The Custom Sound Instruments Blog

Black Friday Part II: The New Incarnation Celebration

2011-11-27T21:04:00.003-07:00

Join us this Friday, December 2nd for a First Friday Artwalk Party, for which we will be debuting our new showroom and store layout. The New Incarnation Celebration will start this Friday and go through Sunday, featuring store-wide discounts and package deals, along with instruments and other items at blow-out prices.

August Seminar Schedule

2011-08-10T11:38:00.004-07:00

2 SEMINARS THIS WEEKEND, 5 SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK.

SATURDAY @ NOON:

Intro to Creative Improv on Guitar. FREE class.

SATURDAY @ 2:00:

Leo Kottke Finger-Style Guitar Workshop. FREE class.

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NEXT WEEK'S SEMINARS:

ALL ABOUT STRINGS SEMINAR
Monday, August 15th: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
If you've ever wondered what makes strings different in terms of sound, construction, different instrument types, etc... all your questions will be answered in this FREE class.

FLAMENCO GUITAR PART II
Thursday, August 18th: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Thomas will teach a continuation of the Intro to Flamenco class. Additional techniques and more advanced rhythms. FREE class.

FINGERBOARD LOGIC
Saturday, August 20th: Noon - 1:30pm
Would you like to know your way around the fingerboard a little more? Thomas will teach some new ideas and approaches to understanding the fingerboard. FREE class.

TWO-HANDED TAPPING TECHNIQUE
Saturday, August 20th: 2:00 - 3:30pm
Ben Kammin will teach you some awesome riffs and rhythms using a two-handed fingerboard tapping technique for acoustic or electric guitar. FREE class.

GUITAR REPAIR & SETUP PART I
Saturday, August 20th: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Part I of a two part class. This will serve as a lecture and demonstration. Part two will be the lab portion of part I. Bring your guitar to the lab workshop where you'll work on own instrument. This class is $10, part 2 will be $15.

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MORE WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED THROUGH AUGUST.

Summer Seminar Series Continues

2011-07-20T13:26:00.003-07:00

Our Seminar Series begins again on Monday, August 8th, with Ryan's Guitar Maintenance Workshop. Learn to dial your instrument in for maximum playability and tone. This hands-on workshop starts at 6:00pm. Please sign up at the store, and stay tuned for our entire series of workshops being held on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays through the end of Summer.

Sale Starts Friday!

2010-11-25T07:40:00.002-07:00

If you haven't heard, our 7th Annual Fall Super-Sale Event starts this Friday, goes through Sunday.

Be sure to join our email list or join us on Facebook to get details on winning the $100 Shopping Spree here at Custom Sound Instruments.

Facebook

2010-11-24T14:47:00.004-07:00

We're getting all our Social Media ducks in order. The blog is back up and posts are scheduled. Also, if you haven't checked our Facebook page for general updates about the shop, go see what's going on over there. It's all starting to come together. Now that damn website.

Guitar Surgery Reports

2010-11-24T13:02:00.007-07:00

I also wanted to let you know I have a huge backlog of repair articles and reports on some really intensive repairs from this past year. Here's a quick look at one of the recent restorations from the CSI guitar hospital. You can see more pics from the GICU here on our Facebook.

I'm Back Baby!

2010-11-24T08:19:00.005-07:00

Ha!

Hey. Ryan here, owner of Custom Sound Instruments. I'm back and I plan on staying back. I haven't gone anywhere... just haven't been here at the blog in quite some time. I've been doing the facebook thing,a bit lately; but you know what, for some reason I'd rather ramble on a blog then make short little mini posts all the time on FB... I don't know why, it just feels more natural. I kinda hate FB, but don't tell anyone. I'm learning to embrace it.

So, I plan on truly keeping up this time. This blog is meant for repair articles and write-ups about tech related stuff. But I'll also be posting current information related to the general goings on at the store.

-R

Bad Blogger

2009-11-06T00:53:00.003-07:00

OK. I'm gonna get this over with as quickly as possible. I haven't posted in almost a year. I think it's been almost 10 months, or something like that. Anyway, apologies all around. I hope I can regain some interest from all of you in the near future (and perhaps, eventually some renewed blog-trust.) There are many reasons why I haven't posted in such a long time. I may share those reasons with you... if you want to know the mild saga.

Anyway, I have lots of material for this forum. I will be sharing many stories from the guitar shop in the coming months. Things have been crazy.

Cheers.

-Ryan Elewaut
Owner

Non-FlagView

2009-01-20T17:02:00.004-07:00

Last weekend was the annual NAMM Show in Anaheim California. NAMM is one of the largest trade shows in the world, and is exclusive to all people involved in the music products industry. This was the sixth year in a row that I've attended and, quite frankly, it's getting a bit old. This year I decided to make a vacation out of it. I haven't had a true, relaxing vacation in over 5 years... so I thought it was over due. I only attended the show on Thursday and Friday, the pic from the beach should be all you need to figure out why I didn't go to the trade show on Saturday or Sunday. Here are some shots from the show... and the beach. Don't hate me.

Hey Baby Jude

2009-01-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this with y'all.

Spastic Cartoon

2009-01-07T08:53:00.001-07:00

The band playing here is called Spastic Ink. Apparently a lot of their music is composed around animated video, Disney or otherwise.

Listen to how the music follows the video... even down to the rhythms and pitches of the dialogue.

Humidity Discussion

2009-01-05T08:17:00.003-07:00

What happens to a guitar when it's dried out?

Here's one example.

The critical geometry is completely affected. Setting up the guitar is difficult. In addition to this, the entire structure of the instrument is under abnormal tension. There are many different pieces of wood glued together inside a guitar, different types of wood, with grain lines pointing in all different directions; when these various components of the instrument dry out, they contract in different directions and to varying degrees of subtlety. This creates undo tension throughout the structure of the instrument and it therefore doesn't play the same, and it doesn't sound the same either.

It's true that not all guitars or like instruments need the be humidified to prevent cracks or "visible" damage. However, when someone brings me a guitar that is dried out, even if they are happy enough with it's playability, the damage is visible to me.

I've also seen many older instrument that have been dry for a long time. Some say the guitar has been "acclimated." Rarely is a guitar properly "acclimated," and some guitars refuse to "acclimate." Some of the older instruments don't show much extreme trauma, but none are in pristine condition. Most have had crack repairs and other work done to remedy the effects of being turned into guitar-jerky.

Keep in mind, a guitar with the correct geometry, kept at the right humidity, plays and sounds the best. Too much humidity makes the guitar play and sound horrible as well. However, too little humidity is generally more detrimental to the structural integrity of the instrument. And besides, you will never have a problem with excessive humidity if you live in northern Arizona. So get a humidifier already!

My next post will discuss how to properly humidify your instrument.

Humidity Warning

2009-01-02T09:30:00.007-07:00

I've removed the blog-hydrometer for now because the humidity in your home is nowhere near the humidity outside. Your indoor humidity is much, much lower than outside. Any and all heaters (some more than others) dry out the air in your house. At the store we've had to get out extra humidifiers to keep the humidity in the acoustic room at a high enough level.

So, check those humidifiers. Think about supplementing your case humidifier with a room humidifier. Remember, we live in one of the most arid climates in the US. The effects of this environment on wooden instruments should not be underestimated.

Next week I'll write more about the specifics of what happens to instruments and the adverse effects of extremely low humidity levels like we have here in norther Arizona. If you need more info about keeping your instrument properly humidified, contact me at the store or by email.

FlagView of the Day

2008-12-31T09:08:00.001-07:00

Flagstaff, not too long ago... before the snow.

FlagView is back. I've decided, however, not to attempt a FlagView post (almost) every day as I once hoped to do. This will help with maintaining my sanity as I attempt to try, once again, maintaining a (somewhat) consistent blog.

eBay Offerings

2008-12-30T09:30:00.002-07:00

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.

Click here to view our eBay page. Click on Items for Sale on the left, under our logo, to view current auctions.

Announcement!

2008-12-29T09:44:00.002-07:00

We have some big plans for the beginning of 2009. There will be many events, concerts, workshops, seminars and other activities offered by the store. We are getting more organized with our email newsletters and I hope to incorporate that into the blog somehow. Stay on the lookout for new things around the corner at Custom Sound Instruments.

If you'd like to be on our email list for the e-letters, send an email to csiflag@gmail.com with "add me to your list" in the subject field.

I realize most people looking at this blog will be more interested in posts about repair and interesting instrument related stuff. So I'll keep the announcement postings to a minimum. But while I re-habituate myself to posting on this blog, I'm gonna make it easy on myself with some basic info on what's been going on at the store and what's coming up next.

I Missed You Too

2008-12-28T22:00:00.001-07:00

OK. I know. I haven't posted since the summer time and now it's the middle of winter! Bad blogger, bad!

I wouldn't blame you if you never checked this blog again. I got sidetracked and gave up on the blog to give more energy to some other pressing issues at the store. But don't give up on this blog just yet.

I'm back! And I'm dedicating myself to spending at least one hour a week to post on the blog. I'm now able to schedule my posts, so that will help me make the posting more consistent... Talk to you soon.

Thanks.

Free Concert

2008-07-16T14:13:00.005-07:00

Hey. Still haven't had much time to post lately. I have some new repairs that will go up soon. Right now I want to let you know about the Rock Camp Concert that will take place on Saturday July 26th. The show will start around 7pm. We have three bands playing that night. The first two acts will feature our students from Rock Camp. They are awesome... you'll be surprised at how tight they sound. The band Mokshya will play a full set after the kids to headline the night.

FlagView of the Day

2008-07-07T10:10:00.004-07:00

The Orpheum theater, downtown Flagstaff. Many good shows come through this venue.

Long Time No Post

2008-07-07T00:13:00.010-07:00

Yea, I know it's been awhile. Things have been busy and hectic at the store. We closed on the fourth of July... unfortunately we weren't really celebrating the holiday; we were doing inventory and finalizing our new computer system to manage the store better. Time to get completely organized. All the extra work and seemingly less time to get anything done has added to our backlog of repairs and orders. So, I hereby officially apologize to all you repair customers and the like who have been waiting so patiently. I know we're droppin' a ball or two. Just bear with us for now. We're trying to finish picking up the pieces from the expansion and remodel.

Rock Camp starts this week. Wednesday at 5pm is the first session. There are still a couple spots available! Call the store if you're interested.

Apparently our street is going to be closed Monday and Tuesday for construction. If you are coming to visit us, park on a side street and walk on over.

Repair seminars will be postponed by a couple of weeks. Look for the schedule to be announced later this month.

New Instruments & Featured Items at the store:
-Schecter 8-string octave bass.
-Norman 12-string acoustic.
-4 New Seagull Acoustics
-USA Fender strat, used
-SWR 4x10 Goliath Cab

-- Ryan Elewaut

Solstice Concert Recap

2008-06-23T08:53:00.006-07:00

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.

Pro Deal CoOp

2008-06-19T00:01:00.006-07:00

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.

How it works:

The program is designed as a special ordering email system. You pay an annual membership of $35 and are immediately enrolled into a special, private email list. We never share your information with anyone. At that time, we will start sending emails informing you of our ordering schedule, letting you know what products are being ordered and details as to available wholesale prices.

For example, if you compare our CoOp prices to "online prices" (musicians friend, guitar center, music 123, etc.) you will get deals that are 23% lower, on average, through the CoOp. This means that a $160 order will save you more than the annual membership cost, if you compare that same order to the prices of a typical online store.

Local Flagstaffonians can come in the store, if they prefer, to order and pay for the program. If you live out of town you can call or communicate exclusively through email and paypal. Call us at 928-779-1000 or email us to get started...

I'll update this post in the next day or two with a printable, detailed one-sheet on the program. Give us a call or send an email (csiflag@gmail.com) if you would like more information immediately.

-- Ryan Elewaut

Free Custom Sound Concert

2008-06-18T23:45:00.006-07:00

Come join us for the first annual Summer Solstice Concert at Custom Sound Instruments. The show is free and will be held behind the store on Friday, June 20th, starting at about 7pm. The bands Mokshya and Ink Child will be performing, along with other guests.

This is going to be an awesome heavy show with some loud, rhythmic and experimental bands.

-- Ryan Elewaut

FlagView of the Day

2008-06-17T11:31:00.006-07:00

Downtown Flagstaff.

The Weatherford Hotel & Charley's Bar.

-- Ryan Elewaut

Freakishly Good

2008-06-16T15:11:00.006-07:00

Just thought I might make mention of Mr. Danny Gatton while I have a minute here. The only thing I can say about this guy, when ever he comes up in conversation... WOW! A true virtuoso. If you've never heard of Danny Gatton, this is a must watch. People like this are on a different level. Gatton is a perfect example of what I call an elite level of musicianship. This is what's achieved when extreme technical proficiency constantly connects with the soul of the musician. The instrument becomes a mere extension of the player's mind, body and spirit. Rest in peace Danny.

-- Ryan Elewaut

CustomCasters

2008-06-16T13:06:00.010-07:00

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.

Buying a CustomCaster is different than buying an ordinary guitar. When people buy guitars they are usually fitting themselves to an instrument. When we build a guitar with the musician, we are fitting the instrument to you the player. We spend a fair amount of time sitting down with you (or exchanging emails) just to spec out the options and figure out exactly what kind of guitar you want... pickups, tuners, strings, neck style, body, electric modifications... the list goes on and on. Often, people don't realize the amount of variables that can be tweaked to make a truly customized instrument... one that suits your tonal palate, fits perfectly in your hands, and one that looks unique and speaks to your personality.

We have compared our demo models to similar "mass-produced" instruments... and frankly, there's no comparison. We'll put these guitars up against any main stream bolt-on style guitar, anytime. And the prices will surprise you. In most cases we can build a much better guitar for about the same price, if not less, than say a USA Fender. And better yet, it'll be absolutely one of a kind.

-- Ryan Elewaut

FlagView of the Day

2008-06-14T13:21:00.006-07:00

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.

This is the large meadow out past Lake Mary. You can see the San Francisco peaks in the distance.

-- Ryan Elewaut

Free Restring Day

2008-06-12T09:53:00.003-07:00

Custom Sound Instruments and D'Addario strings are sponsoring a free restring day. Bring in your guitar for a free set of strings and let us show you how to properly restring your instrument. We will give you some tips on proper maintenance and minor adjustments so you can start taking better care of your own instrument.

The free restring day will be on June 21st... the day after our summer solstice concert. Contact the store for details or questions.

Glue that Back back On

2008-06-11T20:12:00.008-07:00

You may be wondering, why so many clamps?

I had to remove the back (which was already lifting in various places around the seam) on this Kamaka ukulele to replace a back-brace and reglue another brace on the underside of the top. This is a small soprano uke, so the only way to get inside was to remove the back. The problem was originally caused by dryness. Coming from Hawaii, the instrument did not take well to the dry climate of northern Arizona. Because the instrument had been dried out, braces were lifting and the body was slightly warped.

So, this is why I needed so many clamps to properly glue the back in place. Four of the clamps are being used to simply hold the sides in the correct shape to accept the back into proper position. Because the wood had dried and warped, after the back was removed the sides didn't stay in the same shape... i.e. they were being held in place by the back prior to its removal.

As to why so many different types of clamps were used... I didn't have enough spool clamps for the entire job... also, spool clamps would've gotten in the way of the the clamps that were used to keep the sides in the correct position.

This was a beautiful, authentic Hawaiian uke with some great pieces of koa wood. It was a pleasure to bring this instrument back to life. After the structural work, I did some minor fret work and made a new bone saddle.

-- Ryan Elewaut

New Addition to the Family

2008-06-11T18:25:00.005-07:00

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.

FlagView of the Day

2008-06-11T18:18:00.005-07:00

On that same hike to the top of the San Francisco peaks, about half way up the mountain there is a boulder field of lava rocks, the trees are cleared and this is the view, looking west.

-- Ryan Elewaut

Saddle Routing

2008-06-10T21:36:00.009-07:00

Here are some pics of one of my favorite jobs... routing saddle slots. This is one of my favorite jobs because this is probably my favorite jig to use. I like to rout saddle slots on the guitar, with the bridge already located and glued. In most circumstances this enables us to actually intonate the proper location for the saddle... a unique privilege for an acoustic guitar. Electric guitars have movable saddles, which makes adjusting the intonation easy. Acoustic guitars have a fixed saddle placement.

So, this series shows two guitars having their saddle slots routed. The first one is a classical, which I was just widening the slot for the purpose of making it clean and true... the original slot was ugly... so I was just making it right. The second guitar is an old Harmony. I was showing Nate (my repair assistant) how to set up the jig and make the rout.

Setting up the jig.

Routing the slot.

Done. (But not a very good pic.)

Nate's turn. Checking the alignment of the jig.

Routing and watching.

Done. Hard to see the slot in this pic. We routed this as a "through saddle slot," like what you see on older vintage guitars (or vintage-style guitars.)

-- Ryan Elewaut

FlagView of the Day

2008-06-10T11:54:00.008-07:00

Hiking the San Francisco Peaks... the mountains shown in the blog banner at the top of the page. This is a pretty strenuous, yet absolutely beautiful hike to the summit... the highest point in the state of Arizona. Even the ground is beautiful. Is there a pattern to be found on the ground?

-- Ryan Elewaut

Have a Heavy Solstice

2008-06-09T23:26:00.009-07:00

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.

We're having our first outdoor concert of the summer on June 20th, at 7pm. Join us for a free show, out back on the patio behind the store. There will be some heavy funk jams early on, then some heavy, tribal, experimental rock while the bands Ink Child and Mokshya play.

More info to come...

-- Ryan Elewaut

Doumbek Solo

2008-06-09T15:06:00.006-07:00

This guy is the best Doumbek/Darbuka soloists I've ever seen. He really jams out at the end of this video. Custom Sound Instruments is currently building it's percussion section and we'll be getting in more hand drums over the next couple of weeks.

-- Ryan Elewaut

Humidity Alert

2008-06-09T11:28:00.005-07:00

It's dry out! Use those humidifiers if you have them. It's virtually impossible to over humidify right now. If you are using a sponge based humidifier, like a Damp-It or Planet Waves, refill every-other day right now. If you are using an Oasis humidifier (available through Custom Sound Instruments) check it frequently.

I'm going to add a new feature to this blog today, called the BLOG HYDROMETER. In the right column of the page you'll see an updated humidity gauge that links to a NOAA weather report so you can easily monitor the local humidity on a day-to-day basis.

-- Ryan Elewaut

FlagView of the Day

2008-06-08T17:37:00.010-07:00

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.

I'm going to start showing a view of Flagstaff (almost) every day to share my admiration of the town and surrounding area with you. Welcome to the FlagView of the day.

--Ryan Elewaut

Vintage Restoration

2008-06-08T13:09:00.012-07:00

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:

-Full dovetail neck reset.
-Complete re fret
-Remove and replace pickguard
-Remove and re glue the bridge

In addition to these topics, I will be showing and exploring many other general setup procedures and restoration topics... and other things that happen along the way. With a job like this, more things easily come up along the way.

This is a gorgeous, vintage 1962 Martin D12-35. I bought the guitar for the shop with the plan of restoring it. I haven't decided whether or not to keep it after the restoration is complete. The Brazilian Rosewood is beautiful. Below you can see the three-piece back with the Indian Rosewood in the center.

Look at the way they matched up the wood figure at the heel. This is a really great looking piece of Brazilian.

Here you can see how the bridge is lifting, and the pickguard. The bridge isn't too bad, but since we're resetting the neck angle it'll be best to fix this so as to correct the overall geometry of the guitar. I'll be using hot hide glue for the two major glue joints... the bridge and neck joint

-R.E.

The Summer Camp of Rock

2008-06-03T11:15:00.006-07:00

Custom Sound Instruments is gearing up for Rock Camp.

July 8 - 26.

Contact the store for details.

--R.E.

Repair Pic of the Week

2008-06-03T10:39:00.014-07:00

The repair pic of the week (on the right of the blog page) shows the beginning stages of a Martin neck reset. After heating up the fingerboard extension, I used a pallet knife to loosen the glue joint. This way, when I steamed out the neck joint, the entire neck would pull off the guitar in one piece.

The guitar being repaired is a 1951 Martin D-18... classic. The guitar had been played a lot, as you can see by the look of the top.

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.

--R.E.

The Worst Headstock Fracture... Ever

2008-06-03T10:07:00.010-07:00

So, I'm going back through some pictures of past repairs and finding content for the new blog. Here are a couple pics from the worst headstock fracture I ever had the pleasure of repairing. This was a Gibson acoustic with a headstock break completely perpendicular to the neck and just behind the nut. There was virtually no surface area for a sound glue joint. The guitar had been broken at the head stock twice prior.

I applied wax to the exposed truss rod with a burning candle. I wanted the truss to still be functional... i.e. not be seized by the first glue job. The first glue step was to simply get the headstock back on the neck of the guitar. I knew this step would be structurally useless, I just needed to get the head back in place to begin the reinforcement.

Below you can see all the various glue joints showing the various reinforcements made during the repair. There are two mahogany splines inlayed parallel to the neck, on either side of the truss rod. Then a disc planer, mounted on a drill press, was used to thin the back of the headstock down to create another gluing surface... which created addition strength. Epoxy was used during all glue procedures for the additional strength provided by the adhesive.

Again, I don't have pictures of the completed project. The repair turned out clean, especially after refinishing the neck with dark stained lacquer. It was nice to be able to hide these (great looking) glue joints with the dark finish.

--R.E.

The Hang Drum (hau-ng)

2008-06-03T04:16:00.017-07:00

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.

--R.E.

Mando Acclimation

2008-06-02T13:32:00.027-07:00

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.

First Post

2008-06-01T04:51:00.008-07:00

The first post ever! Welcome to this historical event. I want to use this opportunity to welcome the new staff lineup at the store and introduce you to the family:

Nate Davison: associate repair technician. Nate has been around for about a year now.
James Brown: that's right, the one and only. James' band, Mokshya just got back from tour. James helps run the general operations at the store.
Andrew Lauer: The most recent addition to the family. Andrew is a reputable luthier in Flagstaff and will be helping to keep the repair shop caught up.
Joe Adragna: electronics technician and overall good-idea guy.
Jeff Urdang: Jeff's our shop hand. He's just out of high school, but quite a guitar player.
Ryan Elewaut: me. Owner, operator, instructor, head luthier.

I'll save the list of teachers for another post...