Sam's Strings

03/02/2024

Another job I've had on recently. This is a before and after comparison of the badly broken '62 Hofner Committee headstock.
The nature of the damage and the previous repair attempt meant that there was a lot of wood and a fair bit of the binding missing.
This was a truly fun challenge, and something I felt honoured and privileged to take on, as I'm something of a Hofner fanboy.

06/12/2023

It's no secret that I absolutely LOVE Hofner guitars. My own personal pride and joy is a Hofner Verithin.
So today this rather interesting guitar came into my workshop for a headstock repair. When I say a headstock repair, I mean to put right the butchered repair that had been carried out by a previous owner at some time in the past.
I can say with all honesty, this is one of the worst amateur repairs I've ever seen on a guitar. The headstock is held on with a Jubilee Clip. However it's testament to the quality of Hofner guitars that she still holds her tuning and plays beautifully.
This is a 1960's Hofner Committee Thinline that's seen a lot of modifications and repairs over the years, most of which have been carried out with little to no finesse, but the most pressing one is the headstock. At some point in her history the headstock has snapped completely off. It's been very roughly glued back in place with a couple of dowels but there are huge gaps in the glue which has made the joint weak, hence why someone has tried to reinforce it with a jubilee clip.
Once I get the jubilee clip and the strings removed, I'll need to melt the glue in the joint with steam to separate the parts, then clean up all the surfaces to be re-glued.
Once I'm satisfied that the parts are marrying up correctly, I'll glue and clamp them, then once that's solid, route two channels in the back of the neck and into the headstock, crossing the break line and then insert splines of a matching timber to maximise the strength of the repair.
Then it's the fun job of smoothing and repairing the finish on both the neck and the face of the headstock. Some bits of binding need replacing too.

I'd love to get the job of returning this beautiful instrument to her former or even original glory. Jobs that jump out at me instantly that would help this old girl to shine again are replacing the pickguard, putting on the correct tailpiece (this one would look more at home on a Hagstrom), replace the mother of pearl trimming on the heel joint with the correct colour, replace the pickups and internal electrics, repair the damaged tuning peg and replace the damaged k***s.
The customer only wants the headstock repaired at this stage, but if he ever decides to go for a full restoration, I'd be honoured to take the job.

25/11/2023

How many folks out there are getting a new guitar for Christmas?
How many will be filled with excitement at the prospect, then be a bit disappointed when it turns out to have been supplied directly from a warehouse shelf without first having had a professional luthiers setup?
A proper setup can mean the difference between a guitar being just okay, and being a blistering hot shredding machine.
It's also a sad truth that the majority of new guitarists give up learning and playing simply because the instrument isn't comfortable or hurts to play. This can be avoided with a professional setup that doesn't need to break the bank.

Here at SBB, we're offering a £30 guitar setup service to include the following.
- Action set.
- Intonation set.
- Pickup height set.
- Neck relief set.
- Any jagged fret ends smoothed.
- Strings changed if needed (strings supplied at an extra £5).

The setup can be carried out in a few hours, so you can usually leave in your instrument and collect it again the same day.
The service is available on all stringed musical instruments, although we specialise in guitars (acoustic and electric), ukuleles, banjoleles and mandolins.

If you're buying a guitar as a gift for Christmas, we also sell gift vouchers for the £30 setup that you can include with the gift.
These are available to buy in the Strings And Bling shop at 34 North Street, Carrickfergus from Monday 27th Nov onwards.

19/10/2023

A concert scale length Bodhralele made with oak salvaged from Bush Mills barrels. Yes I spelled it that way on purpose because Facebook has ridiculous filter policies.
This one has an oak neck, bridge, tail and brace. The fretboard is maple, three drum shell is laminated birch and the skin is goat hide.
This Bodhralele has been hand painted with a scene of Carrickfergus Castle, to represent the town where the Bodhralele was born.
As with every Bodhralele, this has been fitted with a piezoelectric pickup so you can play amplified or acoustically.
This can be yours for only £300 from our wee Strings And Bling shop at 34 North Street, Carrickfergus.

03/10/2023

Solid body electric guitars are back on the menu again folks.
This piece of Sycamore (not from the recently felled hadrians wall tree) represents 7 Tuagh electric guitar bodies.
Four single piece bodies, one split and stabilised with bowties and resin, and two resin river bodies.
All for only £40.
Not bad for a 2 meter x 0.5 metre and 45mm thick piece of fully dried Sycamore.

26/09/2023

23/09/2023

Another gorgeous Fender landed on my bench this week. This one's in to have the bridge pin holes plugged, re-drilled and reamed to the correct diameter and taper, as a few of the pins are a little on the loose side.

23/09/2023

Here she is, just needs her strings and strap buttons and she's complete.