There is something "This Old House" blues-like about that intro theme and learning about guitar builds and internal variations is like "Car Talk". lol.
Nothing a meat cleaver, an inexpensive survival knife and some large screws can't fix said the guy that made that bridge. Some good laughs in this one! Thanks again Ted!
The withdrawal symptoms meant I watched the full hour of Ian hates guitars’ interview last night. Great watch and lovely insight into your workshop, philosophy and personality. I look forward to your videos every week and admire the dedication to the profession.
Gotta remember these guitars are tools and were once not VINTAGE I think that guitar looks beautiful with the Martin bridge. Guitars are meant to be played not stared at collecting dust.
@@craigusselman546 vintage guitar culture was not even around for most of guitar history. Bursts used to sit in pawn shops cause rockers traded them in for whatever was new on the market
Small people playing big guitars end up tilting the guitar a little more when they use a strap and as a result their follow through ends up between the pickguard and the bridge, resulting in some wear. Also, people who do a lot of palm-muting on acoustic will inevitably wear their guitar near the bridge. Sincerely, a 5'5" person who plays a dreadnought and has a guitar with wear between the pickguard and the bridge
TY for the explanation. I' ll have to be extra careful bc im 5'6" in sneakers and my fave guitar right now is my 17 year old Martin D- 28 . Many thanks for the heads up 😎🙏🎶🎵🎵❤👍
You are a conservator and a restorer. You put a lot of thought into every guitar. I have known physicians to treat their patients with much less respect that you give to your guitars. Kudos, Ted. Always a pleasure to view your thought process.
Well said. Those are the doctors who went to med school to please their parents or for the prestige of being a doctor. Twoodfrd clearly loves his work.
The old warhorse sounds GOOD. Looks like someone has been using it to make music! I loaned my 1960 Martin to an energetic young relative in a band. It provided much enjoyment to lots of people and suffered in the process. I have it back now and wish it could talk about the music it made.
Beautiful sound! And the vintage feel or looks of it is quite cool too. J45 is one of the top three best guitars I’ve ever played (Stockholm). Great job, great vid. Thanks.
I'm a restomod shop owner ,or i was. I owned my shop so I didn't work on the cars .Patience for metal or paint installation I just didn't have it .But I watch this guy and it would just drive me crazy to do this work
Given the combination of fast pace in the video and the witty banter, one can be easily lulled into overlooking the shear amount of knowledge, skill, experience and precision that Ted brings to these videos. Truly stunning craftsmanship on display, once again.
Well, look at that! I'd just made a fresh cup of tea too. Thanks Ted. Enjoyed this one. Amazing how much an older instrument can survive if that's the right word for it. Have a great week!
I know you've done this work a thousand times, but it's still a very meticulous job with lots of details affecting other details, and of course you're working on a pretty delicate patient. I congratulate you on your skill and patience! In the end the guitar sounds really sweet!
Thanks so much for this quality upload! I'm the caretaker of a nearly identical ca. '46 script-no banner J-45 and this was a really meaningful look under the hood of one. Keep up the tasteful and informative work!
Excellent job! That’s a great sounding J45, with worth all the skilled work you put into it. I hope that the player who wore the top away never gets near it again.
Yet another wonderful video Ted. I was really looking forward to this one, and you did a very sympathetic repair to a superb sounding old J45. Fabulous👌
I really enjoy these and I have been inspired to tackle several repairs of my own with great success. Nothing lasts forever, but as long as Ted is willing to make the effort to produce these, I will watch, like and comment.
I sure enjoy your videos ! What a nice old j45. It's a damn shame that bridge was put on but I'm sure people would say the same about me converting my 53 to a lefty... I would have loved to have seen the correct bridge go back on there but oh well. It seems most of the old j45s I have seen have the play wear between the pickguard and bridge, as does mine ( my late father's) The old j45 bracing was different and they were quite bassy in a beautiful way. That's why people including myself spend a lot of time picking near the bridge.. to me there is no better sounding acoustic.
Great video, Ted! Popped up in my notifications and it was a great way to relieve some pain from nearly identical jobs I'm currently working on. I have a 1934 , and three mid 40's Gibson's, including a banner, that all need/needed the same treatment. Loose braces, loose frets, large cracks, poorly shaved bridges, etc. Two of them need neck resets, which are the two I'm currently prepping for. They already sound incredible, so I can imagine what they'll be like with proper geometry. Also, I can't agree more about fitting the bridge. I just had to reinstall a new bridge on a Fender that the previous guy didn't fit properly (a common sight), which came loose. Didn't help that Fender notoriously refuses to remove the seal coat under the bridge. Between fixing that and fitting the bridge, these things can become quite tedious. Well, now that I remember I'm not alone in the suffering, I think I'll get to it!
I think the propensity is to bash either the guitar maker/designer, past repairs, or even the customers for their sometimes-horrible decisions. You use SO much restraint in doing so, which I admire. Salute!
I wish to one day be on this level of craftsmanship Each time i watch your vids im both amazed and feel shitty that i am unable to offer my customers such a masterful work You truly are a cut above the rest
You asked who damages the wood between the pick guard and the bridge. I am one of those. I flat pick and finger pick using my pinkie as an anchor point in that location and am noticing damage on my Martin in that location. I do have acidic skin and thick hard finger nails. I am going to get some clear pick guard material to fit in there after seeing you video. I am thinking the person playing that guitar was shorter and had short arms and had the guitar body high thus strumming closer to the bridge. Definitely and aggressive strummer. Your videos are addicting. Thanks for doing them!
The bridge was held on by some reasonably obstinate glue. -Ted Woodford Classic commentary that will one day be lifted and spliced into a best of Luthier Teds quotes.
I will pick close to the bridge to accentuate the funky timbre you can get from there. Helps sometimes especially when playing with another acoustic player.
"I need to score a line".......... "but sometimes I can't seem to get the whole joint hot enough"....... Things seem to be spiralling out of control there buddy. Hope it works out OK for you.
Your approach to repairs is really second to none. It's really interesting to hear the history behind each instrument that comes to your bench. One thing that I would personally be extremely interested in watching is a video of you explaining and teaching how to use a 3 cornet file for recrowing. Everyone else on yt is pretty much using special crowning files and zfiles, but you seem so comfortable using a 3 corner file. I know that it's something you accomplished through experience, but it would be great if you could give a masterclass of sorts on how to do it. Great video once again!
I have a 1943 J-45, great condition. Mahogany and no truss rod. One of the best sounding acoustics! ✌️🤪🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 My Godfather bought it during the Second World War, 45 bucks. Gave it to me ten or 12 years before I even started playing!
That slap back echo you spoke of , I could hear what you were talking about! And I actually think the loprinzi guitar may have sounded better than the Gibson
Great skill as always ted,those bridge dr's really do the job,I have one in an 80s seagull 12 string & is at least playable now. Keep the videos coming as I love the mix of skill & satire 😅❤️
Man - that was a great episode. Thank you. Edit - I had folks give me a bad time about using a vernier caliper for wood working - I'm feeling quite vindicated!
I am one of those that makes that kind of wear mark on the guitar :). Depending on what I am playing, it is just where my pinky anchors. I've noticed it can be when picking with a pick or finger picking - it ends up there at times. I have pretty good technique and tonal control, so I am not sure why there aren't more guitars with that wear. Then again, you have to play quite a lot to make that kind of mark.
I have thick sharp fingernails, and while I don’t strum in a way that puts many scratches on my guitars, there are marks around the volume and tone knobs where I’ve aggressively turned up or down and made impressions with my nails. My computer keyboard has some interesting marks as well. I’m not sure how many people have Wolverine nails like mine but I could totally understand someone inadvertently ruining the top of a guitar with them
masterful work as always, but i might be even more impressed by your editing here! you make days (or weeks?) worth of hard craft look effortless... flows as smooth as i bet the neck on this j-45 does! kudos.
I got a 1963-64 FujiGen GaKki from Matsumoto Japan MUSTANG GUITAR it is a red burst and after I replaced the neck because it was purchased without a neck just a loaded body. I got this guitar back in playing condition and I can’t believe how much it sounds like a Fender Stratocaster. It is a great guitar for $50 eBay and I can’t find a photo of this model in any websites. But I have accumulated a collection of Matsumoto Japan guitars made in the 1960’s and I have the first edition of Japanese import 3/4 student guitar made 1962.
Incredible skills. Cumulatively, watching these videos gives me some knowledge I didn't have before. It's not that I would tackle any of these jobs, but I think it makes me able to diagnose problems quicker. I feel like I would be able to talk to my guitar tech with some degree of confidence about what's going on, rather than something like, "I don't know, it plays weird". Very educational and worthwhile.
I'd bet the bare-wood area below the pickguard is the result of solvent sweating out of the pickguard. And....it may be the result of strumming in that area also, but part of it is the p/g sweat. I have an old Epiphone Zephyr Regent that was stored leaning up against the wall for many years. The pickguard sweated out some solvent and produced a bare-wood drop mark.
I'll bet the player responsible for the wear between the bridge and the pickguard rested his/her pinkie on the top in that spot. Lots of pick wear around the soundhole, and a big hand could span that distance. Wes Montgomery wore through some Gibson nitro lacquer with his finger, too, albeit in another place.
At a guess the guitarist uses a short strap and strums with their arm in line with the string paths. Indie, folky guitarists sometimes do this, with the guitar held perfectly horizontal.
“Fettishistic allure”… You just gotta love Ted’s vocabulary.
The best high end, factory acoustic guitar I ever heard was an old Gibson. The worst high end, factory acoustic guitar I ever heard was an old Gibson.
I'm not gonna lie, I chuckled a bit but I've noticed the same thing.
They were and are all over the place. Some good some bad a rare few great!
Haven't heard a bad (vintage) Yamaha.
Lmao why is this so accurate
Thats so funny. This channel gets alot of milage its literally a laugh a minute sometimes
They should give you a show on PBS lol. A daily show. Man, I'd watch every single day!
The Bob Ross of the luthier world.
There is something "This Old House" blues-like about that intro theme and learning about guitar builds and internal variations is like "Car Talk". lol.
No, please, he wouldn't have time to fix guitars!
He doesn’t push wokeism unless you consider guitars racist. No place on PBS
@@pmscalisi "This machine kills fascists".
"Planed down with a meat clever..." LOL well butchered!
Nothing a meat cleaver, an inexpensive survival knife and some large screws can't fix said the guy that made that bridge. Some good laughs in this one! Thanks again Ted!
What a lovely Sunday afternoon surprise. My favorite luthier repairing what is one of my favorite guitars. Thanks Ted.
I read all the compliments and can't add any superlatives to what's already been said. So glad to see these every week.
The withdrawal symptoms meant I watched the full hour of Ian hates guitars’ interview last night.
Great watch and lovely insight into your workshop, philosophy and personality.
I look forward to your videos every week and admire the dedication to the profession.
Gotta remember these guitars are tools and were once not VINTAGE I think that guitar looks beautiful with the Martin bridge. Guitars are meant to be played not stared at collecting dust.
beautiful repair btw.
@@craigusselman546 vintage guitar culture was not even around for most of guitar history. Bursts used to sit in pawn shops cause rockers traded them in for whatever was new on the market
Thanks for the upload, Ted. I've been blowing into a paper bag all weekend waiting for this.
Amen, brother.
more like rolling papers and snorting bags
Small people playing big guitars end up tilting the guitar a little more when they use a strap and as a result their follow through ends up between the pickguard and the bridge, resulting in some wear. Also, people who do a lot of palm-muting on acoustic will inevitably wear their guitar near the bridge.
Sincerely,
a 5'5" person who plays a dreadnought and has a guitar with wear between the pickguard and the bridge
Especially if they play from their elbow instead of playing from the wrist.
TY for the explanation. I' ll have to be extra careful bc im 5'6" in sneakers and my fave guitar right now is my 17 year old Martin D- 28 . Many thanks for the heads up 😎🙏🎶🎵🎵❤👍
I often wondered, because I've played for almost 20 years, and never worn any of my guitars like this. But I'm 6 foot tall.
You are a conservator and a restorer. You put a lot of thought into every guitar. I have known physicians to treat their patients with much less respect that you give to your guitars. Kudos, Ted. Always a pleasure to view your thought process.
Well said. Those are the doctors who went to med school to please their parents or for the prestige of being a doctor. Twoodfrd clearly loves his work.
Hey Ted, thank you for being you.
I can tell you where the wear comes from. The player rests his pinky between the pick guard and bridge for support. I do a similar thing👍
Watching Ted strum, I thought perhaps a pinky ring caused the wear...
The old warhorse sounds GOOD. Looks like someone has been using it to make music! I loaned my 1960 Martin to an energetic young relative in a band. It provided much enjoyment to lots of people and suffered in the process. I have it back now and wish it could talk about the music it made.
You did a good thing
I had a 1946 J45. It was a fabulous guitar and I still regret selling it.
Just gotta love this. Sounds so good, nice balance and lovely workmanship (of course)
Beautiful sound! And the vintage feel or looks of it is quite cool too. J45 is one of the top three best guitars I’ve ever played (Stockholm).
Great job, great vid. Thanks.
I'm a restomod shop owner ,or i was. I owned my shop so I didn't work on the cars .Patience for metal or paint installation I just didn't have it .But I watch this guy and it would just drive me crazy to do this work
I look forard to these videos every week. ❤️
If I was a doctor I would prescribe these videos to people with high blood pressure and other stress associated issues. SO RELAXING!!!
Given the combination of fast pace in the video and the witty banter, one can be easily lulled into overlooking the shear amount of knowledge, skill, experience and precision that Ted brings to these videos.
Truly stunning craftsmanship on display, once again.
I love watching you work on these old guitars , you do some amazing work .
Well, look at that! I'd just made a fresh cup of tea too. Thanks Ted. Enjoyed this one. Amazing how much an older instrument can survive if that's the right word for it. Have a great week!
brilliant to watch and learn👍👍👍 thankyou for sharing
I know you've done this work a thousand times, but it's still a very meticulous job with lots of details affecting other details, and of course you're working on a pretty delicate patient. I congratulate you on your skill and patience! In the end the guitar sounds really sweet!
A pleasure to watch an expert at work.
Great timing on this post! Something interesting enough to get me away from the hurricane videos for a few minutes. 👍as always
Thanks so much for this quality upload! I'm the caretaker of a nearly identical ca. '46 script-no banner J-45 and this was a really meaningful look under the hood of one. Keep up the tasteful and informative work!
Thanks for sharing and God’s blessings for you and all your family. Thanks. Love you show
Excellent job! That’s a great sounding J45, with worth all the skilled work you put into it. I hope that the player who wore the top away never gets near it again.
Once again you make something extremely difficult look easy. Amazing work Ted.
Just got in bed after a gig, this is the perfect way to warm-down after a nights work!
Yet another wonderful video Ted. I was really looking forward to this one, and you did a very sympathetic repair to a superb sounding old J45. Fabulous👌
I really enjoy these and I have been inspired to tackle several repairs of my own with great success. Nothing lasts forever, but as long as Ted is willing to make the effort to produce these, I will watch, like and comment.
Incredible work as always, and I really appreciate the knowledge and experience expressed into your videos.
I sure enjoy your videos ! What a nice old j45. It's a damn shame that bridge was put on but I'm sure people would say the same about me converting my 53 to a lefty...
I would have loved to have seen the correct bridge go back on there but oh well.
It seems most of the old j45s I have seen have the play wear between the pickguard and bridge, as does mine ( my late father's)
The old j45 bracing was different and they were quite bassy in a beautiful way. That's why people including myself spend a lot of time picking near the bridge.. to me there is no better sounding acoustic.
Great video, Ted! Popped up in my notifications and it was a great way to relieve some pain from nearly identical jobs I'm currently working on. I have a 1934 , and three mid 40's Gibson's, including a banner, that all need/needed the same treatment. Loose braces, loose frets, large cracks, poorly shaved bridges, etc. Two of them need neck resets, which are the two I'm currently prepping for. They already sound incredible, so I can imagine what they'll be like with proper geometry.
Also, I can't agree more about fitting the bridge. I just had to reinstall a new bridge on a Fender that the previous guy didn't fit properly (a common sight), which came loose. Didn't help that Fender notoriously refuses to remove the seal coat under the bridge. Between fixing that and fitting the bridge, these things can become quite tedious.
Well, now that I remember I'm not alone in the suffering, I think I'll get to it!
Sooo glad you didn't reuse the pearloid dot! Plug ftw
I think the propensity is to bash either the guitar maker/designer, past repairs, or even the customers for their sometimes-horrible decisions. You use SO much restraint in doing so, which I admire. Salute!
Very beutiful 1946 gibson J 45 vintage sunburst finish..the sound is very great..
"Forgery grade finishing skills" :D
One of the coolest videos I’ve ever seen on TH-cam. Great job.
I wish to one day be on this level of craftsmanship
Each time i watch your vids im both amazed and feel shitty that i am unable to offer my customers such a masterful work
You truly are a cut above the rest
😎🎸👍🏽 I Never tire of watching and learning. Thank you
Watching your videos is a pure joy. Thank you!
You realize we worry about you when we don't get a video, you know...
You asked who damages the wood between the pick guard and the bridge. I am one of those. I flat pick and finger pick using my pinkie as an anchor point in that location and am noticing damage on my Martin in that location. I do have acidic skin and thick hard finger nails. I am going to get some clear pick guard material to fit in there after seeing you video. I am thinking the person playing that guitar was shorter and had short arms and had the guitar body high thus strumming closer to the bridge. Definitely and aggressive strummer. Your videos are addicting. Thanks for doing them!
I love how you do your best to work neatly. Treat it like it is your own.
Doesn’t matter if what you show is repetitive in a new video. I can watch the same neck reset vids all day. Thanks a ton!
To say I enjoy these vids would be a massive understatement 👊😎
Your attention to detail of the woods is really cool
Solid, solid work! I really appreciate the choices presented and made in this video, and others as well, of course.
Wow…great sound and another great video! Thank you.
It must be a tremendously fulfilling feeling to bring these instruments back to their former glory.
The bridge was held on by some reasonably obstinate glue.
-Ted Woodford
Classic commentary that will one day be lifted and spliced into a best of Luthier Teds quotes.
My friend wears out the top of his guitars above the sound hole because he almost always wears cuff links. Another great job, thanks Ted.
Fantastic work as always.By far the best guitar repare man Ive seen.
"Dramatic Bulge" is the name of my Punk band if ever I start one.
This guy is low-key hilarious. Wit is off the chart. Is it just a Canadian thing? Bravo sir
I will pick close to the bridge to accentuate the funky timbre you can get from there. Helps sometimes especially when playing with another acoustic player.
"I need to score a line".......... "but sometimes I can't seem to get the whole joint hot enough"....... Things seem to be spiralling out of control there buddy. Hope it works out OK for you.
Your approach to repairs is really second to none. It's really interesting to hear the history behind each instrument that comes to your bench. One thing that I would personally be extremely interested in watching is a video of you explaining and teaching how to use a 3 cornet file for recrowing. Everyone else on yt is pretty much using special crowning files and zfiles, but you seem so comfortable using a 3 corner file. I know that it's something you accomplished through experience, but it would be great if you could give a masterclass of sorts on how to do it. Great video once again!
I have a 1943 J-45, great condition. Mahogany and no truss rod. One of the best sounding acoustics!
✌️🤪🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 My Godfather bought it during the Second World War, 45 bucks. Gave it to me ten or 12 years before I even started playing!
That slap back echo you spoke of , I could hear what you were talking about! And I actually think the loprinzi guitar may have sounded better than the Gibson
Great workmanship 😀👍♥️.
Noticed when you tested the end product your fingers were hitting the exact spots you wondered how people hit 😂😂😂, great video brother
Great skill as always ted,those bridge dr's really do the job,I have one in an 80s seagull 12 string & is at least playable now.
Keep the videos coming as I love the mix of skill & satire 😅❤️
Your attention to detail and craftsmanship is simply amazing ! 🤘🏻
I love your evaluation of this ancient J45, not an easy thing to decide, However, as usual you make the right call,, great!!
Awesome video. Lots of work on this one, executed with your usual great skill. 👍
Man - that was a great episode. Thank you. Edit - I had folks give me a bad time about using a vernier caliper for wood working - I'm feeling quite vindicated!
Ted you are a real miracle worker...sounds great!
I am one of those that makes that kind of wear mark on the guitar :). Depending on what I am playing, it is just where my pinky anchors. I've noticed it can be when picking with a pick or finger picking - it ends up there at times. I have pretty good technique and tonal control, so I am not sure why there aren't more guitars with that wear. Then again, you have to play quite a lot to make that kind of mark.
Very nice piece of rosewood for the bridge .
Fantastic. Huge fan of your work.
I would love to stumble upon one of these in that condition and take it in to be reworked.
Wow Ted.. that was a boomer.. mad skillz my friend.. mad skillz
That's one of the cleanest Gibson dovetail joints I've ever seen!
I agree with you Ted. How did the player scratch the sound board that far down? Wow, quite brutal!
Thanks for sharing your craftsmanship 🎶🎶🎶
I have thick sharp fingernails, and while I don’t strum in a way that puts many scratches on my guitars, there are marks around the volume and tone knobs where I’ve aggressively turned up or down and made impressions with my nails.
My computer keyboard has some interesting marks as well.
I’m not sure how many people have Wolverine nails like mine but I could totally understand someone inadvertently ruining the top of a guitar with them
Great work. J45’s sound beautiful.
Lordy how I love that Gibby J-45 sound!
I have a 1946 Southern Jumbo. Great guitar. I had to get mine restored when I inherited it. It was almost firewood.
A tour de force! Thank you thank you thank you!
Great work, great editing, great attention to detail, your voice goes well with the work as well
masterful work as always, but i might be even more impressed by your editing here! you make days (or weeks?) worth of hard craft look effortless... flows as smooth as i bet the neck on this j-45 does! kudos.
I can watch you work all day.
I got a 1963-64 FujiGen GaKki from Matsumoto Japan MUSTANG GUITAR it is a red burst and after I replaced the neck because it was purchased without a neck just a loaded body. I got this guitar back in playing condition and I can’t believe how much it sounds like a Fender Stratocaster. It is a great guitar for $50 eBay and I can’t find a photo of this model in any websites. But I have accumulated a collection of Matsumoto Japan guitars made in the 1960’s and I have the first edition of Japanese import 3/4 student guitar made 1962.
Incredible skills. Cumulatively, watching these videos gives me some knowledge I didn't have before. It's not that I would tackle any of these jobs, but I think it makes me able to diagnose problems quicker. I feel like I would be able to talk to my guitar tech with some degree of confidence about what's going on, rather than something like, "I don't know, it plays weird". Very educational and worthwhile.
NIce job..... Preserving a piece of history.
I'd bet the bare-wood area below the pickguard is the result of solvent sweating out of the pickguard. And....it may be the result of strumming in that area also, but part of it is the p/g sweat. I have an old Epiphone Zephyr Regent that was stored leaning up against the wall for many years. The pickguard sweated out some solvent and produced a bare-wood drop mark.
I'll bet the player responsible for the wear between the bridge and the pickguard rested his/her pinkie on the top in that spot. Lots of pick wear around the soundhole, and a big hand could span that distance. Wes Montgomery wore through some Gibson nitro lacquer with his finger, too, albeit in another place.
You’re the absolute best.
Another fantastic 20 mins. Thank you.
Another excellent repair!
At a guess the guitarist uses a short strap and strums with their arm in line with the string paths. Indie, folky guitarists sometimes do this, with the guitar held perfectly horizontal.
Again, thank so much for these videos.
Thanks for a super video. I really enjoyed it. Appreciated.
Beautiful sounding instrument!