Resurrecting a Hoyer 12 String

A while back,  I got an old Hoyer 12 String guitar to be restored or more like resurrected.  I had never heard of them so research had to be done to get this job done with any integrity.  The guitar's bridge and pickguard was missing and what they may have looked like was a mystery for a while!  There were three holes in the top in the bridge area, but not the 12 string block holes that would be there if the bridge had the typical bridge pin set up.  My next guess was the guitar may have had a separate tailpiece to anchor the strings but after careful examination, I could not find the tell tale marks of a tailpiece ever existing either.  I found Hoyer guitars on the Internet but no images that looked like our Hoyer.  The guitar was made in Germany and still made today, however the new ones did not resemble our old one!  After much consideration, I felt the bridge must have been screwed down to the top, the saddle being adjusted for height by machine screws which would have gone through the holes in the top..  But if there were no bridge pins, how did the strings attach to the bridge?  The only other possibility was a back load bridge, such as used my Ovation or Takamine guitars.  I did not want to jump to that conclusion for I had never seen that type of bridge on older guitars before and this Hoyer had to come out of the late 50's or 60's.  Still, there was no other explanation for the lack of bridge pin set up and no tailpiece.  It must have had a back load bridge, which is a bridge with small holes on the back edge for each string to be held in before it passed over the saddle.  The customer was getting impatient with my slow investigation and I was forced to make a judgement call and procure a 12 string bridge from an Ovation for this project.While I waited for the bridge to come in, I moved my investigation over the the missing pickguard.  I did see evidence of a vague shape for it with 7 small screw holes in the pickguard area.  By connecting the dots from the scerew holes, I could come up with a general size, though not really a specific shape for the original pickguard.  Again, press for time, I decided to use a modified Martin style design from my own imagination.  I drew up something that would cover the general area and cut it from tortoise shell blank from Stew-Mac Parts.It looked pretty good!  I had no sooner made the pickguard and fastened it in place, when I found a photo of our Hoyer for sale on E Bay.  The original pickguard was almost that of a pickguard for a Gibson Dove or Hummingbird with scallops and points.  Back to Stew-Mac for another pickguard blank.  I took a photo of the area of the sound hole, had it blown up to proper size and started on it.  I lost track of  how many hours I cut, filed and sanded.  I had no sooner finished it, when the customer abruptly took the guitar from me never allowing me to install the proper guard!  Any one interested in a custom Hoyer pickguard?  

A Seldom seen Gibson Electric

I just did a set up on something I've never run across before, A 1981 Gibson Professional 335-S Deluxe solidbody electric guitar.  After more than 35 years in the music industry, I have never run across this baby.
They made three models, the Professional Deluxe, being the top of it's line.  A double cutaway, two Dirty Fingers pickups, mahogany body and neck, ebony fretboard,bound, and coil tap.
At first I thought the coil tap was added later, but after doing some research, I see Gibson really made it that way.  I found the coil tap to be sorta useless;  too much 60 cycle hum.  I guess no matter what ya do, you can't make a humbucker sound like a single coil Fender!  I brought this matter up to the customer and advised him I could replace all the controls (they have a fine dusty powder-like corrosion all over) and copper shield the body cavities if he chooses to use it as a player VS a collector's item. 

The set up went well and he's happy with it's playability and will think over the notion of re-wiring the guitar.  The pic is off the Internet and my customer's model is beautiful cherry finish.



I love getting new things to work on that I have never seen before!

Stay tuned for the story of restoring and old German Hoyer 12 string!

Bigsby on a Tele!

I got a great job to do recently; installation of a Bigsby tailpiece on a Tele.  A nice young guy brought me the instrument advising me that he intended to do the work himself but on second thought, was over his head.  I told him I'd take on the challenge. 
I removed the strings and looked over the parts to be installed.  The original bridge is mounted on the bridge pickup plate with the upturned lip to hold the infamous bridge cover, nick-named the ashtray.  Most guys removed them and used them as ashtrays, hence the nick-name origin.
The original bridge plate had to be replaced to accommodate the new bridge, which was very similar to the Gibson Tuneamatic bridge.  The new bridge mounts on two bushings pressed into the body.
The first critical task was to drill the two holes to position the bridge bushings.  The bushing holes would have to be exactly positioned, allowing the bridge to be perfectly lined up with the rest of the string travel.  There is no room for error; if it were off, the vibrato operation could be compromised.  When the vibrato is used, the tailpiece bar tilts forward, allowing the strings to slack pitch and return to the neutral position when released, returning the strings to their exact pitch (in theory).  The bridge bushings are exposed under the two holes in the bridge/pickup plate.  I used the plate to mark the spots I had to drill out for the bushings.  After taking my measurements, I made the customary sign of the cross, and used a brad point drill in the drill press to drill into the body.  I marked the drill bit carefully to show how deep I had to go to accommodate the bushings.  As I said, there is no room for error, as the bridge rocks back and forth with the vibrato action also so it must be perfectly in line with everything.  I used a drill bit one size below of the bushings so they would press in nice and tight.  I used a wood block and small hammer in lieu of an arbor press and carefully tapped the bushings home.  Next, I dropped the bridge into the bushings to test their position.  The bridge feet went down into place but tightly.  Not good, as the bridge must "float" in the bushings freely to work correctly.  One of the two holes was off ever so slightly.  Now I had to fashion a hardwood dowel to plug the incorrect hole and fill it and start all over with the measurements.  The hole was off ever so slightly.  I re-drilled the new hole and re-fitted the bushing.  I dropped the bridge back in their bushings and this time it floated freely as it should.  Good Bridge!  The dowel around the bushing would not be exposed to the eye, being surrounded by the bridge plate.  That part done, it was time for a break before continuing.
The next step was to mark the place to drill four holes to mount the vibato tailpiece.  Again, the measurements were critical.  I laid the tailpiece in the approximate area.  The installation kit came with a length of thin string and the idea is to tie the string to the low E string post on the tailpiece, run it up the neck to the low E string tuner, over to the high E string tuner, and back down to the tailpiece to the high E string post on the tailpiece.  This allowed me to watch the two strings on each edge of the fingerboard and align the tailpiece till the strings were perfectly parallel.  Keeping everything as tight as possible, I wiggled the tailpiece about till everything was straight and marked my spots to drill the tailpiece mounting holes in the body.  After drilling the four small mounting holes, I screwed the tailpiece onto the body.  Using the strings, I re-checked my alignment.  Nice; everything lined up straight.  The string trick was a great idea.  Bigsby thinks of everything! 
Lastly, I had to mount the bridge pickup on the new plate and screw it down to the body.  Next, came the strings.  The customer preferred Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys.  After stringing it up, I proceeded to setting the intonation and string height on the new bridge.  The neck never changed position and no adjustment was performed.  I stood back and looked.  Everything looked as though it came from the factory that way.  I played it a bit to see how it felt and reacted before trying the vibrato action.  It all performed normally so I plugged it in and cranked it up.  It seemed pretty darn nice, but a couple strings were reluctant to return to pitch when applying the vibrato.  I made some slight adjustments to the nut slot and applied some nut lube to the slots.  Bingo;  perfecto-mundo!  I contacted the customer then had myself a nice cold beer!

Happy Twanging, all!

Straightening out an ornery Ovation

One of oldest friend's 35 year old Ovation Balladeer was bothering his hands to play and he brought the guitar to me for a look see.  "This is an ornery old dip in the neck!" I told him.  Normally, a simple neck adjustment would correct the neck bow, so I removed the truss rod cover cap and dug out a nut driver to proceed with the neck adjustment.  Oh Oh, not so easy.  The neck had been adjusted over the years and now the adjustment nut had come to the end of threads on the truss rod.  Whoa, Nellie!  After thinking a moment, I remember getting a tech update from Fender (20 years ago, while working for a Fender Dealer as a certified tech.)  By removing the adjustment nut and placing a washer over the truss rod end and replacing the nut, you position the nut out father on the truss rod, giving more thread area to turn on.  Brilliant!  I searched about and found two small nylon washers just the perfect size!  I put them both over the truss rod end and prayed that I'd have room to start the nut.  Hallelujah!  I did, but now will the neck straighten out for ole Tommy?  Did it ever!  Just what the doctor ordered; the neck came right back to normal playing range and with some extra light strings on, it played like butter.  I would have put lights on but Tom had suffered some nerve damage years ago and his left hand really appreciates the extra lights and that 35 year ole gitbox sounds sweeeeet!

Franenstein Tele on Steroids

I got a great mod a few years back, a Mexican Telecaster to dress to the 9's.  A customer brought in his Clapton Strat for some work and in conversation, he said he'd love to have the overdrive chip from the Clapton Strat in his Tele.  That is a pre-amp, powered by a 9V Battery and controlled by the bottom knob on the strat.  As it's turned up, the nice creamy overdrive kicks in.  He got the components on E-Bay, along with new tuners and the cool perloid pick guard, and I set to work.

After disassembling the instrument, I needed to route some space to accommodate the circuit board and battery and of course, the inevitable extra wires.  Next, I had to rewire mini potentiometers to make room for the extra pre-amp boost control.  Instead of the usual 250K pot for volume, I wired in a 25K to handle the post end of the overdrive circuit.  For more fun, I replaced the 3 Way switch with a 4 Way switch, adding two options when both pickups are selected; Parallel, and Series.  The customer supplied me with new black tuners, control knobs, and the perloid pick guard to dress it up.

I put the guitar in his hands, he turned it up, played with the controls, played his heart out and smiled with eyes sparkle!

Check list in preventave maintanence

You're at the gig and all set up but your guitar's dead in the water.  One of your control pots has loosened up.  You noticed it the last few times you played but ignored it.  Now it's dead and you have no spare guitar.  This might have been averted if you stayed on top of the situation.  You don't need a box of fancy tools to keep your ax in working order.  Things like the control pots, jack and other things come loose after a while.  Here is a check list you can go over when you change your strings.
While the strings are off:

1. Check to see your tuners are tight. The tuners are secured to the headstock by one or two wood screws from the back and a nut/washer/bushing through the top.  The nut comes loose from time to time.  The common size nut driver or wrench is 10 mm for the nut.  If you're very careful, you could use a pair of pliers but whatever you use, snug the nut tight.

2. Their is usually a small screw on the end or tip of the tuning button.  If you could wiggle the tuning button it's time to tighten the screw.  Don't tighten it as far as you can, just a little so the tuner doesn't wiggle.

3.  While you're at it, take some 0000 steel wool and clean all the crud off the fingerboard and frets.

4.  Now for the controls;  Plug in, turn up, and wiggle the jack (just a little)  If it crackles a lot it may be time to replace the jack.  In any event, see if the nut holding the jack is not too loose it may be possible to tighten the jack, and the control pots from the top without having to get underneath.  The trick is to snug all this down before it get so loose that it rotates round and breaks a wire. 

5. Check the pickups and mounting rings.  Sometimes they too loosen up and the pickup falls inside the pickguard or pops right out.  I was in the middle of a gig in a pit band when I discovered one of the screws holding my pickup down had vibrated up.  The pickup touched my G string and I could not play that string till the break or end of night when I could fix it.

6. Inspect your cords too; they all go bad sooner or later, even the Monster cables.

7. Got a battery in the ax?  Musically speaking, a 9V battery is considered dead below 7V.  If your guitar is quick change for the battery, carry spares.  Some are not so easy to get to on the fly on stage.

Happy Picken!

Dating Instrument Options

I got a nice vintage Fender Jazz Bass in for electronic service. The customer, an old friend claimed it was one of the first bass guitars he got as a teen. He thought it was from the 1960's.

The electronics were not putting out the normal output, the bass having not been played in time out of reckening. I could see where it had already been re-finished at some point, already de-valuing the vintage worth. I advised him that replacing the pots wires and jack would further lower it's collectible value. He said he preferred to play it so we agreed to have me re-do the electronics.

While I was working in it, I inspected it for the date of manufacture. It had a serial number stamped on the neck plate and the big reverse F. That dated it somewhere in the early 70's. Removing the neck should have shown dates in the body's neck pocket and the neck's bottom heel. No such luck; whoever re-finished the bass destroyed all that info. I knew in the early 70's Fender started making the jazz bass using the bullet truss rod at the top of the headstock and a three bolt neck attachment. This bass was before that period.

Inspecting the codes on the back of the potentiometers, it read: 1377310.

The date code of the pots broke down as follows:

137 Manufacturer: CTS (Chicago Telephone Suppliers)

73: 1973

10: The 10th week of 1973.

That narrowed it down some. The pots were made in March 73 and Fender went to the three bolt neck plate later that year, so the bass had to have been made in mid 1973. At least we narrowed it down to spring or summer of 73.

He is using the bass in the reunion of his first band from high school. I love history!!

The importance of a proper set up

What is a set up? Well, it's like a tune up on your car. A few subtle adjustments can make a world of difference in the feel, response, and sound of your instrument.

Strings: They don't last as long as people think and could even effect your tuning, clarity, and intonation. (We'll get into intonation later) Perspiration gets into the windings of the strings, causing them to sound dead or unbalanced with the others. I almost always advise the strings be changed with a set up.

Fretboard maintenance: Another advantage to changing the strings is the access to the fingerboard and frets with the strings removed.

0000 steel wool will clean the grime off the fingerboard and frets. A scant amount of linseed or lemon oil will add some moisture to the unfinished rosewood or ebony.

Truss rod adjustment: Almost all stringed instruments have an adjustable truss rod to maintain the proper relief in the neck. The tension of the tuned strings, after a while can pull on the end of the neck, causing too much relief in the neck. What that means is the strings end up too high off the fingerboard, esp. around the mid-section of the fingerboard. If the strings were left off the instrument for a period of time, the neck can bow backwards, causing the strings to fret out or buzz on the frets. The neck should have a bit of relief or "bow" to play true, but too little and you end up with buzz; too much, and the strings are hard to press down on the fingerboard.

Saddle height at the bridge: On electrics and acoustics alike, if the saddle or bridge is too high, the strings are too far off the fingerboard, making it much harder to play. If the saddle or bridge is too low, the strings buzz on neighboring frets, much like the neck bowed too far in either direction. Electric guitars and basses have individual saddles to adjust the height and intonation for each string. Also the individual saddle adjustment makes it easier to set the saddles to the proper fingerboard radius. The fingerboard is rarely perfectly flat, but slightly curved, making it more comfortable to play across. The string saddles need to be set to the same relation to the fingerboard radius.

Intonation: Correct intonation allows the open picked string to play in proper pitch at the 12th fret and the harmonic note at the 12th fret. It is checked with a reliable electronic tuner or better yet, a strobe tuner. After tuning the open picked string, the string is picked at the 12th fret and should maintain the same 440 pitch. If it is flat on the 12th fret, the string length is too long, if it is sharp at the 12th fret, the string length is too short. Proper intonation should be set with new strings installed and stretched.

Tremolo adjustment: The tremolo unit has to be adjusted to maintain proper bridge height. Even breaking or removing a string, or changing string gauges, can throw the bridge out of whack if it has a tremolo system.

Electric instrument controls: All the volume, tone, switches, jacks, etc. should be checked and tighten if they have become loose. If they are allowed to become too loose, the entire control ends up roating when you turn the knob and eventually, it can lead to a wire breaking off the control. This is very common with the jack!

If the instrument has active electronics, the battery should be checked for it's available voltage. Musically speaking, a 9 volt battery is dead below 7 volts and should be changed.

Tuner adjustment: Most tuners on the headstock have an adjustment to keep them from slipping too far out of whack. Properly adjusted, the tuner should turn freely with just a bit of relief. If it's adjusted too tight, the tuner guts will wear out prematurely. The securing hardware should be tightened on the tuner also to prevent the tuner from rotating around in the headstock.

Cleaning: All of the instrument should be cleaned. A damp soft cloth should clean most grime off the finish. A good non-silicone polish will bring the luster up on the finish after it is nice and clean. Extremely grimy instruments are cleaned with a bit of naphtha solvent. This does not harm the finish. In fact, if the grime and grease is left on the finish too long, the finish will be compromised by trying to rub the grime off.

Most professionals know what it means to have a set up on a regular basis. Most new instruments probably can use a set up at the start. A change of string gauge is another reason for a set up. Beginning students will greatly benefit from a set up by having an instrument that they do not have to fight to learn how to play.

The set up is the start to a long lasting relationship with your ax!