Nethan Vines

Remember the days when buying a guitar was a whole week's (or month's) process? When we would go to all our local music stores and try out countless guitars, hoping to find the one that fits perfectly and snugly between our fretting hand, and allows our picking hand to smoothly transition between strings? The whole process would take hours everyday if you knew what you were looking for beforehand, but it would be relatively simple if you did not plan ahead (sometimes this would lead to regret long after the return policy has died down). Well, online shopping has made it no different. It still takes weeks before you should decide on what to spend on, and with newer online music stores coming up every now and then, the process should take even longer! But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as my article would suggest to you as you read on. Before I begin, I'd like to say that I am in no way affiliated to any online music shop, and that I simply am a musician, just...

A phone call from a distraught Stage Tech. This guitar was slowly losing its headstock! The guitar belongs to Richard Oakes, the guitarist with Suede. This is his beloved guitar which has had the headstock broken and repaired once before. The Stage Tech had resorted to binding the headstock with Gaffer Tape in the hope that it would last a little longer until the end of the band’s tour. T he Process Fortunately the head veneer is still in one piece and undamaged. The break has occurred just underneath the top nut. So it is decided that the head veneer should be removed and replaced once the repair inserts have be added. The head veneer is clamped under a piece of perspex to keep it flat until needed later on. The Repair The idea is to join/re-glue the neck to the headstock (as best as). And once this is done reinforcing inserts can be added. A jig is made up to hold the guitar and headstock in place whilst the glue sets. Read More:  https://grahamparkerluthier.c...

While there are many different types of bridges used on imported guitars, such as separate bridge and stop tailpiece, separate bridge and trapeze tailpiece, wraparound (bridge and tailpiece as one unit), rosewood block, etc., the majority of guitars use a separate bridge and stop tailpiece, as used on most Les Pauls, 335s, etc. In this section, we will concentrate on that particular setup. Get guitar tailpiece parts at FaberUSA. OTHER PARTS In addition to replacement bridges, other parts to consider upgrading on imported guitars are: Tailpiece: our 100% lightweight aluminum  TP-59 stop tailpiece  – much lighter than the stock tailpiece and provides a more “woody” and vintage tone Tailpiece bushings: our metric  Steel Tailpiece Bushings  provide much improved tone transfer over the stock “pot metal” bushings “Vintage Steel” tailpiece studs: our  “Vintage Steel” Tailpiece Studs  replace the standard tone robbing, non-locking tailpiece studs ...