Search:

First, this video is just one of many where he displays basic misunderstanding of original construction. This is particularly true with vintage instruments. When people offer facts and correction,...

John, if you caught that part of the video, you didn't miss anything important.

YouTube viewers seem to love these guys, but they get a lot more wrong that right. Not to sound overly harsh, but...

Whether Apollo or other makers, I have had no problems with casein picks being particular fragile. Possibly very thin ones could be, but I play picks between 0.060" and 0.080" (1.5-2.0mm). IME they...

Not the least expensive solution, but I'm a big fan of Frank's Cranks.

https://vtoddyates.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/img_1450.jpg

I dislike armrests on mandolin or guitar. I perceive them as both visually and ergonomically clunky.

Charley, all three picks are very close in thickness. For practical purposes they are 0.075". The micrometer was not more than 0.002" from that at any place where I measured them. They're all the...

I've tried a couple of the Apollo picks and liked them a lot, though I much preferred the casein to the PEEK. I made a short video on guitar, but my impression of them on mandolin was much the same....

I primarily use an old pair of Kleins for routine changes. I keep a Planet Waves set in my case when I fly. Easily replaceable, but as above, no one has ever even asked me to open the case.

Same finish but in satin, which is the same finish they use on the necks of most Standard Series guitars.

They used a C.A.B. (cellulose acetate butyrate) on gloss top guitars and full satin necks at the time, still do actually. They don't use "poly" finish on any guitars, other than the older Sigmas...

I asked a Martin historian to take a look at the serial number. Here's what he sent me.


This mandolins is a little more interesting that it appears. This is an example of a prototype 000...

"Is this how it starts?"

Perhaps I missed it, but I didn't see a succinct answer to the original question. The answer is, "Yes!" :-)

Congrats! The Strad-O-Lin is especially cool.

Frank's Cranks - expensive, but they're lifetime tools, and beyond.

https://vtoddyates.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/img_1450.jpg

If I live a good life, maybe I will never hear anything like that ever again. They're free to do it of course. I have no problem with that, but it's not for me.

Of all things someone could do to annoy me, playing two finger cords in time and with the feel of the song is VERY low on the list. :-)

This is a trademark claim, not a patent dispute. I think the reason this tends to irritate people is that Gibson didn't claim this and similar trademarks for decades, then after they become more or...

A broken scroll on an F-Style mandolin is not what we'd normally think of as a "headstock crack" or "broken headstock". It's strictly cosmetic in the sense that it can be broken off entirely and the...

Agreed. Low risk doesn't mean no risk, and "unlucky" can sometimes find you in spite of everything.

Clark, glad you're feeling better!

So many projects are like that. Seems easy until you start....

No.

No.

Yes.

No.

I do most minor setup work, up to and including fretwork on some instruments. I have a short list of repairmen I pay to do the rest, and I know my limitations when it...

With the clear that statement that I'm not trying to talk anyone into anything, here are my reasons....

I come from a background of tinkerers and hotrodders. We modified everything - trap guns,...

Big no for me. I dislike the looks, the feel, and the fact that the guards themselves often damage the finish. I'd much rather see wear from playing than wear from the clamp. I feel the same way...

rcc56, no argument with any of that. My main point was to clarify that Bryan's approach is not reckless - and there are repairmen out there who make reckless modifications. Other than the removal...

He knows about the site issue and is fixing it.


If that was the intended purpose of the popsicle brace, or "top plate" as Martin calls it, it didn't work out very well as many guitars with the...

I could be wrong...it's happened...but I don't see there ever being a great demand for unaltered 1970's D-18's. They made many thousands of them, and while the basics are there, several things can...