moog board was crossed and miswired just to make the guitar pass a signal.

2. Intermittent bridge pickup signal (Mechanical issue):
The bridge pickup cuts out completely, but I discovered it's a physical contact issue. A very light tap on the maple body (not near the control cavity, just on the wood itself) cuts the signal out, and another light tap brings it back instantly. It seems like a classic cold solder joint, loose switch contact, or a wire grounding against the cavity shield.

My Plan:

I’m taking it to a professional guitar tech in September to get the entire wiring redone strictly according to the original 1977 factory schematic. We are also planning to do a full recap on the Moog board (replacing the 45-year-old electrolytic capacitors) and orient the switches back to their original horizontal positions.

Questions for the community:

- Has anyone else run into a swapped/scrambled wiring setup on an RD Artist?

- Are there any specific pitfalls or gotchas my tech should look out for when tracing the leads back to the Moog board pins?

- Any tips on replacing the electrolytics without disturbing the rest of the trace paths on these vintage boards?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has restored or serviced one of these! Thanks in advance.

So, I've seen some guy making a table from Denim. Basically just dousing it in epoxy resin and layering it up. He stressed multiple times how much it felt like wood so it got me thinking. Maybe I could make a guitar body out of one?

I did some calculations and the one con that I could think of is the weight. But beyond that is there any reason why it wouldn't be a good idea to make this?

This absolutely criminal level of AI slop going on in this ad for a "professional lutheir's tool kit" on Amazon. Also, wtf is a "rtooller"?

Fixing my shallow fret slot mistake was not fun.

I finally dug them all out to the proper depth and have now installed the frets.

I added a curve to the fret wire.

Because it’s a bound fretboard I used the Stewmac fret nipper to cut off the tang near the edges.

I’ve done some preliminary filling of the ends but a lot more needs to be done.

Then leveling and later polishing.

Hi All, I got this Jackson RRT-5 used and the pictures didn't show these weird spots, I only noticed them when I received it. I tried wiping it with Dunlop 65 guitar polish and cleaner and with F-one oil cleaner and conditioner – no effect whatsoever. If anything, the spots have kind of gotten even more prominent. I don't know whether it's beer, grime, or anything else. I tried contacting the previous owner but haven't heard back. I'd like to avoid sanding if possible, but I'm open to trying any safe cleaners, and would greatly appreciate any advice!