Here is a repair I did about a year ago. I replaced the bridge foot on this
Stiver mandolin with one I fabricated from an ebony blank. The need for this repair was due to a typical northern Arizona instrument problem. The mandolin had dried out and "acclimated" to our dry environment, which altered the geometry of the instrument. The neck angle was so high that the original bridge could not be raised tall enough to yield appropriate playing action... strings were too low to the fingerboard and it was buzzing like crazy. While I was at it, I leveled frets and setup the mandolin as perfectly as possibly with a new bone nut.
After making the new bridge foot, it was important to sand the bottom of it to precisely match the contour of the mandolin top.
This enables the best transfer of sound vibration from the strings, through the bridge, and into the body of the instrument. Anything other than an absolute perfect fit is unacceptable in this case.
Here you can see the old bridge foot,
the new one made from scratch,
and both side-by-side.
The new bridge foot is almost 1/4" taller than the old one. I made it
just tall enough for the strings to setup at the proper height once the bridge saddle was put into place on the posts. I didn't want to make the new piece any larger than necessary. By making it as close to the original size as possible the original sound of the instrument would be preserved as much as possible.
I didn't take any final pictures of the completed project. But this repair was a complete success and the customer was extremely pleased with the renewed playability of the instrument.
(Post Script) It should be noted that trying to purposely acclimate a fine instrument (such as this one) to the dry humidity of Flagstaff is usually unrecommended, if not highly discouraged. It is much easier on the instrument, and on you as the owner to simply invest in and learn how to use the appropriate humidifier, and more importantly get in the habit of keeping the instrument properly hydrated. The owner of this instrument was lucky we didn't have cracks to fix or any major structural repair, worse than what we saw, anyway.
-R.E.
Flagstaff, not too long ago... before the snow.
We've been offering a lot of bargains and special items on eBay recently. I want to have at least a couple items up for auction every week. These bargains can be bought at the store for the Buy-It-Now price, or you may enter a bid at the store if you like.
The Orpheum theater, downtown Flagstaff. Many good shows come through this venue.
The concert last Friday was awesome. Thanks to everyone who came out and to the bands Ink Child and Mokshya for playing. We're going to do this more often through the summer.
We have officially started the Custom Sound Pro Deal CoOp... a cooperative special ordering program that gets you insider pricing on everything from strings & accessories to pickups & effects. We highly encourage comparing the prices offered through the ordering CoOp with other online stores. The prices you get by collaborating with us on orders will exceed your expectations. Keep reading for some basics and what to expect.
We are now building CustomCaster electric guitars. These are solid body, bolt-on-neck style guitars designed to your specification, exclusively by Custom Sound Instruments. We have a couple demo models available to try at the store, but all instruments are built to order. The purpose of a "built to order" guitar is to fine tune all aspects of the instrument to fit your exact needs.
Just to be clear, not all of the FlagView images are taken by me. Some are given to me by friends. Some I just have in my collection of photos. Here's a perfect example of a summer day down Lake Mary Road... just outside of Flagstaff.
You may be wondering, why so many clamps?
Meet Andrew Lauher. A fine string instrument technician and accomplished luthier. Andrew has built guitars for many Flagstaff musicians including Rafe Sweet, Jeff Lusby and Jeremy Russel. He is now helping out in the repair shop (because we still have a consistent back log of about 35 instruments... damn!) Some of his guitars will be on display for the First Friday Art Walk in August. We'll keep you posted as to the models he'll have on display and the location.
e slot in this pic. We routed this as a "through saddle slot," like what you see on older vintage guitars (or vintage-style guitars.)
Announcing the Custom Sound Summer Solstice Concert: featuring the bands Mokshya and Ink Child. Come enjoy the solstice with us while we try our new outdoor venue.
I've been in Flagstaff for about a decade now, and I can truly say I love this place as much as anyone can love a home. I've heard all the complaints... but to me it's all 'grass is greener' bs. I see Flagstaff as a small city at the brink of it's greatness. Flagstaff has some problems, but the ever revealing and manifesting potential of the town is inspiring. Rarely a day goes by that I don't look at my surroundings here and get completely astounded and humbled by where I live. I'm very grateful to be in this town, and doing what I love.
This is the introductory post to what will be an ongoing restoration project. I will be making various posts throughout the process. The series of posts will show:
The final product was a restored, beautiful vintage player. New bone saddle, rosewood bridge pins, fresh tortoise pickguard, new frets and a bone nut, along with some Waverly tunning gears. We decided not to do any finish work to the wear on the top.
The latest addition to the world's family of percussive instruments. I want one. But apparently it can take over a year to have one built and will cost thousands of dollars.
Here is a repair I did about a year ago. I replaced the bridge foot on this Stiver mandolin with one I fabricated from an ebony blank. The need for this repair was due to a typical northern Arizona instrument problem. The mandolin had dried out and "acclimated" to our dry environment, which altered the geometry of the instrument. The neck angle was so high that the original bridge could not be raised tall enough to yield appropriate playing action... strings were too low to the fingerboard and it was buzzing like crazy. While I was at it, I leveled frets and setup the mandolin as perfectly as possibly with a new bone nut.
