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kimball492
31-03-2016, 01:20 PM
Saw this today thought I'd share

I thought I’d use this week's post to tell you about some silly episodes that prove that we don’t all know what we’re doing.

I worked in a music store in Glasgow, Scotland, for almost 20 years. Anyone who has ever worked in that kind of environment will tell you they’ve seen some pretty weird stuff. Factor in that I was the guitar-repair guy, and the potential for weirdness rockets into the stratosphere.


There was the young guy with a silver-sparkle Charvel—a Model 375, if I remember correctly. Anyway, bored with his guitar’s finish, he decides to strip it off. He dips the guitar in a vat of paint stripper before thinking, "Oh, maybe I should have taken the hardware and pickups off first."

By the time I saw it, all of the guitar’s plastic bits had melted and the black hardware was way past its best.

B. Fella brings in a guitar he’s put together himself. It looks good. He tells me he’s wired up all the components correctly but the guitar doesn’t work. I take a look inside the control cavity and all the wires and capacitors are indeed connected in the right places ... with Plasticine modeling clay and sticky tape. There’s not a drop of solder in sight.

C. Fed up that his guitar was going out of tune—probably needed to stretch the strings—a novice player comes up with a genius idea. He gets the guitar in tune, then coats each machine head with Superglue. If it can’t move, it can’t go out of tune, right? Then he broke a string. Er ... (See the main photo at the top of this post.)

D. Angry customer approaches one Saturday morning with a Squier Stratocaster he bought the previous week. "It’s not working," he barks. I take a look and spot the problem immediately. He’s only gone and fitted his new guitar with a set of classical strings.

He tied huge knots in the end of each string to stop them slipping through the vibrato. That should have been his first clue. Electric guitars don’t cope too well with plastic strings, I tell him. He stops shouting.

E. This one is terrifying. Man is buying a guitar cable. He says it’s for his daughter, who has just got her first electric guitar. He’s about to leave when he says, "So, I just snip the end off one end of the lead and fit a wall socket, then?"

"No!" I replied. He thought that the guitar was plugged directly into a wall socket. Imagine that! His daughter could have been fried. I explained the whole concept of electric guitars and sold him a practice amp. Disaster averted, I hope.

I’ve got countless more stories like this. The young lad staying up for hours the previous night trying to screw the vibrato arm into his Stratocaster’s jack socket is just another one.

The message is, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, get some advice first. There’s no shame in admitting you don’t know something. If you’re one of those guitarists that has been round the block and knows a thing or two, share it with those less experienced.

That’s exactly what I’ll be doing next time when I’ll be looking at the problems that can be caused by top nuts. See you then!

dingobass
31-03-2016, 02:52 PM
Love the super glue one.
Reminds me of this guy that bought his Guitar in for me to sort out a potentiometer drama.
So, I have this really nice Alembic lying on my bench looking sexier than Elle Macpherson, but with a tone pot that wont turn.
Hmmmmm.
So I try and pop the knob off with the trusty knob puller and the damn thing wont budge.. WTF?
It was then the owner piped up and said "the knob kept falling off so I super glued it on".....
Holy Crap Batman!
The glue had run down the shaft, through the nut threads and boom. The shaft was glued solid...

$580 later and a rather full workshop swear jar, the damage was repaired.

Moral is, dont use super glue to hold ya knob on :p

wokkaboy
31-03-2016, 03:00 PM
haha KB and DB some funny stories there. Chopping off and plugging a guitar lead into the wall power socket has got to be the best !

DrNomis_44
04-04-2016, 06:27 AM
Some great stories there, and I totally agree with the message, there's absolutely nothing wrong with asking for advice about something as it could save a lot of trouble, or someone's life.

Dedman
04-04-2016, 08:18 AM
Yup, the only stupid question is the one never asked

kimball492
02-05-2016, 01:56 PM
DB, Woks you'll love this wonderful piece of ?

wokkaboy
02-05-2016, 02:24 PM
haha good one KB, that definitely deserves to be in the ugly guitar thread.

kimball492
02-05-2016, 03:01 PM
How's he keep that in tune Woks lol

wokkaboy
02-05-2016, 03:06 PM
haha doubt it keeps in tune KB

I'd say the player must wear a paper bag on his head in case anyone recognises him haha

kimball492
02-05-2016, 04:44 PM
Lol I think if he's the kinda guy that would do that to a guitar. He wouldn't care who saw him Woks

wokkaboy
02-05-2016, 04:52 PM
haha that's it KB, bit like Collingwood fans have no shame bwhahah

dingobass
02-05-2016, 05:41 PM
1. I just threw up in my mouth... Who would ever think that headstock was a good design, let alone make it.
2. Woks, those that support the Dockers should not pass judgement on Collingwood.. six in a row buddy, six in a row 😝

Andy40
05-05-2016, 12:07 PM
That was entertaining

FrankenWashie
09-05-2016, 02:11 PM
1. I just threw up in my mouth... Who would ever think that headstock was a good design, let alone make it.
2. Woks, those that support the Dockers should not pass judgement on Collingwood.. six in a row buddy, six in a row ��

Click. Now I get the 0-7 rehash on Wokka's avatar.

wokkaboy
09-05-2016, 02:12 PM
haha yeah Franken, it's so hilarious I almost fell off my chair haha

FrankenWashie
09-05-2016, 02:25 PM
haha yeah Franken, it's so hilarious I almost fell off my chair haha

If its any consolation I have next to zero idea about AFL. Football of any code goes in cycles of winning and losing so it all balances out eventually.

andrewdosborne
09-05-2016, 02:38 PM
haha yeah Franken, it's so hilarious I almost fell off my chair haha
I did fall off my chair seeing the loss to GWS ! Haha

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

wokkaboy
09-05-2016, 02:52 PM
haha no worries Franken you would probably do well in footy tipping competitions, sometimes the less you know the better

cheers Ponch, I will give you heaps when Swans lose next !

Brendan
09-05-2016, 09:41 PM
Franken - downside for Fremantle is that they haven't yet hit the winning cycle - got close a couple of times, then snatched defeat from the jaws of victory...

FrankenWashie
12-05-2016, 02:03 PM
Franken - downside for Fremantle is that they haven't yet hit the winning cycle - got close a couple of times, then snatched defeat from the jaws of victory...

Lol! I've played in Subbies Rugby sides who have managed to do just that on more than one occasion!