Guitar Nerds Anonymous

True. Lots of tastefully muted cowboy chords.

Gotoh tuners arrived with three sets of bushings... none of which fit my guitar. FFS Fender, what is the deal with making the USA guitars totally incompatible with industry standards?

1 Attachment

Going to have to drill it out.

Can you livestream this?

You’re asking that on a cycling forum??

I’m sure there’s a thread about bottom brackets somewhere....

Urg. If you have a set which are just slightly undersized, is it worth shimming them with metal tape or similar rather than drilling out? I don't think having dead perfect contact is all that critical, and it'll keep it orig. I did this when I added Hipshots to my old Squier bass.

Stewmac reaming tool? I've seen the guy with the glasses on the channel use one, doesn't look too hard... Damn shame tho', I must've been lucky with my Jag's bushings...

Stewmac reaming tool?

I have this tool if you'd like it, I've used it to fit Gotoh tuners - certainly ones that look like yours, though there always seem to be lots of different versions. I must have it back in the next month though as I'll need it for my current build :) Measure the bushings you've got with verniers if you can and if you want to use it - I can do the same on the reaming tool.

I must caveat this though - I've never used it on a finished neck. It's sharp but it really could grab a chunk of finish and rip it off; it'd be a high risk operation.

The reamining tool also leaves you with a fairly tight fit - I could press them in with a drill press, but Rich (who painted mine) couldn't get them in without.

Metric / imperial versions of guitar parts are massively annoying - they're absolutely everywhere, and often for really crucial measurements around the nut / bridge / tuners!

If you do use a drill, make sure to drill halfway in from each side, rather than right the way through. Stops surface damage.

The big ones are supposed to be the conversion ones to fit 10mm holes and are just a teeny bit big. The two undersized ones really do rattle about in there so I’m leaning towards drilling/reaming. Thanks for the offer of the reaming tool but I think I’ll be fine as I have a load of sharp new bits and a decent drill that I can run very slowly.

Also not fussed about keeping it original. I love the guitar but I’ve already stripped the finish off the neck and every piece of hardware is non-original. I’m gonna have another look and a measure before finally deciding whether to do it tho. It might only be the merest fraction of a mm I need to take out. I could probably bang them in with a press but I reckon the risk of splitting the wood doing that is higher than the risk of ballsing up the drilling.

Ta!

Big sharp 10mm drill. Couple of slow turns. Push with thumb. Tap with a punch and rubber mallet. Great success.

Sorted

4 Attachments

Ah - simples. Looks great!

Awesome work! I would've happily let you have the old ones off my Jag for free, they're identical to those... Shame about the 12,000 mile ditch between us!

Did lol https://youtu.be/ogEv_qQiQ6U

Well done!
https://www.facebook.com/100030327757146/posts/380336482987274/?extid=4GfUgYZFR4xFQ6Mw&d=n

Does anyone know anything about this guitar? Gibson Sonex 180 standard from 1980. It’s made of some kind of resin over a hardwood core and has a bolt on neck. Apparently Gibson couldn’t source enough mahogany at the time so experimented with other materials.

1 Attachment

terrible guitar / possibly worth a few boys to collectors?

rick'll know.

i've seen a few WF's with this bsns going on on the back.

over elaborate belt buckle protector or something more sinister?

Thanks. I had a quick play on it but the pots were so crackly I couldn’t really hear the tone. It seems silly to get a les Paul type guitar with a bolt on neck.

Cowboys are massive buckle wearers, innit... I've seen those padded protectors on some of the old luxury Gretsch models, even the Princess had one... I really wanted a Princess when I was a lad, the guitar, obvs...

@lederhosen I wouldn't touch one... Buy a Les Paul Studio, you can find a US made one for not a lot of cash and they sound great. Or maybe a LP Special? Or a Junior!! My latest Junior cost me less than £400...

1 Attachment

Thanks Ts. I think I’ll give it a wide berth.

https://youtu.be/I9m2LY0tLR8

That's from Stranded in Canton, Bill Eggleston's beautiful, beautiful home movie... LX is my king, no one did it quite like Axel Chitlins...