http://soft.com.sg/forum/maestro-guitar-hospital-restore-repair-rejuvenate/119707-santa-cruz-bridge-reglue.html
http://soft.com.sg/forum/maestro-guitar-hospital-restore-repair-rejuvenate/119565-warwick-truss-rod-replacement.html
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Who does the job well?
I get asked alot, "Is there a place to learn guitar repair?". Which is usually followed by, "Are there certification courses for guitar repair?"
I'm a little dumbfounded when i get asked these questions. Ultimately a teacher is important, however learning doesn't take place only in formal settings. For most, the attainment of true abilily comes from a combination of study and practice. A musician for e.g. might study some chord changes, record these changes and practice improvising over them. Later on he might do some chord substitutions etc and try the process in a similar fashion. This is what I call progressive learning. Along the way, this musician will gain experience when he takes his knowledge to a real jam session. Hence study+ knowledge application guarantees some personal challenge and progression.
Guitar repair and building like any other field, requires hitting the books regularly. Reading up on wood types, joinery, finishing, etc will contribute to the vast knowledge required in the field. However, reading alone is insufficient - applied knowledge is what's most important.
So, experience alone isn't enough. Some repair guys have been doing the same thing for the past 10 years without any refinement in their techniques. They do not build/use jigs and have a poor grasp of hand tool usage. Still they can carry on year after year without knowing how to sharpen or use a chisel properly. Is this considered real experience?
Real ability can either be a subset of experience or it they could be mutually exclusive . If experience alone was a true indicator of ability, those hawkers cooking for the past 20 years should be serving food to die for. However, this is rarely the case. The same thing applies when searching for a guitar repair tech or luthier. Certifications, experience, brand name (hype) do not mean that much when actual ability is poor.
KC
I'm a little dumbfounded when i get asked these questions. Ultimately a teacher is important, however learning doesn't take place only in formal settings. For most, the attainment of true abilily comes from a combination of study and practice. A musician for e.g. might study some chord changes, record these changes and practice improvising over them. Later on he might do some chord substitutions etc and try the process in a similar fashion. This is what I call progressive learning. Along the way, this musician will gain experience when he takes his knowledge to a real jam session. Hence study+ knowledge application guarantees some personal challenge and progression.
Guitar repair and building like any other field, requires hitting the books regularly. Reading up on wood types, joinery, finishing, etc will contribute to the vast knowledge required in the field. However, reading alone is insufficient - applied knowledge is what's most important.
So, experience alone isn't enough. Some repair guys have been doing the same thing for the past 10 years without any refinement in their techniques. They do not build/use jigs and have a poor grasp of hand tool usage. Still they can carry on year after year without knowing how to sharpen or use a chisel properly. Is this considered real experience?
Real ability can either be a subset of experience or it they could be mutually exclusive . If experience alone was a true indicator of ability, those hawkers cooking for the past 20 years should be serving food to die for. However, this is rarely the case. The same thing applies when searching for a guitar repair tech or luthier. Certifications, experience, brand name (hype) do not mean that much when actual ability is poor.
KC
Friday, March 13, 2009
Set up thoughts cont'd...
Ok,
Time to get a little more analytical in the world of orange drops and strobostomps. Let's look at the stately strobe tuners you see on the market these days. For the uninitiated, some strobe tuners can detect within 1/10 of 1/ 100 of a semitone (1 / 10 of one cent, or 0.006%). This essentially means any slight variance in finger pressure will register on the tuner. With such deadly accuracy, it also means that you'll have to put a compressor in front of the tuner (pedal chain) to allow a slightly sustained note to register on the tuner. This makes tuning easier (less jumpy signal).
So, my question is, should a tech use a strobe tuner for intonation at all? I'm of the opinion that it's up to the players. If the customer specifically requests for it, sure I'll do it and impose a surcharge. However I'll also let the player know that with such deadly accuracy, intonating the guitar might pose a challenge - which means the tech has to 'guess' the player's finger pressure to even benefit from the setup with a strobe. Is this practical? I'll say 'no' most of the time. Majority of players (even good musicians with excellant relative pitch) will not insist on using a strobe tuner. Remember the 3 saddle telecaster? No one seemed to complain if you just flattened the open G a lil. A good tech should be able to fine tune the intonation with a reliable boss (no offence to the rest of the tuner world, boss is just used for convenience) tuner and his own ears. Remember the good ole piano tuner (in this case I'm referring to a person).
It's also a little ludicrous if you have a nicely strobed guitar in a jazz trio playing with a trumpet and double bassist. Should your bandmates get their instruments 'strobed' too? Oh I forgot, they have to pitch the note themselves unlike lazy fretted instrument players! Ultimately, if your ears are not good enough know what good intonation is, I think having a guitar strobed is not necessary. This of course meaning, if I were to hand you a fretless instrument say a violin, double bass etc, you could play some 3rds, 5ths, 7ths in tune. If you can do that accurately, your ears may appreciate the difference a strobe setup makes. Otherwise its really just bragging rights.
There are of course techs/luthiers out there who proudly claim they strobe all their setups. Good for them. Do they do it for acoustic guitars? Ah ha gotcha. Why is it that strobed electric guitars are all the rage and acoutic guitars don't get the same deserved attention? Surely some mystical marketing forces at work here. Whatever it is, there are benefits to getting your guitar strobed. Whether it actually makes a difference to you, well, you've read the article, so let your gut wrenching riffs be the judge.
till next month (or sooner),
KC
Time to get a little more analytical in the world of orange drops and strobostomps. Let's look at the stately strobe tuners you see on the market these days. For the uninitiated, some strobe tuners can detect within 1/10 of 1/ 100 of a semitone (1 / 10 of one cent, or 0.006%). This essentially means any slight variance in finger pressure will register on the tuner. With such deadly accuracy, it also means that you'll have to put a compressor in front of the tuner (pedal chain) to allow a slightly sustained note to register on the tuner. This makes tuning easier (less jumpy signal).
So, my question is, should a tech use a strobe tuner for intonation at all? I'm of the opinion that it's up to the players. If the customer specifically requests for it, sure I'll do it and impose a surcharge. However I'll also let the player know that with such deadly accuracy, intonating the guitar might pose a challenge - which means the tech has to 'guess' the player's finger pressure to even benefit from the setup with a strobe. Is this practical? I'll say 'no' most of the time. Majority of players (even good musicians with excellant relative pitch) will not insist on using a strobe tuner. Remember the 3 saddle telecaster? No one seemed to complain if you just flattened the open G a lil. A good tech should be able to fine tune the intonation with a reliable boss (no offence to the rest of the tuner world, boss is just used for convenience) tuner and his own ears. Remember the good ole piano tuner (in this case I'm referring to a person).
It's also a little ludicrous if you have a nicely strobed guitar in a jazz trio playing with a trumpet and double bassist. Should your bandmates get their instruments 'strobed' too? Oh I forgot, they have to pitch the note themselves unlike lazy fretted instrument players! Ultimately, if your ears are not good enough know what good intonation is, I think having a guitar strobed is not necessary. This of course meaning, if I were to hand you a fretless instrument say a violin, double bass etc, you could play some 3rds, 5ths, 7ths in tune. If you can do that accurately, your ears may appreciate the difference a strobe setup makes. Otherwise its really just bragging rights.
There are of course techs/luthiers out there who proudly claim they strobe all their setups. Good for them. Do they do it for acoustic guitars? Ah ha gotcha. Why is it that strobed electric guitars are all the rage and acoutic guitars don't get the same deserved attention? Surely some mystical marketing forces at work here. Whatever it is, there are benefits to getting your guitar strobed. Whether it actually makes a difference to you, well, you've read the article, so let your gut wrenching riffs be the judge.
till next month (or sooner),
KC
Sunday, February 22, 2009
What is a setup and who should I get to do it?
Many a time a beginning guitarist will ask, "What is a setup?" A setup for guitar usually comprises of adjusting the neck(truss rod), nut action, saddle height (action) and intonation in this particular order. For electric guitars pickup height adjustment being included as well.
So why do players need to setup their instruments? There are several reasons:
1) To achieve better playability (most common)
2) General maintanence (regular truss rod adjustment is usually needed for the neck to be in good shape)
3) Bragging rights (Oh my instrument was setup by "Mr XXX", insert KC whenever possible :p)
4) To try and save a poor purchase i.e lousy instrument
Let's talk about 1) which is playability. Playability of course means different things to different people. Some like high action, some like more relief etc. Ultimately a good setup is what the player himself likes. However there's a little problem in this statement though as sometimes, what one likes may not be the 'right' or 'better' solution. Let's just say there are unorthodox and orthodox mindsets. Some players are so conditioned to their massive action/relief setups that they can't play any other setup. The orthodox players will however want a nice low action and just a smidgen of relief. So what I'm saying is, sometimes the players should also to try alternative suggestions esp from an experienced tech. Discomfort at the start is also part of improvement process. Ever felt natural playing a new sport? A new chord perhaps. Similarly a new, 'better' setup might take time to get used to.
Another dream most guitar players have is to get a el cheapo guitar to play as well as say their more expensive counterparts. Most of the time this isn't going to happen as the attention to fretwork, accuracy of the neck to body joint etc just isn't as good as their costlier cousins. What this means is, more work is required to setup a cheap instrument - which could mean more $$ incurred for the setup. So a piece of advice is, get a decent playing instrument right from the start and then tweak from there. You can't just mail order a foreign bride and try to 'set her up' right. Besides having first hand experience, understanding what makes a quality instrument is important as well. (New age feminists, chill :) )
However, with so many individual preferences how does one know where to get a setup. Essentially a good tech should have a good understanding of many styles of playing, i.e rock, jazz, classical etc. In most cases they should also be players with some level of technique. This way, they can listen carefully and intently to what a player needs. Most of the time, poor technique is passed off as a player's individuality which the tech has to deal with tactfully. Poor picking , plucking, fretting can cause undue fret buzzing. Obsessiveness over unimportant details can drive some techs nuts as well, e.g "the high E is 0.001" away from the edge of the fingerboard while the low E is 0.0015" from the edge" While these things when perfect are nice to have, such minute details do not affect the tone or playability. As I've always said, the guitar is not an F1 machine - it is instead a work of art which is an extension of perhaps a great but imperfect player.
Here, at the Maestro Guitar hospital, we work closely with many top musicians; from rockers, jazzers to studio cats and we breed the attititude of achieving what the player wants. Sometimes we will also be bold enough to advise otherwise and many pros humble enough have listened and appreciated the input and improvement we have done for their guitars. Want an unbiased opinion on guitar setup and playability, come pay a visit at our Maestro Guitar outlets.
KC
So why do players need to setup their instruments? There are several reasons:
1) To achieve better playability (most common)
2) General maintanence (regular truss rod adjustment is usually needed for the neck to be in good shape)
3) Bragging rights (Oh my instrument was setup by "Mr XXX", insert KC whenever possible :p)
4) To try and save a poor purchase i.e lousy instrument
Let's talk about 1) which is playability. Playability of course means different things to different people. Some like high action, some like more relief etc. Ultimately a good setup is what the player himself likes. However there's a little problem in this statement though as sometimes, what one likes may not be the 'right' or 'better' solution. Let's just say there are unorthodox and orthodox mindsets. Some players are so conditioned to their massive action/relief setups that they can't play any other setup. The orthodox players will however want a nice low action and just a smidgen of relief. So what I'm saying is, sometimes the players should also to try alternative suggestions esp from an experienced tech. Discomfort at the start is also part of improvement process. Ever felt natural playing a new sport? A new chord perhaps. Similarly a new, 'better' setup might take time to get used to.
Another dream most guitar players have is to get a el cheapo guitar to play as well as say their more expensive counterparts. Most of the time this isn't going to happen as the attention to fretwork, accuracy of the neck to body joint etc just isn't as good as their costlier cousins. What this means is, more work is required to setup a cheap instrument - which could mean more $$ incurred for the setup. So a piece of advice is, get a decent playing instrument right from the start and then tweak from there. You can't just mail order a foreign bride and try to 'set her up' right. Besides having first hand experience, understanding what makes a quality instrument is important as well. (New age feminists, chill :) )
However, with so many individual preferences how does one know where to get a setup. Essentially a good tech should have a good understanding of many styles of playing, i.e rock, jazz, classical etc. In most cases they should also be players with some level of technique. This way, they can listen carefully and intently to what a player needs. Most of the time, poor technique is passed off as a player's individuality which the tech has to deal with tactfully. Poor picking , plucking, fretting can cause undue fret buzzing. Obsessiveness over unimportant details can drive some techs nuts as well, e.g "the high E is 0.001" away from the edge of the fingerboard while the low E is 0.0015" from the edge" While these things when perfect are nice to have, such minute details do not affect the tone or playability. As I've always said, the guitar is not an F1 machine - it is instead a work of art which is an extension of perhaps a great but imperfect player.
Here, at the Maestro Guitar hospital, we work closely with many top musicians; from rockers, jazzers to studio cats and we breed the attititude of achieving what the player wants. Sometimes we will also be bold enough to advise otherwise and many pros humble enough have listened and appreciated the input and improvement we have done for their guitars. Want an unbiased opinion on guitar setup and playability, come pay a visit at our Maestro Guitar outlets.
KC
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
My story
Having worked on hundreds if not thousands of guitars in my past 4 years, I feel its time to pen down some a short introduction or sorts. I've also made some mistakes in the past, but you learn from them and move on. No matter how much of a hotshot you are, I've learnt that ultimately a blend of ability and experience is most important.
To date, I'm most grateful to all my customers for appreciating and supporting what I do. I started doing guitar repairs when I was 18 - one day at the public library, I stumbled across Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Player Repair Guide" and I've never looked back. I learnt how to read schematics on my own and did almost every wiring configuration imaginable on my guitars. Hum cancelling, out of phase, series/parallel etc - you name it, I've done it. I became very proficient at setting instruments after a while and during my varsity days, I actually spent more time tinkering on the guitar than on my studies. Within those 3 years, I was able to do most major repairs such as refretting, regluing of bridges, some refinishing etc.
When I graduated, I actually worked for an education company (which will remain anonymous). After several months there I was frustrated and at that time in 2004, Kelvin started Guitar Connection and asked me if I was interested to join him. I was delighted at the opportunity and took it up immediately. During the 2 years that I was there, I gained lots of experience as it was a busy repair shop. Also, I learnt a thing or two from Kelvin who is another very experienced guitar tech himself. I left Guitar Connection in Sept 2006 and joined Maestro Guitars in Jan 2007. Being in a Guitar manufacturing company gave me renewed enthusiasm and more opportunities due to better access to power tools and other specialised guitar making tools.
Having been in Maestro Guitars for over 2 years, I have contributed to refining their QC process and this year I will be more involved in product design. Guitar repair is still what I love and I will continue doing it for a long time, so rest assured that I'm a techinical manager in Maestro Guitars that loves to get his hands 'dirty'.
KC
To date, I'm most grateful to all my customers for appreciating and supporting what I do. I started doing guitar repairs when I was 18 - one day at the public library, I stumbled across Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Player Repair Guide" and I've never looked back. I learnt how to read schematics on my own and did almost every wiring configuration imaginable on my guitars. Hum cancelling, out of phase, series/parallel etc - you name it, I've done it. I became very proficient at setting instruments after a while and during my varsity days, I actually spent more time tinkering on the guitar than on my studies. Within those 3 years, I was able to do most major repairs such as refretting, regluing of bridges, some refinishing etc.
When I graduated, I actually worked for an education company (which will remain anonymous). After several months there I was frustrated and at that time in 2004, Kelvin started Guitar Connection and asked me if I was interested to join him. I was delighted at the opportunity and took it up immediately. During the 2 years that I was there, I gained lots of experience as it was a busy repair shop. Also, I learnt a thing or two from Kelvin who is another very experienced guitar tech himself. I left Guitar Connection in Sept 2006 and joined Maestro Guitars in Jan 2007. Being in a Guitar manufacturing company gave me renewed enthusiasm and more opportunities due to better access to power tools and other specialised guitar making tools.
Having been in Maestro Guitars for over 2 years, I have contributed to refining their QC process and this year I will be more involved in product design. Guitar repair is still what I love and I will continue doing it for a long time, so rest assured that I'm a techinical manager in Maestro Guitars that loves to get his hands 'dirty'.
KC
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)