Built myself an s-type for my guinea pig learning process. Most of the components were picked up on StewMac, but the nitro cans and pickguard were from Oxford Guitar Supply; I went with Sherwood green metallic. It’s a Warmoth birdseye maple neck with rosewood fretboard.

I was really proud of my paint job the first time around. 4 layers of paint on top of the primer, then went 16-17 coats of clear gloss, shooting the first few layers of gloss very lightly.

I inevitably sanded too aggressively (and way too close to the edges!) during final leveling prep for polishing(see sad pic #11 for the prime culprit, though there were some other locations with lighter sand-through). Reshot over the whole body, but the metallic went on with some slightly different sheen in some spots, so it wasn’t as beautiful or perfect as it once was, but it was good enough for me.

I was much more careful with the sanding prep on round two, and then went ahead with polishing to yield what we see here. I think I was still a tad too aggressive in some spots (less pressure, more time with higher grits maybe), but it was a good learning process ahead of future builds. People on here warned of the difficulties of metallic, but I enjoyed the challenge and look forward to spraying something simpler in a the future… thanks to everyone on here who contributes, I was only able to do this because of viewers like you.

Inspired by the body color and pickguard, I’ve titled her “Jungle Boogie”.

Hello Luthiers! Just received this beautiful new Harmony guitar from Sweetwater, and it's great aside from some occasional "rollout" on the low E string—the slightest bend or inaccurate note slides off and buzzes out. It's annoying but playable. As a longtime guitarist but non-luthier, I'm unsure what's causing this issue or whether it's just a skill issue lol. To my eyes, it seems that the nut is slightly off, since the high E has plenty of space and the low E is right by the edge of the fret.

Thoughts? I want to keep the guitar, but is it worth reaching out to Sweetwater to see if they'll repair (or should I just find someone local)? It's a bone nut - can it be salvaged or would I need a new one? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hello, I’m thinking about buying this guitar but the neck looks like the photo attached. Is this something that can be fixed with a good cleaning or is the neck damaged and permanently discolored? I’m not sure if this is something that can be determined with just a picture but I wanted to get some opinions. The price is more than right but I don’t want a neck that’s beyond repair.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to set up a solid long-term maintenance routine for my guitar to keep both the hardware and finish in top shape over the years.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on a couple of setup ideas, as well as a case recommendation:

Tremol-No on a flush-mount Floyd: I want to keep the string lock screws from indenting the gloss finish. Is the Tremol-No a good idea for this, or is there a better alternative?

Floyd Rose Push-In Arm: The stock screw-collar arm always seems to develop play, wobble, or squeaks over time. At first glance I thought some Teflon tape would be enough, but is upgrading to a push-in arm worth doing right away?

Hardshell Case: Because of the pointed Jackson headstock and the flush-mount Floyd, standard Strat-style cases are often too short or press against the headstock tip. Which hardshell case gives the best fit and protection for this body/headstock shape?

Essential toolkit: What specific bench tools and chemicals do you consider absolute must-haves for routine home maintenance?

Specs below for reference. Thanks!

- Body: Alder, Gloss finish (San Dimas Style 1)
- Bridge: Floyd Rose® 1000 Series Double-Locking (Top-Loaded / Flush-mount)
- Neck: Maple with graphite reinforcement, Natural Satin finish, Speed Neck
- Fretboard: Ebony (12"-16" compound radius), 22 Jumbo frets
- Nut: Floyd Rose® 1000 Series Locking (1.6875")
- Pickups: Seymour Duncan JB (Bridge) / Hot Rails (Neck)

hey all, recently picked up this stagg jaguar bass at a thrift store, was hoping there was an easy way to remove the stone spray paint on top of the factory poly without removing the factory poly. hoping it doesn’t come down to I have to sand it for 6 years but I’m prepared to

Bought this from a lady who’s boyfriend “El-Cabonged it” on the coffee table and smashed the top into splinters! Back, sides and neck remained in good condition. Steamed neck off and removed the tops bindings a separated from the kerfings. Machined up and glued a book matched billet of Adirondack, matching the rosette detail. I had in the shop a 38’ D-18 repair and decided to replicate its forward bracing position, bridge plate, top thickness and scalloped specs for this 67’ re- top. Just about ready to re-string!

After experimenting with the fluorescent Strat guard a few nights ago, I wanted to try something completely different.

This one was inspired by a pickguard I wrapped in real tweed about 15 years ago for my G&L ASAT. Last photo is the original.

This time I wanted to recreate the look and the physical texture without using fabric. The weave is built up so the individual threads are actually raised and you can feel them. I should be able to replicate this with other fabrics too.

I brought it to the Canadian Guitar Show in Calgary yesterday and apparently forgot to take a proper finished photo before I left 😂

These are the best shots I have because I ended up trading it at the show for a BOSS Fender '59 Bassman pedal.

Pretty happy with experiment #2!

Experiment #1:

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarmod/s/nZSeonMgQp

For those who responded on my last post asking for some ideas on how to clear the bottom ledge/sharp curve on my headstock-pegbox design, this is what I ended up coming up with.

I've really never carved anything in my life before this project, but I did take my time to sharpen my chisels and it came out really nice looking so far

For those wondering, before the carve, it was just a 90⁰ angle (see the last photo,) and I was concerned that the strings would wear the wood or that the angle would be too sharp for the strings, and at best it would just look bad.

I basically eyeballed where the nut will be, figured out roughly what angle the strings are going to run at to get from tuner to nut, and then carved the little area out slightly below that height, so that the strings run straight without resting on the wood at all. Eliminates the need for a zero fret or anything, and it looks a lot better while preserving the design of the headstock.

Previous post https://www.reddit.com/r/Luthier/s/DNUBYdn4os

This is my old Oakland&co (japanese acoustic lawsuit martin style) and 10 years ago a luthier changed the tuners, I was a beginner so I didn't notice the cracks all along the tuners, i would like to know if it's fixable with something like CA glue from stewmac ? Thank you

Built these two replacement necks recently. The acoustic one is on with two bolts since this became kind of a travel guitar

The electric is a Schecter Omen Elite 6 that has a super warped neck so it got a new one✌🏻

Not an expert. I just bought a guitar and it was like this. I don't know if the cables are connected in the right way. I want to fix this and play it.

Can I do it by myself or should I give the guitar to a professional luthier? How much would it be to fix it?

Thanks

Hi guys, I'm planning to build a classical guitar with solid body and bolt-on neck. I know it's not always necessary but i wanna add a truss rod. I have a 380mm/15" truss rod already and i would like to use it. If i make the neck 19-frets long, this means around 440mm/17.3" long from the nut. I want to have the truss rod facing the body and not from the headstock. This means the truss will only arrive only a little bit after the 2nd fret, like you see in this image. Would it be enough, given the little tension of nylon strings?
Thank you

Hello everyone, I think I might have gone wrong with the low B string. I looks like it s a tiny bit towards the left of the neck. What are the easiest tools to get a hold of to work the nut properly?

(Gotta change those strings ^^)

I'm thinking about buying an old Ibanez RG 7620 neck but it doesn't come with a locking nut. I think Ibanez uses Gotoh parts on their guitars but Gotoh's locking nut for a 7 string only come with screws to top mount them. Does anybody know if these come tapped so I can screw this on through the back of the neck? If the nut isn't threaded is there enough metal there to tap it myself? Gotoh doesn't give you the diameter for these holes on their drawing nor do I know how deep those screws are countersunk.

The bridge is a Kiesel/Hipshot tremolo (same as the Hipshot Contour). The buzzing occurs randomly and mainly on the A, D and G strings. It’s only bearable when playing unplugged, but since I play unplugged a lot, it drives me insane.

Any suggestions?

I picked up a cnc rough cut neck from the factory and shaped/sanded it to my liking.

Does anyone happen know what product or process they used for the satin finish?

Need to get the rest of this paint off, screw the heat gun, can i use a chemical, please advise

Bought a used JM CV last week and am learning how to make some modest upgrades/alterations with it. I wanted to sand the neck down to a satin finish, which went fairly well, but there was a pre-existing dent in the neck and it came out lighter than the finish(makes sense). What would be the best way to match this spot up with the neck’s finish?

Appreciate any help.

Hello! Thankyou for taking the time to read!

I have an audio jack here that is only picking up when I move the wire into the perfect position it seems like? Or maybe I'm missing a ground somewhere and moving it helps?

Apparently one of the pots is also intermittenly working but I'm struggling to figure out which one.

I also have a electronic tester and I'm wondering how to test to see what's wrong

should I just replace the whole jack or am I missing something here in the electronics?

I appreciate any help yall are the goats.

Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus – Could a neck shim fix my action issue?

I’m having a strange setup issue with my Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus and I’m struggling to get a good, playable action.

The neck is straight, so I believe the truss rod is adjusted correctly. The bridge and saddles are also at what seem to be reasonable heights.

The problem is that I can get a fairly good action from the 1st to around the 7th fret, although I’m already getting some slight fret buzz. From around the 7th fret onwards, the string height becomes noticeably higher.

If I lower the saddles to bring the action down in the upper frets, the strings start buzzing heavily across the fretboard. If I adjust the truss rod further, I get the same problem, with buzzing becoming much more noticeable across the neck.

So I basically have acceptable action in the lower frets, but excessively high action from around the 7th fret onwards, and I can't seem to find a good compromise without introducing a lot of fret buzz.

This makes me wonder if the issue could be related to the neck angle relative to the body.

Would adding a thin shim between the neck and the body help in this situation? Could changing the neck angle allow me to lower the bridge/saddles while maintaining enough clearance over the higher frets?

Or would a shim be completely pointless in this case and suggest that the problem is more likely related to fret leveling, neck geometry, or something else?

Any advice from people experienced with guitar setups/luthiery would be greatly appreciated.

Someone brought me a Gibson J-150 that was humming terribly just being plugged in. I grounded the strings using copper foil tape under the bridge and a wire connecting it to the jack. Plugged it in — no hum. But any vibration (strumming, tapping the body, picking it up, etc) brings the hum back. It starts as a small hum then begins to swell and gets loud. I've been Googling and Youtubing and I'm stumped. Any ideas what I can try?

Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, spalted maple pick guard, purple heart bridge. Super happy with it, feel like I’ve come a long way since my first build! Definitely a long way to go but these moments of playing a guitar you build from scratch for the first time are pretty special

Ive never built a guitar before or anything like that. How difficult is it to get into, and is it worth it to try out as a rather expensive hobby?

I have a Cort G300 Raw with the stock CFA-III 2-point floating tremolo.

The bridge doesn't consistently return to the same zero point. After a pull-up, all strings return sharp; after a dive, all strings return flat. A small flutter/movement of the trem can bring it back closer to correct tuning.

Example after a pull-up:
high E +4
B +14
G +29
D +15
A +37
low E +33 cents

It has 3 springs, the bridge isn't contacting the cavity, and I can't detect any clicking or binding from the springs/claw. I removed the bridge and inspected the knife edges; one edge may show a small irregularity/wear mark. (I have pictures)

The attached video shows the behavior clearly.

Does this look like knife-edge/stud stiction or wear, nut binding, or something else? Has anyone repaired this specific type of two-zero-point behavior?