Our host spoke about sharing techniques between luthiers. In the Pro Audio industry a well respected company that does training has as their philosophy: "I met a person with a dollar We exchanged dollars We each had a dollar I met a person with an idea We exchanged ideas Now we each have two ideas"
I didn't think I'd actually have to "do the math" but here it goes: You have a dollar bill and your friend has a dollar bill. You trade the dollar bills. You still only have a dollar bill and your friend still only has a dollar bill. You have an idea and your friend has a different idea. You and your friend share the two ideas. Now you have his idea and your original idea and he has your idea and his original idea.
@@yakacm yes, there was 2$ but only 1$ ended up in each hand, no matter how many times you trade it. Ideas (knowledge) is accumulated and multiplied in each and every trade! Professionals who invented something, and that created the patent need, could hold it as trademark, but professionals who work on something will always have to share their knowledge to enrich the trade, since all we do can be recreate without previous knowledge but, like Uncle Woodford said, with proper tools achieved by anyone with previous experience.
@@panzerlieb Turns out stringing it left handed allowed for more bass response. I guess whoever owned this Guitar previously re-braced it for a Left Handed Guitar.
We had towels identical to your green spotted one. After lots of washes, every green dot turned into a hole. Looks like it was dunked in a river full of piranha.
As a fellow repairer, albeit of button accordions, I loved your thoughts on sharing techniques and 'ownership' of them. I have learned from other fettlers (all freely given), and I pass on to others in the same manner.
Nowadays most people think that all ideas are like patents. I try to remember that every technique I use making or repairing anything was invented by someone else.. so my revelations go to anyone wanting to hear or needing it. I suppose it's quite the same in instrument repair business as well.
Ted, I don't know how you do it. Every time I begin a repair, you post a video of the exact guitar on my bench, a George Washburn "New Model" made in 1885. This is like Luthier Quantum Entanglement! I am a retired Biophysicist who has been collecting, inheriting, and repairing really nice vintage guitars long "before internet". I only have 23 instruments in my collection. When I had the '65 Martin D-35, the 1969 Les Paul Professional and 1970 L-5 you posted the Gibson Low impedance equipped Acoustic. I luthier to help teach at our local school and place quality, historically innovative, instruments in Kid's hands. My health is bad and I have really enjoyed your expertise while recovering. I will send you an email to show the EXACT guitars I have been "fixin' matching those from your videos, and the proper statistics to show significance. I am not making this up. RESPECT!
I really enjoyed hearing that guitar upside-down. It makes me wonder what it would sound like in the southern hemisphere. Also, I completely agree with your commitment to sharing knowledge. Thanks for that, as well as the pleasant time I enjoyed watching your skillful repair.
I had one of these with a wonderful label referring to the Paris Exposition. The guitar was a higher-end model - ivory binding, more elaborate purfling. The ebony bridge was basically like the one you made. Killer sound, but I wish I had had Aquila Nylgut strings in the late 60s to do it justice. Thank you for this great repair video.
In addition to luthiers (& would-be luthiers) and people who just like to watch a master at work, there's the very large group of players interested in learning more about guitars and how to take care of their personal instruments. After watching many of Ted's shows, I've gained the knowledge and confidence to successfully do some repair work on my own stringed instruments; Thanks, Ted!
That wood, finding wood figured like that today would cost a small fortune. Let alone getting around the CITES with Brazilian Rosewood. When you pulled the camera back to show that figuring, I started drooling LOL.
I find your vids meditative….they normally accompany my Sunday evening hang-over…and help greatly…plus,I can also fix the shit out of my guitars too ! BONUS…cheers from Manchester,England.
@@joelfildes5544 To be completely accurate, it was NYE Y2K, when my friends and I thought it conceivable the world might end, so yes, it was an epic, debauched night haha
Hearing the names Washburn and Lyon in the same sentence reminded me that I had a Washburn Lyon strat knockoff in mid 90s. It's a partscaster now, and the neckplate is the only clue that it was ever a Washburn branded guitar.
My first guitar was a Washburn Lyon. It was junk. It was also cracked new the neck. I picked up another one a few years ago out of nostalgia. I gave it to a kid that needed a guitar to try and learn the hobby shortly after.
I bought my 1896 vintage Washburn for $100 at a garage sale(in ABQ 1987,originally a NYC instrument). I reset the neck, replaced the bridge/plate & replaced the tuners. I have strung it for decades w/a lt gauge silk & bronze. Amazing Braz Rosewood b/s & fretboard, engraved pearl fret markers(various shapes & size) &multiple binding/purfling. It's my wife's favorite of all my instruments.
22:46 These are Aquila 97C Alabastro Nylgut Classical Guitar Strings. The Treble Strings are Plain Nylgut, the Bass Strings have a Silk Nylgut Core wrapped in Metal.
Man the sharing is the thing. I’ve learned so much from you and Dan Erlewine and just think about Frank Ford’s site. It’s all so good. Oh and how do you always know what to play on each one? How is it that you have all those styles in your fingers?
I love watching your videos ! I have a virtually identical George Washburn "New Model" with the # 10 stamped on the back splice. I bought it for $5.00 in Milton Freewater Oregon in very sad shape. Gene Loranger, a jazz musician and Luthier in Hagerman Idaho (95 yrs old now..) completly rebuilt it for me. It cost me $350.00 US, and in 1975,..that was a lot of money ! Still have it,.. still plays wonderfully, Silk and Steel all the way. Gruhn guitars estimated 1885 build. No idea what it's worth today....
Sadly, unless your guitar has a bunch of unique one-off inlays or some kind of unique provenance these old Washburn’s don’t command the money they should be worth. Yet again, a guitar is always worth what someone will pay for it. It is cool that you have kept it and maintained its condition for the last forty-plus years.
I don’t want to be misunderstood. These old Washburn’s have earned their place in history. My Great grand father earned a living for his wife and children during Prohibition with his guitar. I inherited it 20 years after he passed away and spent $3k having it restored. Elizabeth, (the guitar) sounds beautiful and is unique enough that i brought it to Norm’s rare guitars and Lemmo spent some time playing her and when he was done he sat there just staring……..and said, “wow”. Examples of these guitars that have been loved on are greatly undervalued! Your guitar sounds like it is one of these examples!
The book is essential to identifying early Washburn’s. I have a 1905 Style 320. It would have been sold by mail order. It was the second to the largest guitar you could have bought back then. It belonged to my great grandfather. He purchased it used in 1925. I had it restored and upgraded with a 1960 Martin X-brace so it handles steel strings with no problem. The sound of this steward of musical history is amazing!
I quite often binge-watch your videos, and seeing you switch from a low end modern electric to a treasured very early flat top that is about to self destruct into a pile of matchwood and sawdust, I see how versatile you are. You are very modest, but watching you work so skilfully is very relaxing and absorbing, the time flies by, I can almost smell the freshly planed wood.
And in the repair world, including home repair, car repair and guitar, of course, that holds true. Ideas are shared and nothing is kept from each other.
Holy cow, that's a beautiful replacement bridge you built. It's nice to see you allowing your work to stand out and be noticed, rather than be hidden in some admittedly artful way. Very nice. (Not half bad on the upside-down droning, either!)
You mentioned some of your viewers are spectators. I am one. I enjoy your videos, I learn so much about guitars. I could never dream to be as talented as repair As You Are. In addition, listening to your commentary is so soothing and interesting. Thank you
I am one who doesn't play guitar, but enjoy your craftsmanship. I do like watching and listening to those who master the guitar. There are a few other I like watching also like watch repairs. Thanks for your videos and I look forward to seeing more
Ted as large of a frame you carry it still isn’t large enough to contain the enormity of your heart. Came for the luthier stayed for your kind mind and wit.
Ted, I've been watching your videos for a couple of years and have learned heaps of information that has helped in my guitar building and repairs. But more importantly, your videos have become a place of solace for me. When things seem bleak, the world looks terrible and life is grim, I often return to my favorites of your videos (usually headstock repairs) and everything starts to calm down. Thank you for everything you've done, both intentional and unintentional.
I just like to watch, however I have a 20’s Oahu parlor that has the boom of a SJ200 that needs a neck reset. Maybe I’m working myself up the courage. I’m a touring musician, time is precious but in retrospect I had an uncle who built acoustics and other bluegrass instruments. He’s passed on now but man do I wish I would have hung out at that shop back then. I was young and if it didn’t take a 1/4” jack and had a Floyd Rose it wasn’t cool. So young people head this, learn all you can about your trade, there are very knowledgeable people around willing to share like this wonderful man in his videos. Make the time!
I have to work tomorrow as many of you do, of course. Many of these videos get posted on Sundays. It's nice to have the calm tranquility of these videos be the last thing I see before falling asleep. Thank you for this.
After watching your videos I revisited a head that broke off my old acoustic a couple years ago. .did a couple inlay supports and a resurface of the face. Love the artistry and patience you have for your craft... thank you
I watch your videos only for enjoyment. I am always blown away with your ability to recreate and the precision with which you do it. I wish I learned instrument repair 40 years ago.
I worked on an electric Washburn T-Bird a month or so ago. Seemed to be from the 1970's. Great look in powder blue and the finished setup turned out awesome. I and the owner loved it.
Lovely old Washburn acoustic guitar, I use Aguila Nylgut strings on my solid mahogany ukulele with excellent results. They take a week to stretch in, but once they have stabilized, they will stay in tune remarkably well. They seem to get better and better over the next month or so, and end up with a delightful woody tone. I play my ukulele fingerstyle, like a small classical guitar, and it's a lovely sounding instrument. I used think that ukuleles were just toys that kids played, then I saw a video of Jake Shimabukuro playing Queens Bohemian Rhapsody on a Ukulele and I was gobsmacked, and I had to have one. I bided my time, and Musicians Friend had a Stupid Deal of the Day, ($998 original price) sold mahogany concert Kala ukulele for $189. There was a change in the electronics between 2020 and 2021, so they were blowing out the 2020 models for a fifth of the original price. I bought a Hardshell Case for it, and I fell in love with it! I don't think I would have paid a thousand dollars for a ukulele, but I ended up with a thousand dollar ukulele for a couple of hundred dollars. It sounds so good that it can bring tears to my eyes.
holey macaroni - I just heard your exhortation on Passing on Good Knowledge... I salute you good buddy..!! and I THANK YOU for your service - to what ??? To the CAUSE - oh man... your videos are a part of my daily tutorial; input and MUST SEE TECH for the luthier in training..!! I will pass it on..!! (already am...)
the most educational guitar fix videos on youtube. Wonderful attitude and just enough ascerbic joking to keep us humble. Really great job. I have a Haynes Boston guitar same era beautiful Brazilian Rosewood b/s spruce top. Someone did some interesting heel "security" work. I would love to go back and be the voice in their head.... but alas, reality calls me back :-)
Excellent video, as always, nice statement about the sharing ethos. and the current quality of Brazilian rosewood; that's why it was mainly used as a decorative veneer.since the development of plywood Surprisingly good sound from the finished article.
I can only imagine what it must be like when guitar repair folk get together for a beer or cup of tea, sharing techniques and war stories. I'd love to be a fly on the wall just to soak in the comradely. As one of your aforementioned spectators, I sincerely appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share your admirable skill. Oh, and nice upside down playing too!
One of MANY things I like about your channel is that you do a lot of left handed guitar work. There are very few of us out there. My 79 LH 175 is always happy to watch too! Now if I could only get my hands on Wayne Wrights LH D'Angelico Excel. Thanks Ted.
Count me among the very interested casual viewers. I enjoy doing minor maintenance on my guitars, and I have learned a huge amount from your vids. But the joy mainly comes from watching an expert do things I would never attempt, who willingly shares so much knowledge... so thank you sir!
I like your perspective on sharing knowledge. In the world of auto repair, many people I work with feel like they possess proprietary knowledge. It's very strange.
Agreed, in my professional line of work I repair trains and new information is very top secret and not shared with other depots. It's strange. I repair accordions as a hobby and everyone is very forthcoming with tips and advice.
Love this video, as all others you produce, specially the pre arguing with your public! 😂😂😂 you really know your public enough to predict questions and answers in a very good humored way! Thank you for your knowledge sharing and kindness!
I’m guilty of buying a foam cutter. I use it to cut foam for dampening loud grand pianos. You gave me the idea. I also recently built a ukulele from a Stew Mac kit. Wow, much more difficult than it looks. All because of your channel. Thanks much!
Very elegant remplacement bridge ! Love your attitude about sharing Respect ! I'm one of these guy loving to watch you work despite the fact that I'm not interested in fixing guitars or building them but I love to watch hand skilled people doing their craft !
The bridge reconstruction is fabulous; a work of art. I can't imagine what you have to charge to do one of those, when it takes a full hour just to shape-sand the bottom to fit the top's contour! Would I be off base in guessing that the bill here must have been very close to a thousand dollars? If so, it's worth every penny!
The refret would likely have been my first step. That bridge work is art man. The dots look great. Nice guitar. I noticed the D'Addario strings I last put on my 8 string tenor ukulele have been my favourite ever having tried all the aquila strings and ghs black nylon clear titanium etc. It's basically their nylgut version. I think you'd love my uke it's a conversion so I added 4 tuners 2 upside down up top and used ball ends to split the strings before the bridge and simply tied them together under the pin. Future plans include adding octave DG to a parlour guitar in the future.
This was very informative!, I got the book you showed. Very helpful. I dated my Washburn to an 1889. Based on the serial number on the neck block, plus none n the center strip. Mine is also a number#1. Thanks so much. My tuners are bone. Yours should be also. Beautiful be was Common.
I am one of the observers who does a little bit of work on his guitars but knows well enough what to leave alone and I thank you for sharing your skills - they are truly enjoyable sessions.
To make the trough a bit safer instead of using the edge of a forstner bit try using a four flute end mill instead. A flat bottom end mill will work well on most materials but if it is delicate then a ball end mill would be best. As long as you are not using it on steel and your work piece is fixed in place an average drill press can use end mills to drill without any issues. The real difference between drill presses & mills besides the movable table is mills are designed to handle lateral pressure on its quill where drill presses are only designed to take vertical pressure.
Awesome vid Thank you Sir, You are 1000% right about the nylon strings testing your patents I built 2 ukes a couple years ago & trying to set them up for the first time of their life was a bit tough for me, I finally just let the strings set for a week went back & tuned them just to find they still had to stretch it took about a month until they settled.👍👍🎸🎼🎹🙏👨🏻🦯👨🏻🦯
I love the 'potted history' you give at the start of your vids. Very familiar with thsese beautiful instruments - worked with a guy who collected them.
5:12 Nylon Strings, which is a success because these are Ladder Braced. The Ladder Bracing means that these were designed for Gut Strings, & Nylon is a good modern substitute that you can get away w/ on these old Acoustics.
