Refurbishing an older guitar

[mark123]

It’s regular nut with a lock behind it.

I don’t think my Post was clear. The Kahler locks aren’t like the Floyd locking nuts. They keep the regular nut and a lock is installed directly behind it. I use the lock with the toolless clamp. No hex wrench Is required.

 

[fitz]

I don’t think my Post was clear. The Kahler locks aren’t like the Floyd locking nuts. They keep the regular nut and a lock is installed directly behind it. I use the lock with the toolless clamp. No hex wrench Is required.

My Kahler is like that with the locks behind the nut.
I replaced the nut with a Graph Tech Tusq.
Hex key locks on each string, not pairs like a FR - stays in tune great.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Ok, just to get this out of the way, it’s not valuable, it does have sentimental value though. It is the same guitar from the painting thread:

I need a guitar painted

I’ve painted a kit guitar before and, to be strictly honest, it looks horrible. Mostly because I didn’t fill the grain and it came through so I had to put about 48 coats of clear on it. (Slight exaggeration). So, on this guitar that I’m painting now, what should I use to fill the grain and...

marshallforum.com

I have an 80s era Washburn A15-V. It’s pretty cool but probably the least desirable of the 80s Washburns as it came with 3 single coil pickups. It’s a rocker looking but softer sounding mashup.

I cut it up (routed for EMG humbuckers and a Kahler) and repainted it. In the mid-90s I had a local guy refret it with taller frets because the originals were tiny and I didn’t like it. Turns out it wasn’t a great job so the guitar sat, unpainted and unstrung in the case for almost 30 years.

I cut a new pickguard for it and put in some nice pickups but the setup is all wrong. I’m attributing that to the frets now being taller and that causing the nut to be too low along with it being unstrung for so long.

First, the truss rod doesn’t have any adjustment left. Loosening it any more just takes the bolt out. Should I loosen it all the way and string it with really heavy strings and let it set for a couple weeks? Is that a cure or just a temporary fix? Am i going to have to do major surgery on this?

Second, the way it is now the Kahler needs the saddles to be set way too high for the action to be just slightly buzzing. One of the adjustment screws fell out because it was so high. It feels good to play but too much buzz? With a recut nut and a fresh fret leveling, will that help me to get the saddles lower or will i have to install a little riser too get the bridge up? I’m not opposed to installing a wrap around Tune-O-Matic as i am no longer enamored by vibrato bars.

View attachment 124742

Any advice on getting this thing ready to go is appreciated. Thanks.

Sounds like too much time and money, hang it on the wall over the couch as artwork and youre done! Or scrap it for parts, get a new neck and body and put it together.

 

[mark123]

News to report: restringing it tightly with the truss nut off did give it some relief that about 1/8 turn brought back out. I probably can go another 1/8 turn but I’m letting it settle.

 

[mark123]

Sounds like too much time and money, hang it on the wall over the couch as artwork and youre done! Or scrap it for parts, get a new neck and body and put it together.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

If the bridge is too high at minimum height adjustment, with a set neck, the best remaining option is to sink the bridge farther into the body. How good are you with a router?

If the neck has taken a warp and is out of adjustment range, then hang it on the wall and call it "Art". Not even pulling the fingerboard and making internal alterations to the neck is likely to work in the long term.

Finally....it's a Washburn. You've got to know when it's time to stop digging.

 

[paul-e-mann]

View attachment 124807

Reality is painful sometimes...

 

[mark123]

If the bridge is too high at minimum height adjustment,

Exactly the opposite. The bridge is too low at its maximum adjustment.

 

[El Gringo]

I've heard of people using weights to do it, but never have done so myself. Probably weighting the neck in the angle you want it to move, along w/ some humidification...

You should be able to remove a set neck (not a neck-thru). It's just a more experienced sort of lutherie... Once removed, you can shim it, or shape it to tilt, then re-set it...

since you are repainting it, now is the time to do this...

It's been a lifetime or two the last time I heard someone mention the weighting of the neck . This is for real and I think it was my former tech who told me about this over 30 years ago . Wow ,that is a deja-vu for me.

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

Remove the bridge and make a shim of proper height so that the saddles can be set to an appropriate height. Paint it to match the bridge, forget about it, and rock on. Simplest and easiest fix imo.

As for the nut: When fretting at the third fret, do you hear a "plink" sound when you tap the string at the second fret or is it totally dead? If you hear that plink on each string then you should have enough fret clearance... assuming you pick light enough. This is how I setup my guitars. Either I can barely see the string move or I can hear that plink. This is pretty much like having a zero fret.

If you pick heavily then you'll need to raise the nut slots with CA and baking powder or some finely sanded nut material. Either that or replace the nut.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[mark123]

As for the nut: When fretting at the third fret, do you hear a "plink" sound when you tap the string at the second fret or is it totally dead? If you hear that plink on each string then you should have enough fret clearance... assuming you pick light enough. This is how I setup my guitars. Either I can barely see the string move or I can hear that plink. This is pretty much like having a zero fret..

There is no plink. I’m 99% sure a new nut is in order.

 

[houseofrock]

is it a bolt on or glued neck?
If it is a bolt on you can shim the neck to change the neck angle a bit. It should help to lower the bridge adjustment as well.
Stewmac.com sells shims in .25, .5, 1.0 degree increments.

 

[mark123]

is it a bolt on or glued neck?

That would make things easier. Alas:

Yes, it’s a set neck. No shimming is possible.