iddude Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 How does a repair person access and remove the knobs/components on ES guitars? Are there special tools involved to remove these items through the treble hole? Just wondering[confused] Thanks for your response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpdeluxe Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 It takes patience and a sure hand. I use a bent paper clip and string to get things in and out, but the factory guys use specialized forceps and other tools. You'll see some of in this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4764707652331081865# A little practice gets you going -- but I had a tech tell me, in all seriousness, that ES Gibsons were wired up before the top was put on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Everything fairly easily goes in and out the rear pickup hole. Now fishing it all back into place is another matter. As lpdeluxe said, there are tricks to this. A good set of surgical hemostats, telescoping mirrors and string do go a long way (I like the paper clip idea too). I do disagree with whomever told him that they were wired up before the top was glued on. This is highly unlikely for a couple of reasons. 1. I have toured the Memphis plant and seen ES guitars covered in rubber bands like a spiderweb for the binding installation and glueing process. They were complete raw wood guitars without any finish, hardware or electronics. 2. That would also mean that parts of the guitar were "finished" (as in sunburst, cherry, etc) separately, and then glued together. I also saw guitars hanging on the paint curing conveyor line, they were "complete" except without hardware and electronics. Hardware and electronics are the last thing to be installed on ANY guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 I have worked quite a bit on hollow and semi hollow body guitars... it's a real pain to work on them... And yes, I really do use fishing line... I find the thicker line easier to work with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iddude Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 I appreciate the responses; thanks! It seems to me it would be a lot easier to have an access panel on the back of the instrument! iddude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Removing the knobs is easy. Just get a soft cloth and put it under the knob between the bottom of the knob and the guitar's surface and then just gently pull the cloth up. This will remove the tone and volume knobs. I've done it more than once and it's easy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 It takes patience and a sure hand. I use a bent paper clip and string to get things in and out' date=' but the factory guys use specialized forceps and other tools. You'll see some of in this video:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4764707652331081865# A little practice gets you going -- but I had a tech tell me, in all seriousness, that ES Gibsons were wired up before the top was put on![/quote'] Dude..... That Video.... Was Freaking Awesome!!!! [omg][omg] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I appreciate the responses; thanks! It seems to me it would be a lot easier to have an access panel on the back of the instrument! iddude The BB King Lucille and the ES 333 have rear access panels. There may have been other ES models, too, but I know of those two. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpdeluxe Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Everything fairly easily goes in and out the rear pickup hole. Now fishing it all back into place is another matter. As lpdeluxe said' date=' there are tricks to this. A good set of surgical hemostats, telescoping mirrors and string do go a long way (I like the paper clip idea too). I do disagree with whomever told him that they were wired up before the top was glued on. [/quote'] Yeah, I knew the guy was full of it -- that was another reason I decided to tackle it myself instead of convincing him to do the work. I had already changed out the frozen pots in a '63 Gretsch Chet Atkins with the fake f-holes, no cavities for the top-mounted pickups, and a small oval access plate in the middle of the back! That one made the Epi look easy. Earlier 335s are the worst. Later ones (I don't know, offhand, when the change was made) have a large access hole cut out of the center block on the treble side under the rear pickup, and that eases things somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 My guy is a great luthier, can fix anything, but doesn't wanna work on anything with F-holes. He was building guitars 25 years ago, says they're just too much of a pain in the *** for him. My Guild Starfire III and ES-335 had to go to another doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpdeluxe Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 My guy is a great luthier' date=' can fix anything, but doesn't wanna work on anything with F-holes. He was building guitars 25 years ago, says they're just too much of a pain in the *** for him. My Guild Starfire III and ES-335 had to go to another doctor.[/quote'] That's understandable. But the fact is, once you master the technique, you can take jobs that others turn down. As I implied above, if a tech doesn't want to do it, it's probably wise to find an alternative. I solved the entire problem by buying a Gibson ES-335 that sang, right out of the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.