With much due respect, a second grader taught me a trick while stringing popcorn for our Christmas tree ...while silently cursing at reinstalling a Martin F-55 hollow pickup switch. Tie strings to the posts of the pots before removing the nuts, pulling the string through the nut washer and top like stringing popcorn. When reinstalling after rewiring, re-tie the strings to the posts and draw the pots through the guitar top washers and nuts in exactly the same order they were removed. Your videos have become my comfort screen time to sit back, relax, and listen to an excellent Luthier. Thank You Ted.
@Ray Clark You're _what_ when a video has just posted...? (10-1 it's, "About to throw my phone off a roof for mis-hearing what I was trying to say...")...
I'm fond of this style of guitar. I have three of them: archtop, hollow body, with a pickup. Two are true hollow bodies, and the other has a block in it, like an ES-335. Two have single P 90's and the other has a neck humbucker, and a bridge P 90 that I installed. They sound very nice, and are easy to play due to the thin bodies. They are all pretty attractive, also. However, the true hollowbodies feedback like demons if you are not very careful. Hint: get a piece of medical tubing with a 3/16" [5 mm] ID, and use it to grab the pot shafts. You then simply pull them through the holes and secure them. Easy-peasy. Repeat. A 1/8" [3 mm] piece of tubing works for most switches, etc. These latex tubes are extremely handy.
I like the look of these guitars. I can't play them because I like to rest the palm of my pick hand on the bridge. Yes, I'm a electric guitar player. Bad habits I know. But I use the muff alot. But when I play hollow body I use strumming techniques or use my pinky finger for my base when picking the strings. But when I'm finger picking no need for a base. But these half hollow bodies will just mess me up. Maybe I should learn a different style of playing to incorporate this guitar into my repitar. And yeah I know, bad spelling. I blame it on phonics!
A trick I learned working on my semi-hollow: aquarium tubing; helps with keeping track of things, and with washers and nut, also saves you from a lot of trouble
having had various archtop and hollowbody guitars and having the same deal with the difficulty of getting the electronics back in pots jacks etc first time I did it unprepared. here is how you do it the prepared way...Each jack/pot you take out you tie a piece of either high breaking strain fishing plastic line to each one or if you are a cheapskate or a non fisherman Dental floss will cut it basically anything that isnt going to snap if something gets hung up, but no massive tugging just gentle coaxing. Then when they are out, remove the line from the pot/jack/.switch but leave it though the holes and the pickup holes and tape both sides down (you can even label them if you wanna waste time as pulling will quickly tell you which is what) Then when you want to replace tie all the innards to the correct strings, pull them through gently to their correct hole and button down, Have done 4 pot, switch and jack wiring harness replacements with this system in 15 minutes max...Simple easy and once you have tried it once if you can find a better way good luck to you...Preparation is the art of thinking ahead...
Catching up on older vids and still fascinated by your techniques as well as presentation. Watching is like freshwater stream fishing for me: always cathartic. Thank you.
Tired of waiting for Sunday, so going back in time. As a hobby fettler of guitars I thank you for sharing your skill and knowledge with us. I mostly give my stuff away to people that can't afford guitars. Like you I like to recycle...
I used to see which wire was connected with ground, or go by a color code,but, I like the way you did that because it would work with unknown homemade types of pickups as well.
Ted this was fine example of your on point Luthiery, and covered a beautiful guitar-form I enjoy learning more about. Thank you for sharing your experience with us all.
Your videos are always great but I found this one particularly interesting and beautifully explained ... thanks, buddy .... keep 'em coming because a lot of us out here love watching your work
Your skills and abilities are just amazing! I know you have worked for years to hone them so you can do these modifications and repairs, but you make it all look so easy! Great video once again.
When taking pots out of a hollow body I used to part undo the nut and tie a long thread around the pot - after you finished soldering or whatever I pulled the pots back into place with the thread - bit of fiddling into position then re fit the nut remove the thread and tighten. In your case as you had to rout the hole this wouldn't work but otherwise I used this trick many times. I have a 2 pickup Eastman and got the pickups swapped out for Duncan Alnico Pro IIs. The shop I bought the pickups (and the guitar) from did it for free - great service! I had a lot of trouble with sharp fret ends - I think this may be common on Eastmans.
i really enjoy watching your videos your a master at your craft and i love how you explain everything in detail please keep the videos coming thank you for showing us your talent easily one of the best channels or the best channel on UA-cam
Have you ever considered using clear plastic tubing as your 'fishing line'? I just swapped out the pickups and wiring harness in my hollow body archtop Gretsch guitar. I put in a pair of TV Jones Classic pickups and a TV Jones wiring harness, that had all the pots and the switch pre soldered in place. I used their very inexpensive installation tubing kit, which worked brilliantly. I imagine that you could have run pieces of tubing, that are sized to fit snuggly over the pot shafts, from the pot holes and up through the pickup hole. You can pre load the retaining washers in place on pot before inserting the tubing over the shafts. You can then pull the pots neatly into place, and secure. It's a good method for working with these types of guitars, and saves a lot of time and effort.
I've used the same method on a Country Gentleman (just using tubing from home depot). It's pretty well explained on the TV Jones site. Made the re-install a breeze.
One thing I've always seen people do when de-wiring and re-wiring a hollow or semi-hollow is to tie fishing line or string with labels on 'em to the pot shafts and switches before removing them. That way, when they're out, you've got stuff in place to help pull them back through the right holes.
Another neat job and a nice idea allowing for future pickup installations. I think that I’ve seen the idea of running the pickup leads under the scratch plate and through the f holes on old Harmony Rocket guitars.
Wow! That is the most dexterous pinkie I've ever seen!! Wonder what the d'Armond would've sounded like if you put it at the neck and the humbucker at the bridge?
another classy job - the d'armond sounds great, I had one of their soundhole p/ups years ago and it sounded very similar but squealed like a pig without great care
Great job Ted and as always I learned a few things. If I was that player I would have wanted the out-of phase *option* on a push-pull pot. Not a sound you’d need all the time but I bet w the DeArmond it would be a cool low-fi slide sound.
Nice vid, Great job wiring that guitar I just finished restoring my 1980 Epiphone Sorrento (es175) Man my fingers took a beating trying to fish the the wiring & pots thought the f hole. I used surgical tubing on the top of the pots but it was really a pain I broke a connection my first attempt. Anyway Thanks for your channel you make things look so easy.
my old Gib. Es125 needs this modification I got it cheap, a LOT of wear on it, was one of the first thing I thought about to do with it..haha..but not to ruin the git. but I havent done anything with it yet its in the pawnshp still, but I thought that I can make another pick guard and attach the bridge pickup(hopefully very thin) to it and some attachment mod thru the f holes or something .. well nice work you do ! its fun to watch your clips
Have you ever tried using the surgical tubing method to feed the pots through. I found it works great. Fish tubing through the hole and put it over the pot shafts then pull the tubing on through. You can feed the washers and nuts over the tubing to secure them.
Steve SteveS If a code number is easy to understand and replicate, it’s easier for the counterfeits to just follow a certain sequence. This way, before I may get an used guitar on ebay, craiglist, or any other marketplace , I may contact Eastman and get information about that guitar serial number, easily knowing if it’s genuine or a clone. People who copy them simply use just the same code or invent a non registered code, when it’s harder to replicate. Same thing with luxury watches.
@@stevesteves8915 They may not be able to tell you the rear but they can tell you if it is a genuine serial number, because they have a record of it. They NEED to have record of their serial numbers, so they can provide warranty service.
"Thanks for watching"?? No thank you for inviting us in. That was great.
This channel is a "breath of fresh air". I was getting tired of just set-ups.
With much due respect, a second grader taught me a trick while stringing popcorn for our Christmas tree ...while silently cursing at reinstalling a Martin F-55 hollow pickup switch. Tie strings to the posts of the pots before removing the nuts, pulling the string through the nut washer and top like stringing popcorn. When reinstalling after rewiring, re-tie the strings to the posts and draw the pots through the guitar top washers and nuts in exactly the same order they were removed. Your videos have become my comfort screen time to sit back, relax, and listen to an excellent Luthier. Thank You Ted.
I cringe at cutting that beautiful pick guard. But YOU are the man to do it! Thank you for all your videos.
Your work is incredible - as is your attention to detail. Your customers are very fortunate.
That ebony bridge is a thing of beauty. Nicely done
Not often I'm when a video has just posted:) The world needs a lot more luthiers like you.
@Ray Clark You're _what_ when a video has just posted...? (10-1 it's, "About to throw my phone off a roof for mis-hearing what I was trying to say...")...
@@Jah_Rastafari_ORIG LOL:) Made ya think.
These are always great! He's got such a cool vibe too.
Yeah, someone you'd enjoy just chilling with, talking music and guitars. Cheers.
Super awesome... nice work! That fiddle sounds really good with the bucker nd the DeArmond :)
I like the way you decide the way to tackle whatever task, and it always turns out perfect.
I'm fond of this style of guitar. I have three of them: archtop, hollow body, with a pickup.
Two are true hollow bodies, and the other has a block in it, like an ES-335.
Two have single P 90's and the other has a neck humbucker, and a bridge P 90 that I installed.
They sound very nice, and are easy to play due to the thin bodies. They are all pretty attractive, also.
However, the true hollowbodies feedback like demons if you are not very careful.
Hint: get a piece of medical tubing with a 3/16" [5 mm] ID, and use it to grab the pot shafts.
You then simply pull them through the holes and secure them. Easy-peasy. Repeat.
A 1/8" [3 mm] piece of tubing works for most switches, etc. These latex tubes are extremely handy.
I have a 335, a 339 and a 335. Love them all.
I like the look of these guitars. I can't play them because I like to rest the palm of my pick hand on the bridge. Yes, I'm a electric guitar player. Bad habits I know. But I use the muff alot. But when I play hollow body I use strumming techniques or use my pinky finger for my base when picking the strings. But when I'm finger picking no need for a base. But these half hollow bodies will just mess me up. Maybe I should learn a different style of playing to incorporate this guitar into my repitar. And yeah I know, bad spelling. I blame it on phonics!
So much more comforting than watching the evening news.
Always a highlight to my day when I find you have a new video.
Ooh that D'Armond sounds so sweet! I'd love to hear a rocker like Alvin Lee shredding with that tone. It's a bit noisy, but what a nice bite!
A trick I learned working on my semi-hollow: aquarium tubing; helps with keeping track of things, and with washers and nut, also saves you from a lot of trouble
That sounds like a pretty nice combo of pick ups… Perfect for a slide.
Ted , as always I learn so much from your videos. Thanks. ( Terry from OZ).
having had various archtop and hollowbody guitars and having the same deal with the difficulty of getting the electronics back in pots jacks etc first time I did it unprepared. here is how you do it the prepared way...Each jack/pot you take out you tie a piece of either high breaking strain fishing plastic line to each one or if you are a cheapskate or a non fisherman Dental floss will cut it basically anything that isnt going to snap if something gets hung up, but no massive tugging just gentle coaxing. Then when they are out, remove the line from the pot/jack/.switch but leave it though the holes and the pickup holes and tape both sides down (you can even label them if you wanna waste time as pulling will quickly tell you which is what) Then when you want to replace tie all the innards to the correct strings, pull them through gently to their correct hole and button down, Have done 4 pot, switch and jack wiring harness replacements with this system in 15 minutes max...Simple easy and once you have tried it once if you can find a better way good luck to you...Preparation is the art of thinking ahead...
Love those old Dearmond pickups! Surprised at how well it balances with the humbucker.
That thang sounds SHWEET! Great job.
Beautiful work. Again!! That new bridge top is a think of extreme skill and beauty.
Catching up on older vids and still fascinated by your techniques as well as presentation. Watching is like freshwater stream fishing for me: always cathartic. Thank you.
Tired of waiting for Sunday, so going back in time. As a hobby fettler of guitars I thank you for sharing your skill and knowledge with us. I mostly give my stuff away to people that can't afford guitars. Like you I like to recycle...
Great video - nice trick with the drinking straw tips!
I love that string winder clamp idea! Makes me want to crack a side just to try it out legit 😀
I could watch your repair/restore vids all day. Another learning experience.
I see why he likes that guitar. Sounds great!
Thank you for helping me relax. I find your videos fascinating yet calming and your approach is really creative.
I'll say it again - you're an artiste, sir! And yeah, DeArmond pickups kinda have this... I dunno, "pop" to them.
Love the bridge pickup sound on this guitar
I always enjoy watching a craftsman at work.
I like the carved ebony.. Sounds good. Thanks for sharing
There’s just nobody like you! Gorgeous meticulous work as always...
Sounds great! The middle position is my favourite.
Beautiful work. To the customer .... you have a nice guitar there
I used to see which wire was connected with ground, or go by a color code,but, I like the way you did that because it would work with unknown homemade types of pickups as well.
Just awesome. what an artist you are. pure genius
Really well and thoroughly explained...excellent...
Wonderful work as always. Thanks!
Thank you sir. I really appreciate the video. Nice guitar. Fascinating work.
I always enjoy a "tip of the day". They usually make life smarter & easier ! Thnx. I do the same trick with the straw, except I use aquarium hose.
Your good! Very good!
Your customers are lucky.
Another great episode! This D'Armond in the bridge position really sounds great!
Thank you for all the insights and all the little tips and tricks!
Ted this was fine example of your on point Luthiery, and covered a beautiful guitar-form I enjoy learning more about. Thank you for sharing your experience with us all.
Super cool idea to mount the rear pickup. Very clever.
This channel is incredible. thanks for all the info.
Your videos are always great but I found this one particularly interesting and beautifully explained ... thanks, buddy .... keep 'em coming because a lot of us out here love watching your work
Once again... Beautiful work Ted! Thanks for sharing your day!!
Your skills and abilities are just amazing! I know you have worked for years to hone them so you can do these modifications and repairs, but you make it all look so easy! Great video once again.
Very excellent work as usual. Thanks for the lesson from Belleville ON.
When taking pots out of a hollow body I used to part undo the nut and tie a long thread around the pot - after you finished soldering or whatever I pulled the pots back into place with the thread - bit of fiddling into position then re fit the nut remove the thread and tighten. In your case as you had to rout the hole this wouldn't work but otherwise I used this trick many times. I have a 2 pickup Eastman and got the pickups swapped out for Duncan Alnico Pro IIs. The shop I bought the pickups (and the guitar) from did it for free - great service! I had a lot of trouble with sharp fret ends - I think this may be common on Eastmans.
Usually Eastman guitars have certificates that have the date it was built
End product looked and sounded amazing as per usual! Love and adoration my friend!
beautiful work, love the bridge work especially, you are a true craftsman.
i really enjoy watching your videos your a master at your craft and i love how you explain everything in detail please keep the videos coming thank you for showing us your talent easily one of the best channels or the best channel on UA-cam
Have you ever considered using clear plastic tubing as your 'fishing line'? I just swapped out the pickups and wiring harness in my hollow body archtop Gretsch guitar. I put in a pair of TV Jones Classic pickups and a TV Jones wiring harness, that had all the pots and the switch pre soldered in place. I used their very inexpensive installation tubing kit, which worked brilliantly.
I imagine that you could have run pieces of tubing, that are sized to fit snuggly over the pot shafts, from the pot holes and up through the pickup hole. You can pre load the retaining washers in place on pot before inserting the tubing over the shafts. You can then pull the pots neatly into place, and secure.
It's a good method for working with these types of guitars, and saves a lot of time and effort.
I've used the same method on a Country Gentleman (just using tubing from home depot). It's pretty well explained on the TV Jones site. Made the re-install a breeze.
As always an outstanding job. The replacement bridge is a thing of beauty. If only you lived in Scotland.
One thing I've always seen people do when de-wiring and re-wiring a hollow or semi-hollow is to tie fishing line or string with labels on 'em to the pot shafts and switches before removing them. That way, when they're out, you've got stuff in place to help pull them back through the right holes.
I can see that working in many cases, but in this case he
was drilling new holes and reaming the old ones.
Such professional work, cheers for the share
I could watch these all day, keep em coming!
👍👍😎 A true artist at work, every time!
Fantastic. Thanks for sharing! You always film well.
"Solder or sold-her" 😀 Always one good jab per episode.
Great stuff here! I can watch you work all day.
That’s some incredible craftsmanship right there. Love how the guitar sounds!
True master of your craft sir!
So glad I watched this. I have to track down a phantom hum in a Gretsch next week and some of these tips will help a lot.
The straws are genius!
Beautiful. And your little demo perked my ears. I've not played around with alternate tunings, but inspired me to toy around with it. Thank you.
Wow. Your skills and expertise are inspiring.
Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
7:00 I love that tuner clamp.
Just fantastic craftsmanship and attention to detail
Those pickups were cool. I may buy some DeArmond pickups for my Harmony Rocket
A new, balanced, pair of pickups would be way less scary to start with. That's one beautiful bridge, Mister.
Another neat job and a nice idea allowing for future pickup installations. I think that I’ve seen the idea of running the pickup leads under the scratch plate and through the f holes on old Harmony Rocket guitars.
That middle position sounds awesome!! If it was mine I would probably just leave it there all the time 😂
Two volumes and one tone. 👍
Wow! That is the most dexterous pinkie I've ever seen!! Wonder what the d'Armond would've sounded like if you put it at the neck and the humbucker at the bridge?
I have always learned something here. As well , I have watch many guitar techs over the last 40 years , Twoodfrd is very talented and a player😊🇨🇦
another classy job - the d'armond sounds great, I had one of their soundhole p/ups years ago and it sounded very similar but squealed like a pig without great care
That sounded really good.
Absolutely incredible work, as per usual
Wow nice work. That thing sounds really really good too.
Very nice 👍
What a cool guitar. You can hear how it must be awesome with a slide. Great work!
Great job Ted and as always I learned a few things. If I was that player I would have wanted the out-of phase *option* on a push-pull pot. Not a sound you’d need all the time but I bet w the DeArmond it would be a cool low-fi slide sound.
Fantastic work and tuition.
Nice vid, Great job wiring that guitar I just finished restoring my 1980 Epiphone Sorrento (es175) Man my fingers took a beating trying to fish the the wiring & pots thought the f hole. I used surgical tubing on the top of the pots but it was really a pain I broke a connection my first attempt. Anyway Thanks for your channel you make things look so easy.
20:12, Thanks for postin'. :-) Consistently excellent workmanship and explanations. Thumbs up to crush a troll.
Another amazing job! I love your creativity and attention to details. Fantastic craftsmanship, as well. Great job!
my old Gib. Es125 needs this modification I got it cheap, a LOT of wear on it, was one of the first thing I thought about to do with it..haha..but not to ruin the git. but I havent done anything with it yet its in the pawnshp still, but I thought that I can make another pick guard and attach the bridge pickup(hopefully very thin) to it and some attachment mod thru the f holes or something .. well nice work you do ! its fun to watch your clips
Beautiful work ones again!
Beautiful work
Have you ever tried using the surgical tubing method to feed the pots through. I found it works great. Fish tubing through the hole and put it over the pot shafts then pull the tubing on through. You can feed the washers and nuts over the tubing to secure them.
Great work. Nice to see this level of craftsmanship on a cool guitar.
Very nice looking guitar. Sounds nice.
That was a neat phase check,I never saw anyone do that before.
Tip, super clue the star washers etc before installation.
Takes a lot of skill to do all that. Those pickups sound great!
A craftsman who has made mistakes and found clever ways to avoid them in the future
beautiful work
Totally understand Eastman, that marking method is a way to avoid counterfeits.
But surely a counterfeit could use any number and who would know?
Steve SteveS If a code number is easy to understand and replicate, it’s easier for the counterfeits to just follow a certain sequence. This way, before I may get an used guitar on ebay, craiglist, or any other marketplace , I may contact Eastman and get information about that guitar serial number, easily knowing if it’s genuine or a clone. People who copy them simply use just the same code or invent a non registered code, when it’s harder to replicate. Same thing with luxury watches.
@@nunomc2815 Yes, but the video specifically says that Eastman can't tell you the year from the serial number...
@@stevesteves8915 They may not be able to tell you the rear but
they can tell you if it is a genuine serial number, because they have a record of it.
They NEED to have record of their serial numbers, so they can provide warranty service.
You are very good at what you do ! Guitar Surgeon 👍