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Latest Blog Posts

• Refinishing A PRS Custom 24 Part 2 | The Final Reveal
  on May 11, 2016 in custom 24 luca quacquarella nitrocellulose paul reed smith prs refinish
  In our last article, Refinishing A PRS Custom 24 Part 1, we detailed the removal of the guitar's cloudy green lacquer and extensive prep work for the big refinish -- entirely in nitrocellulose lacquer -- by luthier Luca Quacquarella.In my humble opin...
• Refinishing A PRS Custom 24 | Part 1
  on May 9, 2016 in custom 24 nitrocellulose paul reed smith prs refinish
  If you read my previous two posts about my good friend Reggie Tan's Music Man Luke guitar, what I didn't mention was that Reggie had also sent in his PRS Custom 24 for a refinish at the same time.His PRS, built in 2004, had developed a strange c...
• Refinishing A Music Man Luke Part 2 | The Final Reveal
  on May 4, 2016 in luca quacquarella music man luke nitrocellulose steve lukather
  In Part One of refinishing this Music Man Luke guitar, we talked about the many stages and the many days it took to get the guitar to its final state.Reggie, the owner of this guitar, spent many hours with our patient Italian friend, luthier Luca Qua...
• Refinishing A Music Man Luke Part 1
  on May 3, 2016 in luca quacquarella music man music man luke nitrocellulose
  In an earlier article, I mentioned my encounter with a Music Man Luke and its unusual flaking finish. The polyester finish -- usually the toughest, most impervious of guitar finishes -- was very mysteriously lifting and peeling away from the body in...
• Aria Pro II Cardinal Series CS-250 | Vintage Find
  on May 1, 2016 in aria aria pro II matsumoku
  A few weeks ago my good buddy Eric forwarded a couple pics of this Aria Pro II CS 250 from the early 80's that he happened to see at a local rehearsal studio. My response was the usual "Cool guitar, man. Go for it!".I forgot all about it until last w...
• Prince | Quotes From The Purple One
  on Apr 24, 2016
  This article is dedicated to Prince Roger Nelson who left us on April 21, 2016, at age 57."An idea is still yours even if you give it to someone.""You have to respect your spiritual base. You have to respect the instrument. The volume and tone of an...
• Attaching An MXR EVH Phase 90 To A Pedalboard Without Sticky Velcro
  on Feb 17, 2016 in evh mxr pedalboard velcro
  If you read one of my earlier posts on attaching pedals to Pedaltrain pedalboards without sticky Velcro, I wrote about using a rather cumbersome method involving non-adhesive Velcro straps and nylon cable tie.Two cable ties were looped around a pedal...
• Fender ST72-80SC Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster | Part 3
  on Dec 15, 2015 in dimarzio fender stratocaster seymour duncan yngwie malmsteen
  I mentioned in Part 2 of this series that I wanted to completely rewire my Japanese Fender ST72-80SC Stratocaster from Ishibashi. This guitar is an unofficial Malmsteen model from 1992 or 1993, for sale in the Japanese market-only. So just for kicks,...
• Fender ST72-80SC Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster | Part 2
  on Nov 13, 2015 in fender stratocaster ishibashi KTS saddles scalloped yngwie malmsteen
  If you read Part 1 of ordering this early 90's Fender Japan ST72-80SC Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster from Ishibashi's U-Box, I mentioned that I would be peering under the hood for a peek at the pickups and internal electronics. In Part 1, I also menti...
• Ordering A Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster From Ishibashi's U-Box | Part 1
  on Nov 6, 2015 in fender stratocaster ishibashi scalloped yngwie malmsteen
  Watching a couple of Deep Purple and Rainbow videos recently had me hankering for a Strat with a scalloped fingerboard. Preferably one in Olympic white, with a rosewood fingerboard and black Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder single coils. Just like you-...
• Replacing The Wilkinson Bridge On A Tyler Guitar
  on Aug 11, 2015 in tyler guitars wilkinson bridge
  Back in July 2009 I mentioned getting a Wilkinson WVS 50 II K bridge to replace the original Wilkinson VS100 bridge on my James Tyler Psychedelic Vomit. Guess what, I'd just got around to swapping out the bridge a couple of weeks ago in time for my M...
• Music Man Luke Signature Model with Flaking Finish Problem
  on Jul 25, 2015 in gibson les paul bfg luca quacquarella music man music man luke
  I met with my good buddy Reggie for lunch recently to talk guitars and gear, and also for him to pass me a batch of his superb homemade cheng tng -- a sweet Chinese dessert known for its cooling or 'yin' properties.  We all need to balance our y...
• Ordering A Tokai LS173 From Ishibashi's U-Box
  on May 26, 2015 in gibson les paul ishibashi love rock tokai
  I recently ordered a pre-owned Tokai LS173 from Ishibashi in Japan and received it in the mail a few days ago. That is, if you could call going personally to Singapore Post's headquarters not once, but twice, 'receiving it in the mail'.It all started...
• EVH Striped Series Guitar Review
  on Feb 20, 2015 in eddie van halen evh evh striped series fender floyd rose wolfgang pickup
  I recently ordered an EVH Striped Series guitar from Japanese online music store Ikebe-Gakki and received it in the post a couple of days ago.Carton from Ikebe-GakkiThis is my first time dealing with Ikebe-Gakki and I must applaud them for the qualit...
• Vintage Gibson ES-175 Restoration
  on Dec 4, 2014 in gibson ES175 luca quacquarella nitrocellulose lacquer
  Our favorite local Italian luthier, Luca Quacquarella, was recently commissioned with this vintage Gibson ES-175 restoration.This guitar, which dates back to 1964, was the property of one of the local hotels in Singapore and had been languishing in a...
• Refinishing My Les Paul BFG Part 5 | The Big Rewire
  on Nov 20, 2014 in capacitor modification gibson les paul bfg MojoAxe p90 pickups
  In this fifth and final installment of Refinishing My Les Paul BFG, I decided to let my good buddy Arnold San Juan put his remarkable skill with a soldering gun to good use.Arnold San JuanA sound recordist and mixer in the film industry, twiddling kn...
• Luthier Spotlight | Luca Quacquarella
  on Nov 13, 2014 in gibson les paul bfg luca quacquarella luthier nitrocellulose
  Born in Milano, Italy, 36-year old luthier Luca Quacquarella is a man on a mission -- to spread the gospel of fine guitar repair.And if there's anyone that could raise a guitar from the dead, it's this guy.Classically trained in violin, cello and dou...
• Refinishing My Les Paul BFG Part 4 | The Final Reveal!
  on Nov 13, 2014 in gibson les paul bfg luca quacquarella nitrocellulose lacquer refinish
  A last look at the gold topThis installment of Refinishing My Les Paul BFG will finally reveal the completely resprayed guitar top in vermillion nitrocellulose lacquer!According to Luca Quaquarella, the luthier who did the refinishing job -- and who...
• Refinishing My Les Paul BFG Part 3
  on Nov 6, 2014 in gibson les paul bfg humbucking pickups luca quacquarella nitrocellulose
  In Refinishing My Les Paul BFG Part 2, Luca Quacquarella, our friendly local Italian luthier had stripped the thin gold finish and sanded down the top of the guitar to the bare wood.Gone were the BFG's bumps, ridges and 'scales'.Also gone was the wei...
• Refinishing My Les Paul BFG Part 2
  on Nov 4, 2014 in gibson les paul bfg luca quacquarella nitrocellulose
  In our first installment of Refinishing My Les Paul BFG, I mentioned looking for a luthier skilled in refinishing guitars in nitrocellulose.Nitrocellulose lacquer is used on higher-end instruments. It not only looks good but also allows the wood to b...