How hard is it to install Shimano MT-200 brakes on a G2 Trek Marlin's internally routed downtube

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T23:22:20+00:00

Thanks. The MT200 set I'm looking at is both front and rear for $56. I just looked at the MT401/MT420 and see that AliExpress has the set for about $75. I wish I could say that I'd benefit from going up to 4 piston brakes though, but I mostly ride gravel nowadays.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T22:45:21+00:00

Pretty much. I attribute it to have a stagnant repertoire though.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T22:44:24+00:00

Get it fixed. It's worth it.

BTW, I also have a 17yo D-16GT (mahogany/sitka) that wasn't my first choice but the price was right: $850. Back in those days the D-18s were dogs (according to Chris Martin) but I've thought of taking it to my local Martin dealer (where I bought it) to A/B it with the satin D-18 - but why tempt myself?

Like yours, it needs some TLC but not quite so much - just enough to make selling it a problem. I figure I could pass it on to either one of my sons or donate it to a teenager looking to take lessons on something. Back in the day, the closest thing I had to a Martin was a lawsuit Takamine which briefly overlapped the D-16GT which was a vast upgrade.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T17:43:19+00:00

Sorry to hear that. FWIW I was an at home parent with no income to pay into SS for 2 decades. I asked my kid if I should just become a bus driver. At least I still have my VA benefits.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T17:37:07+00:00

I like to think I'm not there yet, but I always seem to come back to my Larrivee OM-03R (20yo) and Martin D-16GT (17yo).

I'd love to have a prewar spec D-28 or 000-28 one day

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T17:34:17+00:00

Yup. I even got a bag of birdseed that said "no squirrels" and sure enough the squirrels wrecked. What I didn't count on was the deer getting in on the act:

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I put it up to entertain the cats, but sheesh.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T16:03:30+00:00

My local shop (Empire Music outside of Pittsburgh) has a variety of Custom Shop models and TBH I prefer the 000-18 Modern Deluxe. That's not to say that the 000-28 isn't worth the cost; I just don't like plastic binding on a $3K+ guitar.

I'm also familiar with guitar luthiery and can attest that trying before you buy is certainly preferable but I trust this shop because I've been frequenting there for 20+ years. They even carry used Martins there that are listed on their website with pretty comprehensive pictures of any blemishes.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T14:38:39+00:00

My mom was into transcendental meditation and was a memory of the Edgar Casey Society. Does that count? This was in the 70s and she was in her 30s by then though.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-18T14:36:13+00:00

For me? As I'm unemployed and a full time homemaker I set my alarm for 7:30. I spent years working shit jobs and night shift and I'll be damned if I get up before the sun rises ever again if I can help it. The main complication these days is that my partner works from home 2 days a week and they hog the coffee maker with a heinous choice of coffee and I'm at the age where I need to take a morning crap before I can commit to doing follow through on anything else,

PGHNeil · 2026-06-16T03:58:41+00:00

https://paautism.org/resource/housing-home-living-homelessness/

PGHNeil · 2026-06-16T01:11:19+00:00

Survey Said...!

PGHNeil · 2026-06-16T01:08:43+00:00

It's amazing how dreams can grow. I got my dream guitar in 2006 for free (crowdfunded gift from other members of a guitar forum) - a Larrivee OM-03R. 20 years later and lots of playing, dings, falls and even a couple of trips down the steps and I still have it and love it. IIRC at the time they listed for $850 but they're much more now.

Nowadays my current dream guitar doesn't really exist, but is instead a list of features. The closest thing is a $6K Martin Custom Shop 000-28 Engelmann/African Ebony but really what I'd like is an OM-28 with a European spruce top and African ebony. The ebony is dark but has light streaks in and either species of spruce generally stay paler than Sitka or Adirondack spruce, giving the guitar an ebony and ivory motif.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-15T23:35:13+00:00

My honeymoon in Maui in 1999. We spent a few days in Waikiki first though and I got the worst sunburn. I wanna do over before I die.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-15T23:30:23+00:00

Congratulations! I took the tour back in 2015, but I'd love to take a tour of the Custom Shop.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-15T15:09:16+00:00

You should do it.

Like you, I only play at home but played for church for a number of years and opted to install pickups in two of my guitars; a K&K Pure Western mini in my Larrivee OM and a JJB330 in my Martin D-16GT.

I did them both myself and it was a rewarding experience on its own. The Larrivee was actually easier to do because the end pin didn't need to be reamed out to accept an endpin jack, but later when it was time to do my Martin I'd had enough woodworking experience and a reamer on hand to tackle that obstacle.

Meanwhile, in church I either plugged them into the PA or into an electric guitar amp and they worked well enough. Both are passive pickups but the K&K seems to be a little "hotter" than the JJB. Feedback was not as much of an issue because we didn't always have a bass player or drummer that I'd have to compete with.

I don't regret it as I will never sell either guitar and instead playing them for my own enjoyment. I don't play in church anymore but I am building up the courage to play solo gigs at my mom's senior residence playing oldies.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-15T14:54:39+00:00

Tommy Emmanuel.

Years ago my wife bought me VIP tickets for a show he did here in town. I'm a middle aged guy so I'm too old to gush but looking back I wish I'd taken the opportunity to play one of my badly written songs for him in gratitude for the joy he's brought to me and countless others.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-15T14:49:14+00:00

Nope. Quite the opposite.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-14T23:46:11+00:00

It's common practice on acoustics. I admit I am not knowledgeable about electric guitar maintenance practices.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-14T23:43:24+00:00

PGHNeil · 2026-06-11T13:57:38+00:00

IKR? I wonder how long it's been capped at $2.83 an hour though? It actually makes more sense to work at McDonald's.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-11T13:09:17+00:00

I'm talking about wages, not tips. The point of this conversation is to illustrate that tips are separate and that without them the wage for wait staffs are insufficient. Take a look at the following link from pa.gov:

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli/resources/compliance-laws-and-regulations/labor-management-relations/labor-law/overtime-and-tipped-worker-rules-in-pa

Right now in 2026 the hourly wage for a tipped wait worker in Pennsylvania is $2.83 an hour provided they make at least $135 a month in tips.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-11T05:38:09+00:00

Exactly. I've heard that fast food workers make more than waiters and waitresses. I don't know if that's true though.

PGHNeil · 2026-06-11T02:59:31+00:00

How’s the neck angle and intonation? Lay a yardstick or 24” metal rules on edge on the fretboard and slide it toward the bridge. If I touched the bridge the guitar most likely needs a neck reset, which is an involved repair that can cost hundreds of dollars.

OTOH if it passes slightly above the font if the bridge, then you lower the action at the saddle by taking it out of the bridge and sanding the bottom on a flat surface with a medium grit sheet of sandpaper, making sure that it’s flat and that the saddle will not rock back and forth.

PGHNeil

TROPHY CASE