I talk (rant) a lot about using full-pocket shims when shimming a guitar neck. And, while you can certainly buy some for an easy life, if you’ve access to a 3D printer, it seems you can now print some.

Guitar Repair, SetupGerry Hayes13 July 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, shim, neck, neck-angle, nerds

Super String-End Feeler Gauges

We can’t really measure neck relief with a ruler. Feeler gauges are a possibility but I feel they’re not always ideal. Luckily, there’s a solution…

Guitar Repair, SetupGerry Hayes29 June 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, feeler gauges, string, measurement

We're Not Building Mars Probes Here

On September 23rd 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter—a 326-million dollar space probe—was accidentally destroyed in the Martian atmosphere. What’s that got to do with guitars? Well, let me tell you…

Setup, OpinionGerry Hayes22 June 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, measuring, setup, diy

Sticky Tuners III: Final Tips

Going to round off this short series on sticking, seizing, and troublesome guitar tuners with some final tips. Sometimes, it’s not the tuner that’s causing the problems. Check it out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes15 June 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, troubleshooting tuning, tuners, machine head

Sticky Tuners II: Sealed Units

Last time we looked at cleaning and lubricating open tuners to deal with sticking and seizing problems. What if the tuners are sealed, though? How do you deal with those when they get troublesome? Let’s see…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes8 June 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, tuning, troubleshooting tuning, tuner, machine head

Dealing with Sticky Tuners

Tuners can sometimes become stiff, jerky, and difficult to use. Theyt uners might not ‘slip’ out of tune but uncooperative tuners can make it hard get get in tune in the first place. And it’s pretty annoying. This might help.

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes1 June 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, acoustic, tuners, machine head, troubleshooting tuning

Dealing with sticky guitar necks

You’re all set to unleash that blistering, shredtastic guitar solo but… NO! The neck’s too sticky. Your hand can’t move fast enough and the audience of guitarists have all raised their eyebrows in pedantic judgement. What can you do?

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes13 April 2022guitar, bass, neck, finish, gloss

Guitar Finishes: The 'Polys'

In the ‘60s, the polys started striding up to nitrocellulose and shouldering it in a pugnacious manner. Players gathered around shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight,” and the world of guitar finishes was changed forever.

Build and FinishGerry Hayes6 April 2022finish, lacquer, gloss, poly

Guitar Finishes: Nitrocellulose

Let’s talk a little about guitar finishes. And where better to start that that mythic titan of finishes: Nitrocellulose. All hail the nitro! Maybe…

Build and FinishGerry Hayes30 March 2022finish, nitrocellulose, lacquer, checking

Acoustic Guitar Action: Final Tips and Considerations

Just wrapping up the acoustic action series with a few final thoughts on split saddles, shims, and break-angles. This will see you set to adjust pretty most acoustic guitars.

SetupGerry Hayes23 March 2022action, acoustic, saddle, undersaddle transducer, setup

Acoustic Action: How to lower a guitar saddle

We’ve just seen how to figure out your target acoustic guitar action using some easy geometry. Let’s see how to modify the saddle to get there.

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes16 March 2022guitar, bass, repair, luthier, action, acoustic, saddle

Acoustic Guitar Action: Geometry Class

Lowering the action on an acoustic guitar is a little more fraught. It’s not easily reversible so it’s important to get things right. A little geometry will help.

SetupGerry Hayes8 March 2022acoustic, guitar, setup, saddle, action

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