2018 Custom Prazzecio PJ Bass Revisited

This bass was first put together at CA Guitar Repair in 2018 from a Pit Bull Guitars Australia Jazz Bass Kit. It features a Hipshot A Style Fender® Mount Bridge, Hipshot HB6 - 1/2" Ultralite® Bass Tuners, Hipshot O Ring Knobs, a Hipshot Bass String Retainer, an Allparts AP-0640-003 Black Control Plate for Jazz Bass, Allparts AP-0670-003 Black Strap Buttons, a custom black plastic pickguard, a black neck plate and screws, and DiMarzio DP126 BK PJ Pickups.

Well, the Prazzecio is here again, this time for a string change and setup. But that's not all. Thanks to climate change or the east coast weather, the fret ends are now poking out past the edge of the neck on both sides. We call this "fret sprout," and it's made the bass painfully unplayable. Yes, I hear my fret end dressing files calling out to me from the toolbox. 

There's also upper fret buzz, which we'll deal with separately. Last but not least is the uncomfortably rough neck. Years of outdoor gigs, hot and humid conditions, plus sweat and grime, have worn down the original finish and raised lots of wood fibres. Sanding, restaining and refinishing are definitely on the cards here. Recorded at 16:41 on October 18, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.

Greco EB-270 Bass Needs Some Help

Strung with nylon tapewounds, this early '70s MIJ "Gneco" bass appears to be in pretty good shape for its age. There are a number of issues, though, as pointed out by the owner. The first is rather high action in the upper frets, which we've traced to incorrect neck pitch (the neck is angled upwards in relation to the body). There's also buzzing from frets 12 to 15. As neck relief checks out OK, we could be looking at uneven frets. The third issue is a loose volume pot (let's hope it's just that) and intermittent contact on the output jack. Finally, someone over-tightened the upper mute pad mounting post, and it has snapped off cleanly. Although it might be possible to weld the post back onto the base plate, the owner is worried about how that might end up looking. In short, it's just a matter of cosmetics, as he's never used the mute mechanism. We'll see how things pan out. Recorded at 14:48 on October 17, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan. 

Martin LX1 - Lifting Bridge

This Little Martin (LX1) belongs to the same guy who came in with the Big Baby Taylor. What a cute pair, eh? At a glance, you would not see anything odd about this guitar, except that it's missing strings, a saddle and bridge pins. No belly bulge or lifting bridge, apparently. Wrong! Seems that when tuned to pitch, the bridge does lift, and the gap is wide enough to accommodate an envelope. Well, then, no two ways about this. Just squirting some glue is not going to work as new glue does not adhere to old glue. We'll have to go the whole hog and detach the bridge from the top. Then scrape and sand off excess glue and any splinters from the bottom of the bridge, and make sure we have a level surface. Repeat the same procedure for the corresponding area on the top. Only then can we reglue the bridge to the top. It's going to be a lot of work, but there's no other option. Recorded at 15:52 on October 9, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.

Big Baby Taylor - Extremely High Action

Here's a Big Baby Taylor (BBT) in relatively fine condition despite being strung with 12s and left unplayed for quite some time. Seriously, there's no belly bulge or lifting bridge, and for that we should be thankful. The owner's here for a string change, setup, and lower action. A reasonable request, given that the current action is so high as to render the instrument unplayable. The most probable reason is excessive neck relief, but we can only confirm this after further examination. Recorded at 15:41 on October 9, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.

Ibanez GSR200 - October 8, 2026 Update

Ibanez GSR200 - September 24, 2026 Update

Ibanez GSR200 in Rather Poor Shape

It's a hot, sweaty and hazy afternoon on October 8, and we've finally manged to pry the bridge plate off the body. Lots of crud and grime to be found underneath, as expected. But here's the pièce de résistance. We're looking at the oblong cavity for the bridge ground, but where's the ground wire? Oh, here it is! However, it's been pulled into the cavity, and is no longer sandwiched between the body and bridge plate. No wonder there was no continuity when we last tested. 

Bridge Plate Pried Off

Here's the Bridge Ground

Right then, all that grime. Tried cleaning it off with naphtha, but to no avail. Time for old faithful, Gibson Guitar Polish. So a spraying, a rubbing and a scrubbing we go. Don't forget the elbow grease. Lo and behold .... this seems to have done the trick!

Naphtha Hasn't Done Much

A Spritz of Gibson Guitar Polish

After Much Elbow Grease

Time to work on the frets, which are seriously tarnished. So, we go in with guns blazing. Or rather, a rotary tool with a brush attachment. The frets are looking better already. But we're not done yet. Let's do a little polishing with some 0000 steel wool. Icing on the cake! 

Rotary Tool and Brush Attachment

Polishing With 0000 Steel Wool

This next step, well, we don't really like doing it. But sometimes dirt is so deeply ingrained in the fretboard wood that the only recourse is a good scraping. Gently, of course, with a repurposed scraper blade. Then followed through with some abrading to smoothen the fretboard a bit.

Scraping the Fretboard

Abrading the Fretboard

Now the fretboard is coated with a layer of wood dust, as well as fine particles of dried crud and grime. The most effective removal method is sweeping these particles off with a painter's brush, and then cleaning up with a cotton ball soaked in naphtha.

Cleanup With Naphtha

Fretboard After Cleanup

Our fretboard is now as clean as it will ever be, albeit a little dry, so we need to move on to the next step, which is conditioning. As always, our conditioner of choice is Dunlop 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil. Apply, let it sit awhile, wipe off the excess, and your fretboard will thank you. 

Dunlop 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil Applied

After Wiping Off Excess Lemon Oil