Bryan Parris Parris Guitars
Forum Replies Created
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Ian. Yeah that’s right. Here are my three. 2015, 2019, and 2024.
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I will usually go through and tighten every nut and screw on the guitar (even under the pickguard and both strap buttons). You’re saying fret buzz, so maybe not this: but I’ve had rattling trem springs, rattling pickup height adjustment springs, rattling intonation springs, vibrating saddle screws, and vibrating truss rods. If it really is fret buzz everywhere, then have you considered the height of the pickups (Strat-itis)? Also if the saddles are low, a neck shim can sometimes help the guitar feel a little more solid.
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You know…the purpose of the 4 way is to put the single coil bridge and single coil neck in series. But you’re wanting to put a humbucker in series with the single coil bridge (three coils). I don’t know that it makes sense to do it, honestly. All i can say is try it, but I would do a three way with a neck bucker, personally.
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I have a similar one in the shop right now waiting on a neck reset and has the same distortion at the sound hole. The plan I’m workshopping in my head…is to add additional bracing to the left and right on the sound hole. Basically a partial “A” brace bridging between the upper two ladder braces. I’ve done this once before and it worked great getting the top flatter in that area.
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Got it done! That was a huge drill bit under the post! Drilled out with a 1/4” screw extractor from Rockler
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Thanks. Yeah, the screw extractor didn’t work. I couldnt drill through the stainless post he installed, it’s so hard it kept chipping. I ordered exactly what you said. I have the stewmac one for the tuner screws, but it’s too small. Rockler has a 1/4″ one that is supposed work for a #8 screw, so that’s what I’m gonna try. Yeah the guy really buggered this one.
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A few that come to mind: You can be a Stewmac wholesaler if you spend $2500 per year. It’s a good deal…20%. Also WD Music has great deals for dealers. One More is Philadelphia Luthier Tools. No discounts, but they have great prices.
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In our shop we use Milwaukee M12 screwdrivers. The guys like the Music Nomad tuner attachment. These kits are about $80 and we have three sets…so six batteries. We like the variable speed…The harder you press the trigger the faster it turns. We also have two of the matching rotary tools that get used all the time with the same batteries.
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We carry a pretty full line of D’addario. I don’t carry bass strings anymore. All the bass players wanted something other than what I had, but they usually bring what they want.
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Here’s what i do with a 5 string bass. I pretend the B string isn’t there and set it up like a 4 string EADG first. Then I go back and do the low B last. I measure action in 64ths so your measurements are foreign to me, but i might have 7/64″ on the B and 5/64″ on the G. Every guitar wants what it wants, so start with numbers and then tweak it by feel. That nut action is really high, too. Since you’re measuring off the first fret…If I were you, I would put a capo at the first fret and rough in your 12th fret action first, then go back and do your nut…then the 12th again. Lots of good methods that work for figuring nut action, but pretty sure all of them are gonna be lower than what you have. We use the method of holding down the string just past the 2nd fret, and making sure we have a small gap between the string and the first fret while pressed down. When i say small, I’m talking .003″ – .008″. Glaser came up with a really neat “Nut Slot Gauge” we use to measure that. Find it at musiccitybridge.com
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Rothco and Frost are THE BEST suppliers I’ve dealt with. The film they use is thinner and the print quality is excellent. Their gold and silver is true metallic ink, and the thinner film is easier to cover with finish.
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Most everything I’ve done has been for kids. Ex: A kid will come in with his single mom. it’s ready for the trash, but he brings it in for “a new string” because one is missing. I tell him it needs a whole set and charge him $20, but I might actually do a full-setup, an electronics repair, etc. He gets a guitar that he can actually learn on, feels like he invested a little to get it, but never knows he actually got $150 worth of work. I’ve also fixed guitars for a middle school band program that owns a few that the students use.
Another fun one was a Yamaha acoustic I fixed up for a remote church in Nicaragua. The guitar was donated but needed work. It also needed a case because it had to be checked on an airplane. Guitar Center sold me a TSA acoustic case for cost and a friend I knew got it into the country. When they sent me the pic of the guitar in it’s final destination, it had been delivered by motorcyle. That was cool and rewarding. I just feel like using my abilities to put music where it wouldn’t otherwise be is worth a little of my time and money. Here’s the pic from Nicaragua.
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I have had this exact problem. You can’t use vintage tuners because the spacing is too wide, and you can’t use sta-tites because there’s no room for the screws. I opted for a modern tuner with an offset screw that worked. I can’t remember which. I didn’t love the solution because I had to drill out the holes and they didn’t look vintage anymore. You could also consider a pin lock tuner but not a staggered set since you need the full height. I don’t think mine had an overly thick headstock like yours, though.
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If you focus on building a LOCAL audience, it a great venue for growing a business. 12 years ago, I set up the page, ran ads to get “likes” in my local area, and posted pics of everything I worked on. it worked. I think the website is good too, but your local audience respond well to the cool photos (and now videos) you post. I notice a solid bump in business after around 1000 followers.
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That is really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m a Weller guy. My fave is my old WES51. I also have two of the newer digital ones WE1010NA…which are a lot cheaper and seem to work as well and uses the same tips. The biggest thing I like about the WES51 is the auto shutoff. The WE1010NA, just drops temp and stays on indefinitely.
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I had a strat come in yesterday that had been refretted by another shop. He brought it for a Plek job because he said it’s not played right since it was refretted. I took a .020″ feeler gauge and could put it under the end of a fret. Found another and another. Stopped counting at six and told the guy it really needs another refret.
I’ve changed my method in the past couple of years after starting to use a lot of stainless frets. I was taught to over-radius frets before pressing them in and that the sideways motion of the fret seating will help hold the ends. You can’t do that with stainless. After a couple dozen stainless refrets, I started radiusing every fret to the same radius as the board. I think that’s a better method. I learned two things here in the looth group that have helped me get frets seated cleanly…one is doug’s double hammer method. Second is finding the Birkonium fret caul set (https://birkonium.com/shop/tools-misc/ultimate-fretting-caul-set/).
in your situation, I would want to seat those frets, but you’ll have to do a fret dress. I think that’s ideal if the customer has that in their budget.
birkonium.com
Ultimate Fretting Caul Set - Birkonium
The Ultimate Fretting Caul set – a 24 piece set of fret press cauls to allow you to fret any radius between 6″ and 24″ – with a brilliant piece of ingenuity when it comes to sizing of the cauls … Continue reading
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For me, guitars are my retirement plan! After a 20 year career that afforded me very little in savings, I jumped into loothing to make the big bucks. LOL. I’m 54. I seriously pray my hands keep working for a long, long time.
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Excess clamps? No such thing! 🙂 I use a combination of two shop fox d2804 (Ibex clone) clamps and two deep Husky clamps that I don’t think they make anymore. But buy the shop fox clamps, they are way cheaper.
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I’m totally a convert to dry heat. A few drops of water is all you need. So much better than my old steam method.
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It sounds to me like you’re not getting your initial scratches out. I don’t totally understand what you mean by “tops” and “crowns” but personally I use 220 on a beam to start with and as soon as I remove all my marker I know they are level and I put the 220 away. I think 180 is too course for frets and if you are using 220 or 180 in your polishing regimen, you’re probably messing up what you did with the sanding beam. We have varying grits on multiple beams and will get the fret tops to around 600 before crowning…trying to get most of those 220 marks out. If you like the way the 3 corner file works, but aren’t seasoned in using it, try the Original Z file. It achieves a similar result. We also have a 600 grit crowning file we like from Philadelphia Luthier. Sometimes we follow the z file with that.
when polishing, you’ll just have to figure out your own process, but I recommend wearing a magnifier so you can see that you’re removing all the scratches at least on the first few steps. polish the length of the fret. I like to start with 400/600/800/1000 using norton soft-touch sponge, then all the way to 12000 micromesh (skipping the first two grits).
I don’t like to use anything mechanical on the frets, no dremels or buffers. I just think it’s too easy to mess up the crowning you did with power tools.
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Easy to love! 🙂
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Give Danny a shout. Nice guy! He has the shop in Austin, then expanded to a Houston location recently. He is doing a monthly “Luthier Lecture “ in Houston. You would be great to present there!
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There’s room for another one in Texas! 🙂 Are you friends with Danny Shoemaker (Straight Frets)? He owns the Plek machines in Austin and Houston. I think those are the only two in the state.
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I don’t know about other Plek owners, but I know there are others that use them or have used them in shops they’ve worked in. I just wanted to post and make myself available for anyone that might have a question about anything Plek related. 🙂
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I think I might try a screw extractor. I’ve got one about the right size. That’ll probably get the post out, but I don’t know how to deal with the drill bit he says is below it. What a mess. Yes it’s a threaded post, not a pressed bushing. One option may be to convert it to pressed bushings.
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They are great to work with, but they don’t accept everyone. It’s worth checking out. No, i order what I need when I need it. I order quite a bit, though. Adding the XS line has really made my string orders expensive! 🙂
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I use the LMI fret tang filer. I’ve used one for several years and when LMI announced closing I ordered another so I’m retired before I wear out two! 🙂 I find filing the tangs is better than cutting, but in reality, most do both. (See Doug Proper’s latest video). One of my employees has a discontinued Frank Ford jig for filing the tangs. it’s pretty awesome too.
I also use the Stewmac Jaws. I own two, both the old version and the new version. The new version will open about 4 inches. The old one is nice too. I sometimes use both at once so I can press and glue more than one fret at a time.
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It is a fun way to help each other. we share tools and info as needed. We are all friends. I know this is in the wrong category, but I thought I was picking “general” 🙂
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Doug, I got the information I needed. Thank you. I can file the lien after six months in Tennessee.
