With any hobby, there are things that you love about it, and things that you don’t love as much. A hobby in guitar repair is one filled with constant challenges – that is something that I love about it. Sometimes the challenges spark creativity and force you to think out-of-the-box for a solution. Other times, the challenges just drive you crazy. Here’s my top 5 favorite and least favorite things about this guitar repair hobby of mine.
Most Favorite Things:
- Helping people. I do this for the love of music. And sometimes that allows me to help people out. Recently, I got a call from someone who had just bought a used guitar for her husband who was ill. However, when it arrived, there was a significant hump on the top due to improper humidification. I was able to help her get the guitar back to playable in just a few weeks through proper storage and humidification techniques. She was so grateful and that really just made my day!
- Discovering new instruments. Currently I own roughly 10 different types of stringed instruments. I am an absolute sucker for getting lost in the stringed instrument category of ShopGoodwill.com and when I see something unique, I usually throw a bid on it. For me, learning how to play something new is part of the joy of this hobby.
- Learning new techniques. I didn’t go to school for engineering or carpentry. This hobby enables me to stretch quite a bit and learn new things almost every day. That said, if I don’t know how to do something, YouTube becomes my best friend. Learning by seeing and doing is the best way for me.
- Bringing junk back to life. Often times and instrument arrives and it is quite literally junk. Whether it is acquired through dumpster diving or auction, there’s always a chance that what you get is not fully functional. I love being able to take something that has been thrown away and turn it into an item of value – whether that is a playable instrument or, in one case, a guitar neck cribbage board.
- Creating something new. As I discussed before, the whole reason I got into this hobby had to do with building an electric guitar from parts sourced through various channels – eBay, Amazon, and Reverb. That first guitar sparked a flame in me that has not yet died off.
Least Favorite things:
- Making mistakes and re-work. As much as I believe in failing fast and learning from mistakes, I really hate making a big mistake that leads to rework. As an example, on the guitar that I built from clearance parts, the neck came with way too much wood on the butt end. And as a result, I had to sand it down until it was thin enough to fit properly on the body and allow for the string height to work. I sanded, and sanded, and sanded. And ultimately sanded too much wood off leaving the action way too high. In the end I fixed this error by placing a shim between the neck and body. But, that was still frustrating because of the extra step now needed to get the guitar playable.
- Time invested. I’m a dad, a husband, a coach, a dog owner, and a marketing executive. That leaves very little time left over in my current season of life for extra hobbies. This hobby is very time consuming, and unfortunately that means I don’t do it as often as I’d like. If only there were more hours in the day…
- Storage. I used to show off my storage room / workspace to people coming to visit. But now it’s pretty embarrassing. There are tools and projects all over. Related to #2 above, if I had more time to invest in this hobby, I could go back to showing off my space again. Or maybe I should just sell off some of my inventory.
- Losing tools. There is no worse feeling than knowing you have the right tool for the job…somewhere. Usually, I am very organized with my tools. But they are also shared commodities with my kids and wife. So, sometimes they go missing and I can’t find the exact tool that I need. Ugh!
- Changing the strings on a 12-string guitar. If you know, you know. It takes FOR-freaking-EVER!
Hi, I was reading your comments and they re-sparked a dormant passion I have for acoustic guitars. After being self-taught and playing in my teens & 20’s, I quit playing due to work & moving around. I would now like to resume playing & start with something inexpensive but having potential, like replacing strings and tuning gears to start. Any suggestions on where to begin?
Hi Wes! So glad I could re-ignite that spark! Yes, I have a few suggestions for refreshing your acoustic guitar:
1. Strings – you are spot on with that comment. A fresh set of strings in itself can make you fall in love with your old guitar again. I personally always use Elixer Nanoweb strings for their crisp, bright tone and extra long life. If you haven’t played in a while, I’d suggest light or extra light gauge to save your fingertips. Here’s a link to the set I usually buy https://amzn.to/4ddik1V ($17 on Amazon)
2. Guitar setup – Fret leveling, truss rod adjustment, fret polishing, and intonation. This will help your guitar play and sound as best as possible. For fret leveling, you’ll need some tools to be able to file down the high spots, For truss rod adjustment, you may only need an allen wrench (depending on your guitar). For fret polishing, use painters tape to tap your fretboard in between the frets and polish the frets with 00 steel wool. Intonation on an acoustic guitar can be challenging if you’re not used to doing it – but essentially, you’ll need to adjust where the string sits on the saddle depending on if the intonation is sharp or flat. Here’s a great instructional video on how to setup and intonate an acoustic guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ywORU5EUs
3. Replace the nut, saddle, and bridge pins with bone components – Bone nuts and saddles sound better and last longer than plastic ones. Grab a new set on Amazon for $13: https://amzn.to/3LSCqmj
4. Clean your guitar and oil your fretboard – For me, there’s nothing that makes me fall back in love more with my guitar than making it look brand new again. Use guitar polish for the body, back of the neck, and headboard. Re-finish your fretboard with lemon oil. If you don’t have these items, grab a set on Amazon for $16 https://amzn.to/4celnps
5. Replace your tuners – Nice new tuners will help to get your guitar in tune faster and keep it in tune longer. I recommend Schaller or Gotoh tuners, depending on your price point.
6. Keep it humidified – For years of playing enjoyment, keep your guitar humidified when not in use. This helps to preserve the wood and keep it sounding like it should.
Hope these help, I appreciate the comment!
-Nate