BlueNoteWoodworks.com

                             Miscellaneous                                 

Tips & Tricks ~

Are your Instruments Insured?  ~

Do you own valuable hard to replace instruments, and you just found out after that last gig, they were stolen from 

backstage or out of the van?  Or what if one of your roadies dropped it and snapped the neck?  Or what if it was

caught in a fire or flood?  Dear friends, don’t be caught by these unknown predicaments.  I highly recommend 

you insure all your instruments and gear...down to the cables. I put together a complete inventory list of all my 

music gear, (the gear I travel with, & the gear that stays home, I even included my cameras & notebook computer)

and then gave the list to my insurance carrier.  Call and talk to your home insurance or rental insurance carrier 

and discuss it.  If you cannot find a company to insure you, try Heritage Insurance Services, they cover collectors, 

dealers, builders, & players.  (Click on the link above or call 800-289-8837)

How to Easily Lock & Unlock your Tremelo ~

(Electric Guitar)

(Cost  $65.00)

"Tremelo Lock"

Temperature and Humidity~ 

In my years of repairing musical instruments, I have had to repair a lot of damage done by changes in Temperature & Humidity. Unbeknown to owners, of how important it is to guard against  the rapid changes in the elements.

Acoustic instruments are made of thin wood which is easily affected by temperature and humidity. The elements are  the most important single part of your guitar’s surroundings. The ideal humidity and temperature, is a constant 45-55 percent humidity and 72-77 degrees Fahrenheit. If either humidity or temperature get far off from these conditions, your instrument is in danger. A rapid change in the temperature or exposure to cold can cause small cracks in the finish.  As the humidity increases, moisture content in the wood goes up rapidly, causing it to expand and swell. Though gradual increases in humidity won’t generally do permanent damage to your instrument,  very high humidity combined with high temperature, glue joints could possibly become weakened and may even open slightly. If your instrument is exposed to high temperature or humidity for any length of time, the glue under the bridge could weaken causing the bridge to pull off and lift the top.

What you want to watch for, and guard against is rapid changes in humidity. If for instance, you place your instrument near a source   of heat, the humidity around it will drop much faster than it would naturally, although a sudden dry spell can have the same effect. If the moisture content of wood is dropped down in a hurry, portions of it will shrink faster than others, causing cracks and open joints. It's best not to set your instrument next to a source of heat or hang it on a wall where it will dry out. Definitely, avoid hanging your guitar on an outside wall during winter months, the wall will be cooler than the inside air. The result will cause a conflict between the temperature of the top and back, with potential damage as a result. If you don't have a hygrometer, watch your local weather reports for drops in the humidity.

It's recommended to store your instrument  in its case when not in use. Humidity is easier to control in a smaller space. The hard shell case will support the neck and body of your instrument, as evenly as possible. And if it will be stored for a several month’s or more, loosen the strings.

When traveling, and the instrument will be exposed to freezing temperatures, let it warm to room temperature while still in its case. And then crack the lid just a little after a bit. This will let it come up to room temperature more slowly, decreasing the possibility of wood and finish cracks. The same goes for when traveling from extreme warm temperatures, to a cool air conditioned environment.   

To help guard against Low Humidity-  traditionally, players kept a potato-half in their case, letting it give off the needed moisture as it dries out. To help guard against High Humidity- players kept a small pack of silica gel (desiccant) in their case to absorb any excessive moisture.  

There's two things that I recommend:

1) The use of a hygrometer/ thermometer to measure the relative humidity and temperature surrounding your instrument. Remembering that the ideal humidity and temperature, is a constant 45-55 percent humidity and 72-77 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) There's a product I found & sell that is very easy and convenient in helping to guard against both Low & High Humidity.  (See below for acoustic guitar.) Other types available for other instruments.

   Planet Waves by D'Addario ~ "Body Guard Humidifier & Hygrometer"   

It releases moisture evenly and slowly inside your guitar to maintain the proper humidity level. 

It suspends between strings and never touches any part of the guitar body. 

There are no clips or fasteners to scratch or mar your guitar finish and its convenient dispensing syringe

 enables you to refill the reservoir without removing it from the guitar body.  

(Cost: $31.99)

ABG Players ~                    

(Acoustic Bass Guitar)

Awhile back, I bought a mid-range Acoustic Bass Guitar.  I got it real cheap hence it was in need of repair.  I thought I could fix it & sell it, and make a little profit.  It has a stock undersaddle transducer pickup with a 3-band EQ, and Phosphor Bronze strings on it. It sounded horrible, like a cheap acoustic guitar made out of cardboard or something worse yet...wet cardboard. But after doing some thinking… I thought I’d try some different strings on it, and see if that made a difference.  After doing some experimenting, I found what I was after,…(that warm woody natural jazz sound, almost like an Upright Dbl. Bass), using ROTOSOUND TRUBASS RS 88 Strings (Flat wound Black Nylon wrapped)!  Since these strings are a heavier gauge (65, 75, 90, 115), than the stock strings, I needed to modify the nut & bridge pins, and then setup the action. But Wow! What a difference it made, I get comps. everywhere I play it!  I keep the EQ flat and run it through a Genz-Benz / Avatar rig.  I also replaced the original active under-the-saddle pickup with a new K&K Pure Bass passive pickup system.  "OMG what a sound! The ABG is now a keeper!  I let  Adam Nitti (World-class bassist) give it a spin & he said, "Wow... I can't believe how good this thing sounds!"

If you’d like to have this done on your ABG, give me a call for an estimate.                                                                   

(Average cost:  4-string- $99.00 includes strings, but not K&K Pickup Sys.)

Eli  says-

 " Don't Forget to Bookmark us to your Favorites & Come Visit  us again...there's more to come".

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