Ask the Expert: How to Cure Your Guitar’s Wintertime Humidity Blues
Maintaining your guitar’s humidity level is key in avoiding lots of headaches, from a fluctuating setup to potentially expensive structural repairs.
Mamie Minch
Mamie Minch is the co-owner of Brooklyn Lutherie and an active blues player. She is the former head of repair at Retrofret Guitars.
Ask the Expert: Why Is the Action Suddenly High on My Guitar?
Action (string height) plays a big role in how comfortable it is to play your guitar. High action could be due to a lot of different reasons—some are easy fixes.
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Ask the Expert: Why Does My New Guitar Need a Setup?
It can be frustrating when a brand new acoustic guitar isn't set up for optimum playability. Here are some reasons your new axe may need setup work right out of the box.
Ask the Expert: How to Minimize String Breakage—and What to Do When it Happens
Is it safe for the guitar, the strings, and the player to switch back and forth between standard and open tunings? Ask the Expert!
Why Isn’t My Acoustic Guitar Intonating Well, and What Can I Do About It?
Here are some things to check if you notice something is outside of the reasonable range of intonation on your guitar and it’s off enough to bother the ear.
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How to Shop for a Used Guitar
Even with a repair or two to consider, you still stand to get more for your money when shopping used or vintage. And of course, you can’t reproduce the mojo of a cool old guitar.
Ask the Expert: Caring for Your Guitar Over the Long Haul
Guitar repair expert Mamie Minch gives a rundown of some basic things a guitar owner can do, and not do, to maintain the health of their guitar.
Ask the Expert: Why Is My Guitar Buzzing?
Is your acoustic guitar making an unwanted buzzing sound? Here our resident expert offers some possible causes and solutions.
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Ask the Expert: Vintage Guitars and Aging Plastic Parts
Hello, gentle readers. Lately, I’ve received lots of questions about issues stemming from aging plastics on old guitars. From curling pickguards to binding rot, it’s one of the things that people have to bear in mind when buying and playing…
Ask the Expert: Is It Safe to Hang My Guitar on the Wall?
Will hanging my guitar on the wall alter the setup or damage it? Expert luthier Mamie Minch offers two great reasons to hang your guitar, plus some caveats to consider.
Ask the Expert: How Does a Truss Rod Work?
The truss rod is a long metal rod installed in a channel running most of the length of your guitar’s neck. Here's how it works and how to tell if it needs adjustment.
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Ask the Expert: When Is it Time for a Re-Fret? And What Is “Back Buzz?”
Should you keep the vintage frets on your vintage Gibson for the sake of the guitar’s authenticity? What's causing that mysterious metallic fret buzz? Ask the Expert!
Ask the Expert: Is Fingerboard Oil “Snake Oil?”
Does applying oil to an acoustic guitar's fingerboard have any benefits other than making it look nice? Our expert weighs in on fingerboard oil.
Ask the Expert: Does My Guitar Need A Neck Reset?
Neck repairs are a common occurrence on a vintage acoustic guitar and can enhance the sound of a valued instrument. Don’t feel nervous about getting this repair done.
Ask the Expert: If Your Guitar Isn’t Playing or Feeling Right, Check for a Loose Bridge
Q: Over the last few months, the action on my older Yamaha dreadnought has gotten uncomfortably high up the neck. I brought it into the repair shop for what I expected to be a setup, but there was apparently an…
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Innovation Through Tradition: Four Modern Luthiers Discuss Their Craft
The world of guitar making is in an exciting moment, with exceptionally skillful luthiers handcrafting instruments to the highest standards. Many of these artisans are making instruments in ways that draw from traditional techniques and designs while bringing them into…
Ask the Expert: How to Know When to Hang ‘er on the Wall
I have a Takamine dreadnought that I bought used, and it has been a trusted companion for the past ten years. I like it because it was affordable when I was just learning, and it sounds good. It’s become harder…
How to Pack a Guitar for Shipping
You can’t control everything that happens to a guitar while it’s in transit, but there are steps you can take to protect it during shipping and handling.
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The Importance of a Strong Bridge Glue Joint
I play a Gibson LG-0 that my mother handed down to me—she got it as a teenager in the ’60s. It’s a great guitar and in pretty killer shape considering all it’s seen. A few months ago, I noticed that…
Ask the Expert: Commissioning the Right Repair for a Vintage Guitar
Q: I have a 1932 Gibson L-00 12-fret that appears to have had a neck reset and refret before I bought it. After finding a few muted notes around the 14th fret, I asked a local repair shop for an…
Ask the Expert: Fixing String Spacing & Refretting a Bound Fingerboard
Thank you, dear readers, for all your write-in curios and questions over the past months. If I haven’t let you know, I really appreciate it. Sharing your question or concern, even about something small, can help clear things up for…
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Why Won’t My Guitar Stay in Tune?
Q: About six months ago, I bought a Gibson Hummingbird from the 1990s. Even though it was a little beaten up by the previous owner, it’s a solid guitar. It initially was a little fussy about staying in tune, but…