The second Steinberger bass @JustinMeldalJohnsen dropped off for some work was this all original 1984 XL-2. This thing is the real deal from the Steinberger heyday and is in incredible shape. The main item for this bass while it was in the shop was installing the more modern “kickstand” style leg rest, as the original “bayonet” style rest was long gone as is so common with these instruments. I have to say this was a bit daunting to be tasked with drilling into this old composite body instrument, but once we got rolling it was a fairly simple install. Lots of measure twice and cut once here, but thankfully I was provided with basically everything I would need to do a clean and solid installation so I was very thankful for that. 🙏🏻 In the end things came together incredibly well and this wild 80’s Steinberger bass now balances nicely in your lap when the kickstand is engaged so you can actually sit and play this great playing and sounding XL-2 comfortably! #Steinberger #SteinbergerXL2 #Black #CompositeBass #KickstandLegRest #SteinbergerKickstand #EMG #EMGPickups #JustinMeldalJohnsen #JMJ #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassWiring #HeadlessBass #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #WhatsOnYourBench
We are going to skip ahead a bit it here with regard to some of the recent instruments that have been in the shop for @JustinMeldalJohnsen. After collecting the first three instruments that had initially been worked on Justin informed me that he had a couple Steinberger’s that needed some work. The first of which was this bright yellow Spirit by Steinberger XT-2 which I am nicknaming “The Banana Bass”. These are actually current production instruments which can be had for a very reasonable price. They are not necessarily bad in any real way out of the gate, but the electronics certainly have a little bit of room for improvement which is exactly what we did here. Justin dropped a set of @EMGPickups including EMG’s 2-band active boost/cut tone control known as the BTC for me to wire in. Now the nice part about EMG’s is 99.9% of their pickups and preamps are solderless, however in this case we wanted to reuse the existing barrel jack so there was a bit of soldering that had to occur at the jack. Otherwise the entire kit drops in with no soldering iron required. We only had to slightly widen one hole for the BTC control, and that was it for modifications to the bass. Much to my delight with a little bit of finagling we were able to fit everything in the existing cavity including the required 9V battery with no problems at all! The immediate improvement in tone was very obvious when everything was put back together, and I was able to play these new pickups and preamp for the first time. They took this quirky steel of a deal bass to another level. 🙌🏻 #Steinberger #SteinbergerXT2 #SpiritBySteinberger #SpiritBySteinbergerXT2 #SteinbergerSpirit #SteinbergerSpiritXT2 #Yellow #HotRodYellow #EMG #EMGPickups #JustinMeldalJohnsen #JMJ #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassWiring #HeadlessBass #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #WhatsOnYourBench
The second bass I worked on for @JustinMeldalJohnsen was this super sick @RickenbackerOfficial in Walnut. This one also needed some fret end work to make things a bit more comfy, but before we tackled that we first removed the cover from the bridge pickup for more accessibility when playing over the pickup. After taking care of the fretwork and stringing things up with another @daddarioandco XL160’s we made some adjustments at the nut and gave this thing a nice setup. these new 4003 models have one dual-action truss rod in the neck which makes adjusting the next so much easier than the original two truss rods that are common in older Ricks The new V2 bridge is a noted improvement in a number of ways when compared to the often malaligned original Rick bass bridges. Though it probably could stand to have a bit more adjustability in terms of saddle height I was able to get things right where I wanted them. However getting things any lower would have been damn tricky for the higher strings as the saddles are still a bit thicker than they probably need to be. Overall there are some really nice modern improvements on these recent 4003s Rickenbacker's that make for a much better playing experience and a much easier time working on them. 👍🏻 #Rickenbacker #RickenbackerBass #Rickenbacker4003 #Walnut #Maple #JustinMeldalJohnsen #JMJ #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassWiring #Fretwork #FretEnds #FretPolishing #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #WhatsOnYourBench
Recently I have had the good fortune of working on a number of instruments for a bass player I have listened to most of my life thanks to his long career playing in and producing so many great projects. That player is none other than the incredibly prolific @JustinMeldalJohnsen! It’s been a real pleasure getting to know Justin a little bit while helping him get a few basses playing their best here in the shop. The first instrument I worked on was this brand new @music_man Retro 70’s Stingray. These are made about as close to the originals as you can get right down to the three bolt neck plate and 2 band boost only preamp. These are my personal favorite versions of the stingray and it’s nice to see Ernie Ball doing such a nice job with these. This one needed a little bit of fretwork to make the fret ends more comfortable, and we also re-profiled the nut which was comically large from the factory. The other item we needed to take care of was an issue with the access to the Micro Tilt adjustment mechanism which was unaccessible through the hole in the plate which was tapped too small. I had to throw it on the drill press to slightly enlarge the hole which was a pretty straightforward process to get it large enough. After taking care of all of that we threw a set of Justin’s favorite @daddarioandco EXL160’s on and set it up nice and low. #MusicMan #ErnieBallMusicMan #MusicManStingray #StingrayBass #Retro70sStingray #ActiveBass #Humbucker #Maple #Sunburst #JustinMeldalJohnsen #JMJ #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #DrillPress #WhatsOnYourBench
It’s not always Offset guitars in here… sometimes it’s Offset basses. 😂 This MIJ @Fender Jaguar Bass came in from @RyanMajorisMusic making no sound at all. After chasing down a few possible options for what might have been causing our problem I was lead to the main control panel. We ended up having 2 out of 3 of the original DPDT slider switches failing. So in an effort to futureproof the bass we went ahead and replaced and rewired all 3 switches with brand new @SwitchcraftOfficial slider switches. After all that was sorted out we went about a general clean up and setup to get this thing playing like butter again. It got a brand new set of @DaddarioAndCo 45-105 nickel strings to get the tones pumping and it was back out the door with a brand new lease on life! 🙌🏻 #Fender #FenderGuitars #FenderBass #FenderJaguar #FenderJaguarBass #FenderMadeInJapan #FenderJapan #Jaguar #OffsetGuitars #SingleCoil #Rosewood #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #Hakko #WhatsOnYourBench
Sometimes a guitar that should be fairly simple comes in, but then it does its best to challenge everything you’re capable of… 🫠 This @WarmothGuitar Jazzmaster brought in by @GolfPanther sprayed beautifully by @WilkinsGuitars came in with all sorts of issues from its initial assembly. Everything from issues with the original compensated Earvana nut buzzing like crazy off the 1st fret to the @Halon_GuitarParts vibrato scraping off the trem cavity causing tuning issues, to wiring issues from disconnected grounds from the @Fender Wide Range pickups wired into the otherwise impeccable @GunStreetWiringShop wiring harness. 3 days later with a lot of improvising all these issue and more were sorted out and we got an incredible, modern spec’d custom Jazzmaster out of it, but boy did this one ask a lot of me to get there. #Fender #Warmoth #WarmothGuitars #WilkinsGuitarFinishes #GunStreetWiringShop #Jazzmaster #OffsetGuitars #WideRangeHumbucker #Rosewood #HalonGuitarParts #HalonBridge #HalonVibrato #Earvana #EarvanaNut #Router #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DAddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #CrimsonGuitars #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench
If y’all saw the stories during this overhaul for @jjjschroeder a few weeks back you know the major gut job, fret job, hardware swap, cosmetic overhaul this @Fender Vintera II Jazzmaster in Desert Sand received straight out of the box here in the shop. It was almost easier than the previous Desert Sand Vintera II Jazzmaster from a few weeks before this one because we knew we were going to overhaul this thing from the jump. In the end a lot of work was required to get this thing killing, but in the end it came out incredible thanks to some amazing parts from @DescendantVibrato, @SundayHandwound, and @Raulbot. Hit these fellas up and buy their wares! They are making incredible things! #Fender #FenderGuitars #FenderVintera #FenderVinteraII #VinteraII #Jazzmaster #OffsetGuitars #SingleCoil #DesertSand #Rosewood #SwopeGuitars #DescendantVibrato #DescendantBridge #GhostOfRaul #SundayHandwound #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #CrimsonGuitars #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench
It’s not always just guitars and basses in here. On a rare occasion some other items that fall within a similar “looth” skillset get handled over here. Today’s task was building this pedalboard for my buddy @MattMusty. Believe it or not this board featuring some solid options from @JHSPedals, @EarthQuakerDev, @Tech21NYC, and @UAudio all mounted to a @Pedaltrain Nano+ and powered by a @StrymonEngineering low profile Ojai is going to be primarily used for drums and sound design purposes. It was fun getting do something a bit different on the bench here today, but now that that’s done it’s back to your regularly scheduled program of guitars and basses. #Pedalboard #PedalboardOfTheDay #Pedals #EffectsPedals #GuitarPedals #Pedaltrain #Strymon #JHS #EarthQuakerDevices #Tech21 #UniversalAudio #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Drums #Drummer #AudioProduction #SoundDesign #Recording #Neve #Reverb #Overdrive #Compression #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #WhatsOnYourBench
If you saw my stories a few days back you saw this beautiful and unique “Jazzability” guitar by @PagelliGuitars made for @DaveStewartEurythmics. My buddy @LouieLouieJams brought this super cool guitar in for a little TLC after it had been sitting for a number of years. In reality it did not need much. Just some cleaning up, a little deoxit in the electronics, a little glue to remount the nut, some copper foil tape to keep the bridge ground in place, and of course a nice setup. One of the best parts about this job is getting to work on unique and rare instruments like this one every once in a while. It’s awesome getting to take an instrument like this that has been sitting for a long time and get it back up and running for a whole new era of life. #PagelliGuitars #PagelliJazzability #Jazzability #OffsetGuitars #Humbucker #HollowbodyGuitar #Bigsby #Ebony #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #FenderStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #CrimsonGuitars #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench
I’ve been cranking through a lot of stuff here in the shop, but as far as Instagram goes I have been sticking mostly to the Stories and not posting anything to the regular posts for a while. So I figured I would share this brand spanking new @Fender Vintera II in Desert Sand that just came through and got a pretty sizable amount of work done including a fret level, crown, and polish, a full pocket neck shim, some nut reshaping, and a full setup. We got a great guitar out of this in the end, but boy did this thing have a whole bunch of little issues straight out of the box. Namely the fretwork was pretty abysmal from the jump leading to the LCP work, and there were a few careless assembly errors such as knobs on the wrong pots and screws not totally screwed down from the factory. Unfortunately things like this have been pretty common in production across many of the major brands over the last few years, and a lot of us looths have been seeing similar problems on the regular and sharing our disappointment with one another. I suppose we shouldn’t complain too much because it’s keeping us in business, but it is a little discouraging to see such careless mistakes like this so regularly from production from some of our favorite brands. When all was said and done after I gave this thing the love it deserved (featuring a few of my favorite tools from @stewmac_guitar, @crimsonguitars, and @musicnomadcare) a great guitar went home with its new owner. Even with all the headaches I was very happy to do the work to get this guitar playing its best for my client because that’s what it’s all about! #Fender #FenderGuitars #FenderVintera #FenderVinteraII #VinteraII #Jazzmaster #OffsetGuitars #SingleCoil #DesertSand #Rosewood #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacDonald #CrimsonGuitars #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench
A little throwback to this awesome @TokaiGuitarsJapan Jazz Sound from the 80’s owned by @AlexKyhn that was in a couple weeks ago for a headstock crack repair, a pickup swap, and some general setup work/TLC. Originally we were going to do a lot more work to this bass in order to install a preamp system as well as the new pickups. The more we discussed the work, and the more I made clear that some of the modifications required for the preamp would be permanent (including drilling a new hole for a side jack and routing for a battery box) the more we realized we would likely be devaluing an otherwise outstanding vintage passive Jazz Bass. In the end we opted to keep this bass passive by just installing this set of humcanceling @NordstrandAudio pickups. The pickups sound incredible and really opened up the instrument after the setup was complete. I think in the end we made the right call here by keeping things passive and allowing a great set of pickups to do the heavy lifting. So, after fixing the headstock crack, cleaning up some fretwork and the nut, and getting a nice new set of @LaBellaString RX-N4D’s strung up we’ve got a great sounding, super resonant, classic looking bass that’s got many more years of life ahead. #Tokai #TokaiJazzSound #TokaiJapan #JazzBass #JBass #PassiveBass #Sunburst #Rosewood #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #BassSetup #BassRepair #BassPickups #Nordstrand #NordstrandPickups #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #WhatsOnYourBench #LawsuitEra
Easily one of the coolest parts about this job is getting to work on totally amazing instruments for totally amazing players like Mr. @KavehRastegar. I’ve been really lucky to have some awesome folks come into the shop over the last few years to have work done on their beloved instruments to get them playing their best. Kaveh is another awesome person that just happens to also be a unique and incredible musician who I am very thankful to have been connected with that can now be added to the list of people I’ve had the pleasure of helping out here in my little shop. This 1964 Precision Bass is Kaveh’s #1 and is instantly recognizable if you are familiar with Kaveh’s vast body of work. This thing has so much vibe and mojo it’s kind of unreal to look at. It was awesome getting to spend some time replacing a bad jack, cleaning it up, and dialing it in to get it playing great for some upcoming work including some tour dates with @TheOfficialSting. 🤯 At some point in the future we are definitely looking at a refret as this instrument has never been refretted and Kaveh has played the absolute shit out of it over the years. However, given our available timeframe this go round we got things playing great as is with the current state of the frets. So we will cross the refret bridge when we get a bit more time to work with. #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #1964PrecisionBass #1964PBass #VintageBass #VintageFender #PreCBSEra #OceanTurquoise #VeneerFingerboard #BrazilianRosewood #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #BassSetup #BassRepair #GHSStrings #Switchcraft #StewMac #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This @GibsonGuitar came in from @BrigUrias in pieces last September with a plan to consult on a resurrection. After many months of back and forth discussing pickups, tuners, wiring configurations, fretwork, string gauges and general setup considerations we have one hell of a well worn workhorse on our hands. This dude got a full rewire with some of my all time favorite @SuhrCustom Thornbuckers (featuring the Thornbucker+ in the bridge position for a little more punch) wired for Series/Parallel functionality per pickup with all CTS pots and .022 uF orange drop caps. We also added a set of the @KlusonOfficial Revolution 19:1 gear ratio tuners to keep things in tune. A full fret level, crown, and polish was also performed to get the neck playing clean with no more choked out notes or dead spots. Now we have nice shiny, level, tightly crowned frets making this thing a joy to play. After all that was finally handled we got things setup with a set of @DaddarioAndCo XL 10-52s playing with a nice low/medium action so we can drop tune that lower string down when desired. Overall this was a pretty straightforward resurrection/restore job once we had all the parts and plans in place, but in order for that to be the case we needed to take the time to plan so we could get a result this good. More often than not planning, patience, and intention is the key to a great result like we got here. #Gibson #LesPaul #GibsonLesPaul #LesPaulStudio #SuhrGuitars #SuhrPickups #PAF #Thornbucker #Kluson #KlusonTuners #Rosewood #FretLeveling #Fretwork #Frets #Guitar #GuitarPlayer #Guitarist #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #CrimsonGuitars #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 2 of 3 After a ton of very focused work we got to the finish line with a really great result on this refret. I don’t know when the next time I’ll work on a guitar this valuable will be, but it’s really nice to know that I’m capable of doing this kind of work at a high-level these days with minimal hangups and head fakes along the way. My client and this guitar’s owner is not on Instagram, but I really want to thank him for trusting me to do high-level work on such a valuable instrument! It means a lot that people are willing put their trust in me to come to me for this type of repair work these days. 🙏🏻 #Gibson #1956LesPaul #Goldtop #LesPaul #GibsonLesPaul #VintageGuitar #SingleCoil #P90 #P90Pickups #Refret #Rosewood #FretLeveling #Fretwork #Frets #Guitar #GuitarPlayer #Guitarist #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #SkyscraperGuitars #CrimsonGuitars #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 1 of 3 Refret a legitimate vintage 1956 Goldtop Les Paul you say? Why sure… I’d love to have a multi day panic attack. 😂 In all seriousness though this was an incredibly daunting guitar to work on given its history and value. In the end though this job went pretty smooth and we got an outstanding outcome in the end. I’m not sure I’ve ever worked on a guitar worth as much as this one, but all that really translated to was me being as meticulous as I’ve ever been on the bench to ensure we got a great result. 👍🏻 #Gibson #1956LesPaul #Goldtop #LesPaul #GibsonLesPaul #VintageGuitar #SingleCoil #P90 #P90Pickups #Refret #Rosewood #FretLeveling #Fretwork #Frets #Guitar #GuitarPlayer #Guitarist #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #SkyscraperGuitars #CrimsonGuitars #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
The last guitar I worked on before hitting the road for some holiday travel was this beautiful @GibsonCustom R8 Les Paul. Originally it was in for a setup and a pickup and wiring harness swap to drop in a set of @DoyleCoils, but upon further inspection it became obvious that someone had done a number on these frets. It appears that somebody got just enough knowledge about spot leveling to do some damage. Basically they spot leveled in a fat twist into the middle of the neck which we had to level out to get these frets in order. Hell of a guitar to learn how to do a spot level on… 🙄 After sorting the fretwork issue out by doing a full level, crown, and polish we were able to install the new harness and pickups and set this thing up. It’s now playing beautifully and these new Doyle Coil PAF style pickups sound phenomenal. 🙌🏻 #Gibson #GibsonCustom #LesPaul #GibsonLesPaul #R8LesPaul #DoyleCoils #PAF #PAFPickups #FlamedMaple #Rosewood #FretLeveling #Fretwork #Frets #Guitar #GuitarPlayer #Guitarist #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #SkyscraperGuitars #CrimsonGuitars #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 2 of 2 After the crack repair was complete in this 70’s @MartinGuitars D-18 we had to move on to a light bridge shave. The neck angle of this over 50 year old guitar was still in a pretty good place, not to mention the bridge was massive to begin with. So in order to avoid having to do a neck reset for what would have been a very small change in the angle of the neck we decided to go the route of a bridge shave, which ended up working perfectly in the end. Once the bridge shave was complete I re-shaped and reinstalled the saddle. Then a bit of light fretwork occurred before installing a new set of strings and then addressing the nut. These nuts slots were incredibly high. We are talking .040-.045 over the 1st fret which is borderline unplayable if you ask me. So we re-cut the nut slots to a much better depth of about .020-.016 E-e. Even without a truss rod in this neck we still had a very comfortable .012 relief with a set of @DaddarioAndCo 11’s on here when all was said and done. Now this 70’s D-18 plays like a dream and has been restored to its former glory after a whole hell of a lot of work.🤘🏻 #Martin #MartinGuitars #70sMartin #MartinD18 #D18 #Dreadnought #CrackRepair #BridgeShave #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRestoration #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #AcousticGuitar #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #DaddarioStrings #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 1 of 2 This early 70’s @MartinGuitar D-18 finally went back out this week after many months of slow and steady progress getting it back to its former glory. The first and primary reason it came in was to deal with the dreaded “Martin Crack” in the top which is cause by a shrinking pickguard that originally was glued directly to the bare spruce top and then sprayed over with finish. Over time the guards shrink and peel up like a potato chip while taking the spruce top it’s glued to with it. To correct this we first had to get the old guard off the top with some heat and a palette knife. Once the guard was off we rehumidified the guitar for a number of weeks to close the crack before gluing the crack with some TiteBond. After that a small cleat was placed and glued inside the guitar to help keep the top stable. Once this was all done a light layer of CA glue was brushed on to the exposed spruce of the top to create a light finish for the new pickguard to be placed onto before applying the new reproduction guard. #Martin #MartinGuitars #MartinD18 #D18 #Dreadnought #CrackRepair #Pickguard #MartinCrack #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRestoration #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #AcousticGuitar #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #Daddario #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bluegrass #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Some builds fly by in an afternoon, and some builds try to kill you and take months. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit how long this build took, but like my dad used to tell me back in my basketball playing years “it’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish that matters.” Thankfully with this one I finished strong. Like I said though… it took months of chipping away bit by bit, and admittedly it was a real slog a lot of the time for something that was so well mapped out and prepared for by my client @andyprickettzzz. Andy had this whole build so well organized, and perhaps that’s what borderline crippled me for a number of months. I just didn’t want to disappoint him with the outcome of this very nice parts guitar and ruin my reputation in his eyes. I’m hoping when Andy comes to collect the guitars he’s as happy with it as I finally am after all this work. Cross your fingers for me, but I think we’ve got a good one on our hands after sticking to it, keeping my head down, and not giving up even when I really wanted to quit about 20 times. 🤘🏻 The list of all the companies and builders whose parts went into this build can be seen below. @warmothguitar @fender @wildwoodmfg @h_e_r_a_d @bloomdoom22 @montysguitars @callahamguitars @stewmac_guitar @switchcraftofficial @stringjoy #Fender #Warmoth #FenderJazzmaster #Jazzmaster #Partsmaster #Partscaster #PartsGuitar #GuitarBuild #WaterslideDecal #Nitrocellulose #Nitro #RattleCan #Lacquer #DrillPress #GuitarFinishing #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
When a suspected level and re-crown turns into a refret… Getting through the prep work pretty quick here though. Soon we’ll have nice new frets pressed in, and shortly after that a way better playing 1966 Mustang for @alexchiltown. 🤘🏻 #Fender #FenderMustang #Mustang #1966FenderMustang #1966Mustang #VintageGuitar #VintageFender #CBSEra #SlabRosewoodFingerboard #Rosewood #CAGlue #Superglue #SkyscraperGuitars #Frets #Refret #Guitar #GuitarPlayer #Guitarist #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
What do you need to build a great P Bass? Well you’re basically looking at it. That and a bunch of time, experience, and patience. 🫠 Wish me luck on getting this one banged out for @maxwell_pierce. We’ve already hit a few snags with a couple parts, but we’ll get past them and end up with a great bass in the end. 🤘🏻 #Fender #Warmoth #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #Partscaster #PartsBass #BassBuild #RoastedMaple #Rosewood #OlympicWhite #TortoiseShellPickguard #MasHinoNYC #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Here are a number of through the process shots for the @HofnerGuitars Ignition Series Violin Bass. As I mentioned in the companion video a lot of work went into this thing and now it’s playing better than ever. 🙌🏻 #Hofner #HofnerGuitars #HofnerIgnitionBass #BeatleBass #ViolinBass #LaBellaStrings #Flatwounds #PaulMcCartney #TheBeatles #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bass #Bassist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
What should have been a fairly routine @g_gotoh510 and @hipshotproducts tuner swap on this @Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass V for @AlexKyhn turned into screw extraction hell on earth for a little while this afternoon thanks to a tiny broken set screw. 🫠 Luckily my dude Jedi Master @CWinnStrings coached me through some screw extraction techniques with my drill press and a small drill bit to get the broken screw out. Then with some quick thinking I plugged the new hole with what materials I had on hand which then allowed me to redrill and get us back on track to get the job done on time while being indistinguishable from not having our little broken screw detour. 🤘🏻 #Fender #FenderJazzBass #JazzBass #JBass #DeluxeJazzBass #AmericanDeluxeJazzBassV #TunerInstall #GotohResoLite #Gotoh #Hipshot #HipshotDtuner #ScrewExtraction #ProblemSolving #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WenTools #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Long night of “it just needs a setup” turning into a brand new bone nut for this now ripping 1984 @Fender @Fender_JP ‘62 Reissue JV serial JB62-115 in Olympic White for @WhynotJansveld. Unfortunately the dealer Whynot just acquired this from missed the cracked in multiple places nut before listing, selling, and shipping out this otherwise great bass. Luckily I’m getting a shitload faster at cranking these out thanks to experience and Power Tool Land in the shop. Now we are back in business with a new unbleached bone nut, and this bass absolutely rips! 🤘🏻 #Fender #FenderJazzBass #JazzBass #JBass #1984JazzBass #1984JBass #VintageBass #FenderMIJ #FenderJapan #FenderMadeInJapan #OlympicWhite #TortoiseShellPickguard #NewNut #BoneNut #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
If you’ve been following my stories all week you’ve seen this 1966 @Fender Precision Bass owned by @cestcadavidpajo a lot. This one has been a complete and total slog at times, starting with the veneer board refret I had not planned for that we realized this old bass desperately needed. Once I had taken care of that monumental task I was able to move on to a number of other issues that needed addressing. Next we had a bridge with completely seized components that needed to be freed up. After getting everything apart with little help from my soldering iron I gave most of the components a nice swim in some WD-40. After that I ended up replacing all of the old stripped out flathead height adjustment screws with a set of hex headed @MonsterBolts so we would not have any issues in the future with adjusting this bridge. When I took a peek under the hood I came across an issue in the circuit with the existing tone pot shorting out that reflowing some solder and spraying some deoxit just couldn’t fix. That also uncovered that half of the circuit was rewired with a bunch of cheap plastic insulated solid core wire that didn’t make sense in an instrument of this vintage. So with that I went about rewiring the whole circuit with period correct braided core cloth pushback wire while swapping in a new 250K CTS pot for the tone control. The final item to deal with was patching in a chunk of missing rosewood from behind the nut which likely went missing when the headstock crack had originally occurred. I was able to patch in a chunk of rosewood from a bridge blank which I glued in with some TiteBond and “clamped” with some binding tape for 24 hours. Once the glue cured I shaped/blended everything before I was finally able to reinstall the new nut and get everything dialed in for the last time. 🤘🏻 #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #1966PrecisionBass #1966PBass #VintageBass #VintageFender #CBSEra #VeneerFingerboard #BoneNut #NewNut #Frets #Refret #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Not gonna lie… This refret on this 1966 @Fender Precision Bass has been a serious challenge just about every step of the way, but it is almost done… no thanks to a veneer board. It’s been borderline torture just to try to get these new frets pressed into the board properly when the fingerboard is this thin. Leo definitely wasn’t kidding with the idea of just swapping bolt on necks when frets wore out by the time ‘63 and the veneer board rolled around. Though Leo unquestionably had no idea what his vintage instruments would be going for 60 years later... 😵💫 We’re getting there though and this thing is gonna kick ass when it’s done. I can guarantee that. 🤘🏻 #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #1966PrecisionBass #1966PBass #VintageBass #VintageFender #CBSEra #VeneerFingerboard #BoneNut #NewNut #Frets #Refret #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #ElixirStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
🇺🇸 New Export Grade Alder… 📢 Behold the clarity! Meanwhile, “BigWood” serves up pinknots, bark inclusions, alderitis & checked faces. 😱Who are those mysterious hedge fund-weirdos & why are they involved in our timber selection??? #saynotoBigWood . . . #alder #luthier #luthierlife #luthieria #stratocaster #guitarfinishes #customshopguitar #fenderguitars #fenderbass #woodworkcommunity #maker #boutiquepickups guitars #bassluthier #artistsoninstagram #woodartist #woodsigns #ilovewoodworking #ilovewood #makersgonnamake #scrollsawproject #sawdust #sawdustismanglitter #commercialforestproducts #uplandcalifornia #losangelesluthier
Gleason Guitars: From shitshow to proper shop. A series. 😂 Things are finally looking more legit over here after years of slowly building this second bedroom setup into something that resembles a proper guitar repair shop. Today felt like a huge turning point for the shop after plenty of planning (and subsequent procrastination). This past weekend we finally got the ball rolling and as of this evening it’s all almost complete! I can’t wait to be working in this much more dialed in space to continue to deliver high level work, but now with less stress and a more optimized workflow! I just want to say a big thanks to all of my clients, friends, and family who have continued to support me in my journey in this work to make pushing to get to this point even possible! 🙏🏻 #GleasonGuitars #GuitarShop #GuitarRepairShop #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #NorthHollywood #GuitarTech #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #BassSetup #BassRepair #DAddarioStrings #LaBellaStrings #ErnieBallStrings #WenTools #WorkProToola #SevilleClassics #HarborFreight #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Here is another throwback from last week. This one was also for @KurtisKeber to get in shape for @GraciePotter tour. This time a fun vintage made in Japan Univox Hi-Flyer short scale bass. These were done in the Mosrite style for a number of years and definitely drip with vibe. This one also had a number of issues to be addressed with the wiring and the nut. First, we needed to install a new three-way switch as the old switch would not stay put when set in the neck position, which was really annoying considering how good the neck pickup sounds in this bass. So we ordered and installed a brand new Switchcraft three-way switch. However, after installing the switch it became obvious there were other issues in the circuit causing some strange intermittent behavior. So I went about removing a bunch of the old wiring and adding brand new cloth push back wire where necessary to make sure this circuit is also bomb proof for the road. After that was all taken care of I took a look at the nut which had seen better days. Luckily it was structurally sound, but it had a number of sharp edges that looked like they were starting to chip. So to prevent further chipping I re-shaped the nut and rounded things out. Then I re-cut the slots to the proper depth to fit the gauge of @daddarioandco Chromes strings we have on here which had never been properly cut to seat the strings in the past. After all that work it was just a quick setup and this thing was sounding and playing better than ever. This one should be in great shape for the road now as well. 🤘🏻 #Univox #UnivoxHiFlier #UnivoxHiflierBass #VintageBass #VintageJapaneseGuitars #Sunburst #GuitarNut #Rewire #3WaySwitch #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #DAddarioStrings #Switchcraft #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Throwing it back to last week working on this 1966 @Fender Precision Bass for @KurtisKeber to get things all dialed in for some upcoming tour dates with @GraciePotter. This one was another classic example of “it just needs a setup”. However, once I got on the bench and I had it “under the microscope“ so to speak it was quite obvious there was more that needed to be done here. The first and most pressing issue was the cracked and chipped nut which was about to go at any moment. So we got right down to business and cut a brand new custom bone nut from a blank and got that all dialed in. The second unforeseen thing to address was a good portion of the circuit had to be rewired because under the hood multiple grounds were frayed and likely it was just a matter of time before one might be disconnected. Kurtis had mentioned this bass had been somewhat microphonic and humming quite a bit prior to the work I did. When he came to pick it up most of those issues seemed to be resolved after cleaning up the wiring. So that is a major win especially when playing on big stages through big amps into big PA systems. All in all this one was a great example of a player grade early CBS era Fender which should be bombproof out on the road now. #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #1966PrecisionBass #1966PBass #VintageBass #VintageFender #CBSEra #OlympicWhite #TortoiseShellPickguard #NewNut #Rewire #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Appreciation post for the @SandbergGuitars California VM4 that came through from @TheTonySolis earlier this week. What a hell of a workhorse bass this thing is. German engineering in the instrument realm for sure. This bass was so well constructed and was a complete pleasure to work on. Not to mention the plethora of tones you could pull out of this pickup configuration certainly was nothing to shake a stick at. I’m really hoping I start to see more of these come through the shop because these are stellar guitars.🤘🏻 #SandbergGuitars #SandbergBass #CaliforniaVM4 #PBass #Stingray #SingleCoil #Humbucker #GermanBass #4StringBass #MapleNeck #Relic #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #BassSetup #BassRepair #DAddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 2 of 3 This second post is a little glimpse into what went down work wise to get the @PRSGuitars @JohnMayer Super Eagle brought in by @Gabe_Bergman playing better than ever. As you can imagine there wasn’t a lot wrong with this guitar when it came in, but we wanted to clean up some pokey fret ends and do a nice little light level to get ahead of some pitting that was developing while it was in here. And we wanted to get a check on everything in the electronics and clean up some scratchy pots while we were at it. In the end this incredible guitar is playing amazingly well now. It certainly was a tough one to give back. 😂 I’m just thrilled I even got to work on one of these at all though. 🙌🏻 #PRSGuitars #PaulReedSmith #JohnMayer #DeadAndCompany #PRSSuperEagle #MayerTobaccoSunburst #FlamedCurlyMaple #BrazilianRosewood #PRS5815JM #PRSNarrowfield #Pickups #BoutiqueGuitars #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarTech #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Post 1 of 3 This first post is just an appreciation post for the absolute beauty and craftsmanship of the @PRSGuitars @JohnMayer Super Eagle brought in by @Gabe_Bergman. Not only is this guitar exquisitely crafted, but it plays like an absolute dream. It has a incredible amount of tones on tap from its 3 pickups and preamp system. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten to work on a nicer instrument that was as playable as this guitar was when all was said and done. 🦅 #PRSGuitars #PaulReedSmith #JohnMayer #DeadAndCompany #PRSSuperEagle #MayerTobaccoSunburst #FlamedCurlyMaple #BrazilianRosewood #PRS5815JM #PRSNarrowfield #Pickups #BoutiqueGuitars #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarTech #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
It was an exceptionally busy week in the shop in terms of Holy Grail guitars and a few items coming in on super fast turnarounds. One of the major highlights of the week however was undoubtedly getting to meet @JanekGwizdala and work on his signature @MattissonBass to get it ready for some upcoming recording sessions for his next record that he will be doing in Argentina. This is one hell of a unique instrument coming in with 28 frets with a massive single cutaway at a 32” scale length, tuned EADGC with and two @AguilarAmp Super Double pickups and a Mattisson preamp with 3 band EQ. Janek loves his high action so even though we needed to correct some neck relief issues we still put the action up mighty high after adjusting the neck. Even with the high action this thing is a total hot rod and plays beautifully now. Thanks to Janek for reaching out and trust in me to do the work. This one was an absolute pleasure to get playing it’s best, and certainly a super unique one to come across the bench. #JanekGwizdala #MattissonBass #JanekGwizdalaMattissonBass #SingleCutBass #AguilarPickups #5StringBass #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #BassSetup #BassRepair #DRStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This @GibsonGuitar SG Standard Bass owned by @John_Knee_Potato did it’s best to break me every step of the way. 🫠 It originally came in fearing a twist in the neck from some water damage (which can be seen in the flaking headstock finish), but once I got it on the bench it was quickly apparent things were not as bad as we had feared. Once I re-engaged the truss rod, which was basically doing nothing, and pulled some relief out of the neck things started to look a lot more promising. Once I realized we were going to be OK structurally I got down to cleaning this thing including scraping off some of the flaking finish from the headstock and stabilizing things as best as we could for the rest of the finish. When we got to the point of dealing with the fretwork I realized right off the bat that we would need to re-seat just about every fret. The bigger problem was that even when pressing in the frets to re-seat them they would pop right back out. So we had to glue and clamp every single fret when re-seating all 20 frets. After that was all finally complete I was able to level and dress everything and get us some good fretwork to work with for the setup. However, when we got down to the electronics there was more trouble including a dead pot for the neck pickup which I swapped out, and a number of cold solder joints that needed to be fixed, as well as some corrosion on a couple of grounds from the moisture that needed to be cleaned up. It’s honestly a miracle that neither of the pickups were affected by the moisture and are both still functioning. After finally sorting everything out and throwing a new set of @LaBellaStrings Low Tension Flats on this bass I set it all up to play nice and easy with medium/low action. After all that, somewhat miraculously, this once almost abandoned bass has a whole new lease on life! 🤘🏻 #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #GibsonSG #SGBass #PlayAuthentic #Bass #Guitar #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarRestoration #GuitarWiring #GuitarNut #Fretwork #GuitarTech #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This was a deceptively tricky and time consuming little binding repair for this @Fender @TheRealMarcusMiller signature Jazz Bass that came in from @JohnRansomTucker. In the end things came out about as good as we could ask without being able to spray finish here in my little shop. A little amber CA glue from @StewMac_Guitar helped blend things a bit with a drop fill and level. Most importantly though the repair cannot be felt, and after finishing it off with a great setup and a new set of @DAddarioAndCo strings this bass lives to play another day! #Fender #JazzBass #JBass #MarcusMillerJazzBass #MapleNeck #BindingRepair #BoundFingerboard #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #BassSetup #BassRepair #DAddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Had a few drop offs and pick ups get rescheduled for later in the week today which allowed me a little bit of free time to finally get to work on this ‘59 spec Jazzmaster build for @andyprickettzzz featuring a @wildwoodmfg body with a super thin @bloomdoom22 nitro finish. Andy dropped the parts with me quite a while ago, but I haven’t had the time to really get started on this build until today. So I decided to give myself a little bit of mild heart attack/panic inducing drilling for my afternoon treat. 🫠 After a little bit of measure twice cut once we are good to go, and most of the heart stopping part of this build is over with for now, thank God. The tremolo is mounted and functioning as intended (including the trem lock), and the thimble holes have been enlarged to properly take the 3/8th” thimbles as well as install a ground wire. This one will continue to get work where I can sneak it in until we have a point where I can focus and wrap things up. I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one when all is said and done though! 🤘🏻 #Jazzmaster #59Jazzmaster #Sunburst #Partsmaster #BloomDoomGuitar #WildwoodManufacturing #Warmoth #Offset #OffsetGuitars #OffsetTremolo #SingleCoil #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #StringJoy #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Here’s a few shots during the process of getting the @GibsonGuitar SG in the best possible shape while it was in the shop. She certainly cleaned up nicely, and she sings with a slide now! #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #GibsonSG #SG #P90Pickups #CurtisNovakPickups #PlayAuthentic #SlideGuitar #Guitar #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarRestoration #GuitarNut #Fretwork #GuitarTech #DAddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
For those of you who did not catch the Stories in real time here is a pretty good rundown of all the work that went into the @GibsonGuitar ES-125 TC that I just wrapped up in the shop today. #ES125 #ES125TC #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #HollowbodyGuitar #ThinlineGuitar #PlayAuthentic #GuitarBridge #GuitarTuners #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarNut #Fretwork #GuitarTech #DAddarioStrings #Gotoh #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This @Maruszczyk_Instruments fretless 6 string owned by @btwbassofficial is ready to go back out the door all setup with a new set of @StringJoy strings. 🤘🏻 Everything dialed in really nicely with the setup. However, there will have to be a return visit when I get back in the shop after a short trip as we have a slightly intermittent volume push/pull pot that we will need to order a specific part for and replace. For now it it’s been cleaned and sprayed out and gets the job done at min and max settings. Luckily in it’s current state it can be temporary returned so Brad can play it while I am away and we can sort out that last issue upon my return. #Maruszczyk #MaruszczykBass #HeadlessBass #FretlessBass #6StringBass #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #GuitarWiring #BassRepair #BassSetup #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #StringJoy #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Just some shots of @AlbertoAlbis Silverburst @Fender P (Fender calls this finish “Mercury”, but let’s be real… it’s Silverburst) for no other reason than it’s pretty and came out great! #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #AmericanProfessionalII #VModPickups #Alnico5 #Alnico2 #Rosewood #Silverburst #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
The @MoogSynthesizers guitar had one last head fake to throw me before I could call it complete. Upon opening the battery compartment I realized the original 9V clip had been destroyed at some point and was no longer in use as it was taped off with electrical tape. This 9V source only controls the Piezo as the rest of the Moog Guitar is powered through the included expression pedal which requires a proper 120V wall power source. However, without the 9V the quarter inch output jack from the Piezo does absolutely nothing so we wanted to get this back in full working order. The only problem is the quick connect on the PCB is a somewhat proprietary looking version of a JST 2 pin connector... 😑 After a bit of quick thinking and ordering of some parts I was able to do a bit of cannibalization of new and old parts to get everything up and running. 🙌🏻 #Moog #MoogGuitar #MoogSynthesizer #PaulVo #Piezo #9V #JSTConnector #PCB #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #Setup #GuitarTech #DAddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Everybody’s working for the weekend. 🎶 Cranked out this @GibsonGuitar @GibsonCustom Les Paul Custom this morning for @GarrettPodgorskiMusic. 🤘🏻 Major thanks to all who are keeping me in business by bringing me your gear to get playing it’s best! 🙏🏻 #LesPaul #LesPaulCustom #Gibson #GibsonCustomShop #PlayAuthentic #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarNut #Fretwork #GuitarTech #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
I thought it might be fun to shoot out a quick comparison post of the ‘65 and ‘58 @Fender Precision Basses before I move on to what is next in the shop today. So here you have it. Two very, very vibey vintage Fenders. 🤤 #Fender #FenderPrecisionBass #PrecisionBass #PBass #1965PrecisionBass #1965PBass #1958PrecisionBass #1958PBass #VintageBass #VintageFender #PreCBS #3ToneSunburst #2ToneSunburst #TortoiseShellPickguard #AnodizedPickguard #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #ApexStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This Sonic Blue @NashGuitars_Official Tele with a set of @LollarPickups for @JonnyVesely came out so great. It is as good or better than I remember it being when I first worked on it a few years back. This one is definitely aging like fine wine. Overall it held it’s setup shockingly well considering Jonny has played and traveled with this guitar a lot. The neck just needed a bit more relief and overall it needed a little focused TLC to dial things in again and clean things up. Now it’s ready to go back out and rip! 🤘🏻 #NashGuitars #NashT63 #LollarPickups #Telecaster #Tele #SonicBlue #Relic #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #Setup #GuitarTech #CleartoneStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Instagram is trash and full of bugs, one of which reposts one photo in a carousel post like 5 times in a row… so I’m reposting this. Anyway, here’s some in progress shots from during the process of working on the @GibsonGuitar Kalamazoo KG-2A yesterday. #Kalamazoo #KalamazooGuitar #KalamazooKG2A #SG #MDF #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #60sStudentGuitar #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #TurboTuner #ErnieBallStrings #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bass #Bassist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Here’s a few in progress shots of the whole process getting the @Yamaha_Guitars SG 1802 with the @BlackCatGuitar mini-humbuckers up and running for those of you who did not catch the stories when they were up. This one wasn’t too bad, but it was a bit of a journey with some head fakes at times. In the end we got this thing dialed in and ripping for @JJJSchroeder and that’s what really matters! 🤘🏻 #Yamaha #YamahaSG #YamahaSG1802 #Goldtop #BlackCatGuitar #BlackCatPickups #MiniHumbucker #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #Pickups #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #TurboTuner #ErnieBallStrings #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bass #Bassist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
That’s a wrap on this quick turnaround Lake Placid Blue @FenderCustomShop Jazz Bass with a set of @LaBellaStrings. I believe this is likely a ‘64 model based on the round laminated fingerboard and general neck profile. This is a great sounding and playing example of a well made Custom Shop bass that captures all the vibe of those early 60’s Fender’s most of us bassists lust after. This one came in yesterday afternoon and is going right back out the door with @AdamPopick to hit some upcoming dates with @MattNathanson. 👍🏻 #Fender #FenderCustomShop #JazzBass #JBass #1964JazzBass #1960sJazzBass #LakePlacidBlue #TortoiseShell #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Just a quick appreciation post for what is probably the nicest PRS that has ever come through my shop. I mean come on… just have a look at this crazy high spec’d Wood Library Special Semi-Hollow in Burnt Maple Leaf with a crazy flamed out roasted maple neck. 🤯 It came in playing good and left playing great. This was a hard one to give back. Complete and total dream guitar right here. The stunning aesthetics of it are only matched by how many tonal options you can get out of this thing and how incredibly well this instrument plays once I dialed it in. 🤤 * Top Wood Maple Artist Grade * Back Wood Mahogany * Number of Frets 22 * Scale Length 25″ * Neck Wood Torrified Figured Maple * Fretboard Wood Ziricote * Fretboard Inlays MOP / Paua Birds * Neck Shape Pattern * Bridge PRS Patented Tremolo, Gen III * Tuners PRS Phase III Locking Tuners * Hardware Type Smoked Black * Treble Pickup 58/15 MT Treble * Middle Pickup N/F * Bass Pickup 58/15 MT Bass * Volume and Tone controls with 5-way blade pickup switch and 2 mini-toggles * 7 lbs 0 oz #PRSGuitars #PaulReedSmith #PRSSpecialSemiHollow #BurntMapleLeaf #FlamedMaple #RoastedMaple #PRS5815MT #PRSNarrowfield #Humbucker #Pickups #BoutiqueGuitars #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarTech #Daddario #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This @GuildGuitars D4 came through to address a whole slew of little issues, but mainly for the install of a K&K Pure Mini pickup and a setup. The K&K install went about as smooth as I could ask for though the X bracing is incredibly close to the bridge plate on these models making the high E string transducer a little difficult to place at first. In the end it worked out just fine and it sounds great in this guitar. This thing is an absolute canon! Otherwise I just had to shim up the saddle to accommodate for the lack of a piezo element under the saddle which we removed from the original pickup system to get our action back in a good place. And finally I just had to glue down some loose binding and patch in some new binding in a couple of locations. This super cool player wear packed Dreadnought went right back out the door this morning, and it’s going straight to a gig later today. 🤘🏻 #Guild #GuildGuitars #GuildD4 #KAndKPickup #KAndKPureMini #PickupInstallation #BingingRepair #Dreadnought #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarWiring #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #Daddario #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bluegrass #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This one got posted to my stories when it was in process, but I just wanted to share this again as a post because I was pretty proud of my ability to make shit happen with what I had around the shop on this one. Neck mount-point bracket made from a scrap block of wood for the reproduction pickguard on the 40’s @GibsonGuitar L-7 that I completed a few weeks back. Sometimes you just have to improvise. 🤷🏻♂️ #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #GibsonAcoustic #GibsonArchtop #GibsonL7 #L7 #Pickguard #PickguardMount #PickguardBracket #FretJob #Improvise #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarRestoration #GuitarSetup #Guitartech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #Daddario #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
OK. This one tripped me out a little bit… looking at some serious worlds colliding stuff going on here. I tuned into the @SternShow the other day after @MattMusty told me @SmashingPumpkins were going to be on. Lo and behold I get around to seeing the video and there is @MattMcJunkins filling in on bass playing one of the @Fender Precision Basses I just finishing working on for him here in the shop. Then I notice the custom @Yamaha_Guitars Pacifica that @JJJSchroeder was playing on the show is also one that got a setup from me back at the Pumpkins’ B rig build out I worked over Presidents’ Day weekend. I have to admit it’s pretty cool see all these things colliding and these two awesome dudes out there playing some of the instruments I’ve been lucky enough to work on for them recently!🤘🏻 #SmashingPumpkins #TheSmashingPumpkins #HowardStern #HowardSternShow #JeffSchroeder #Yamaha #YamahaPacifica #SeymourDuncan #MattMcJunkins #Fender #PBass #PrecisionBass #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #TurboTuner #ErnieBallStrings #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Back on my bullshit… All joking aside this little clamping rig may look unconventional or even a little nuts, but I’ve had a lot of success with this set up a few times in the past with very similar style headstock breaks. So fingers crossed for another successful headstock repair on this @GibsonGuitar CF-100. 🤞🏻 #Gibson #GibsonGuitars #GibsonAcoustic #CF100 #HeadstockBreak #HeadstockRepair #TiteBond #Clamps #FretPress #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #GuitarBuilder #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #Daddario #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
@DanielMcLaughlinMusic’s @PRSGuitars @JohnMayer signature Silver Sky in Moc Sand came in for some major measure twice, cut once surgery to install a @LollarPickups Imperial humbucker in the bridge position making this only the 3rd proper HSS Silver Sky I have ever seen and the only one I’ve ever seen in person. Slow and steady is the name of the game when routing, especially with a guitar of this quality, but with the fantastic templates and router bits from @StewMac_Guitar (and some deep breaths) it was a breeze. Now this thing rips with a floated tremolo and a more diverse tonal palette. 🤘🏻 #PRSGuitars #PaulReedSmith #PRSSilverSky #JohnMayer #MocSand #LollarPickups #LollarImperial #Humbucker #Pickups #PickupRouting #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarTech #Daddario #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Here are a few final shots of Wes Borland’s 1984* @OfficialJacksonGuitars Randy Rhodes.🤘🏻 This one was such a trip to work on. In the end it came out great after a fret level and dress. Everything setup real nice in drop B after that and it’s already back out the door and ready to rock on the road with @LimpBizkit. Special shout out to Wes’ tech @kadaver13 for trusting me to do the work! 🙏🏻 *edited from the original post where I incorrectly stated 1981. The serial number stamped on the end of the fingerboard would actually put this instrument’s year of production at 1984. #JacksonGuitars #JacksonRandyRhodes #FlyingV #FloydRose #SeymourDuncan #SeymourDuncanInvader #WesBorland #LimpBizkit #FretLevel #FretCrown #FretPolish #FretDress #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #CrimsonGuitars #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #Bass #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
1. Nut slot refill or 2. Scene from Scarface? 😂 #BoneNut #NutRepair #BoneDust #CAGlue #BoneForTone #LaBellaOlinto #LaBellaOlintoBass #PBass #PrecisionBass #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #BassSetup #GuitarTech #BassTech #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #Daddario #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Best $6 I’ve spent in a long time. An impulse buy at @HarborFreight has made my soldering life so much easier. 🙌🏻 #Fender #PrecisionBass #DeluxeActivePrecisionBassSpecial #AmericanElitePrecisionBass #FenderUSA #ActiveElectronics #OutputJackReplacement #GuitarWiring #BassWiring #Soldering #BassPreamp #Bass #BassGuitar #Bassist #BassPlayer #BassSetup #BassRepair #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #HarborFreight #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Swapping out this old broken short shaft DPDT switch and throwing in a new one to toggle the active circuit, plus a jack swap on this @Fender Deluxe Active Precision Bass before polishing up these frets and moving on to final setup for Mr. @MattMcjunkins! 🙌🏻 #Fender #PrecisionBass #DeluxeActivePrecisionBassSpecial #FenderUSA #ActiveElectronics #Preamp #GuitarWiring #BassWiring #Soldering #BassPreamp #Bass #BassGuitar #Bassist #BassPlayer #BassSetup #BassRepair #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Unfortunately we’re dealing with a stripped out threading on the bass side intonation adjustment screw inside this tail piece on this @Epiphone Les Paul Special today. 😢 Luckily a much more robust and infinitely more adjustable bridge from @wilkinsondirect is on its way to get us back in action! #Epiphone #EpiphoneGuitars #LesPaul #LesPaulSpecial #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #Fretwork #GuitarTech #DaddarioStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Only the finest and most state of the art tools are used here in the shop when heat straightening a neck. 😂 #Fender #JazzBass #JBass #1970sJazzBass #NeckHeating #NeckRepair #TrussRod #CrackRepair #BoundFingerboard #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
And here is the finished result of that @Fender Special Edition 70’s Jazz Bass now that everything is fixed and it is all dialed in. 👍🏻 This one ended up being quite the unexpected journey. In the end things are a lot more secure and stable with that first fret crack then when it came in and the neck is much straighter with much less strain on the truss rod after the heat straightening treatment. #Fender #JazzBass #JBass #1970sJazzBass #NeckHeating #NeckRepair #TrussRod #CrackRepair #BoundFingerboard #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Back in the home shop today after a crazy 3 day weekend here in NoHo helping @jjjschroeder get his A and B rig guitars dialed in for some upcoming @SmashingPumpkins dates in Mexico and Australia. Lots of @yamaha_guitars getting setups, pickup swaps, restrings, strap lock installs, and other various rig related tasks. I’m exhausted after 3 long days, but it was a sick weekend filling in to get these guitars and rigs dialed while Jeff’s tech Trace Davis is out on the road. Thanks for having me, Jeff!🤘🏻 #SmashingPumpkins #JeffSchroeder #Yamaha #YamahaRevstar #YamahaPacifica #YamahaOsaka #SeymourDuncan #BlackCatGuitar #RailhammerPickups #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarTech #GuitarWiring #PickupInstall #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #TurboTuner #ErnieBallStrings #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Man do I wish slide 1 was the “before” shot… 🫠 It’s not. 😐 All this work to deal with a 1st fret truss rod crack, and in the end it all failed because the truss rod came in over compressed on this 70’s Jazz Bass reissue. One more try tomorrow after I pull the clamps on this nightmare which is back glued up. Unfortunately though this bass may be beyond salvaging without a lot more work than I am really willing to undertake at this point and with this budget. 😢 Pray for this Jazz Bass. 🙏🏻 #Fender #JazzBass #JBass #1970sJazzBass #CrackRepair #BoundFingerboard #Guitar #Guitarist #GuitarPlayer #Bass #Bassist #BassPlayer #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarSetup #GuitarRepair #LaBellaStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Just a few progress shots of returning this MIM ‘52 Tele back to a more legit 2 single coil, 3 way switch, 1 ply blackguard, and 3 brass saddle Tele for @jjjschroeder. The star of the show here is undoubtedly the @blackcatguitar AlNiCo 2 pickups we dropped in though. They sound so good! Go buy his pups! #Fender #Telecaster #Tele #52Telecaster #MIMTelecaster #BlackCatGuitar #Alnico2 #Blackguard #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #GuitarTech #ErnieBall #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #TurboTuner #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
Just a few more shots from that awesome @GrecoGuitars lawsuit era Les Paul I completed late last week. Still can’t believe how dead on this guitar was for the money. 🤤 #Greco #GrecoGuitars #LesPaul #GrecoEG450 #GrecoSuperReal #CherrySunburst #LawsuitEra #PlayAuthenticLOL #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #Fretwork #GuitarTech #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross
This will be my final post about this FrankenStrat. Just a few more in progress photos. As you can see this thing was absolutely filthy when it first came in, and it needed a lot of work as I’ve previously mentioned. In the end though this thing looks cool, sounds great, and plays wonderfully now. 🤘🏻 #Fender #Stratocaster #Strat #Partscaster #SeymourDuncan #MojoTone #Pickups #FloydRose #Luthier #LALuthier #LosAngelesLuthier #GuitarRepair #BassRepair #GuitarSetup #GuitarWiring #Soldering #Routing #GuitarTech #ErnieBallStrings #StewMac #StewartMacdonald #MusicNomad #LosAngeles #LA #Musician #Guitar #Guitarist #WhatsOnYourBench #GearyBusey #LuthierVandross