Chief's Log, Storedate 2.22.12.12

Xmas is in the music room this year! I win.

Also -- the lights are up and we have a dusting of snow. It's starting to feel like real winter.

Ages ago, a customer tasked me with rebracing a destroyed Gibson HG-00. Yes, I understand your trepidation. I had it, too, as soon as I opened this super-cool top (note: the back was only held-on by ancient strapping tape… funny).

That said… the extra real estate and quirky, super-light, super-stable carbon-fiber reinforced new x-braces are going to give this a much-better sound. The “tap” sounds great so far and I haven’t finished shaping the brace sides yet, even. 

Note how I glued-up the braces outside of a “go-bar” setup — it was easier to preserve the lightly-domed top doing it this way.

Excuse the mess at the f-holes for now — that is going to get sanded-down and then backed with fabric like it was to begin-with on this particular guitar.

Here’s some wee-hours quick repair for an 1870s-era Martin 2-20 flattop -- a fret level/dress, new saddle, replacement (period) pins, brace/crack repairs, and setup work.

The interior shot of the bracing shows the “modified fan” pattern. I’ll have a full blog on this soonish. It’s a gorgeous guitar.

On Tuesday last week I had appointments all day so I had 10-15 minutes to kill here and there. I finished-up a Strat-bodied, Dano-pickuped, Dano-necked 5-string electric project for myself during these spaces as I didn’t want to get invested in anything else. It’s good!

I keep reusing various projects and parts around the workshop and eventually I come-up with winners that stay in the stable. This one will last -- thanks for the body, by the way, Mr. R!

Brutal temptations like this '81 Rickenbacker 4001 pop-in the shop all the time. It'll be up for sale, soon, but I think a friend already plans to snipe it. We'll see.

Also: Ancel finished his bass! Yip! Rick jammed with him and my buddy Michael (below) in the shop for a bit, too. This Saturday was just as crazy as the one before it was, with folks streaming in and out of the shop and a party atmosphere flowing beautifully while various repairs and sales got done.

Thanks for visiting, everyone!