Haze Guitars and COVID-19

An update on the current situation with Haze Guitars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HousekeepingGerry Hayes22 March 2020repair, luthier, covid-19, coronavirus

Heat-Treating Warped Necks

Heat-treatment is a potential solution for resolving certain ‘warped’ neck problems. However, it’s effectiveness can be limited and it’s not without its risks.

Understand this before embarking on the heat-treatment journey. Check it out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes15 March 2020guitar, bass, luthier, repair, neck, neck deformation, warp, heat-treatment

Warped Guitar Neck

You’ve heard the term ‘warped neck’. Maybe you’ve heard it talked about in forums where it’s code for ‘your guitar should probably be scrapped’. Maybe you’ve heard it in person where it code for much the same.

But what does a warped neck mean? Well, let’s start with what it’s not.

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes9 March 2020guitar, bass, repair, luthier, warp, bow, neck, neck deformation

How to Handle the Nut During Fret Work

I was recently asked whether it’s necessary to do anything with the guitar nut during a fret level or refret. Great question. Let’s find out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes7 January 2020repair, guitar, bass, setup, nut, refret, fret level, luthier

Helpful Bone Thicknessing Tool (and a Life Lesson)

Earlier this week, I stopped in the middle of a job and made a very simple tool to make this job easier. Like embarrassingly simple. But, I was reminded of an important life lesson at the same time.

Check it out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes31 December 2019bone, blank, nut, saddle, guitar, bass, repair, setup, luthier, tools, jigs

Season's Greetings

It seems a good time of year to say thank you to all of the people who’ve trusted me with their instruments and their time. Thank you.

HousekeepingGerry Hayes25 December 2019christmas, guitar, bass, gerry hayes, holiday

Bad to the Bone: Nuts, Saddles, and Bad Bones

Bone for tone, right? Usually, I’d agree. But not all bone is created equal. Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes17 December 2019nut, saddle, guitar, bass, bone, upgrade, repair., setup

Acoustic Guitar Bridge Crack Repair

Not all cracks in acoustic bridges are repairable. Some require a new bridge, no ifs or buts. Sometimes, though, you can get lucky and repair a bridge in situ.

Check it out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes10 December 2019repair, bridge, acoustic, guitar, bass, instrument, crack, glue, lampblack, pigment

The Guitar Compromise Spectrum

Guitars and basses will, so often, require the player to make some sort of compromise. Hardware and setup decisions probably need to be made with some give and take.

Find out more…

OpinionGerry Hayes3 December 2019setup, hardware, upgrade, pickups, bridge, fret buzz, tele, compromise, radius

Guitar Sustainnnnnnn…

Listen to the sustain… It’s a highly revered quality, the ability to sustain for ages. But what happens if something might impact that sustain, and how useful a characteristic is sustain anyway?

Check it out…

OpinionGerry Hayes26 November 2019setup, break angle, string tension, guitar, bass, sustain, bridge, tailpiece, tun-o-matic

Can my Neck Take The Strain?

Is it necessary to drop a guitar’s tuning to prevent its neck from bowing or deforming under string tension? Should we tune lower and use a capo to preserve our guitar necks?

The answer is no. Mostly. Read on…

OpinionGerry Hayes19 November 2019neck, bow, relief, string tension, repair, setup, action, neck relief, guitar, bass, acoustic, 12-string

Nut File Tough Love

I’ve talked a lot about good setup and about how to make a nut so it’s time to address the elephant in the room: Nut files. Long story, short: You need ‘em for a complete setup. So what nut files should you buy and where should you get them?

Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes12 November 2019review, recommendation, nut file, nuts, guitar, bass, setup, repair

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