Hello! My name is Lee Hirschmann and I am the Brass, Woodwind and Orchestral Strings Repair Technician here at Bill’s Music in Catonsville. When it comes to instrument repair, I believe maintenance is the key to keeping you and your instrument working together in harmony. I’ve had experience repairing over 6000 instruments and am a graduate with honors of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery as well as Minnesota State College South East Technical for Brass & Woodwind Repair. I am a proud member of NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians) and am excited to now head up the Brass & Woodwind repair shop at Bill’s Music. I would like to share with you some of the 'tricks of the trade' I've picked up along the way. Check back regularly for new "tech tips" you can use to keep your instrument in top playing condition. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me directly at Lee@BillsMusic.com
Tech Tips: Loose Screws
What musician doesn’t have a few screws loose?! Often guitars end up with loose pick guard screws, saddle adjusting screws, jack plate screws, strap button screws, tuning machine mounting screws the list goes on. Wood screws over time loosen through vibrations, stripped holes, and as a result of expansion and contraction of wood. It can be a frustrating problem when a screw falls out, parts rattle or move, or worst of all when your guitar falls because a strap button screw hole was worn out. However there is a simple fix with household items to this common issue. To repair worn out screw holes in the body you have lots of options from drilling a larger hole and plugging the hole with a dowel rod and re-drilling & tapping the hole. But on a gig, who has time for that, or the tools to do so? Here are a few quick things you can do to fix this problem yourself.
When you have loose wood screws you can simply repair the stripped hole with a toothpick and a dab of glue. To fix this issue first remove the loose screw. Then take your toothpick, and if possible, put just a dab of wood glue or Elmer’s glue on the end of the toothpick before inserting into the hole. After the toothpick is in the hole simply break the extra length off. If you grasp low enough on the tooth pick, when you snap it, the toothpick will break below the surface or end up flush. While the glue is still wet re-install the screw that you removed. The wet glue will set up in the threads holding it tighter. On larger holes (strap button or jack plate screws) you may need more then one toothpick. This repair takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish, and can last a while. After your gig you should still consider having your local luthier check it out for further professional repair. (If you don’t have wood glue or Elmer’s glue that’s fine just insert the toothpick with out glue. Don’t use superglue for this repair! Superglue is not only messy, but doesn’t have the type of strength needed for this repair. Superglue is too thin so it doesn’t fill space in the worn hole, and wicks into the wood but without making a good adhesion.)
Machine screws (metal on metal screws) also get loose, but they can’t be addressed in the same manner. With loose machine screws they too can be fixed with simple household items. With loose machine screws the best way to tighten them on a gig is using dental floss. If you have a loose screw, back the screw out and remove it all the way if possible. While the screw is removed thread it through the hole it belongs to. The dental floss is a non permanent way to fill the loose threads, and allow the screws to remain tight. (If possible use waxed dental floss as the floss is sticky, and thicker which helps hold the screws better) If the offending/loose screw happens to be a saddle adjustment screw, make sure you pay attention to its original position and where the saddle was set. You want to make sure you return the screw back to its starting point so your guitar may remain intonated. Taking a picture with your phone for reference is a good idea, and highly recommended if you don’t have your Snark tuner handy. Once it’s set cut the excess floss and you’re set. This repair will also hold for the gig, but it is still recommended to see your favorite luthier or technician for a professional and permanent fix.
As always if you need help with any type of repair, set up, or general questions feel free to call the shop at 410-747-1900. You may also email us at Repairs@billsmusic.com, or drop by the shop and we would be glad to help you in person. Check out our selection of Guitar Tuners.
Tech Tips: Tuning Troubles
Guitar, mandolin, bass, and most other string instruments players’ number 1 complaint about their instrument is that it won't hold in tune. Most of the time the instrument is out of adjustment, but when your guitar is playing great and intonated great and the tuning won’t hold it is very frustrating. Here are some very simple adjustments you can do yourself to make your instrument stay in tune.
First and most commonly your instrument's tuners don’t have enough string winds on it or far too many. The tuner should have just enough wraps to go down to the tuner peg. If you have too few wraps it will slip as it can’t hold the peg taught, and same with too many winds the string slips on itself and causes your whole guitar to slip tuning. Like this photo your tuning peg should have 3-4 wraps to give you the proper tension at the tuner.
New strings often like to slip, and sometimes the tuner is not the issue. Make sure after you install new strings that they are stretched. You can simply stretch the string by lightly pulling up on the string, and fretting the neck and repeating the tuning process. I like to do each string 3 times like this. I pull on the string, fretting the neck about half way then I retune each string, and this helps take the string out of the equation for tuning slipping.
The next common issue that causes tuning issues is left over string from the tuner; although it may look cool it causes your guitar to slip tuning. The extra material vibrates and often causes your guitar to slip tuning.
If your instrument is still slipping tuning, and you have everything else taken care of the last thing you want to check is that your tuner is tightened properly. Tuners typically have adjustable tuner buttons, gears, lock nuts, and screws that hold the tuner in place. Make sure each of these are tightened. Adjusting these parts makes a huge difference in the performance of your tuner.
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If all else fails, and your guitar is still not holding tune the way you want stop by Bill’s and see our technicians and we can help you. You may need more complex adjustments, and or you may want to consider upgrading your tuners. We stock traditional, standard tuners, and locking tuners in a variety of finishes to match your guitar!
Click here to view our selection of Tuners and Machine Heads
Tech Tips: Dirty Fingers
Guitars often need to be cleaned from top to bottom, but often we forget the most important place to clean the fingerboard. We all have been there cruddin’ up our fingerboards unintentionally by sweating heavy under the stage lights or eating and chicken pickin’, and sitting around a fire roasting marshmallows and jamming. When your fingerboard is clean it not only looks better, but it feels a lot nicer under your fingers. Finger gunk, and debris builds up and makes your neck sticky and causes bends to feel or scratchy. Finger sweat also causes your frets to tarnish, and also even rust. Here is a simple way to get your neck back into shape.
Step one is remove your old strings, or loosen them to move out of your way. Step two using “000-0000” triple 0 quadruple 0 extra fine steel wool you can clean the finger cheese off your frets and finger board. When you’re cleaning make sure your going with the grain! Using steel wool is only recommended on dark wood rosewood, ebony etc. and or unfinished fingerboards. The steel wool will polish your frets up nicely and remove any debris. (If you’re cleaning an electric guitars fingerboard, be sure to mask off your pick ups so steel wool debris wont get stuck in the pick ups) You may now also use fingerboard cleaner/prep available from D’Addario at Bill’s Music. If you have a maple or finished fingerboard, just use the fingerboard cleaner and you’re good to go!
The next step for a dark wood fingerboard is to oil/condition the fingerboard. Here at Bill’s Music, we stock, use, and recommend the Dunlop lemon oil to treat your fingerboard. It has a applicator tip so there is no mess! Really dry fingerboards may need several coats. Let it wick in the fingerboard and wipe off any extra material on a clean cloth. Oiling your fingerboard helps prevent cracking, shrinking and frets from popping out of the neck caused by a dry fingerboard. As always if this is something you need further assistance with stop by the store and our technicians and staff can gladly guide you to proper instrument care.
Click here to view the recommended Dunlop Acoustic Accessory Pack
Tech Tips: Freezing Fretboards
As the seasons and weather change, so does the care and maintenance of your musical instrument. As the colder months approach there are a few things you can do to prolong the life of your instrument. Most fretted/ stringed instruments require adjustments to the neck, bridge, and frets at this time of year. It is very common for your guitar or bass to be playing fine, and then suddenly develop a slight buzz or high fret. The leading causes of these issues are temperature & humidity. Your instrument will contract or expand depending on temperature, and seasonal set ups are recommended to keep up with the changing weather conditions.
Woodwind and brass instruments can have the winter blues as well. Pads and water key corks often fall off in the winter as the glue can get cold and become very brittle or lose strength. Slide grease commonly thickens in the cold temperatures and can cause your horn to have sluggish slides. Remember, instruments also tend to play “flat” when it is colder so keep your tuner handy. If you experience these issues or any other issues stop into the repair shop, and let us professionally inspect your instrument. Regular maintenance and proper care keeps repair cost low and your horn playing great.
We all have had gigs when it is freezing cold, and we are often tempted just to leave the gear in the car overnight. What can it hurt right?! Aside from the issues mentioned above, many other concerns can arise. Frost can form and then melt inside electronics; lacquered finishes can check; wood can crack; and even wraps on drums can crack, just to name a few. When traveling to and from gigs, keep your gear in the cabin of the vehicle when possible. If you are unable to do this then make sure you allow your gear ample time to re-acclimate from the cold temperatures to room temperature. This will help your instrument play better in tune and it will be less likely for major issues to occur. When it comes to temperature, if you’re comfortable so is your musical instrument!