Bought another geetar!!

[johnbaz]

Hi all

I was looking through the marketplace on Facey when I caught a glimpse of a very nice looking acoustic being sold among other really low quality guitars, Encore, Elevation, Martin Smith etc, The prices were from £30 up!

I messaged the fella enquiring about the price, He said £30, I couldn't believe it and thought it was going to be some kind of scam but arranged to view it anyhow

The chap had around six guitars and was genuinely selling them so I set off for home with my new prize!

I struggled to find anything out about 'Reub' guitars in Sheffield but eventually (With some help!) found out the maker was a cabinet maker with 27 years experience, His name is Reuben Gregory, He's only ever made two guitars, This being 'Prototype 01'

I emailed him through his website to enquire if it was indeed the same instrument and when he finally got back toi me, He told me of it's history!

He made things in his cellar and whenhe produced this he let his neighbour have a go with it, He told me theneighbour played it better than him and seemed to love it so when Reub was having to move house he gifted it to the neighbour for putting up with the noise from his machinery but with the proviso that he never sells it!

He admitted to me that he thought it had been stolen from his neighbour as he promised not to sell it so he contacted him, It turned out that the chap needed to get rid of almost all of his possessions and could only keep one guitar and so donated all the rest to a charity shop, It seems the fella I bought this from had actually bought the neighbours collection and didn't know that this one was a high quality handmade guitar!!

The maker was understandably very upset that the neighbour didn't get in touch and ask if he wanted it back and now I feel like a heel for having it

The guitar does seem to have suffered though and the action is high, The table of the guitar is sinking in the middle slightly when I put a 24" straightedge on, I looked inside with a bendy torch and small mirror expecting to see a loose brace but there wasn't one!
The straightedge on the fretboard butts up to the bridge when it should sit atop it, It turned out that the neck was in relief with a large dip in the middle, Tightening the trussrod made it much more playable but at the 14'th fret, The fretboard dips a lot in to the hollow on the table..

Also, The neck seems to have shrunk as the frets sticking out and are quite sharp and will need dressing back

Despite the obvious problems it's still a nice thing to have and rings with a nice tone, The maker said the problems may have happened if the guitar was put in a shop window due to heating up in the day and cooling in the night!


The guitar,,

The dip around the sounhole..

And the straightedge abutting the bridge..

I'm a bit of a collector and have around 40 guitars, I think the wife will pile them up with me in the middle and get great joy in lighting the pyre when I croak

I did attend three terms at college back in 1999/2000 learning to play guitar but alas, Arthritis and Carpol tunnel syndrome has conspired to curtail my shredding these days!!


John

Cheers, John

 

[giantbeat]

as a maker of musical instruments, thats a beautiful bit of work & amazing story.... at lest its now in a good home with someone who will appreciate what it is.

 

[profchris]

It looks like it's time, or nearly time, for a neck reset.

All flat top instruments try to eat themselves through their own soundhole, and that dip looks about right for a guitar of some years age. The slope down from the 14th fret was a deliberate choice by the maker - the alternative would have been a shim under the fretboard extension, and if he had taken that route it would by now be sloping up from the 14th.

Although you have quite a lot of saddle left, it looks as if that string through bridge design needs a high saddle. If the strings can slide easily side to side on the saddle, then you can't lower it any more.

How hard the neck reset is depends on the kind of neck joint - as you are in contact with the maker I'd ask him now and store that information for future reference.

Here's a nice video of a dovetail neck reset:



A bolt on neck is usually a bit easier, though the process is similar except for neck removal. You can see why the cost is in the hundreds, given the work involved.

Dowelled joint or pinned mortice and tenon, and all bets are off! A friend's 1970s no-name Japanese guitar had a dovetail but was glued with some mystery adhesive which wouldn't let go, so I sawed the neck off and converted it to a bolt-on. This one has nice detail on the heel, so fingers crossed it's dovetail or bolt on for when you decide to get it reset. As part of the reset, the fretboard extension can be shimmed so it's level with the other frets.

 

[johnbaz]

It looks like it's time, or nearly time, for a neck reset.

All flat top instruments try to eat themselves through their own soundhole, and that dip looks about right for a guitar of some years age. The slope down from the 14th fret was a deliberate choice by the maker - the alternative would have been a shim under the fretboard extension, and if he had taken that route it would by now be sloping up from the 14th.

Although you have quite a lot of saddle left, it looks as if that string through bridge design needs a high saddle. If the strings can slide easily side to side on the saddle, then you can't lower it any more.

How hard the neck reset is depends on the kind of neck joint - as you are in contact with the maker I'd ask him now and store that information for future reference.

Here's a nice video of a dovetail neck reset:



A bolt on neck is usually a bit easier, though the process is similar except for neck removal. You can see why the cost is in the hundreds, given the work involved.

Dowelled joint or pinned mortice and tenon, and all bets are off! A friend's 1970s no-name Japanese guitar had a dovetail but was glued with some mystery adhesive which wouldn't let go, so I sawed the neck off and converted it to a bolt-on. This one has nice detail on the heel, so fingers crossed it's dovetail or bolt on for when you decide to get it reset. As part of the reset, the fretboard extension can be shimmed so it's level with the other frets.

Hi Chris

I watched loads and loads of video's on youtube of American Luthiers (twoodfrd and Jerry at Rosa string works), I find it so interesting to watch how they do the neck resets and removing the backs and refitting them!

I don't think a neck reset would be as difficult as with most of my other guitars as it appears to be a bolt on neck but with the two bolt on the inside and through to the heel rather than a dovetail and glue!

I should have put the camera inside when I restrung it!

By the way, Here's another hand made guitar that I found at a charity shop local to me!

The name of the luthier (Here in the UK) was on the label and the fact that she made and presented it to a couple getting wed, I contacted the lady through facebook and chatted with her for a while, She told me the story that the marriage didn't last long as the wife started an affair with the wedding photographer and they eventually ran off together, Thing is that the photographer was also a lady too

It's quite a small parlour guitar, Here's a pic next to a Vintage V300 which also isn't very large!!

Cheers, John

 

[profchris]

I like the parlour! Wish my charity shops were as well stocked

A bolt on can be easy - just possibly loosening the bolts will let you floss the neck joint with sandpaper. If not, the video I linked shows ungluing of the fingerboard extension. This might be one you could try yourself without huge risk of damage - don't forget to put packing tape on the back of the sandpaper flossing strips to avoid scratching the finish.

 

[DBC]

You have my sympathy mate. I have had to stop playing the guitar due to arthritis. Even a simple barre 5th chord using only 2 fingers is painful.

 

[the great waldo]

Hi all

I was looking through the marketplace on Facey when I caught a glimpse of a very nice looking acoustic being sold among other really low quality guitars, Encore, Elevation, Martin Smith etc, The prices were from £30 up!

I messaged the fella enquiring about the price, He said £30, I couldn't believe it and thought it was going to be some kind of scam but arranged to view it anyhow

The chap had around six guitars and was genuinely selling them so I set off for home with my new prize!

I struggled to find anything out about 'Reub' guitars in Sheffield but eventually (With some help!) found out the maker was a cabinet maker with 27 years experience, His name is Reuben Gregory, He's only ever made two guitars, This being 'Prototype 01'

I emailed him through his website to enquire if it was indeed the same instrument and when he finally got back toi me, He told me of it's history!

He made things in his cellar and whenhe produced this he let his neighbour have a go with it, He told me theneighbour played it better than him and seemed to love it so when Reub was having to move house he gifted it to the neighbour for putting up with the noise from his machinery but with the proviso that he never sells it!

He admitted to me that he thought it had been stolen from his neighbour as he promised not to sell it so he contacted him, It turned out that the chap needed to get rid of almost all of his possessions and could only keep one guitar and so donated all the rest to a charity shop, It seems the fella I bought this from had actually bought the neighbours collection and didn't know that this one was a high quality handmade guitar!!

The maker was understandably very upset that the neighbour didn't get in touch and ask if he wanted it back and now I feel like a heel for having it

The guitar does seem to have suffered though and the action is high, The table of the guitar is sinking in the middle slightly when I put a 24" straightedge on, I looked inside with a bendy torch and small mirror expecting to see a loose brace but there wasn't one!
The straightedge on the fretboard butts up to the bridge when it should sit atop it, It turned out that the neck was in relief with a large dip in the middle, Tightening the trussrod made it much more playable but at the 14'th fret, The fretboard dips a lot in to the hollow on the table..

Also, The neck seems to have shrunk as the frets sticking out and are quite sharp and will need dressing back

Despite the obvious problems it's still a nice thing to have and rings with a nice tone, The maker said the problems may have happened if the guitar was put in a shop window due to heating up in the day and cooling in the night!


The guitar,,

The dip around the sounhole..

And the straightedge abutting the bridge..

I'm a bit of a collector and have around 40 guitars, I think the wife will pile them up with me in the middle and get great joy in lighting the pyre when I croak

I did attend three terms at college back in 1999/2000 learning to play guitar but alas, Arthritis and Carpol tunnel syndrome has conspired to curtail my shredding these days!!


John

Cheers, John

You could try putting the guitar in a plastic case, with a zip lok bag with a moist (not wet ) cloth or kitchen sponge in it but the bag should be left open to let the moisture get to the wood. See how the sunken top reacts after a week, it may well come up if the sinking was caused by too dry storage. The top of the bridge could do with planing down and then you'll have to drill it for bridge pins otherwise you'll never have enough break angle over the saddle or put a new bridge with bridge pins on it.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[johnbaz]

You could try putting the guitar in a plastic case, with a zip lok bag with a moist (not wet ) cloth or kitchen sponge in it but the bag should be left open to let the moisture get to the wood. See how the sunken top reacts after a week, it may well come up if the sinking was caused by too dry storage. The top of the bridge could do with planing down and then you'll have to drill it for bridge pins otherwise you'll never have enough break angle over the saddle or put a new bridge with bridge pins on it.
Cheers
Andrew

Hi Andrew

The maker suggested something similar, He called it " reprogramming the wood", He said it was kind of re training it to the original shape it was meant to be and that he'd done it successfully with antique furniture but also said that it doesn't always work!


John

 

[the great waldo]

Reprogramming eh ! never heard it called that before. The stuff people come up with these days !! I suppose you could stand the guitar on a stool and crack a whip at it to retrain it. In the meantime humidifying it might help.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[ey_tony]

It's good to see that I'm not the only one into guitars. I have 10 electric and a couple of acoustics.
I always dress and level the frets of almost every guitar I own.
The Gretsch in the image I bought about three years ago after it was advertised for 6 months with no takers even at a very reasonable price.

When I went to view it it was in absolutely perfect unmarked condition EXCEPT the neck had the worst bow I've ever come across and the action was terrible. It transpired that the lady selling it had left it leaning against a wall for over two years after he late husband had passed away. The strings on it were the heaviest gauge I've even encountered. They were so thick they could have been used for pulling cars out of ditches, it was no wonder the neck had a bow.

She'd had lots of viewings but no takers even after six months due to the condition of the neck. It was no use to me but I tried adjusting/setting it up for her via the truss rod and bridge for around an hour or more in order for her to sell it as someone might come along that wants a quite high action but it was still too bowed and high for me to play as I like my action ultra low so I was going to leave it but the lady and daughter somehow took a shine to me for trying to help her and offered me it at a very low price as all she wanted was a good home for it. I was still reluctant to take the offer but then I thought why not, it's still more than I would normally pay for something like that but if I can't fix it then it will make a really attractive wall hanger and I wasn't interested in reselling it so I was happy and she felt happy that it had gone to a good home.

The only person who didn't share my enthusiasm was my OH when I told her that I'd bought quite possibly a wall hanger!

When I got it home I removed the strings and over the next several weeks, I loosened off the truss rod and let the timber relax and gradually readjusted the truss rod as the timber relaxed until it was playable and it eventually paid off but it was a slow process.
Even six months later I was still finely adjusting it until I'd got it pretty much perfect and now it's a great guitar to play but it could have been just a wall hanger if I couldn't have fixed it.

The cheapest guitar I've bought was a Squier Stratocaster which I bought for the princely sum of £10.00 from a local seller on Gumtree. I didn't know but it turned out to be a sought after model which is a favourite of guitar modders.
A few weeks ago I decided to sort it out and levelled and dressed the frets and set up the action and re-strung it and now it plays great. There are some great bargains out there if you know what to look for and have the patience to repair/set them up correctly.

I packed in my organ building career and went on the road as a full time solo touring pro singer/guitarist for 14 years and made a very decent living.
These days I always spend around a good hour playing each day as it keeps my fingers and hands nimble.
I gave up playing for 30 years after I retired from touring and it was as if I was playing with borrowed hands when I first came back to playing. I really didn't think I'd recover my playing skills of days gone by but now I'm probably better than I ever was but it's only through daily practice.

 

[johnbaz]

Hi Tony

Here's an old (1960) Hofner President that I picked up many years ago from the bootsale for just £30, It had the price stuck to the headstock, I could see the H and R of Hofner and thought it was a Hohner!!
On the way back to my car a lad asked if he could have a look so I removed it from the case, He lifted the price tag, That's when I noticed it wasn't a Hohner!!, He called me a jammy git or something similar!!

I replaced the strings as they were black with age, I though that being an old instrument i'd fit light guage strings, It sounded awful!!

I never bothered restringing it, Just left it on a hanger on the wall!, I'm going to try some heavier strings to see if it helps



This is another oldie, I think it may be home made as it has a Rangemaster whammy bar and Burns tri sonic pups and seems to be a one piece construction..

The jack socket is smaller than the standard 1/4" type, I was told before the 1/4" jacks/sockets were made that people used telephone exchange jacks, This came with a short lightweight cable with a 1/4 jack on one end and the smaller one at the other!

I found this at my local bootsale too, The stall holder was a huge bloke with long blonde hair and a hi vis coat, His stall was always huge, I found out why some time later!

My local dumpit won't take tyres, I found a private dump at Chesterfield that did, When I got there, The stallholder was at the gate so that's why he had such a huge stock!!

I paid £25 for the guitar with a Selmer period faux lizard skin hardcase and another £25 for a Marshall DSL401 combo amp, I asked if the amp was working, He said yes, It lit up but there was no output!, Two of the power valves were burnt soneeded new tubes and calibrating..


Here's another bargain, This Vintage LP100 with set neck was only £15 and was filthy, Twenty mins later it was like new with fresh strings!

I struggle to turn a bargain down much to the wifes chagrin!☺


John

 

[Brig]

I'm primarily a bass player and I once had as many as 12 x basses, 2 x electric guitars, 1 x 12-string acoustic, 1 x 6-string acoustic, and 2 x mandolins at one time.

Nowadays, and much to my wife's delight, I'm down to just 4 basses, 2 x electric guitars, and 1 x mandolin, although I still get the urge to add to my collection.

What is it with us muso's that make us want more instruments that we actually need? after all, we can only play one at a time.

 

[profchris]

Too many instruments is a tough calculation.

I could get by with 4 for performing:

Soprano uke
Tenor guitar in GDAE
Tenor guitar in CGDA
Six string guitar

But I do have a few more ukes, just because ...

The upright bass is a work in progress. The tenor banjo is useful for recordings. Maybe I should move on one of the mandolins, and the tenortrope gets very little play. And I think the violin might have been a mistake.

At least I didn't buy the Sousaphone!

 

[johnbaz]

Too many instruments is a tough calculation.

I could get by with 4 for performing:

Soprano uke
Tenor guitar in GDAE
Tenor guitar in CGDA
Six string guitar

But I do have a few more ukes, just because ...

The upright bass is a work in progress. The tenor banjo is useful for recordings. Maybe I should move on one of the mandolins, and the tenortrope gets very little play. And I think the violin might have been a mistake.

At least I didn't buy the Sousaphone!

I would have no idea what to do with a tenor guitar Chris!, I've seen a couple for sale years ago and they looked beautiful instruments but I didn't go for one as I didn't know tunings or even if I could find something to learn to play! ☺


John