We should all care for and repair things like the Cubans do. Sometimes it's easy to look at old repairs and say "that was done wrong" or "that was the wrong glue" but you know what? It kept somebody playing guitar.
I feel the same way. My family gave me a truck to work on that I really liked. I wanted to do a few things to make it more my style and to fix some issues. My brother and my dad refused to help me do it because it wasn't a perfect factory restoration. I wasn't going to rebuild the whole truck myself so I just gave it back to them and let them do what they want. Its still sitting in the same spot and its in the same condition as when I left it. Not every vintage car can or should get a $10k factory restoration. It would be better for those cars to get a new life looking a little different than it originally was, rather than letting it turn to dust wherever its sitting
If you go to Cuba bring some pack of strings in your luggage. When you listen to street or bar players give them a set of strings instead of a tip. It worth 10$ dollars for you but for them it worth gold.
@@ileutur6863 the United States has had an economic blockade on Cuba for like 60 years now... yes its very bad no country on earth not even the united States could thrive when international trade is illegal
Many people would consider that beaten up old guitar to be not worth fixing up but you proved them wrong ! I love that T-shirt design, "If it ain't broke don't break it" !
I've said this on one of Ted's videos before, but I feel sorry for those people that would consider it not worth fixing, and never had that kind of connection with their instrument. The "Ya it's old and beat up, but I dont care what it costs to repair it. I love my guitar" kind of connection.
Ted, thanks for having such consistently great content. It's such a weird time we're living in, and you're helping with these Sunday evening islands of calm.
I will wear my T-shirt with pride and anticipate the moment fellow Londoners widen their eyes in recognition, and strike up a rare conversation on the underground because they “know” …
Edit: As pointed out by the comment below. It is more likely for the word to be "Atrás" written in a rush it means "Back". That should be pretty self explanatory. :) Native spanish speaker here: Looks like the writing on the saddle is "A toas". I would assume it's a cuban working class man writing of "a todas" which would mean "to all". So I would assume the saddle would fit "to all" guitars. I'm probably terribly wrong but its fun to speculate on old stuff like this.
People say you're the Bob Ross of woodworking I would politely disagree: you're more like Dr. Stuart Ashen of woodworking. The dry snark is so on point, even the inflections sound familiar.
Jesus, You remind me of the old violin and accordion luthier I worked with in Gothenburg, Sweden. Andresson Musik, frmr Hagström. He had his secret formula of glue cooking every day. He did incredible repairs on most Hagström guitars and accordions well into his eighties. Sadly no one was able to forward his heritage. I was just the amp tech and serviced the most amps during this era, 1970-1985, like mostly, Marshall, Hiwatt, Hagström, Vox and You name it. I do have a big collection of guitar and amps as my days of a roadie and sound engineer, since I sucked as guitar player. I really like Your Utube episodes and stay away from the Utube trolls.
Many years ago I lived in Riverside in southern California (normal humidity about 15%), and I inherited a 5-string guitar made in the Phillipines. Within a year it had numerous cracks throughout. Useful lesson learned. Thanks very much for your videos.
You’re a piece of work Ted. I look forward to your videos every Sunday. Great to watch someone who enjoys their life work. Bought the shirt! Thanks for lightening up my week after a lot of stress. 😎
Wise cracking and masterful crack repair, yep that's our Ted. That bridge looked a bit like a scene from Alien before you got it removed and repaired. Best to check the workshop for a slimy unwelcome guest. ;) Great work as always!
Some time ago I got hold of a supply of old surgical steel dentistry tools; an assortment differently shaped hooks and whatnot used to remove plaque from between one's teeth, and which are perfect for working in those really tiny cracks you find in guitar bodiesand necks. I strongly recommend all luthiers out there to get hold of these things, they're a godsend for all those fiddly jobs that turn up every so often. Older or retired dentists usually have these tools stashed in a drawer somewhere and will more than likely just give them away as they no lomnger have any use for them. Give it a try, nothing to lose and maybe make your life/job easier!
I worked with some US colleagues for almost 18 months before I realised that 'sodder' meant 'solder'. I blurted out once 'oh, you are talking about solder'. They just stared at me like I was an idiot.
@@richardturbine1769 Very few words in the language we call "English" has a silent 'L'. But apparently this is one of them. I was calling it sodder before I could spell it as solder. I will always call it "sodder", even if it is spelled S*H*I*T.
@@robertshorthill6836 I can think of a few in British English, usually, where the ‘l’ follows a vowel, except that solder is not one of them. I have spent a lot of time in USA in aggregate and I think that ‘sodder’ is probably the only only word that I simply did not understand at all for ages. ‘boo-ee’ for buoy fooled me momentarily and I still do not know how people who say ‘boo-ee’ would pronounce buoyancy, they would not say ‘boo-ee-ancy’ surely?
Definitely the best advert I've ever seen. I didn't know you could get self-deprecation, passive-aggression, open hostility and bonhomie into the same statement, all with a tone so dry it's basically died of dehydration, but you can. So well done Ted, you've sold a T-shirt. I hope you feel both proud yet also demeaned by crass commercialism.
That guitar represents my philosophy of music and my love for the instrument. I would do anything to fix the few guitars I have in the same way the owner of this guitar has, money well spent for happiness and peace of mind. You sir are a guitar repairing genius.
I just can't skip one of you videos when it shows up in my feed.......I enjoy watching your skill set and steady hands. Also I love how you mix old school hand tool luthier skills, with modern, using the router or drill only when necessary. If it wasn't for you, and someone truly loving their guitar, quite a few you have saved would have been scrapped, keep them alive!
Shirt and stickers on the way! Best ad for a product ever... full stop! Ted could talk and share stories and insights and anything else he knows or just decides to make up and I would listen to it...
Crack repairs look great. Can't really tell from far away that it was repaired. I think proper repairs like this give the instrument character and a story to tell.
To my untrained eye the scribble on the saddle looks like ATIAS, which is a fairly common Jewish surname in the Sephardic Diaspora. There is (and has been for centuries) a large Jewish community in South and Central America and it's very possible that this instrument belonged to one of its members at some point. It is also a clever way to ID your instrument for future proof of ownership... in case it gets stolen (I've done it for decades). My theory, anyways. I may be totally wrong, of course. Either way, your self-deprecating, witty sales pitch is now the stuff of legend, and this whole segment is pure joy. Thank you!
I just ordered a t-shirt from the link. It was quick and easy, and I promise not to use it to clean brake dust out of my hubcaps for at least 10 years 😀
Bought a shirt one because I was rolling at your comments about it but primarly because I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Nice and priceless part about t-shirt and cap...👍 The history part is very interesting. Appreciate. Beautiful guitar to fix. Remarkable work on the cracks! Thank you Ted 🎶🎶🎶
