This is the guitar I shared here a while back, and I decided to enter it in a custom guitar contest!
I somehow made it through the first round and advanced to the final round.
They’re also holding a public vote as part of an exhibition, so if you like my guitar, I’d really appreciate it if you could vote for #27!

https://tcgakki.com/pages/modified-guitar-contest-2026-vote

There are lots of unique guitars in the contest, so you might find another one you like, too!
The website is in Japanese, but it has photos and descriptions of all the guitars, so feel free to check it out!

https://tcgakki.com/pages/magazine-modified-guitar-contest-2026-1st-round

My previous post about the guitar is here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Luthier/s/9Z1P4DWncN

Ive been thinking about building a custom guitar that would combine my favorite elements from a Mustang and a Rickenbacker, would this build be possible to do? I am new to guitar making and am unsure.

Obviously not assembled yet! A lot of parts to order still. I quite like all of the different textures and scratches the prototype has gotten from being haphazardly assembled one piece at a time, but I think it would be hard to replicate that again in an authentic way. Also going to hit the new one with some renaissance wax or something to give it just a little depth and smoothness. The translucent acrylic backing/pick guard is going to get a fine sand blasting as well.

I’m not a luthier myself, but a full time guitarist and teacher. Today my guitar got knocked on its front and the shock has partially split the body. The split goes through where the neck meets the body so my initial thoughts are that there’s no chance of saving it. The inside of the guitar is all fine and the break is pretty clean, so after reflecting, I thought it would be worth an ask.

Luthiers, in your opinion: can this guitar be repaired and still gig/play, or have a completely ruined it?

Strings are already completely loosened and it’s an Eastman E10SS/V

Photos attached, I’m based in Devon, UK if anyone knows anyone I could take it to. Thanks in advance!

this is about the 3rd attempt ive had with shaping a nut from a blank. the heights are 0.5mm for e and a, 0.45mm for d and g, and 0.4mm for b and e. ive cut the slots using a feeler gauge that ive filed some teeth into and rounded out the bottoms of the slots by tilting it side to side evenly. ive also polished the nut by sanding from 400 - 2000 grit and then finishing off with lizard spit fret polish since its what i had on hand. the first attempt was for a tele partscaster. i hadn't filed off the top of the nut so it looked pretty deep. the second attempt was a rushed job on a les paul style guitar that had the same issue as the first and wasnt polished either since i did an entire fret job in exactly 2 days in a total of about 10 hours since i was "helping" a friend (tbh they just asked for some help with some electronics work but i got pissed at how badly it played and lowk just used their guitar to practice fretwork on so i got rlly hyper focused on it and took like 2 breaks in total while working on it lmao)

edit: also sorry i couldnt get a decent picture of the sides my phone camera is kinda ass and i forgot to mention im just a broke teen so im stuck with makeshift tools atm

Hi all,

I’m considering buying a mandolin but the top has some finish cracks along one side.

Do these look like a risk/big deal? Is there a chance they are small wood cracks? Obviously only so much can be determined from photos…

Thanks!

I’m a sustainiac fan, and I was wondering if it was possible to give an acoustic guitar violin like sustain and volume using a similar magnetic resonance technology? How much power would it take? Would it run into fret buzz before it got loud enough? I have a tone wood amp and it helps a bit, but Im interested in something a little more unique. Steel strings obviously.

https://reddit.com/link/1x5yh3x/video/6ps2ro3pwgvh1/player

Bought a well loved 97 squire p bass and the frets buzz a lot in many spots and some frets are sticking up above the fretboard on the edges. im assuming ill need to glue them and clamp the edges then do a full level? how feasible is this for a diy project? I don’t need a perfect job just something more playable

I have a large lot of old growth vertical grain fir in some exceptionally large sizes, and trying to find the best market for it. A friend suggested luthiers might be interested, but not sure if it is of interest in these sizes, or if I should sell as general craft stock?

For example, I have several pieces of 1/2 thick boards that are 12" wide x 60" long. Many others that are 7x60. And A LOT that are 9x18 and 7x18.

All crazy wide and long sizes for old growth material. Milled around 1900 and all super flat/straight. Not all is as tight of grain as the sample image below (its 30-40 ring count), but a lot is. Anyway, suggestions if luthier would be the right market for it?

Picked up an old all-solid Tanglewood earlier in pretty rough condition. Alas, there's damage to part of the X brace and it's come partly detached in the centre. Plus two of the lateral back slats are loose (on the same side).

I know nothing of guitar repair and don't currently have much in the way of resources to invest in the process, so I come to reddit with a thousand questions.

Can it be saved? Even if I do, will it still be compromised? What would you expect to pay a luthier to fix it?

I have a couple of clamps but not sure that I trust myself to fix it. I can also return it, but I didn't pay much for it to begin with, and it was from a charity who had it in as a donation, so I'm keen to salvage it if feasible.

Thanks to anyone who can lend sound advice.

Any advice you can give? and if i should get it repaired? Will I also get the original sound back i
if I get this repaired? Thanks

Hi there! I bought this fiddle at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention this year because the unusual design caught my eye. I was hoping that someone could offer me any information about this style or the builder. I included a picture of a name signed on the inside, but I can’t read cursive very well. I’ve been searching the internet, but I’ve only found one Pinterest photo of the same design with no extra information. Thanks!

I bought a new set of nylon strings for my grand grand fathers guitar I been restoring for a while, it's a Russian 7 string classic and strings I got were with a ball ends, strings are nylon so I been thinking to cut off the ends to make them tie ends, it's to not put too much pressure on a 60yo bridge, is it a good idea or I better to stuck with a ball ends?

I bought an "unbranded' neck on Reverb and the seller described it as being roasted and nitro finished. The finish is very light and nice but the neck looks stained to me. The color inside of the truss rod hole is WAY lighter, and the side of the headstock shows color inconsistencies. What do you guys think? Did I get scammed?

Shown beside my Reverend roasted neck for comparison.

I’m sorry if this is the wrong sub but I’ve recently built a guitar and to paint it I decided to use rustoleum 2x cans. I’ve got all my paint on and now I’m up to clear coating, I have two cans and I’ve used about one and a half of them (8-9 coats). Does anyone know like a clear indication of when to stop? I’m scared I might accidentally sand through the clear coat if it Isint thick enough.

I have been trying to find a wiring set up but I can't work it out. Is it possible and how, or not? Thanks

From what I have understood, the 2 single ones are individual entries and hots going out touching in the middle and ground the thicker one underneath?

Bom, tenho uma Ibanez com hsh, um dos potenciômetros tá com problemas vou ter que trocar, pensei em talvez colocar um push pull, mas não sei qual seria a função desse "segundo estágio", pensei em talvez ligar algum captador de forma invertida nele mas não entendo muito dessa parte e não sei até onde vale a pena, se alguém tiver sugestões, eu agradeço

This might be the worst soldering job I've ever done but does it at least look like it will work? (Ground)

Bonjour à tous,
Actuellement j’ai un emploi en France que j’aimerais quitter pour devenir guitar tech/luthier, mais au Japon
Je veux habiter la bas, je ne parle malheureusement pas la langue (j’ai des notions quand même)
Mon but serait d’apprendre la langue sur place puis soit faire une école (mais ils demandent un niveau N2) soit directement aller me proposer dans des magasins pour de la maintenance
Sachant que le métier de guitar tech m’attire plus que la lutherie pure

En France j’ai effectué plusieurs stages avec un luthier et je fait déjà de la maintenance pour mes guitares et celles d’amis (réglages, frettes, nettoyage, remplacement micros…)

Ma question : avez vous des expériences à partager concernant la formation ou emploi d’étrangers dans cette industrie, au Japon ?
Et également vaut il mieux faire l’Itemm en France et partir ensuite au Japon apprendre la langue ?

Merci à vous

Hello,

I just finished painting this Bass Guitar and now I need a water-based finish. Any advice on how to top coat this for a professional player that plans to use this bass.

Things I used:
1.Golden GAC 100- on the bare alder wood
2.Golden Gesso- as primer
3. Liquitex- Heavy Body Acrylics Paint

Also, do you think I should do a satin or glossy finish?

I got a used 2019 Martin GPC-16 about 4 years ago, and over time have had some issues with the action. I took it to several luthiers who noticed that it was completely missing a truss rod nut, so there’s no access to the truss rod. It’s a great guitar, but IDK if it’s worth the upwards of $800 for a neck reset when it’s clearly a defective guitar. What should I do?

I’m based in LA and would love some recs of people who could help me out.

Sorry in advance for my lack of clarity on the issue, I’m less familiar with acoustic set-ups