Guitar Tricks and Fixes
by: Curt Granger
Here's a few helpful hints I've picked up over the years that many guitarists may find interesting. These should help your guitar play better and generally give you less trouble.
Tip #1) If you have a bolt on neck guitar and the neck does not fit tightly into the body - try this.
Cut a small piece of bug screen from an old screen door to fit the dimensions of the neck pocket on the body of the guitar. Then place it in the pocket and re-install the neck. The bug screen will cut into both the neck and the body and help keep the neck in one fixed position. An alternative to bug screen would be a piece of medium coarse sandpaper folded in half. Be aware that this will require re-adjusting your string height!
Tip #2) If you have a Fender style bridge and the height adjustment screws are rusted or stripped and will not move, here’s what you can do.
Remove the problem bridge piece and flip it over. Find the smallest razor saw you can (or a very fine nut slotting file). Carefully file a slot in the bottom of the screw deep enough to fit a small slotted screwdriver (if you don't own a set of jewel's screwdrivers, it's time to get one). This will then allow you to remove the screw. Now replace it with a new one, or re-install your old screw upside down and use a screwdriver for future adjustments instead of the old Allen wrench.
Tip #3) Those of you who have a bone or plastic nut and find that due to string bending your strings are snagging and going out of tune, this can be fixed quite easily.
Loosen the string tension and lift the string out of the nut. With your fingernail trace the string path back and forth in the nut slot. You should be able to feel a burr or rough spot. Take a small piece of very fine sandpaper (400-600 grit) and fold it in half. Now lightly run the sandpaper back and forth in the nut slot to remove the burr, being sure not to overdo it, then place a tiny drop of light machine oil in the slot and reinsert the string. If you do not have any oil you could use pencil lead (graphite). I keep a golf pencil in my guitar case for quick emergencies.
Tip #4) On acoustic guitars when the string holes in the bridge are badly worn it becomes very difficult for the bridge pin to properly hold the string without popping out.
A quick fix is to remove the ball end from an old string and slide it over the new string all the way down to the end. With the extra ball end there, the string can sit tighter under the bridge plate and allow the pin to hold the string securely in place!
That's all for now. Keep that guitar tuned!
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