Thank you

HousekeepingGerry Hayes22 December 2017christmas, holiday

Frets are consumables

Frets don't last forever. They're essentially a consumable item; designed to wear and expire as they're used.

Recognise the signs of fret-wear and a couple of things that will speed it.

Click to read more…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes4 December 2017frets, refret, fret level, crown, setup, guitar, bass, neck, fingerboard, intonation, fret wear

Sketchy Setups on sale for Black Friday

All this talk of Black Friday sales has prompted me to do something too.

So, all Sketchy Setups guides (including the already discounted bundle) are 20% off for Black Friday. Just use code crazyblackfriday at checkout

Don't dilly-dally. That code is crazyblackfriday

Buy Now or read more.

Books, SetupGerry Hayes24 November 2017guitar, bass, setup, DIY, intonation, action, relief, truss rod, book, ebook, guide, sketchy setups

How a visit to Haze Guitars works

Repair appointments here at Haze Guitars work a little differently than most other places.

The very short story is:

Book an appointment
Drop your instrument at your appointment time.
Collect your instrument in a day, or maybe two.

If you want, you can stop reading here.

However, for a little more information and context on the process, you might find the following useful.

HousekeepingGerry Hayes21 November 2017appointments, diary, repair, guitar, bass, seutp, housekeeping, book

Weird drawings 'n' stuff

I'm going to share my secret hobby with you.

And then, because of my many deep and crippling insecurities, we will never speak of it again.

Deal?

HousekeepingGerry Hayes20 November 2017t-shirt, merch, merchandise, conan, paul mccartney, david bowie, yamaha ns-10, weird stuff, drawings

Want some recommendations for choosing a pickup?

Obviously, as someone who installs pickups regularly, I often get asked for some recommendations. Players are considering an upgrade or swap and will hit me up for some advice on the tone of this or that pickup, or whether a particular pickup will suit the style they're going for. You know the sort of thing.

Click through and check out my advice…

Guitar WiringGerry Hayes13 November 2017pickup, guitar, bass, seymour duncan, dimarzio, bare knuckle, humbucker, single coil, alnico, wiring, installation

Follow-Up: HPL and Laminate Wood Instruments

Just a quick follow-up from the last post regarding the problems repairing HPL guitars.

Well, it wouldn't be fair not to mention that instruments made with laminated ood can lso have 'mismatched splintering' problems if they break.

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes7 November 2017repair, laminate, plywood, solid wood, acoustic, guitar, touch-up, crack, splinters, hpl

What you should know about High-Pressure Laminate (HPL) guitars

HPL, or High-Pressure Laminate materials are becoming more commonplace in guitar construction. Martin Guitars, in particular, have a line made partially, or almost completely, from HPLs.

As a guitar construction material, there are a lot of advantages. But, in order to go into this with your eyes open, you should be aware of one disadvantage.

Check it out…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes6 November 2017repair, HPL, high-pressure laminate, martin, acoustic, tonewood, wood, alternative materials, side, glue, epoxy

Should I Slacken String Tension For Storage?

Guitar and bass strings can exert hundreds of pounds of tension on a guitar neck. So, it makes sense to slacken off the strings when you're not using the instrument, right?

Maybe not…

SetupGerry Hayes30 October 2017guitar, bass, storage, hard case, flight case, truss-rod, string tension, strings, neck, relief, vintage

Balancing Pickup Output/Volume

Now that we've looked at individual string balance for pickups, and looked at the problems with incorrectly adjusted pickups, let's get each of the pickups in your guitar or bass balanced so they sound good.

Let's go…

SetupGerry Hayes24 October 2017guitar, bass, setup, pickup, les paul, sg, strat, tele, single coil, volume, output

Problems due to pickup height

Your pickups are too high.

Well, if you're like most guitarists and bassists, your pickups are too high. Sure, it's all about the power but there are a number of drawbacks to setting your pickups too close to the strings.

Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes17 October 2017pickups, setup, electronics, guitar, bass, fret buzz, tuning, intonation, humbucker, single coil, strat

The pickup trick many bass players don’t know

After setting up a Precision Bass, I frequently get asked about the pickups. Players notice I've done something different there.

Well, it's an easy job to balance out the string output on a P-Bass. Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes10 October 2017pickups, pickup, bass, guitar, fender, p-bass, precision, split-pickup, setup