Please use this thread to post any Guitar related Tips & Tricks or Setup/Repair information, Parts or Links for those who may need help.

Please do not use this thread for general chat, thank you responses or "non-tech" banter. General Questions may be asked in the regular threads and you can refer members to this thread if they post a question that is already answered on here.

Please don't post any links with alot of pop-up ads for those who may not have blocking capabilities.

Thanks!:thumb:

Fender Support and Resources Link: http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/index.php
Jackson/Charvel Resources: http://www.jacksonguitars.com/resources/
Gibson Guitars: http://www.gibson.com/
Paul Reed Smith Resources: http://www.prsguitars.com/
Ibanez Guitars: http://www.ibanez.com/

Fret Not Guitar Repair FAQ: http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/FAQ.htm
Musician's Friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
Stew-Mac Guitar Parts and Accesories: http://www.stewmac.com/
Seymour Duncan Pickups: http://www.seymourduncan.com/
EMG Pickups: http://www.emginc.com/

Tips If Your Guitar's Tone Is Weak:

a) Change your strings! Dirtied and deformed strings can seriously hinder your tone!

b) You know those knobs on the guitar? They're there for a reason. Try putting the volume all the way up to see if this increases the pickups' output.

c) Make sure your output jack is tight and that your wiring is dust-free.

d) Maybe invest in a boost pedal.

e) How old are your pickups? Maybe it's time you changed those bad boys. If you need help on wiring and need a picture tutorial, then just post your question here.

f) If any of you guys need any more help, just post it here!

Here's an outstanding Forum for discussion of Jackson/Charvel guitars.
http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/

A trick I have learned over the years to increase the life of your strings:

Take a cloth and dab it with rubbing alcohol and run it down each individual string. Just grab the string between the moist rag and apply pressure while moving it up and down each string. You will see black junk come off the strings and they keep a bit more life that way. (don't do it to the neck...just the strings). They will "feel" better to the touch and regain some life in between string changes.

FWIW.

How to "distress" a guitar.

I have seen many people ask this question - not necissarily in this forum but in some. What they desire is to buy a brand new guitar, a nice new Fender for instance, and make it look like it was owned by Eric Clapton. So here is a basic howto:

1) Buy a new guitar, a nice new Fender for instance.
2) Play it for five hourse.
3) Repeat step 2 every day for 20 years.
4) You now have a distressed Fender that looks like Eric Clapton played it. Better yet, the person who did play it is probably just as good.

The quicker approach:

1) Buy a new guitar, a nice new Fender for instance.
2) Tie a rope to the head stock; the other end to the back of a car.
3) Stand on the guitar and have someone drive the car forward about 1 mile over gravel, dirt, and/or pavement.
4) You now have a distressed Fender....a very distressed Fender...you can't play but at least your guitar looks beat up. :thumb:

liquid gold furniture polish. put a little on the back of your guitar neck and wipe off most of the excess. it will make the neck slippery and very fast for hours. i have been using this for years when playing in the bars and it is the only thing that i have found that will last the entire playing job. it also does not hurt the finish either. try it.

does anyone know any place where i can get maintance tips etc for ibanez .... i own a Ibanez GiO series (GRG-270 to be precise)

i mainly wanna learn how to set the intonation .... etc ....

Thanks

Here's a link to Project Guitar:
http://www.projectguitar.com/
Lots of useful info on there about any number of guitar related projects, well worth a look.

Here's a link to Project Guitar:
http://www.projectguitar.com/
Lots of useful info on there about any number of guitar related projects, well worth a look.
thanks mate i'll check it out

c) Make sure your output jack is tight and that your wiring is dust-free.


Adding to this one... unscrew the nut on the jack and smear a little dab of UPVC glue on the thread. The type your kids stick card with. This glue is rubber based and should not be the sort that dries to glass-like strength. ie NOT Superglue. Screw the nut back on nice and tight with a spanner. If you are American, a wrench could be used instead ...:notme: :slap:

Now you have a jack socket that will not come undone. If you do need to do some maintenance a quick tug with the afore mentioned spanner/wrench will easily come make the rubber based glue come undone. It's easily to clean off the thread too.

I have another suggestion concerning cleaning strings and fretboard. I use a product called GHS Fast-Fret. You wipe this thing up and down over the fretboard and strings a couple of times and then wipe off the excess residue with the soft cloth provided. It works really well to keep the strings clean and the fretboard becomes semi lubricated as well...makes string bending very smooth.

Don't worry though, it does not damange the finish or anything like that. Also, not much of this stuff comes off on your fingers either...maybe only after the first time you play it, but that's it. Use it after every play or only as you feel like it...

conditioning the fretboard - this only needs to be done 2-3 times a year, so don't over do it. When you take off your strings next time, just pour abit of lemon oil on a clean cloth rag, wipe it on the fretboard, let it sit for 5 minutes, and wipe it again with a dry part of the cloth.

I use Formby's Pure Lemon Oil. I bought it in the home project department at WalMart. The 16 ounce bottle cost me about $4 and it has lasted for years now...


http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6162630.jpg

you do NOT have to buy that high dollar stuff at the guitar shops!

Invest in a strobe tuner like Peterson makes. Setting intonation yourself will save money down the line and keep your guitar tones clear.

I still use my old Strobotuner. Anyone remember those?

Invest in a strobe tuner like Peterson makes. Setting intonation yourself will save money down the line and keep your guitar tones clear.

I still use my old Strobotuner. Anyone remember those?
:tard: Sure looks like a cool vintage gadget, like my 1966 Grundig tube stereo where I still play my records on. I assume that should be some kind of tuner, thing is, like wrist watches, I guess those ones are a bit outdated considering the simple task they were built for.
Talking about guitar gadgets, I will never be more gratefull than the day I bought one of those plastic twisters for turning the guitar pegs, man, that sure was-is a great invention when dealing with changing guitar strings.

Popcicle sticks are great for pluging loose screw holes in pickguards.Just cut pop stick to the right height and width and tap into screw hole then replace screw.It holds very well and can be redone as many times as neccessary.I also use this same method to tighten neck holes on any Strat or Tele neck that has become loose as well.

here is a tip from my guitar tech on fixing dings or chips in bright laqured finishes as well.

Use a left over lighting gel Red,Blue,Yellow depending on what color you need to match.In my case i had a candy apple red strat body that had achip in it.My tech used a small piece of red lighting gel and mixed in super glue until it becomes a paste or a liquid.then he blended it into the chip spot and when it was done the results were perfect it matched the color and had the same laquered finish as the rest of the guitar.Very ingenius!.

Parker