Zen and the art of guitar maintenance

[Doctor Jeff]

Last week I impulsively bought a Gretsch 6117 reissue. So far I am extremely pleased with the purchase. But I felt bad for my “old” guitars. So I thought I would at least replace the strings and tune ‘em up a bit.

First issue—I got some TI Jazz Swings for my ES175. Current strings are D’A flats—changed, uh, a while ago…while tightening up the A string, it snapped. Crap. I put the old D’A on for the time being. Then, same thing happened with the D string! Man, are they brittle! Turns out you can order a single string for $6-7, but the shipping is $9. So would be $21 for the 2 strings. I just got a new complete set for $29. Will replace the 4 strings in 6-12 months as the brightness wears off.



Second issue—I was disappointed to find out that my Taylor 150e 12-string had a super-high action that I couldn’t fix with a simple truss rod tightening. I got tired of messing with it, and took it in for a tuneup. Corollary—life is too short to mess too much with 12-strings. Turns out the top had sunk a bit due to low humidity, and the neck angle had increased. Fortunately, Taylor uses a bolt-on neck, so it was simple (for them) to shim. $75 later—I had a 12-string that played as nicely as any of my 6-strings. Action was 2-3 mm at the 12th fret. Well worth it.



Finally—I had planned on trading in my venerable FrankenTele for the Gretsch, but the guitar store guy said it had too many problems. You mean, needs new strings, a shim, and volume knob not working are dealbreakers??



I was unable to fix the electronic issues—wiring done by a previous owner—so decided to just get a new complete wiring harness (probably GFS). Shims ordered. And new strings of course. I have an old ash body that was poorly painted and reliced, and will strip it down and stain it blue. Then I will sell it at a school auction fundraiser. Our school color is blue, can you guess? Should be a fun project.

So at the end of the week, all guitars playable, actions perfect, new project lined up.

[Spook410]

When I moved from Houston to Omaha I learned all about low humidity in the winter. It was not a good experience.

[Rob MacKillop]

Off the immediate topic, Jeff, I'm wondering what you think of the Gretsch 6117 reissue?

[RJVB]

it snapped. Crap.

How zen did you remain?

[Woody Sound]

Where did the strings break?

(ps - I like the Fishman. Did you do that yourself, or was it a special natural finish model?)

[Doctor Jeff]

Off the immediate topic, Jeff, I'm wondering what you think of the Gretsch 6117 reissue?

Love, love, loving it. Wonderful guitar. A joy to play. Will try to record some samples when I get a chance.

I am a 175 guy through and through, but if this were my only guitar I could be happy. Surprisingly flexible tone with the 3-position switch and volume knobs.

Where did the strings break?

(ps - I like the Fishman. Did you do that yourself, or was it a special natural finish model?)

They broke near where they came through the post. On at least one of them the nickel wrap did not extend far enough, and I had to anchor it where the cloth wound around the core. Still, I don't think I unduly stressed them, it's a lower tension bass string, and I've never had one break there before. Seems like the metal is brittle to me. No problem with the replacements thank goodness.

I made the case for the Fishman myself out of high-quality birch plywood. The cheapo Tolex got a bunch of tears on it and started to look like it had leprosy. Plus, dark brown vinyl--not a good look for a jazz club. From pictures it looks like they might use a sturdier type of vinyl for current cases. Would be nice if they came in different colors though.

I often practice with different amps, but this one is an excellent gigging amp, if you don't need overdrive. Super clean sound, very tunable, not too heavy. Also great for vocals--I have been running a Shure 58 into it, and the sound is fantastic.