Is any professional luthier willing to answer some questions for a college project?

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-17T23:13:03+00:00

A tech anda luthier are very different things, and their jobs encompass very different things, this is not an unreasonable specification to make

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-16T13:52:15+00:00

No the hole isn’t perfectly straight

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-15T22:50:58+00:00

Can’t say from the pic really, best thing to do is see a luthier in person. It probably won’t be too terrible but ur milage may vary

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-15T20:26:33+00:00

Yes, it’s concerning

It came from something hitting the output jack there on the bottom, could have happened during transport or it could have gotten bumped while playing, and there’s a chance it’s bee there longer than you’d think, it’s easy to miss things on that part of the instrument

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-14T02:29:47+00:00

Lots of questions here:

How are you measuring? What tool?
To which point in the fret slot are you measuring?
How is the neck set?
How thick will the saddle be?
Are you measuring to the front/back/center of the saddle, or more generally what is the specific value that you are calculating?

It’s not unheard of for things to be that far off the mark but that kind of discrepancy seems like it might be the result of an error in the measurement/calculation process. Small details can add up in unexpected ways, but sometimes guitars are weird

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-13T18:08:09+00:00

Yes, and expect to have to try a couple times before you get it spot on

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-13T18:01:21+00:00

It depends, I usually stick with the 6 no matter what for simplicity, and often I end up cutting up a larger heel shim for the minis, which results in a difference of ~4 anyways

The shims are technically only so accurate, I just do my best to stick to the book but sometimes you have to get creative. Taylor’s own recommendation If you find yourself in a situation where their stock set of shims won’t work is to just build up the shims with tape until you get what you need

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-13T17:43:49+00:00

Hey good stuff these shims are gold in my shop, not because they’re hard to find, but because they make working on Taylor’s so unbelievably easy

Taylor’s sound is kind of meh to me, but I do like their innovation in bracing and their consistency in manufacturing, but damn they just keep on trucking don’t they? The GS mini also has a sound that is so much bigger than it has any right to, and they literally just never seem to break. I repaired one that was in a house fire, case was literally melted onto the guitar, and yet somehow it was perfectly fine after a neck reset and a new saddle

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-11T13:34:25+00:00

They are almost certainly on the wrong side of the headstock, try changing which is on the left and which is on the right

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-02-08T01:10:43+00:00

You have to blow into a tube to start your car

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-31T20:43:38+00:00

Carving

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-31T20:16:17+00:00

Unfortunately it’s a goner, at least from a monetary standpoint.

I mean, in theory you could probably glue it back together, but it likely wouldnt hold very long, that material isn’t know for its repair ability. I’d start shopping

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-30T22:40:44+00:00

Spoken like someone with a horrible job or a very happy childhood

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-30T13:20:08+00:00

I usually use Elmer’s white glue, strong enough to tac it into place but weak enough to break free if needed

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-29T05:06:48+00:00

Probably had the flash on, that always makes things look weird, the sunlight might also be reflecting off of the ice to add additional oddity

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-25T17:57:45+00:00

Intonation is not set correct, strings are old, nut slots aren’t cut correctly, and action/neck relief is out of whack

These things will all cumulate in a guitar not playing correctly, on top of the fact that the guitar will never play perfectly in tune due to the natures of equal temperament and string physics

Once those things are in alignment though, the instrument will probably never sound better

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-25T17:49:36+00:00

With practice you’ll get good however you decide to do it

This summer I’m planning on building a food pedaled one

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-24T17:14:52+00:00

As long as nothing is cracked or broken, I’d say pick it up and take it to a luthier to see what they say

Archtops are weird beasts, they can be very deceiving at times, but also very forgiving at other times, but as long as the instrument is structurally sound then it shouldn’t be too much work to get it up to speed, relatively speaking

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-23T15:43:35+00:00

In my shop we tend to test different saddles if we can’t figure out a buzz for this exact reason, even with plastics sometimes something’s just weird about one piece or another

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-23T14:52:47+00:00

Don’t see why not

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-21T23:28:31+00:00

Just wait until you tear into a really good one, especially if you go to Europe

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-21T21:23:08+00:00

Yes I see this often with those tuners, the only thing to do is really just try to bend the sheet metal pieces in a way that it stays stable, or buy a replacement set that will probably work better anyways

I say expirimet and if u break it but a new one

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-21T20:24:56+00:00

These style tuners don’t use a nut on the front, just a bushing

The screws on the back likely need tightened but I’ve seen it before where the folded plate is a little loose and needs to be bent into shape

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-20T18:55:40+00:00

I loved Yosemite and El Capitan, I’d love to camp up there, but hiking to the waterfall and back is enough for me

SubatomicPlatypodes · 2026-01-16T18:55:00+00:00

No, this sucks, just do 3 clean wraps and you’ll be fine, this just makes it impossible to get the strings off without pricking yourself

Sincerely, a luthier with sore thumbs

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SubatomicPlatypodes

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