Guitar Makeover!

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Guitar Makeover!

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at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

Guitar Makeover!

So my guitar is getting a ton of things done to it and I thought I'd post it all here. I'll update as I go along.

List of changes:
-New golpeadors
-Shine frets
-Fix loose tuning machines
-New saddle
-Shave bridge
-Convert to 12 hole bridge
and...
-Add sound port!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 30 2009 23:41:15

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

First up, new golpeadors!
This was rather easy and actually a bit fun.
Here is a picture of the old ones. See how long they were? They were also very thin.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 30 2009 23:47:43

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

Cleaning up the glue residue was a bit tedious and time consuming. I used turpentine but I suspect using lighter fluid would have made the job much easier. Check out how I was able to push all the glue residue into one spot. This stuff is really sticky. It'll stick to your hand and then to whatever your hands touch. What a nuisance.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 30 2009 23:55:17

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

Here is the new golpeador. I haven't removed the protective blue sheet yet.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 30 2009 23:56:55

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

You can't really tell from the pictures but I polished the frets and now they're so shiny, under certain light conditions, it actually hurts my eyes to look at them. I don't know about nylon strings but when I did this for my electric and steel string, it definitely brightened up the tone a bit.

Before picture:

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:02:24

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

After picture:

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:03:33

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

I didn't bother posting a picture because I couldn't really capture it but the holes for the screws on bass side tuning machines were stripped and the tuning machines were coming loose, causing a lot of annoying buzz. So I stuck some tooth picks with wood glue on the tip in and broke it off. Like so...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:07:37

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

I haven't put tension on it yet but it looks good now. Hope it works...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:09:03

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

I tried 5 different places and none of them had bone saddles so I decided to buy a dog bone and make my own. Next time I will be patient and just order saddles online and wait for them to come. What a pain!

Here's what I got so far. I hope all the fat has been boiled out.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:13:47

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

Next up... shaping the saddles!

Sidenote: tomorrow is my birthday and my girlfriend's sister just had a baby.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 0:15:21

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

alright, i just took the blue sheets off the new golpeadors.

Here's my c3f. it looks like there's one air bubble trapped in there. the rest of the marks are scuffs and dings from before. i either made a mistake or the top is not even.

damn, and i was feeling so proud of myself! should i try to pop it with a needle? or should just wait and see if it changes?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 3:45:48

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

here's my old guitar. the shape on this one isnt as good, but it looks like it stuck on much better.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 3:47:57

kovachian

Posts: 506
Joined: Jan. 30 2008
From: Americanistan

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

If you jab a needle into the golpeador it's probably going to leave a visible hole. Whether that hole will be more visible and annoying than an air bubble, hard to say. Personally I'd try to pop it and just live with the needle mark.

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Don't look at me in that tone of voice.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 12:08:43

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to kovachian)

quote:

If you jab a needle into the golpeador it's probably going to leave a visible hole. Whether that hole will be more visible and annoying than an air bubble, hard to say. Personally I'd try to pop it and just live with the needle mark.

i feel the same. however, it looks like it's getting better already. hopefully it'll fix itself? i'm going to wait a few days.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 13:14:31

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

you cant even see it in this picture.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 13:15:31

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

careful with that bone. I don't think dog bones come de-greased. If you don't use de-greased bone it will leech out grease and stuff and wreck the wood around it, mess up the glue joints and make a gitar completely unusable....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 14:25:19

GuitarVlog

Posts: 441
Joined: Mar. 19 2009
From: San Francisco Bay Area

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

Great project! Thanks for sharing the pics.

I'll be launching into a similar one in a few weeks. Will just be pimping an all-laminate Yamaha C40.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 15:57:35

GuitarVlog

Posts: 441
Joined: Mar. 19 2009
From: San Francisco Bay Area

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

For bone nuts/saddle, you should have just bought blanks from Sam in Taiwan:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Guitar-mandolin-Bone-nut-10-pieces-saddle-10-pieces_W0QQitemZ380144437431QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item58825fc8b7&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 16:05:31

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to HemeolaMan)

quote:

careful with that bone. I don't think dog bones come de-greased. If you don't use de-greased bone it will leech out grease and stuff and wreck the wood around it, mess up the glue joints and make a gitar completely unusable....

yikes! thanks for the warning. i'm going to try boiling it with some soap shavings tonight. we'll see how that works out.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 20:44:51

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to GuitarVlog)

quote:

Great project! Thanks for sharing the pics.

I'll be launching into a similar one in a few weeks. Will just be pimping an all-laminate Yamaha C40.

Thanks for checking it out! there's something really rewarding about working on your own guitars. what will you be doing to your guitar?

quote:

For bone nuts/saddle, you should have just bought blanks from Sam in Taiwan:

wow, that's a good deal. i would have saved time and had a bunch of extra saddles too. im going to save this to my watch list.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 20:47:36

GuitarVlog

Posts: 441
Joined: Mar. 19 2009
From: San Francisco Bay Area

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

quote:

ORIGINAL: at_leo_87
Thanks for checking it out! there's something really rewarding about working on your own guitars. what will you be doing to your guitar?

At a minimum, just these two for the C40:

- upgrade saddle to bone (did that for 3 guitars - 1 of them mine)
- upgrade tuning machines (did that for 3 guitars - none of them mine)

If it looks like I'll have the time. I was planning on getting the materials for these:

- upgrade nut to bone
- polish frets with X-Treem (heard this stuff is good)
- soundport installation using Tim's method and with a pattern
- golpeador installation using Guitar/Pickguards/ClearGuard/clearguard1.html">wet method

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Upgraded Yamaha CG171SF
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 21:41:55

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to GuitarVlog)

quote:

- polish frets with X-Treem (heard this stuff is good)

i used nevr-dull wadding polish. to cover the fretboard, i just used two pieces of cardboard attached together by tape with a gap in the middle to expose the fret. works much faster than taping each fret up!

i was thinking of making a new nut but i dont really have the right tools. maybe next time!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2009 22:28:44

kovachian

Posts: 506
Joined: Jan. 30 2008
From: Americanistan

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

Like I said before, if you boil the bone with dish soap several times over with cool-down periods in between, that'll take care of the grease and fat.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 1 2009 12:52:55

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to kovachian)

quote:

Like I said before, if you boil the bone with dish soap several times over with cool-down periods in between, that'll take care of the grease and fat.

ok i did that. i boiled it with dish soap like 5 times. then once with shavings from a soap bar. then again with clear water. my mother thought i was doing some voodoo hocus pocus stuff.

new pictures soon!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:26:41

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

here's the new golpeador after a few days. cant really notice any air bubbles without looking closely.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:43:44

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

here's the new saddle and shaved bridge. check out that break angle!

you can check out before pictures here:
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=113547&p=1&tmode=1&smode=1

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:44:54

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

12 hole conversion, top view.

the lacquer looks a bit messy with the camera but in real life, unless you really look, you can barely notice it.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:46:27

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

side view. you can't see how i tie the strings since they're black.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:48:57

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

guitar makeover! (in reply to at_leo_87)

and finally.... sound port! i was a little brave and asked for three holes so they wouldn't get lonely.

the big hole is one inch in diameter. the others are half inch.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2009 20:51:12

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: OK, florian, i f*cking did it, a... (in reply to at_leo_87)

the hole isn't perfect. the guy said it was really difficult because the sides are laminate. even if you cut into the first layer cleanly, it tends to break off with the inner layers. oh well, i'll try to clean it up myself.