Repairs and Upgrades:

A large part of being a luthier, is doing repairs or upgrades. Some of these are minor in nature, and some can be more challenging than building a new instrument from scratch! In this example, the upgrades were relatively simple, but they can look daunting at the outset, especially if you don't know what's involved. The owner of this axe (Gerard), wanted to be certain that his baby would be well looked after, and he needed to upgrade his pickups, and solve his annoying tuning problems (the guitar would not stay in tune and we all know how frustrating this can be!).
    A full inspection of the guitar uncovered a few problems, but often they can even be resolved to the owners complete satisfaction the same day. The important thing is that the owner should feel at ease with the luthier and fully understand what will done to his or her guitar before they agree to do the work.  The relationship must be based on trust, and yes, things can go wrong, so owners need to be confident that they have selected the right person to touch their prized possession -- and we couldn't agree more!

Here's the end result after the work was completed. The pickups were upgraded, a broken 3 way way toggle switch was replaced,  new control knobs were installed, the nut was loose (and was removed, cleaned and re-glued), the fingerboard was cleaned and oiled,  the machine heads were replaced with new locking ones, a few frets were dressed, and the entire neck and body received a rub out with polishing compound on the buffing wheel. Now the guitar plays and sounds great, and even looks like new again!

The Upgraded Washburn -- Mmm, Mmm Good!

How Long Did it take? This sort of work can normally be done within a week's time or less, and is money well spent. Our instruments are no different than anything else that is subjected to wear and tear, but a little maintenance can go a long way, and will keep them at their best.

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Gerard's Review - Click Here