For the record, the guitar you're working on in the video is a "second", hence the S on the label. I worked at LoPrinzi Guitars in Rosemont NJ 1974 & 1975. Bodies and necks were made and finished separately and brought together near the end of the process to make finished guitars. In the time I worked there Augie was the one and only person that did these last steps of assembly. Sometimes a body or neck would suffer an accident or mistake during manufacture and it would imediatly be either destroyed or on rare occasions put aside in our storage building. Sometimes an employee was allowed to build themselves a finished guitar from these less than perfect saved parts, with the agreement to keep it for themselves only. That's what you have in this video. The body probably slipped while it was in the dovetail jig and was put in the reject room. The neck also would have been rejected for some of the defects you sited. It was hard to let some of these pieces go after so much work went into them. Augie would never let official company product out the door that wasn't up to his high standards and his was the final say on every guitar. We were a company of about 14 people and our target output was 3 a day. Most of us were good guitar players too, including Augie. PS. Love your videos, just didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea about LoPrinzi Guitars based on the one in this video. Thanks for giving it new life!
Ah, my second visit to this particular video. I heardJohn Zeidler worked for LoPrinzi once upon a time. The issues found on this guitar have me wondering about my own LoPrinzi which I think is a LR60. I’ve had the neck reset 2x and never realized it had an adjustment! I bought it new in 78 and it probably doesn’t have more then a couple hours of playing time. It’s good to hear from a previous employee that it was actually a quality product.
I mean, on one hand the guitar survived forty plus years and it sounds great. But on the other hand, how bad would a guitar have to be for them to reject it for quality concerns?
I remember Augie well. He and my Dad were the barbers in the shop in Flemington. As a little kid I watched them joyfully tinker with guitar projects in between customers.
I always look forward to Saturday afternoons and sitting back with a cup of coffee and watching you work. It's a weird thing in that while I'm 'handy' with woodworking I've never had the inclination to build an instrument. I just find it endlessly interesting and educational and fun to watch and learn. Thanks Ted.
Listening to your voice is so much better than smoking a joint and just as relaxing. Of course your videos are very informative. It's great to see a master craftsman at work.
Interesting watch. As I have the 3rd guitar Augie ever made in the back of the barber shop. My uncle at the time was teaching Augie how to put the finish on.
Watching you work and the commentary you add, is wonderful! One could learn enough to begin a career as a guitar repair person by watching your channel! I know you don’t show everything you need to know, but almost! Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz
The first LoPrinzi I bought back in ‘75 an LM-15. Sweet sounding guitar for sure. It developed the worst truss rod rattle. Had to sell it. A number of years ago I was feeling nostalgic and took a chance on one off eBay. Still have it to this day. A great sounding guitar. Thanks for the video. Very much enjoyed. Subscribed
I was living in New Jersey back in 1972. I purchased a 72 Guild D40 back then in part due to its local heritage, and mainly for its great tone and feel. That remained my favorite guitar and my main acoustic for many years. I wish I had known of Auggie’s brand back then. If the sound in your demo is any indication, I might have owned a Lo Prinzi all these years instead. Great work as always! Thanks for the superlative content.
I knew augustino from Clearwater area. He finished my gibson 345 and I had a G.L.styles both from the 1960's. He had an aprentis that worked with him, but he personally worked on both and did a fantastic job on both. He gave me a tour of shop and also showing me his daughter's very first guitar that she was making for her husband at time. He really was a great guy. He kept me updated on some ukuleles he was making for some guy in Japan. I left Florida in 1998 and never got to talk to him again. I hope he and all family are ok. 👍
Good video. I don't mind if they are long, and I enjoy watching all of them more than once. They never get boring, and I learn things I didn't know before, though I'd be afraid to do any of those neck/fret/saddle, or nut adjustments or refretting as I might screw it up. A crack I would tackle if it's not too bed. But it's great watching you.
The reason I love your work so much is the fact that you are so meticulous. You avoid the disfigurement that some RU-vid guitar repairers seem happy to accept. I’d be reluctant to let some of those guys loose on any of my guitars, but if I lived in your neck of the woods I wouldn’t let anyone but you work on my instruments.
Wow ! I learned more about guitar construction in this video than ever! I’m blown away by the knowledge you possess. Very good information, makes me think of how difficult it must be to build acoustic guitars.
It’s always amazing to see how you are spending time and detail to doing what needs to be done, totally satisfied with your experience and your ability to get it right, I’m impressed
Happy Saturday everyone. Getting my videos in with the hurricane coming. I hope all of you who also live in the southern New England area are safe and well over the next couple days.
@@ravingcyclist624 yeah it is. We are charging all our devices and power packs. My greatest concern is nighttime. I simply cannot sleep without a fan. I have been that way since I was a kid. My wife loves the fan too but she can get by without it. Me, no way. I hear everything and I end up focusing on the lack of white noise and air movement. I have tried all kinds of devices but I came to the conclusion it's a combination of both that I need. We bought a small rechargeable fan. We shall see. Fingers crossed. I still remember being a teenager and power was our for 3 days when Bob ran though 30 years ago.
Augie was a very inventive builder. I once saw a double neck that he built on ebay. It was a six string and mandolin combo. There was an entire mandolin body inside the guitar body.
This might be my favorite video of yours. So much fine tuning and effort put into areas that you’d never know just looking at the guitar. Incredible as always; thanks for what you do.
Nice job!! I have reset necks on four or five LoPrinzi dreds from that era. Interesting beasts! On the last couple I just took out the truss rod nut and made a cork plug with a hole for the steam needle. It worked!! They all had a lot of tear put around that big hole. I am guessing hand drill with a spade bit. They were all good sounding instruments.
Lovely video Ted. Would love to see something about how a luthiers bench is set up. I'm sure you get asked for a shop tour all too often, but I would love to see a bit more of your work holding solutions and tool layout. I've enjoyed seeing your bench hooks and small shooting boards rather alot lately!
I'm a pedal steel player and several other people I know have expensive mainline manufactured guitars and mine was custome built in NC by a master luthier in a home shop for half the price and twice the quality of the factory manufactured models. My biggest fear is him passing away and my instrument breaking and not finding someone to repair it.
“But unfortunately the socket was too long and wouldn’t clear the transverse brace no matter how hard I swore”. Thanks for the laugh! I’ve been unsuccessfully swearing during all types of projects for years now and like you no matter how loud, long or forcefully I swear screwdrivers will not shrink just a hair, wrench jaws will not expand a sixteenth or two, pipes will not lengthen a quarter inch, and wiring will not just stretch enough to reach. I feel your pain. Great videos - I really enjoy them, thank you very much.
Another spectacular restoration job. I am presuming that the owner decided not to fix what looks like sunken fret markers. That seems a strange compromise given that it might not take very much more time. That's kinda peculiar. That neck reset looked like a bloody nightmare to rectify. I particularly appreciate learning about builders and brands that I have never heard of before. Great work!
