Brazilian rosewood dust. Thing's are getting fancy around here! pinky out 🎩〰️ Thanks for taking us along! Nice to get my mind off some work related bs!
Wasn't even aware of what a tenor guitar is (go easy on me, I'm a lowly bass player). They sound charming and at the songs you play on them in this video are beautifully melancholic.
Thank you for another lovely video. I didn't know you had an album on bandcamp- I'll grab that for sure. Really enjoy the songs on here, so glad you're doing more of it. A belated seasons greetings to you and yours. Peace.
You’ve become one of my top luthier channels. Always look forward to your vids so please keep them coming! I also hope your romantic situation is under control with New Years around the corner.
@@Notaluthier Really interesting videos but this background noddling sounds depressing and really gets annoying over time. I'd rather listen to some fingerpicking blues or western music than this.
It's nice to hear the love for the tenor guitar...too many overlook or don't even know what the heck they are. Great entertainment and video, as always. The squirrel at the beginning was a good jump scare to wake me up. Well done sir, well done. 👏👏👏
Thank you! The local (national chain) music store employees had no idea wtf I was talking about when I asked if they had tenor guitar string sets…indeed most people have never heard of them!
Merry Christmas to you and your daughter. That is one of the nicest sounding ladder braced guitars. The bridge turned out awesome. It looks very regal. No pun intended. I really enjoy your videos. Just good food for the soul.
What a real pleasing vid, i nearly fell asleep watching, (that is not an insult by any means) your repairs are well up to my standards, now going to look at what else you have been up to............ Star man !... same page as twoodfrd and Chris Alvarado,..AMAZING VIDEOS AND INFORMATION.
Ive loved your vids since day one and they keep getting better and better. Enjoyed this a lot. Great lutherie stuff, engaging banter, cool nature cutaways and I vote for more playing/vocals in future videos ! That bound bridge looks great btw. Contrast makes the Brazilian bridge pop against that mahogany sound board.
Thanks very much! Nice to get a pleasant comment with some feedback on a longform video…just had another short pushed by the algo and things are getting toxic in the comment section 🙈
Sorry to hear about the toxic comments man. Thats the thing with youtube- 99% of people watch and like the content but the 1% of weirdos, jerks, and trolls living in their moms basement alternating between lutherie and porn videos leave the angry comments. Please just keep doing what you are doing. On a side note- i love when you use recycled material in a repair like the driftwood cleat. Just feels right for an old guitar.
Levon. You touched on a very important repair procedure that most don’t (your actually the first I’ve seen mention) touch on. Yes, many use a three corner file, with a safety edge for spot leveling and crowning frets, but many of us don’t know that a file of some kind is the only way to crown super low, flat frets. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that there’s not a single fret specific file that won’t bottom out on the fretboard before any meaningful crown is ground on super low, flat frets. It’s essentially jewelry work brought in to loothing. Careful, fine file work that any decent jeweler could do with ease when looked at from that angle instead of a ham fist like me looking at it from a common fret work angle. Thanks for doing a great job of simply explaining the important but oft overlooked.
So nice of you to say! I have no perspective at all! I also changed some of my daily habits somewhat recently, which may affect the creative direction. As you might know, I had zero video experience when I started 8 months ago, and so I sure hope I improve as time goes by. Perhaps I’ll even look into a better editing software eventually.
Wonderful songwriting, man, I tell you, you should put out an album of your stuff, all played on those great weird instruments you make, I'd love that. Merry Christmass, all the best!
This is a great video. I really enjoyed how you went through the process of fitting the neck. I did not understand where you were going with binding the bridge, but the result is beautiful. Thank you for playing and singing as well.
this is not helping my GAS...really want an old early 20th century acoustic after watching your videos...also makes me wish I was 30 years younger and could open a repair shop for musical instruments...love your work man
He blended humour and sadness perfectly! I got to play in a tribute show with his son. Can’t help but correct you on the last line there though “but to me joy meant only sorrow”! ❤️❤️❤️
I still don't have a tenor guitar and this video has rubbed it right in my nose.... I must do something about that. Seasons greetings and a guid new year tae you and yours fae the west highlands.
@@Notaluthier merci, workin' on an sg jr67 and an airline t&c59, it sounds like LZ and JW doing mark sandman, vic chesnutt and jsbx with a touch of marvin gaye in a french stompbox machine with angela davis in the back. a real good xmas
@@lukespread I also watched this first, then Ted's. Don't tell him I said this, but I think The Methstang is way cooler. He basically built a replica 59 Les Paul Jr. Which is amazing, but I don't know if it still counts as a true Gibson anymore. The Methstang still has the original pickups even!
I have a Regal that my dad bought used some time before he was drafted. He was drafted in 1956. I am guessing the guitar was made in the 40s. Back in 1999 or so.... possibly earlier...i removed the back because it was coming loose. The bracing on the back had been reglued at some point....possdibly my my Grandpa but who knows? The bracing had been reglued at an angle. I removed the braces cleaned up the glue residue the best that I could and reglued the beaces to the back. Then, I glue the back on. I replaced the original tuners which were difficult to really get the guitar in tune with and replaced the nut and bridge saddle. When i strung the guitar up it sounded awful. It just wouldn't tune properly. I let it sit as i had ither guitars. Sometime after moving to our current house i took the guitar out and attempted to tune it. Apparently, what the guitar needed was a year or two under string tension because it finally tuned and was playable! No, it didn't sound great but, it sounded as good as it ever did in my lifetime. And with the nut and saddle i put on i no longer needed to put paper in the string slots to keep the strings brom buzzing like i had to as a kid. I am not sure why my dad bought this guitar. He doesn't play. My grandpa and some if my uncles did.
@Notaluthier My guess is that the guitar became more "out of whack" without the string tension. This was obviously from the time before most guitars had truss rods. The neck is thick but that's not the same as having an adjustable truss rod. The top had a bit of a bulge from the tension on the bridge. It has finger indentions in the "cowboy chord" area. My dad said it came with a bar for playing like a Dobro.... well, he said it WAS a Dobro. Anything like that was long gone by the time I started playing guitar (quite possibly before I was even born). The frets are actually numbered with a yellow paint which is the same as what was used to make fret markings instead of if inlays. They are numbered in the way you would use for playing slide or Dobro, with the number being on the side of the fret away from the nut (since the slide or bar needs to be right behind or right on top of the actual fret position for playing the note that would be played right behind the fret if fretting the note). This is something I didn't realize as a kid. It's not a valuable guitar by any means even if it were in a much better condition. It's more valuable when it comes to sentimental value. Even then, there's a limit to how much you'd want to sink into it to make it playable for others. For me it's probably just as playable now as it ever was with the added benefit of not having to put folded paper in the slots so the strings don't buzz or move within the slot. The frets are severely worn down. Particularly around the 7th fret. A good part of that is from me because I play a lot of Chuck Berry type stuff.
when would you choose to use a single long cleat vs several smaller ones? do you feel like there are differences in how they sound? how well they reinforce a crack? editing/pacing was really good in this video. looking forward to another year of great videos. thanks! learned a bunch from you.
I typically choose Diamond cleats when I’ve got a box open. I think strip cleats are better/stronger, but diamonds are more traditional. Also if a crack is wide and buckling, strips. Annnnnd making Diamond cleats is a massive amount of work, so it’s just a case by cases basis. I have an 1860 parlor I’m working on where I did the top with spruce diamonds and the back with rosewood strips…so yeah, I guess it’s just a choice in the moment a lot of the time
That JR Stewart guitar sounded fab, Levon your videos are getting better every time, what did you do to upset the squirrel? All the best to you and the family for Xmas and the New year from Liverpool UK.
Aweee thanks! I’m glad to hear they might be improving! I pointed my camera into its pear-tree burrow, fair dues to it for letting me know I wasn’t welcome! Happy holidays to you!
Good job, team. Your song was a little Leonard Cohen-esque, I think. Leonard, Levon... Coincidence? Maybe. Happy Merry, And Festivus for the rest of us!
I got a question. I bought a late 60's Harmony Stella, once I reset the neck, fretboard resurface/refret, reglue all the loose braces after taking off the back as well as fix a huge side crack. Now it actually plays and sounds pretty damn good if I do say so myself. So, when I saw a Silvertone from the same era for cheap I bought it. I am in the process of doing all of the same stuff to this one but what I noticed is even though the construction and materials are identical as is the body size which is 000. I noticed that this one had a totally different tone, it also sounded dead and much quieter. The only noticeable difference is this one has a trapeze tailpiece and floating bridge similar to an archtop. I am hoping when I finish it will also sound as good albeit different due to the bridge type. I cannot find much if any comparisons between bridge styles on tone when everthing else is the same. The floating bridge is tiny compared to my other trapeze guitars. I feel like the mass of this bridge and/or the footprint of wood that contacts the top might be the problem. What do you think? I was planning on rebuilding it stock and just see what sounds like making sure not to put too much glue in the neck joint so it would be easier to remove again because if I make a new more massive bridge it will surely sit higher and require a different neck angle. Any advice? I find it surprising that there is not more talk about this topic. If I can't get it to sound great I was thinking maybe just put a Rubber Bridge on an sell it or try to convert it to a pin bridge. Perhaps even get a new spruce top and install X bracing with a pin bridge vs the old ladder brace thing. Opinion?
There are certainly challenges in a tailpiece guitar, and woefully, some guitars just don’t have the materials and build quality to ever shine. Having said that I’m sure you’ve seen $100 selling for $2k-3k when “converted”. And I think these largely rely on an undiscerning audience, rather than being genuinely worth anywhere near the price. So many extraordinarily nice guitars can be had in that price range! but yes for a tailpiece guitar, especially one struggling with output, you’re probably going to want a steeper neck angle and higher bridge to elicit more force and volume. but if it’s a dud, yeah might as well go with the funeral that is a rubber bridge conversion. That is a trend I find perplexing, but since there’s a market for it, it is certainly one way to get good money out of a bad guitar. As for X brace conversions…well, they usually accompany full rebuilds and thus, of course the guitar will be better than before, but I have a lot of love for ladder bracing and have a lot of ladder braced guitars that I would NEVER touch the bracing on, even if I already have the guitar split wide open. 100 year old ladder bracing is generally going to be better than brand new x bracing. As you might be able to tell at this point, I do not sniff the X bracing cork, I will certainly, be comparing the two bracing patterns on a pair of otherwise identical guitars when I get a chance. But now that you mention it, I will try and do a comparison of tailpiece to pin guitars as well.
@@Notaluthier I certainly appreciate the response, and I suppose there is a small chance that the deadness was caused by all of the loose braces and the fact that the strings that were still on were crusty and rusty. Also, the trapeze tailpiece was not seated properly so I am hoping that once everything is right and tight, (that's what he said) and some new Phos/bronze's are on it that it will come to life. First thing I will try is the bridge replacement which I will probably make from scratch. I was super surprised at how resonant and loud the pin brace Harmony one was once I rebuilt it. It rings like a bell and there are tons of cleats, and every brace had to be re-glued. I also wonder if the new saddle is doing a bunch of favors because the slot was 1/4" wide and I had to poke around to find a slab of bone that would work. Originally it was a thin plastic thing set in a metal track with height adjustment screws, now it is a slab of bone which I rounded the back and peaked each string crossing to intonate. I think if I have to make a bridge for the new one, I will make it larger than normal so there is a good large sq area contacting the body and use one of those large bone blanks. Make sense to me anyway. Maybe I will do my 1st YT to show the results for posterity. They are literally Identical guitars except for the bridge/tailpiece type.
@@Notaluthier BTW there was an old guy on YT who had one of his old Harmony's re-topped and switched to X bracing and he did a side by side and the difference it quite noticeable so that's why that thought entered my mind, two identical guitars, one stock and one upgrade top and X bracing might be fun to have. I am definitely much more of an electric player though and I repair, build and mod more tube amps and 1930's radios than anything like fix guitars. Link to Randy's Rhythm channel ladder vs X brace Harmony 000's ua-cam.com/video/f-2w9ermA9U/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for considering either! It’s been hard just doing the grind for regular UA-cam, but once I get more efficient at it, I will be able to give more to the patreon too
It had been filed through in a misguided attempt to avoid a neck reset. It certainly could have been reused, with all its scars. But it was also mahogany…again, nothing wrong with that, but an actual hardwood seemed like a better choice since it was off.
Great work. That tenor looks and sounds great. How are you tuning it? I’ve got a tenor I never really play, but after this video, I’m thinking I should tinker around with it.
You may have already answered this but when deciding between hot hide glue or wood glue, what are you thinking about? Is hot hide more accurate to the original construction or is it easier to remove if the neck needs to be reset in the future?
Hot hide is much easier to remove, so I always use it for neck resets, for things that won’t necessarily require removal, I use wood glue, however on historic instruments I will use hot hide for everything. The set time I n hot hide is VERY quick, a few minutes, so that plays a role too. Wood glue is a very relaxed medium in comparison.
@@Notaluthier Blame Eddie Condon! That guy had to go & put his plectrum jazzbox in a whole bunch of covers & photos but only ever used it as an acoustic rhythm instrument so now we are left to wonder what exactly it sounds like
Falling a tiny smidge off your centreline, ok, but how the hell did that builder fall that far off on the dovetail?! I'm guessing he was one-armed AND one-eyed.
How many lines of rosewood dust did you snort during this project? Speaking of saving time, I have read that Mr. Taylor's distinctive headstock was originally shaped by his Sears oscillating spindle sander.
I actually managed to wear my face mask for some of this, so less than usual! And I’d hardly call the Taylor headstock distinctive, I had to google it to remind we what it looks like
Brazilian rosewood dust.
Thing's are getting fancy around here! pinky out 🎩〰️
Thanks for taking us along!
Nice to get my mind off some work related bs!
That Regal tenor sounds incredible, great work. Lovely folk tune to end off the year as well. Thanks for providing such great entertainment and info.
Many thanks!
You are my favorite non-luthier/luthier!!
Wasn't even aware of what a tenor guitar is (go easy on me, I'm a lowly bass player). They sound charming and at the songs you play on them in this video are beautifully melancholic.
The chain guitar store here didn’t know wtf I was talking about when I asked if they had tenor guitar string sets, so don’t feel bad!
Wow, I wish I could play this thing. It sounds incredible.
Thank you for another lovely video. I didn't know you had an album on bandcamp- I'll grab that for sure. Really enjoy the songs on here, so glad you're doing more of it. A belated seasons greetings to you and yours. Peace.
Thanks and likewise! Happy holidays
You’ve become one of my top luthier channels. Always look forward to your vids so please keep them coming! I also hope your romantic situation is under control with New Years around the corner.
Thanks! And: Romantic situation always under control when you’re single!
@@Notaluthier Really interesting videos but this background noddling sounds depressing and really gets annoying over time. I'd rather listen to some fingerpicking blues or western music than this.
@@Notaluthier Why did you make a new bridge? It looked fine.
It's nice to hear the love for the tenor guitar...too many overlook or don't even know what the heck they are. Great entertainment and video, as always. The squirrel at the beginning was a good jump scare to wake me up. Well done sir, well done. 👏👏👏
Thank you!
The local (national chain) music store employees had no idea wtf I was talking about when I asked if they had tenor guitar string sets…indeed most people have never heard of them!
Glad that bridge ended up bound: it looks very special
“A happy mistake”
Thanks for all the entertainment this year, my Dude. Much love to you and yours at this festive time.
Thanks! You too!
Great job; that sound is fantastic. Log drivers waltz was a nice addition.
Thanks!
I had severe doubts about the bound bridge but looked great when it was shaped. Good work.
You and I both!
Merry Christmas to you and your daughter. That is one of the nicest sounding ladder braced guitars. The bridge turned out awesome. It looks very regal. No pun intended. I really enjoy your videos. Just good food for the soul.
Thanks very much!
Sounds amazing, now I want a tenor guitar
I like the Bound bridge, I think it looks classy👍🏼
Thanks!
Another great video. That Regal sounds incredible. The sustain is phenomenal. Love your playing.
Thanks! I bet it’ll only get better as it settles in too!
What a real pleasing vid, i nearly fell asleep watching, (that is not an insult by any means) your repairs are well up to my standards, now going to look at what else you have been up to............ Star man !... same page as twoodfrd and Chris Alvarado,..AMAZING VIDEOS AND INFORMATION.
My favourite channels put me to sleep! I hope you enjoy!
Sweet shot with the drill! It looked like you nailed the pocket exactly.
A touch of good luck!
Ive loved your vids since day one and they keep getting better and better. Enjoyed this a lot. Great lutherie stuff, engaging banter, cool nature cutaways and I vote for more playing/vocals in future videos ! That bound bridge looks great btw. Contrast makes the Brazilian bridge pop against that mahogany sound board.
Thanks very much! Nice to get a pleasant comment with some feedback on a longform video…just had another short pushed by the algo and things are getting toxic in the comment section 🙈
Sorry to hear about the toxic comments man. Thats the thing with youtube- 99% of people watch and like the content but the 1% of weirdos, jerks, and trolls living in their moms basement alternating between lutherie and porn videos leave the angry comments. Please just keep doing what you are doing. On a side note- i love when you use recycled material in a repair like the driftwood cleat. Just feels right for an old guitar.
Levon. You touched on a very important repair procedure that most don’t (your actually the first I’ve seen mention) touch on. Yes, many use a three corner file, with a safety edge for spot leveling and crowning frets, but many of us don’t know that a file of some kind is the only way to crown super low, flat frets. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that there’s not a single fret specific file that won’t bottom out on the fretboard before any meaningful crown is ground on super low, flat frets. It’s essentially jewelry work brought in to loothing. Careful, fine file work that any decent jeweler could do with ease when looked at from that angle instead of a ham fist like me looking at it from a common fret work angle. Thanks for doing a great job of simply explaining the important but oft overlooked.
Thanks Tony! That does make me wonder if jewellers should moonlight with fretwork!
Shout out for the log drivers waltz!
man i freaking love you. that song was beautiful
🥰
I love tenor guitars! I play baritone ukuleles as well 😅
Most folks have never even heard of tenors, or bari ukes for that matter!
Sounds awesome Levon!
That wire trick was brilliant
Merry Christmas, Levon, you and your two little helpers. Buggy and Loophole the gourd faced child.
Hahhahahahah loooop hole 😅😅😅😅
That was lovely, your videos get better& better!
So nice of you to say! I have no perspective at all! I also changed some of my daily habits somewhat recently, which may affect the creative direction. As you might know, I had zero video experience when I started 8 months ago, and so I sure hope I improve as time goes by. Perhaps I’ll even look into a better editing software eventually.
Happy holiday season to you and your baby girl and your pup.
Thanks! Happy holidays to you too.
Wonderful songwriting, man, I tell you, you should put out an album of your stuff, all played on those great weird instruments you make, I'd love that. Merry Christmass, all the best!
Thanks! Merry Christmas!
So gosh darn clever … and funny AF. Happy holidays … and thank you. 👌😎
Thank you! Happy holidays!
Wow 100 years old and sounding beautiful!
The best Christmas gift from our friend up north!😊❤️
Tenor is your sound man good song too brother merry Christmas 🎁🎄😊❤️keep it up man screw the algorithm one of the best channels on the tube
This is a great video. I really enjoyed how you went through the process of fitting the neck. I did not understand where you were going with binding the bridge, but the result is beautiful. Thank you for playing and singing as well.
Thanks! I was 50/50 on the bound bridge too…didn’t know it would work out until it did!
Ton of work - thanks for the tutorial. Sounds fantastic, nice playing and singing too.
Thanks!
Sounds great! The bound bridge is beautiful!
Thanks!
Lovely instrument. I believe a lot of tenors were converted to 6 strings at one time. You can see why, if they sound as sweet as that one.
I’ve seen them go both ways, but more often, 6 string necks clumsily carved down!
Thanks for all your content, Merry Christmas to you and yours Dude......
Thank you! Happy holidays 🎅
Happy New Year Levon...all the best to you and yours for 2025.
Thanks! You too!
so good i had to watch it twice
🤘😻
this is not helping my GAS...really want an old early 20th century acoustic after watching your videos...also makes me wish I was 30 years younger and could open a repair shop for musical instruments...love your work man
Thanks! It’s never too late to open up an ol’ repair shop!
and your playing...id never heard a tenor guitar before, its wonderful sounding
and happy holidays!
@ in my case the operative word would be ‘ol! 😝Thanks for the encouragement!
Great work, as always! Merry Christmas
Thanks and merry Christmas to you tooooo!
If im not mistaken, that kast song was "He Needs Me." Popeye was a favorite movie of mine when I was a kid.
You got it!
Great video, you're very talented. Merry Christmas.
Thank you! You too!
I love your floor workbench. LOL. Another fun video. Merry Christmas to you and your daughter.
Can’t stop to clean the ~actual~ workbenches 😅
This one was a dust lovers dream. Thanks
Hahahahha
Speaking of Harry Nielsen, as I recall one of songs is “Joy to world was a beautiful girl but she only meant sorrow to me”.
He blended humour and sadness perfectly! I got to play in a tribute show with his son. Can’t help but correct you on the last line there though “but to me joy meant only sorrow”! ❤️❤️❤️
I really like this one! I play tenor guitar and enjoyed seeing these specimens. Also, that bridge is beautiful!
Thanks! Yes, I have a bit of a tenor obsession!
What a lovely guitar! Super repair
Many thanks!
What a nice mellow tone, banjo-ish headstock. Merry Christmas to you and family.
Thanks and to you as well!
I love you video composition and aesthetic. Super creative and well thought out.
hought out
So nice of you to say! Thanks!
That thing sounds great. Really good work.
Thanks!
Great video, and great sound from the finished guitar!
Thanky panky!
Sheeit Levon. Well now I want a tenor guitar. We'll have to have a chat on that man.
I have one “spare” you can check out.
@ I’ll drop by sometime over the next couple weeks.
I still don't have a tenor guitar and this video has rubbed it right in my nose.... I must do something about that. Seasons greetings and a guid new year tae you and yours fae the west highlands.
Easy breezy, just break a couple strings on your six-shooter!
@@Notaluthier Ok
2:18 perfect tone to play an old tune in your dilapidated porch while drinking moonshine
I have another tenor with no back on it and it can get real backwoods real quick!
@@Notaluthier I have a jar of moonshine to bring to that party. I was saving it to make shellac, but in an emergency...
Well I’ve got a porch!
Merry Christmas Levon
Thanks Kindly Darla, you as wel!
I am not a tenor guy, so nothing to suare this week, except I love your work as always. Happy holidays.
Happy holidays!
Seasons Greetings from Essex, England... you sound like you're in a great place!
Right back across the pond at ya! 🎅
makes me wanna become a luthier so bad, keep up the cool videos!
Log Driver's Waltz!
Burling down!
great job, thx 4 sharing ur knowledge ; from a french cabin and happy Xmas
Joyeux Noel! 🎄
@@Notaluthier merci, workin' on an sg jr67 and an airline t&c59, it sounds like LZ and JW doing mark sandman, vic chesnutt and jsbx with a touch of marvin gaye in a french stompbox machine with angela davis in the back. a real good xmas
Cheers dude! And a very Christmas to you two too. Too wit, too woo, who ho, ho, ho.
🦉🦉🦉🦉
Ab Fab job. Nice crooning. Have a cool yule!
Thanks kindly!
👍Thanks Levon, I was just about to watch Ted W's latest vid when this popped up. No harm to Ted but this takes precedence.
Thanks Luke! 🤝You know I love Ted, very informative and chill videos and a great guy to boot.
@@Notaluthier If Ted's videos don't start with "well hey there, gang" then it's not Ted. He's a great problem solver and a great favorite of mine.
Oooh, but Ted has a spicy one this week!
@@Notaluthier Yes, certainly. Watching it right now.
@@lukespread I also watched this first, then Ted's. Don't tell him I said this, but I think The Methstang is way cooler. He basically built a replica 59 Les Paul Jr. Which is amazing, but I don't know if it still counts as a true Gibson anymore. The Methstang still has the original pickups even!
I have a Regal that my dad bought used some time before he was drafted. He was drafted in 1956. I am guessing the guitar was made in the 40s.
Back in 1999 or so.... possibly earlier...i removed the back because it was coming loose. The bracing on the back had been reglued at some point....possdibly my my Grandpa but who knows? The bracing had been reglued at an angle. I removed the braces cleaned up the glue residue the best that I could and reglued the beaces to the back. Then, I glue the back on. I replaced the original tuners which were difficult to really get the guitar in tune with and replaced the nut and bridge saddle.
When i strung the guitar up it sounded awful. It just wouldn't tune properly. I let it sit as i had ither guitars. Sometime after moving to our current house i took the guitar out and attempted to tune it. Apparently, what the guitar needed was a year or two under string tension because it finally tuned and was playable!
No, it didn't sound great but, it sounded as good as it ever did in my lifetime. And with the nut and saddle i put on i no longer needed to put paper in the string slots to keep the strings brom buzzing like i had to as a kid.
I am not sure why my dad bought this guitar. He doesn't play. My grandpa and some if my uncles did.
I find guitars usually improve with a little bit of time after an extensive repair!
@Notaluthier
My guess is that the guitar became more "out of whack" without the string tension. This was obviously from the time before most guitars had truss rods. The neck is thick but that's not the same as having an adjustable truss rod. The top had a bit of a bulge from the tension on the bridge. It has finger indentions in the "cowboy chord" area. My dad said it came with a bar for playing like a Dobro.... well, he said it WAS a Dobro. Anything like that was long gone by the time I started playing guitar (quite possibly before I was even born). The frets are actually numbered with a yellow paint which is the same as what was used to make fret markings instead of if inlays. They are numbered in the way you would use for playing slide or Dobro, with the number being on the side of the fret away from the nut (since the slide or bar needs to be right behind or right on top of the actual fret position for playing the note that would be played right behind the fret if fretting the note). This is something I didn't realize as a kid.
It's not a valuable guitar by any means even if it were in a much better condition. It's more valuable when it comes to sentimental value. Even then, there's a limit to how much you'd want to sink into it to make it playable for others. For me it's probably just as playable now as it ever was with the added benefit of not having to put folded paper in the slots so the strings don't buzz or move within the slot.
The frets are severely worn down. Particularly around the 7th fret. A good part of that is from me because I play a lot of Chuck Berry type stuff.
Nice!
Thanks and I bet the Brazilian RW is hard to come by
Yeah, and now I’m plum out!
when would you choose to use a single long cleat vs several smaller ones? do you feel like there are differences in how they sound? how well they reinforce a crack?
editing/pacing was really good in this video. looking forward to another year of great videos. thanks! learned a bunch from you.
I typically choose Diamond cleats when I’ve got a box open. I think strip cleats are better/stronger, but diamonds are more traditional. Also if a crack is wide and buckling, strips. Annnnnd making Diamond cleats is a massive amount of work, so it’s just a case by cases basis. I have an 1860 parlor I’m working on where I did the top with spruce diamonds and the back with rosewood strips…so yeah, I guess it’s just a choice in the moment a lot of the time
That JR Stewart guitar sounded fab, Levon your videos are getting better every time, what did you do to upset the squirrel? All the best to you and the family for Xmas and the New year from Liverpool UK.
Aweee thanks! I’m glad to hear they might be improving! I pointed my camera into its pear-tree burrow, fair dues to it for letting me know I wasn’t welcome! Happy holidays to you!
Good job, team.
Your song was a little Leonard Cohen-esque, I think. Leonard, Levon... Coincidence? Maybe.
Happy Merry, And Festivus for the rest of us!
Clearly no coincidence!
I got a question. I bought a late 60's Harmony Stella, once I reset the neck, fretboard resurface/refret, reglue all the loose braces after taking off the back as well as fix a huge side crack. Now it actually plays and sounds pretty damn good if I do say so myself. So, when I saw a Silvertone from the same era for cheap I bought it. I am in the process of doing all of the same stuff to this one but what I noticed is even though the construction and materials are identical as is the body size which is 000. I noticed that this one had a totally different tone, it also sounded dead and much quieter. The only noticeable difference is this one has a trapeze tailpiece and floating bridge similar to an archtop. I am hoping when I finish it will also sound as good albeit different due to the bridge type. I cannot find much if any comparisons between bridge styles on tone when everthing else is the same. The floating bridge is tiny compared to my other trapeze guitars. I feel like the mass of this bridge and/or the footprint of wood that contacts the top might be the problem. What do you think? I was planning on rebuilding it stock and just see what sounds like making sure not to put too much glue in the neck joint so it would be easier to remove again because if I make a new more massive bridge it will surely sit higher and require a different neck angle. Any advice? I find it surprising that there is not more talk about this topic.
If I can't get it to sound great I was thinking maybe just put a Rubber Bridge on an sell it or try to convert it to a pin bridge. Perhaps even get a new spruce top and install X bracing with a pin bridge vs the old ladder brace thing. Opinion?
There are certainly challenges in a tailpiece guitar, and woefully, some guitars just don’t have the materials and build quality to ever shine. Having said that I’m sure you’ve seen $100 selling for $2k-3k when “converted”. And I think these largely rely on an undiscerning audience, rather than being genuinely worth anywhere near the price. So many extraordinarily nice guitars can be had in that price range!
but yes for a tailpiece guitar, especially one struggling with output, you’re probably going to want a steeper neck angle and higher bridge to elicit more force and volume. but if it’s a dud, yeah might as well go with the funeral that is a rubber bridge conversion. That is a trend I find perplexing, but since there’s a market for it, it is certainly one way to get good money out of a bad guitar.
As for X brace conversions…well, they usually accompany full rebuilds and thus, of course the guitar will be better than before, but I have a lot of love for ladder bracing and have a lot of ladder braced guitars that I would NEVER touch the bracing on, even if I already have the guitar split wide open. 100 year old ladder bracing is generally going to be better than brand new x bracing. As you might be able to tell at this point, I do not sniff the X bracing cork, I will certainly, be comparing the two bracing patterns on a pair of otherwise identical guitars when I get a chance. But now that you mention it, I will try and do a comparison of tailpiece to pin guitars as well.
@@Notaluthier I certainly appreciate the response, and I suppose there is a small chance that the deadness was caused by all of the loose braces and the fact that the strings that were still on were crusty and rusty. Also, the trapeze tailpiece was not seated properly so I am hoping that once everything is right and tight, (that's what he said) and some new Phos/bronze's are on it that it will come to life. First thing I will try is the bridge replacement which I will probably make from scratch. I was super surprised at how resonant and loud the pin brace Harmony one was once I rebuilt it. It rings like a bell and there are tons of cleats, and every brace had to be re-glued. I also wonder if the new saddle is doing a bunch of favors because the slot was 1/4" wide and I had to poke around to find a slab of bone that would work. Originally it was a thin plastic thing set in a metal track with height adjustment screws, now it is a slab of bone which I rounded the back and peaked each string crossing to intonate. I think if I have to make a bridge for the new one, I will make it larger than normal so there is a good large sq area contacting the body and use one of those large bone blanks. Make sense to me anyway. Maybe I will do my 1st YT to show the results for posterity. They are literally Identical guitars except for the bridge/tailpiece type.
@@Notaluthier BTW there was an old guy on YT who had one of his old Harmony's re-topped and switched to X bracing and he did a side by side and the difference it quite noticeable so that's why that thought entered my mind, two identical guitars, one stock and one upgrade top and X bracing might be fun to have. I am definitely much more of an electric player though and I repair, build and mod more tube amps and 1930's radios than anything like fix guitars.
Link to Randy's Rhythm channel ladder vs X brace Harmony 000's
ua-cam.com/video/f-2w9ermA9U/v-deo.html
Which is best for you / for me, Patreon or channel membership?
Patreon gives a much better percentage…and gets more content. UA-cam takes pretty much half of everything…even “supers”
@@Notaluthier Thank you, Patreon it is then.
Thanks so much for considering either! It’s been hard just doing the grind for regular UA-cam, but once I get more efficient at it, I will be able to give more to the patreon too
Dont feel bad.... I'm also too classy to go the easy route
Nice new bridge! What was wrong with the original one by the way?
It had been filed through in a misguided attempt to avoid a neck reset. It certainly could have been reused, with all its scars. But it was also mahogany…again, nothing wrong with that, but an actual hardwood seemed like a better choice since it was off.
The back brace that broke was flat sawn right? Perfect example why using good quarter sawn braces its important
Indeed
Great work. That tenor looks and sounds great. How are you tuning it? I’ve got a tenor I never really play, but after this video, I’m thinking I should tinker around with it.
I often will just tune the strings till they sound pleasant together, but this was DGBD
For fancy internal jacks i sometimes use a balloon…
Sounds dubious!
@@Notaluthier😂 works well with ukes for instance
first time watching and i am now subscribed. only thing though, you can't call a song a diddy anymore, that word has been co-opted.
Oh shit, u right! Diddy done ruint it! Thanks for the sub!
Take it easy squirrelly.
Hahaha lil mofo came out swingin’. Gotta respect his moxie
Merry Christmas! Gotta go rewatch Popeye now...
Merry Xmas to you to! I spent a couple months in Malta and got to see Popeye Village…the original set!
@Notaluthier I love that Sweethaven wasn't chainsawed.
You may have already answered this but when deciding between hot hide glue or wood glue, what are you thinking about? Is hot hide more accurate to the original construction or is it easier to remove if the neck needs to be reset in the future?
Hot hide is much easier to remove, so I always use it for neck resets, for things that won’t necessarily require removal, I use wood glue, however on historic instruments I will use hot hide for everything. The set time I n hot hide is VERY quick, a few minutes, so that plays a role too. Wood glue is a very relaxed medium in comparison.
That makes tons of sense, thank you for the answer! Love watching you work.
Is that just tuned the same as the four lower strings on a standard guitar? It sounds a little higher to me
This one was tuned to DGBD for the demo.
Awesome video. What tuning do you prefer on tenor guitars?
My favourite is DGBD, but I will also just tune to a combination of notes that sound good together and go from there.
Dude, you totally Smoked those cracks! How is a four-stringed tenor guitar tuned by the by?
All day errrrrrday
Every time I see a tenor video somewhere I hope that it's actually a plectrum guitar, but it never is
😭
So hard to find plectrums! I’ve come close to snagging one or two in the past. Guess I’ll just have to make one
@@Notaluthier Blame Eddie Condon! That guy had to go & put his plectrum jazzbox in a whole bunch of covers & photos but only ever used it as an acoustic rhythm instrument so now we are left to wonder what exactly it sounds like
Falling a tiny smidge off your centreline, ok, but how the hell did that builder fall that far off on the dovetail?! I'm guessing he was one-armed AND one-eyed.
I see this kind of thing fairly often, it is perplexing!
Love your song about the New Years Eve ex-girlfriend.
Thanks, luckily it’s water long under the bridge at this point. But fuck cheaters tho!
Hey I knew that girl in your song . Lol
Hell maybe she was at your house that night 😬😂
neck russet is my favorite kinda potato
Hahahah I was thinking about that pronunciation and how it’s probably how blue bloods and red necks alike would say it!
2:05 Shoegaze
Now that is a fine looking bridge. Regardless of your clever disguise as not a luthier, I'm starting to suspect you may, in fact, be a luthier.
Luthier is a gateway drug to “master luthier”, very dangerous path!
@Notaluthier Wow, thanks for the warning. I don't want to end up getting Stradivariosis.
How many lines of rosewood dust did you snort during this project?
Speaking of saving time, I have read that Mr. Taylor's distinctive headstock was originally shaped by his Sears oscillating spindle sander.
I actually managed to wear my face mask for some of this, so less than usual! And I’d hardly call the Taylor headstock distinctive, I had to google it to remind we what it looks like
@@Notaluthier Sure, but once you notice the three Craftsman sander spindle shapes in a Taylor guitar headstock, you can't unsee them.
I’ve got an 1860 banjo with the same too shape coming up in the new year.
wow....
Was the original bridge broken in some way, or was it replaced for better intonation and/or break angle?
Like many old bridges, it had been filed through in an attempt to lower the action without having it do a neck reset.
Not to mention the fact that the saddle is as straight, hence inadequate compensation for intonation
What’s the oldest guitar you’ve worked on?
Guitar ~1860, Guittar ~1775
@ that’s old
Enjoyed! What is the tuning?
DGBD
14:22 A happy little mistake 😊🌈🦄
The Bob Ross of not a luthiery
Lovely guitar playing! What tuning were you using?
Thanks! It was Dgbd
potato potato, tomato tomato, reset reset hmmm spelled the same!
Ive never tried a tenor, how are they tuned?
So many ways! Chicago tuning, in 5ths like a mandolin, Celtic tuning, but this one is in none of those it’s in open D or DGBD