REWORK

I specialize in midcentury department store or budget guitars, which have a well deserved reputation for excellence in appearance/design/pickups, and an equally well deserved reputation for rather limited stability and playability. The goal is to respect the uniqueness of these instruments while essentially retrofitting them to higher standards structurally. Most of these guitars get sold in their natural state, but in their natural state they are written off as unusable kitsch, junkers, wall hangers, or the dreaded “good for slide.” Originality should never be the enemy of usability. These instruments have a load of potential beyond being mere oddities, and with work they can be legitimate players on par with “respectable” guitars: no caveats, no asterisk.

REPAIR

Each instrument gets evaluated as an individual to assess what it may need to be its best. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the issues these instruments often present with, but remedies may include:

• Re-fret (many, many need it. The original fretwork can generously be termed “fanciful”)

• Plane fingerboard

• Replace pots/caps/jack

• New bone nut

• Replace fingerboard (some of the original fingerboards are mushy plywood, so… yeah)

• New truss rod

RE-THINK

As a visual artist with a design background, I bring that skill set to these instruments as well. Many “budget” instruments of the 1960s are spectacular, aesthetically, and I wouldn’t alter them for the world (Zen-on had the absolute, no-fooling best design sense ever). However, that’s not universal (Hoshino, some of your pickguards are shaped like a poorly drawn map. Do better.), and where it’s a benefit, I add original work as woodburned pickguards, new inlay, etc.