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

Jaguar Replica - The Home Stretch

Jaguar Replica - September 27, 2026 Update

It's October 7 today, and you can both see and smell the thick haze that's blanketing Kuantan. We're in high spirits, though, as this Jag is good to go. How did we get to this point? Glad you asked that question, now let's dive right in. We'll start off with that extra length of nut jutting out on the High E side. Well, it's now flush with the binding after careful filing, sanding, and buffing. 

High E Overhang

Filing in Progress

Trimmed Flush

With that out of the way, let's move on to the nut slots, which need to be deepened. Here, we like to see about a hair's breadth of daylight between the bottom of the strings and the top of the first fret. The tools we use are nut slotting files, torch tip cleaners, and silicon carbide paper.

Deepening the Nut Slots

Yes, we've eventually gotten the nut slots down to the desired depth. One new experience here was the great difficulty in cutting into the TUSQ nut. Whatever it's made of is really slick, and the files could not "bite" into it as easily as bone or plastic. They just kept slipping and sliding. 

Desired First Fret Action Achieved

End of story? Not quite yet, folks. Yes, the nut slots are as deep as we need them to be, but just look at the mess. There's excess "plasticky" material and burrs all over the place, something that would never happen with bone. Bone would just leave you with lots of dust. You can also see that the D, G, B and E strings are now buried too deep in their slots.

Strings in Deepened Slots - Top View

First Four Strings Buried Way Too Deep

Lots of Excess Material and Burrs

Let's take care of the mess, then. We'll first "reprofile" (file and sand) the top of the nut, which allows for more of the strings to be exposed above the top of the nut. For a wound string, no more than half its diameter should be buried in its slot. On the other hand, an unwound string should be buried just deep enough so it doesn't pop out during bends. Next, we'll work on slots individually, removing excess material, smoothing out burrs, and generally cleaning things up. Finally, there's finessing and polishing with the aid of various abrasives.

Reprofiling in Progress

Nut Work Completed

Techno T3000 Acoustic - A Quick Look

Remember that guy and his old Santa Cruz? In that video, you might have noticed a black acoustic in the background. It's a pre-loved Techno T3000, and he wants us to give it a once-over before restringing. So, what's the verdict? Well, besides needing a good clean and polish, fretboard conditioning, as well as a gig bag, there's nothing much to worry about. And, as always, we go on and on about the absolute need for a gig bag, and even mention by name three stores in town that carry affordable ones. Recorded at 15:37 on October 3, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.