I will be on vacation the week of July 1, 2024. I will be back in the shop on July 8th. I am currently still about 1-2 weeks backlogged, but am finishing a half dozen large repairs and should be available to take in repairs, large or small, once back in the shop. Also I […]
Family Vacation Time! Read More »
Sometimes, despite over 23 years working on instruments, I see something weird. And this one is bizarre. Notice anything weird? The clues were there, had I thought about them. The guitar was brought in by the son of its original owner. The action wasn’t terribly high, but we agreed a neck reset would improve the
Neck Reset on 1954 Gibson Southerner Jumbo Read More »
This customer has two early 80s Yamaha SA700s. His other already had jumbo frets, which her preferred over the original medium frets. When he bought this one, we decided to put some Dunlop 6100 wire in. Fingerboards with binding require an extra step. Each piece of fretwire needs its tang cut to fit the slot.
Yamaha SA700 Refret with Jumbo Dunlop 6100 Fretwire Read More »
I am unfortunately unable to easily accommodate drop-in customers. I work from home, and try to maintaining “shop hours”, but often have to run errands. Or more likely, I am working on customer instruments. I do my best to respond to any contact (email, phone, or text) as quickly as possible, but keep in mind
Reminder: Please Call Ahead to Make Appointment Read More »
It has been a very busy year. We are loving our little girl like crazy, and enjoying everyday with her. She turned 10 months this week, and we are planning her 1st birthday party already!!! Unfortunately, I have had to take quite a bit of time off to provide daycare for little Peanut. We love
Back to Normal Business Hours Read More »
Announcement: The shop will be closed temporarily so that I can be “daddy daycare” for little baby Peanut. We had hoped that our daycare would have an opening for her by now, but are told it will likely be late March before they have room for her. Funny these things: she had a spot in
Temporary Closure to Care for Baby Girl Read More »
A friend has asked me to help find homes for some banjos. A lot of banjos. A whole lot of banjos. Like, dozens of banjos. From the estate of a violin luthier is Southwest Kansas, one who apparently also had a fondness for 1920s tenor banjos. We have only scratched the surface, and will no
Amazing Estate Find: Vintage Tenor Banjos and Parts Read More »
Fixing up this old Harmony-made lap steel for a friend. Never seen one quite like this: Poplar body with oak veneer. The fingerboard is just dyed darker! I dig the random brown sunburst on edge of headstock and on body curves. When we got it, there was a weak signal, barely any sound coming through.
Restoration of P-13 Pickup in 1949 Harmony Lapsteel Read More »
Winter is coming!! Cold winter air is already dry, and your forced air furnace dries it even more. It is not uncommon in Kansas for homes to reach humidity levels in the teens in winter. Acoustic instruments should be kept at a “relative humidity” of about 45%, at 68-72 degrees. That’s hard to do, folks.
Winter is coming! Controlling Humidity in the Cold, Dry Winter Read More »
Battle of the ‘Hogs; Which do you choose? On the left, a 1958 Gibson J-45. On the right, a 1961 Martin D-18 (with custom pickguards). In 1958, the J-45 you would’ve run you $149.00. The ‘61 D-18 would’ve been $210.00 (a D-28 a whopping $335!!). I’ve always fancied myself a Gibson guy, perhaps because I
1958 Gibson J-45 vs 1961 Martin D-18: Battle of the ‘Hogs Read More »
