Go Guitar: Some Tricky Upgrades and Embellishment

This travel guitar is nicely made but its small size presents some unique challenges.

[@MaximilianBocek]

I think I've commented on it before, but I love now un-snobby you are about the guitars you work on. Expensive or cheap, you seem to treat every instrument with respect. Plus mind-blowing work on the rosette ... jeez!

[@smittenthekitteninmittens2679]

i second that...there was a video where he worked on 2 junk shop guitars (i actually loved the tele clone with th f hole...i'd love to acquire a similar instrument but alas i'm a lefty..)and he prefered to show us those instead .. saying the $50,000 Martin he was working on...and i quote " is boring...."...i think he get's a bit of stick for it too it seems...but people like us can just appreciate a master at work

[@p_mouse8676]

Not only that, but he also has an excellent way of explaining. Most other (known) guitar luthiers on YT, just basically only say that this is the method they used for years. Nothing wrong with that either it's just less informative.

[@the_failed_states]

I think that's a sign of a professional. I took my beat up cheap Ibanez to a local well known luthier and apologised for the lack of quality. He assured me that he's happy to take anyones money.

[@tommypetraglia4688]

@@the_failed_states I hope you packed up and took your business elsewhere to someone like Todd who puts the instrument first, and sees each guitar that comes thru his door as unique and worthy of care Taking your money and excelling at their craft are entirely two differnt things... as well as having a "bedside manner" and being a dikk

[@xdoctorblindx]

@@tommypetraglia4688 It was a joke, my dude. Also, who's Todd?

[@jasonwells5415]

Watching the ends of the rosette go together was super satisfying.

[@adamrohn4718]

Jason Wells I agree, he did a great job

[@damiendyda8608]

Yes. That fit was perfect!

[@richardmcfalls8393]

Yeah. I laughed out loud when that happened. Just another day at the office of Woodford Instruments.

[@humnpwr]

This has become my favourite luthier channel on KZbin. The camera is focused on his brilliant workmanship rather than himself. 👍🏻

[@robertnewell5057]

'Hey Gang' is the most comforting signal for some high level KZbin! 'As always, it's none of their concern as they don't own it and they're not paying for it!' Perfect. You go!

[@scotth1000]

Yes, exactly.

[@davidbrady1250]

"What you celebrities must understand is that we own you" -- Homer Simpson :D Seriously though, I love how much respect you have for the love between a player and their guitar. We can tell this by how calm you stay when you see well-intentioned amateur work that you have to rip completely out... and how frustrated you get when you see work done that hurts the player's enjoyment. Cosmetic enhancements to a well-made but economical instrument fits perfectly in your wheelhouse of improving player satisfaction.

[@robertturner5138]

This one was just over the top. Some of the things you tackle, and how you go about it, blow my mind.

[@totbenru]

This is my 3rd time watching this. I'm not a guitar maker but the techniques used here can be applied to any craft. Excellent work.

[@tommypetraglia4688]

Exquisite. Your care and diligence is only outmatched by your dexterity from the way you handle tools and the little bits, to the soft hand with which you play. I always look forward to the outro when all is complete. We're still waiting on that music video.

[@joebikeguy6669]

Wow! I have owned two of these Go travel guitars, The first one suffered a fatal accident and I actually spoke by phone with the owner/luthier Sam Radding (I think he has retired) when I bought the second one. Both of mine came standard with enclosed mini tuners. However, binding was not an option. After a number of years I had to lower the bridge and saddle, and I did just what you did to improve access to the truss rod nut. I still have the guitar, and play it often when I am relaxing on the couch!

[@markbernier8434]

Just curious, did you ever just try a simple box end wrench? Hard to judge by eye but I would have thought a snap on 12 point would have fit in there.

[@joebikeguy6669]

​@@markbernier8434 I think the walls of a box wrench would be too thick to fit in the access slot, but I don't know for sure. I have a pocket wrench which is quite small and thin walled, but the access route to the truss rod nut still needed to be made a bit larger

[@paulwomack5866]

@@joebikeguy6669 I wonder what (checks post) Sam Radding used to turn the truss rod nut...

[@joebikeguy6669]

@@paulwomack5866 I don't know. I bought the pocket wrench myself. Perhaps Sam R. had a pocket wrench with smaller outside dimensions?

[@randybecker7339]

Ted Woodford is a steely-eyed missile man! Man, that is some fine detail work on that rosette!

[@roberthaslup9556]

All I know is that this man is a genius and it’s so relaxing watching him do his craft he’s absolutely amazing I wait for his videos to watch and learn

[@davidbrady1250]

I love your ethos of caring about who is going to see the hidden parts of your work. Like warning viewers about the router being more dangerous than it looks, or the fly cutter being every bit as terrifying as it appears. Early on in this video you had to decide between making a fiddly weird truss rod tool or cutting a bit of relief into the headstock and I thought "he's going to make it easier for the next luthier".

[@roadshowautosports]

“Nobody looks at a flying cutter and say it’s a calm, safe, reassuring device, let’s raise that arm shall we?” You’re too funny brother! Your sense of humor sounds a bit like mine, always watching things that can go really wrong and make comments that will throw everybody off! Thank you for sharing!

[@OneRoundDown]

I saw a co-worker slice his thumb right up the middle on a bandsaw and he actually said "Ohh I do believe I fucked up!"

[@RafaelYamaga]

Not bragging, I swear. But these days, I'm 45 y/o. And it's a joy and very inspiring seeing someone who thinks and works as I always tried to. In my early days, I knew that all this care and meticulous job put me away from mass profits and also miles away from other luthier's incomes. I charged badly. Too cheap. But I digress. Kudos for the care and respect for all the instruments and their owners, @twoodfrd.

[@josephbrewer7026]

I enjoy all of your videos, but this one was exceptionally pleasing. I think that it being more of an esthetic project than a repair allowed me to watch and enjoy the technique and results. Well done and thanks for posting.

[@alexaguado4854]

Whoa! This guy is the Norm Abram of stringed instruments.

[@joelonsdale]

Another satisfying job with good videography and a great voiceover!

[@mankindapparel]

excellent journey peppered with many many experience nuggets throughout. some almost unnoticed, but could make the difference between a hurried sloppy job vs the slow steady assured quality work exhibited here. wow.

[@firecrackerheart]

man, ted-that was gutsy on the rosette purfling. wonderful, fantastic, amazing craftmanship!

[@michaeldorcey9305]

Fantastic video. Exceptional woodworking, as usual, but also so unique. Bravo!

[@monday6524]

I think it looks VERY good! I also appreciate the safety announcements for those of us who are novices.

[@brentbergeson9887]

I am impressed with your ability to think outside the box, particularly in making that router jig for the rosette.

[@gregmyers534]

Very impressive. Probably the best luthier videos on KZbin. No mindless blather

[@v0lkai]

I love this episode. When something just works for you, investing in making it even better is always worth it, despite what others may think.

[@ReverendSoupbone]

Liked this one! The practicality of the mods be damned!! It’s so much nicer looking now, and the owner wanted it done. I love the work-arounds you came up with, especially the rosette router! I think luthiers/repair people are akin to old school farmers, need to do something that there isn’t a tool for? First make the tool!! Pretty good sounding little traveler! Great project! Thanks!!

[@lpblewis]

Those spiny cutting things are what scare me away from woodworking. I admire the craft and I dream of building a guitar from scratch, but the risk of not having enough fingers to play the guitar once I'm done is one I am not willing to take. Can't know what you shouldn't do without experience and can't get experience without making mistakes... Maybe one day I'll try with only chisels, files and sandpaper but in the meantime I am glad there's people like you who figured how to do it safely!

[@tagosto321]

Yeah, let’s just raise that arm up a little bit, shall we? 😂

[@galerae947]

Technu works great for poison oak and ivy. My son usually breaks out horribly, but this last episode he used the Technu wash and gel. He was better by the end of the day and mostly healed within a few days

[@nfijef]

Now it's a personal, special , one of a kind! Nice work!

[@gordonkennygordon]

04:32 The crunching of the headstock carving combined with the dissonant ringing of the open strings is a COOL SOUND! Taken out of context it belongs in an Italian horror movie :)

[@falcon8553]

That was some awesome work on the rosette

[@0whitestone]

I prefer that style of tuner, they look cleaner. That's the kind fender uses and I like the look better than the screws

[@MarkMcCluney]

The tape hinge idea was exceptionally clever. Thank you Ted, that was very enjoyable.

[@bonniedust3452]

I always hate to come to the end of the video, they're always very informative and enjoyable!

[@hungryarch7319]

Duuuuude, that inlay around the sound hole.......Holy sweet little 8 pound 5 ounce baby Jesus

[@RAkers-tu1ey]

Good one. I hope all the beginners are listening. Open shapers are really scary and dangerous. Worse than band saws, because they are less predictable.

[@rick_.]

Yep. Bandsaw won't drag your fingers into the blade...

[@michaelinglis8516]

I love the saddle ruller idea! It's like a mini saddle/nut jointer!! Lol, I'm certainly going to use the from now on. May even make a jig with a dollar store wet stone as the abrasive surface. It sure beats filing, checking that its level and at a right angle to the surface it sits on, filing, repeating until correct height. With the jig I can just focus on getting the height correct and keeping pressure even. Again, thanks for sharing!!

[@andersf324]

As always, you are not only a master luthier, but a great inventor 😁. Quite surprised at the richness of the sound for the size of the body. Thought it would be more boxy sounding. But good woods and construction, as you pointed out.

[@JC-11111]

Boxy? LOL! I've heard it all now. Woody, boxy, meaty, etc... 🤣🤣🤣

[@messmer777]

Huge respect for that soundhole rosette job, that was badass.

[@gemweems2873]

Wow an honest to goodness humble guy that is extremely talented and easy to watch and listen to.

[@adamskylark]

I can't play guitar, have zero woodworking interest or knowledge but my god these videos are fantastic to watch. I don't know if it's the craftsmanship, the calm Canadian voice, the un-snobby attitude or a mix of everything but glad I stumbled across this

[@psyneurb]

I have a guitar with difficult access to the truss rod nut very similar to this one. I found a set of smaller combination wrenches called “ignition wrench “ the 12 point box end is slim enough to fit the tight opening.

[@danielmoss2394]

She was a beauty before her surgery. Stunning after. Papa will be proud. Nice work doctor.

[@MrJoeydano]

He is clearly one of the best luthiers there is ! Like Uncle Doug is to old Amps , I love this channel in fact I’m building up my tools to start doing all my own work on my guitars because of watching this channel 👍

[@jakemarlow8998]

I've had my Go-Guitar for about 15 years. Love the thing. The neck is perfect.

[@nicodanger13]

That simple way for stick the pickguard perfectly in place in a only precise movement amazed me. Thanks!

[@alansturgess1324]

Ted's videos are always worth watching with the bonus of those frequent little jewels of information and ideas which solve your own problems. Over the years I've devised my own solutions for ensuring that the underside of a lowered saddle are flat, but Ted's setup and explanations which start at around 6.07 are pure diamond., especially the idea of the steel rule (7.20) which can be used for perpendicularity and also as a way of visually checking by laying the saddle flat against the edge. The man deserves a metaphoric bear hug for that tip.

[@tomschauman4960]

I was really skeptical at first…but that little guitar sounds good!!

[@sidneysnottley6414]

Always look forward to a new vid - Excellent work.- Cheers.

[@markhansen8078]

I was really surprised at how good this little guitar sounds. Fun little instrument.

[@mikaso]

Late to the party but I enjoyed this one very much, an excellent documentary. Thanks so much Ted!

[@richardmcfalls8393]

Your customer had good instincts. The guitar looks vastly better, and sounds amazing. He also had the intelligence to send it to you.

[@TempoDrift1480]

Dang, that little thing just explodes with sound! I have a triple oh Yamaha that's all plywood and for some reason the thing is just like that in that it will blow my dreadnoughts away. Neat little thingy there.

[@EvilUnderTone]

My friend had his thumb dragged into a router bit the other month. It removed most of his thumb tip and a little bit of bone. It'll be a long time before he is playing guitar again I can tell you. be safe folks.

[@johnnygeejr500]

Nicely done ! Kudos. From the Snazz !

[@zacharykim295]

Nice work routing out that bit from the sound hole!

[@samaker4]

Awesome job. The end result is fantastic

[@johnulrich5572]

Thanks for the video. I learn a new and practical tip from every video. I'm glad you gave the router advice and warning,

[@Skraeling1]

You are an artist, sir! That mitered rosette join is superb!

[@mikecurtin9831]

A thing of beauty. Thanks for the video and thumbs up to crush a troll.

[@gartone]

He said "polishing the bone'!

[@BessieBopOrBach]

Thank you for the warnings about how these moves are not for beginners! This brilliantly fine work is why we hire experts like you!

[@MRichK]

A small drum sander is really recommended for mortals for what he was doing.

[@colinmiller9173]

Yet another great video! Your craftsmanship is admirable!

[@CounterCODE1]

I love your attention to detail, from the fabrication to your commentary. Inspiring

[@abelincoln95]

Good old kebab skewers for dowels!! I was able to get a couple of different diameters and they work well!! Thanks for the post!

[@josephpedroza632]

fantastic work.... the care and patience you have. Something I don't have sometimes. lol

[@sweettoof9002]

“I’m just polishing the bone here”. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

[@johngerson7335]

Amazing, excellent work as always. Thanks for sharing.

[@sgt.pembry9688]

Mr. Patience and sharp tools. Excellent video as usual.

[@nickafiedguitarstechandrep9617]

As always....you blow my mind. Fantastic work

[@tochriss]

An absolute education. Got to get one of those fly cutters!

[@googaboogaloo]

That purfling routing was genius. I enjoy stealing your ideas. I think I’ve used at least 4 of them in my current project where I’m converting a squier mini strat to a full scale headless guitar.

[@abbert4798]

That sounds great :D

[@bldallas]

googaboogaloo I’m interested in your project. We bought our son a black Squire mini-Strat when he was young. He’s not 20 y.o. And finally really learning to play. I’ve built several partsCasters in the past and I do my own hobbyist level luthier work. I recently did a full setup (truss rod adj, feet leveling and buffing, bridge adjustments for perfect action and intonation, etc.) on the guitar and it’s in in excellent condition. The thought of putting a full length strat neck on it, is intriguing, but I haven’t done any measuring to see if the neck pocket is the same size as a standard strat. If you have a few minutes, can you fill me 8n 8n what you’ve experience doing your project? It would be greatly appreciated.

[@googaboogaloo]

Bryan so far I haven’t fit the neck yet. I’m just starting out doing small repairs on my own guitars and local musicians guitars since there isn’t a music store within 60 miles of me. I just graduated from a luthier school and am still trying to get tools and what not. The reason I don’t have the neck fit is I don’t have router bits yet. So far I have a bridge and a rough location for it on the body I won’t locate that until the neck is on. I made a new pickguard (mostly because I didn’t like how the old one fit the body and I want a full size humbucker). The neck I’m using is a 24 fret 25.5 inch scale so I can move the bridge forward slightly. The neck was an old Fernandez I got for like 20 bucks and I cut the headstock off of and machined my own headless locking nut. Also I need to rout the bridge down about 5/16ths or so. I’m most excited about the pickup I have for it, I got a vintage mid 1970s Bill Lawrence L-90 (that’s the predecessor to the xl-500 I’m told that’s the Dimebag Darrel pickup). I don’t want to shamelessly self promote on someone’s video but I have it kind of documented on my Facebook page Bowen guitars where I mostly just work on my own stuff. I use the page as a pseudo resume/ and I do my Dr. Frankenstein experiments on cheap guitars just to see if I can. I

[@bldallas]

googaboogaloo sounds good. After leaving that message, I Googled around and read a couple forum threads where people did this. Lots of people were skeptical about the scale length and intonation, but it appears to have worked out. The mini Strat body is approx 7/8 the size 9f a standard; not enough to look weird. I may just give it a shot.

[@d.d.70]

That rosette work is awesome!!👌🏼😃

[@Esn205i]

You do such nice work....and you have great guitar skills!!! love your videos...always relaxing to listen too except for routing the pick guard lol!!!

[@scottdore132]

once again I am impressed by your craftsmanship, great video

[@Jakfilm]

Every week I marvel at your craftsmanship.

[@donaldholman9070]

Nice honey colour. Such a great video. Thank you.

[@nigelpickett2471]

Excellent work and really relaxing after a big Sunday lunch! Now off to the pub. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, beers!

[@Ukedc259]

Very enjoyable. Not seen one of these before. Sounded good. And as always, a joy to watch you at work and see the way you problem solve. Thanks.

[@LuNaaaaaR]

Love to watch a craftsman at work

[@jeffgaskill8577]

what a talented and disciplined craftsman.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

Nice to see that someone found a use for an old cricket bat 🏏.

[@Byron_Blue]

It turned out very well Ted. Inspiring…

[@truthtobehonest]

That Larivee really came out good, sounded awesome!

[@steveshortridge6255]

You have a gift my friend excellent working skills

[@homeskateco.538]

Brilliant work, as usual. That rosette was damn flawless

[@Moonboyisflying]

Such a satisfying experience when the job was done. You really feel the care. Good job. Thank you for sharing.

[@nechtriggy8620]

I love your videos they are therapeutic in a way, satisfying and educational. Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail as well.

[@loumonte658]

Though the simpler mod - the truss rod cover is the bigger 'looks' improvement. Awesome work🍻

[@planespeaking]

Great video I actually used something you did to rout out the back of a cupboard for a wire. Transferable skills

[@gregleak5134]

The stuff on your arm Looks just like mine poison ivy that turned into cellulitis, I enjoyed mine as much as you have enjoyed yours.

[@fusion-music]

First class. Well worth the upgrades.

[@matthewf1979]

Excellent work on the rosette! Actually, excellent work on all of the upgrades!!

[@steby123]

Beautiful joint on the rosette !!!

[@bilanggoboy]

Wow. That rosette channel segment. The lengths you will go to to do a great job is inspiring!

[@PaulAshley]

Beautiful work and I'll bet the owner was thrilled. Great tip on the bevel cut for the rosette join.

[@slacker42uk]

Absolutely brilliant work. Stunning in fact.

[@DwightMS1]

You really outdid yourself on this one, my friend.

[@thomasbarker7735]

Never does a boring video always interesting great job again ted

[@xelntchancechance2466]

You have the thoughtful and meticulous approach of a master craftsman. Its a pleasure to watch.

[@ted9876]

Man you are right about the dangers when pattern routing, especially with those small parts.