Why Must I Tinker?

 Inspiration can ebb and flow. It can also be selective.  I finished the nut two days ago. I was super excited to dig into it, and encouraged by Mr. Guitarchaeology's reminder that with the zero fret, the nut doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, just filed slightly lower than the zero fret but high enough to hold and guide the strings to the tuners. What I was less inspired to do was take the time to write this post, partly because when I sit down to type I hear the drums next to my desk calling, and partly because several of my fingertips are cracked and bloody from the dry weather. All the filing and sanding didn't help! One thing I do draw a lot of inspiration from is all the instructional videos on the Youtube. I'm no fan of most thing interwebs. Never been on Facebook. I never bother to erase emails. Currenty have 3,719 in my inbox. Ok. I'm back. Sweet Home Chicago came up on Spotify and the drums called again.  So yeah, Youtube and Spotify good. Blah to the ...

 Among the myriad of mysteries surrounding the Harmony H 804, one conundrum has risen above all others: How did I not notice the twist in the neck? Sure, I was excited about a project, and sure, a professional may be able to correct it. However, I am no pro, and I am not about to pay one the amount it would cost to attempt to fix it. I assume, despite my constant running of humidifiers, with the low Colorado humidity all my guitars may one day suffer the same fate.  New worst case: The H 804 becomes wall art. I still have hope that it will function as a post post-punk garage-jazz ballad-thrash machine. Onward we tinker! Let's give this (twisted) neck some love! I did a bit of fret polishing, and oiled the dry-as a high-altitude desert-fretboard. It darkened up quite a bit. I imagine that even in 1980 these were advertised as "vintage style tuners." A little bit of lube and screw adjustments, and they are all now turning. Hopefully they hold string tension. I was anxious t...

Where do I even start? Almost everything on this guitar needs help, replacement, or taken out back and shot. Hang on!  Here's a list, pictures will follow as items are addressed: Queensryche sticker. Cracks (at least in finish) in body at either side of neck joint.  Two frozen tuners. Missing screws on bridge. Truss rod nut dangling loose. Missing nut. Oh lord. A homemade pickguard in roughly (and I do mean roughly) the same shape as original. Ground wire from bridge dangling unattached. Pots soldered by blind man having epileptic fit. Pickups (which do make noise) taped to keep them in their covers. Queensryche sticker. The cracks in the body: Obviously this thing has taken a few hits. The upside is that when I gave it a little flex the crack wasn't expanding and contracting. I've seen plenty of small cracks, a few millimeters long, from necks being removed roughly, but never this long, on both sides! Here's why: A plywood body! A splendid tonewood known worldwide for ...

When I look back at most of my contributions to group text threads, I almost always cringe. My warped sense of humor doesn't always come through as I intended. I usually come away thinking that to at least one of the members of the group text I must've sounded like a dick. Or at the very least, dismissive of the seriousness of the topic. This holds true of a recent thread I was an unwilling participant of whilst my good friends/members of my last band were discussing the serious and important topic of what guitar my wonderful friend Lance should buy next. Strat-style with HH pickups vs. HSH? Les Paul? Other details were debated. Compound radius? Floyd Rose? Deluxe Tele? Mexican vs. American made? It was all hanging out there for juicy, serious discussion. And what was my historic contribution? Here's a direct quote from my asshole face: "I say go Jack White style, go into a couple pawn shops and get the cheapest weirdest beat up guitar you can find." Hardly helpfu...