The Guitar Corner

The Guitar Corner Guitar setup, modifications and repairs.

Happy New Year!
01/01/2026

Happy New Year!

The last step of a great setup is definitely not the least. Setting up the intonation is a very important stage of any s...
30/12/2025

The last step of a great setup is definitely not the least.

Setting up the intonation is a very important stage of any service and makes any guitar an accurate musical instrument.

On the other hand, in order to achieve an accurate intonation everything needs to be taken care of beforehand: frets, bridge action, neck relief, nut action, quality fresh strings, etc.

We don't cut corners here: we use a standard chromatic tuner to get close and a Peterson Strobe Tuner to get it perfect.

Easy to replace, inexpensive but it needs to function well or fun will be over very soon.The output jack is something yo...
26/12/2025

Easy to replace, inexpensive but it needs to function well or fun will be over very soon.

The output jack is something you really need working 110%.

Also, rookie mistake: do not spin and spin the jack when it's getting loose or you will end up ripping off the wires attached!

Merry Xmas to you all, fellow musos!
25/12/2025

Merry Xmas to you all, fellow musos!

There are some details in a service that are less obvious than others but that matter just as much.Nothing is worse that...
23/12/2025

There are some details in a service that are less obvious than others but that matter just as much.

Nothing is worse that sharp or protruding fret ends (first picture).
We genuinely think those make the difference between a go-to guitar and a guitar left in a corner to take dust. That's why we always roll off the fret edges during any fret work (second picture).

On request we even roll off the edges of the fingerboard to give that played-in feeling (third picture)!

These things are still causing a lot of nervous breakdowns and swearing, I heard. πŸ˜„In all seriousness, a Floyd Rose styl...
19/12/2025

These things are still causing a lot of nervous breakdowns and swearing, I heard. πŸ˜„

In all seriousness, a Floyd Rose style bridge is no joke: challenging to set up and even more to balance properly and intonate properly.

We love servicing Floyd Roses though so, just in case you are loosing your mind with yours, feel free to book in for a setup!

This needed A LOT of work!An old Takamine presenting many issues, including a lot of fret buzz in the first positions bu...
16/12/2025

This needed A LOT of work!

An old Takamine presenting many issues, including a lot of fret buzz in the first positions but also down the neck, on the plain strings side.
The pickup was not working and, why not, the bridge was coming off.

During the inspection we noticed that this was not the Taka's first rodeo and the previous one...was not too kind to her.

In order to compensate for an over sanded saddle (the on under the B and high E) some shims were inserted in between the saddle and the pickup, which is not ideal.
Even less ideal, the shims were glued in with CA glue in the slot. Definitely not necessary.
Result? A big mess and the two poles of the pickup were now frozen in place. Ouch.

Eventually we had to replace the first 12 frets, repair the bridge that was coming off and clean up the mess in the saddle slots. Then we cut two bone saddles of the adequate length and height and performed a setup.
The poor Takamine pickup went to the bin and was replaced by a more modern LR Baggs system.

Raising and lowering a bridge does not represent even a 10% of a pro setup... but certainly is a good starting point for...
12/12/2025

Raising and lowering a bridge does not represent even a 10% of a pro setup... but certainly is a good starting point for a chat about it.

Too high and the string action will be so high the instrument won't be playable. Too low and the strings will hit the frets when struck.

More importantly though, understanding what the instrument can offer action-wise and how the string action at the bridge can function with the other parameters in place (such as first fret action, neck relief, intonation, frets condition etc) is paramount to perform a good setup.

A Gretsch pickup no longer doing its job.Typically the first place where we look at is the actual switch but after a bit...
09/12/2025

A Gretsch pickup no longer doing its job.

Typically the first place where we look at is the actual switch but after a bit of digging we could rule out the whole wiring.

The multimeter confirmed: it was the actual pickup not functioning. Ouch.

Was it the end of it? Well, luckily not this time.

The pickup was reviewed thoroughly and we managed to save it. Happy days!

The nut cracked on the corner here. No biggie, we carved a new bone nut.
05/12/2025

The nut cracked on the corner here. No biggie, we carved a new bone nut.

Performing a good review on this Japanese Strat wiring with some problems. Crackling pots and the switch missing contact...
02/12/2025

Performing a good review on this Japanese Strat wiring with some problems. Crackling pots and the switch missing contact at times.

Mirror polished frets ✨
28/11/2025

Mirror polished frets ✨

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Thormanby Road, Howth
Dublin
D13

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