Archtops, Old and New

[@chrispfeifer7628]

Out of all the luthier/guitar medics on KZbin, your channel stands out. Let's be honest, it's the presentation or the host we all come to see and hear. You have this soothing yet funny and intelligent way about you that draws people to want to see your videos. Myself included. As crazy as it sounds, there's a comfort to your videos that others don't have. I look forward to see what you have coming next. Thanks

[@glenngardin3561]

Well said, Chris!

[@shadowminister4090]

Yes, this channel is absolutely outstanding. I watch every video. Another I'd be recommend is Manotick Stringworks.

[@larsfrandsen2501]

I am just here for the Shakespeare quotes 🤣

[@theoldbigmoose]

Soothing just like Bob Ross was!

[@kbjerke]

I am certified in "aircraft quality" soldering. What you did there was impeccable. You have "the touch." Thanks for the video!

[@brokenacoustic]

Hey me too, J-STD-001 (IIRC...), and agreed, nice fillets lol

[@kbjerke]

@@brokenacoustic I worked at deHavilland Canada from 1979 to 2001. Now enjoying retirement! Best wishes to you!

[@euhdink4501]

Yeah! I'm a bit jealous about this perfect soldering work. Try to do my best, but this is top!

[@kbjerke]

@@euhdink4501 Practice, practice, practice. I've been soldering for more than 60 years, and still learn something every time I do a project. Best wishes to you!

[@frankwebster9110]

I literally took a screen shot to send to my son. We did a pick up swap recently that required the exact same job. Picture perfect

[@ninjabard1898]

Love the brief bit of monologue from the Scottish Play!

[@that_thing_I_do]

OMG ...a veritable artistic cornucopia...polishing AND the Scottish Play....Shakey Bill just shed a tear

[@ModernVintageFilm]

LOL

[@ahf5471]

Brilliant!😂

[@EnjoyPA]

Not to mention casually quoting George Harrison, almost under his breath. Brilliant!

[@bldallas]

“To do it right child.” cracked me up. Great GH reference and very nice job, Ted. Very cool.

[@markv.5962]

Yeah i caught that too

[@Maiden666jefe]

ES-style set up AND Macbeth? It just keeps getting better and better.

[@PsionicAudio]

Full of sound and fury, Ted!

[@josephbrewer7026]

Thank you for leveling and stabilizing the bridge pickup on the Sire. The pick up leaning back toward the bridge was one of the first things I noticed. I also appreciate the tip about saving the ball end of the G string for Super Glue clearing. Little things that are useful in the real world are appreciated.

[@damekraft]

he played with Joni Mitchell as well, Court and Spark is an amazing example of his skill

[@noternunstoned]

Great catch, Carlton recanted that Joni told him that she liked the way he "edited" his playing during their rehearsals and sessions.. He plays with the right feel, adding nothing more than is needed in at most just a few takes.

[@harlanbarnhart4656]

That new wiring was quite satisfying for my OCD. I like everything about that Epiphone.

[@piers2225]

I love the sound that Epiphone makes!

[@FC-cz6zd]

Wow, known about LC for a long time but never knew he was shot. 1988 and was fortunate to survive.

[@scottdunbar4898]

Best 18 minutes and 4 seconds of my day. Thanks for the video.

[@ErnieB]

A luthier and a poet-philosopher! Thanks for posting another enjoyable video. It's always a pleasure to watch you work.

[@brokenacoustic]

335 has got to be one of the best looking guitar designs ever, I rarely ever play electric, but I still want one.

[@paulgentile1024]

Yeah so beautiful.. my friend has a Gibson es330 & those were incredible & super light..

[@michaeljohansen7026]

Just viewed another guitar technician/luthier (no name mentioned) and I must say your way of thinking, conveying information, working and caring for the tradition is really superior.

[@lustycourtier2425]

It’s been a long week! Glad to see a new video from you

[@MikeyMack303]

You are truly a Master of your Trade! Simply incredible workmanship! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!

[@rippinstock]

Oh man. I get so excited one I see one of these videos hit.

[@Theonixco]

In addition to your skills, I'm always astonished how much you know about everything tangentially related, with these tidbits of history.

[@barbershoppodcast]

As always, a joy to watch and so very good for the inner voice that can get rushed and noisy in this world.

[@Cannibal_Actual]

I do not know how to solder very well but you make it look so easy. I think that’s a true tell of a master of a craft.

[@Cautionary_Tale_Harris]

I needed to resolder a jack on an Epiphone Les Paul this morning and it looked like a child did it.

[@Cautionary_Tale_Harris]

@@TELE6220 I used to be pretty good at it. This was just supposed to be a "quick job." Where's my iron? Is this all the solder I've got left? Oh wow, that flux is old! I probably shouldn't be doing this on the kitchen table...

[@immawhitetiger]

These videos are as soothing as they are educational. Thanks Ted!

[@tommycato6368]

I really appreciate when you mention something in inches and add the metric equivalent after.

[@courier11sec]

Been seeing some really nice stuff from Indonesia. Makes sense as there are a lot of very skilled craftspeople there. As always, grateful for your willingness to share a piece of your work with us.

[@har234908234]

I think I saw TV Jones use rubber tubing that was of an appropriate internal diameter to hold to pot shafts and switches for the fishing operation. It looked a bit weird with so many tubes coming out of a Gretch F-hole... but if you were working on *them* every day, you'd want to have all the tricks working for you.

[@imacmadman22]

I liked the George Harrison reference, that was a nice touch, Ted. It's always a joy to watch you at work.

[@JorunnO]

I could watch your videos for hours and hours, unfortunately there's only so much content you can make each week! Thanks again for a brilliant video and the calm and relaxing commentary!

[@chuckquinn8026]

That’s one sweet Epiphone! ❤️

[@Badhands55]

In my experience- the world is a better place because of you making videos like this.

[@1mespud]

That surgery procedure and resurrection of that Epi was outstanding!!

[@josephbrewer7026]

Very nice soldering with those controls. Nice and tidy.

[@hydorah]

Glad you fixed the nut on that 'Sire'. It's square bulk stuck out to me immediately. Turmeric in hot water is great for speed yellowing plastic. A quick Google shows that Sire's take on the 335 is considerably more expensive than many Epiphone 335 models. Sire at £599 and Epis from about £400. An Epi with the same inlays and in tobacco burst is at £529, I also see Sire are getting max value out of Larry Carlton, they've applied his name to almost everything they sell

[@greenfinch628]

Amazingly beautiful soldering job!

[@limpindug]

Great stuff buddy, a allways learn something from your videos, so many thanks for your time, work and sharing. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍👍👍🥃Respect to you mate.

[@masonianbund]

Came for the repair wisdom, stayed for the Shakespeare

[@beenaplumber8379]

Yeah, was that MacBeth? Out candle, out...

[@picksalot1]

Nice, simple solution to use foam under part of the Humbuckers to get their angle to be more parallel to the bottom of the strings. Improves tone, in my experience. 👍

[@adobedoug2564]

Thanks for playing them for us Ted.

[@jeromestevenfaigin6059]

Good stuff. My uncle's father in law let me setup intonation on an Epiphone I really liked it. I also played a Gretch before endorsement from a Beatle like George Harrison, I think it was an Arty Shaw? Small thin open body. One F-hole really well made. Good show.

[@robertnewell5057]

Good quote on the polishing

[@disgruntledfaerie]

"That struts and frets his hour upon the stage..." Mmm. Frets.

[@phillipbingham487]

Beautiful work man !

[@battleax002]

I recently found your videos, very informative, quite entertaining! I’m a long time self taught guitar player and a bit of a DIY sort. I have learned over the years to do some setup on my instruments, but besides the scary neck resets, you share bits of information that has filled in some blanks on my home acoustic/electric/mandolin setup work. A common problem with the moderate priced instruments I have, is the high nut grooves. Watching your videos and the judicious application of a last-word dial indicator determining all the strings clearances over the lower three frets then some careful nut filing and shaping, I now have instruments that aren’t pulled out of tune when fretted in the lower positions. Thanks for the videos and tips, you have improved my sound!

[@aipsong]

Great video, as always, thanks!! I have an Epiphone Granada from about 1967 that almost exactly resembles the second guitar in your video. No cutaway, and I had a luthier, Dan Erlewhine's cousin (or brother, I can't remember) remove the very ugly pick guard, and cut a second symmetrical f-hole. A fabulous guitar from Kalamazoo.

[@stevenkarnisky411]

Learning a lot about my instruments from this channel!

[@3cardmonty602]

I have an Epiphone Century clone and love it for the Blues and some classic Rock. It can Rock Out a little bit.

[@orionwarren4244]

Man that cheap ES 335 has an awesome ringing tone!

[@disco4535]

I played a Sire T3 a couple weeks ago at a local shop and I was extremely impressed. Couldn't believe it was only $350. If I didnt already have 3 other Tele's I would've bought it in a heartbeat

[@dlhdonn]

Thanks so much for the thorough critique on the Sire. I've desired a 335 style for a long time but couldn't justify the expense of a Gibson. The expense wouldn't really be a major issue except I like motorcycles too. I had already put the Sire at the top of my list of possibles and you confirmed what I had read about & gleaned from other reviewers. For those that might be in the same boat that read this...the other at the top of my list is the Wolf brand, manufactured in Korea. Worth your time to investigate. Thanks again, Ted.

[@beenaplumber8379]

No love for the Sheraton?

[@dlhdonn]

@@beenaplumber8379 I think if I went down the Epiphone road, I'd explore the Dot.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@dlhdonn In my last classic rock cover band our guitarist played a Dot with a Bigsby. I loved that thing! He liked the guitar quite a bit, but not the Bigsby. For me I think the Sheraton is lovely eye candy. My dad has one, and I like playing it, but I'm not enough of a guitarist to appreciate fine differences. I have a pawn shop Casino (for fun, I'm a bassist), and I really like it, as dull as it looks. The tone is wonderful, and it set up very nicely. (I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop - it came from a pawn shop, and it was cheap!) My experience with the Epiphones has been pretty good.

[@dlhdonn]

@@beenaplumber8379 You know what? I think the Casino is what I meant. The completely hollow body electric thin line is a very cool thing!

[@homebroodcelticband9534]

Phew, was starting to get worried about you.. Thanks. For. Each. And. Every. Video!!!

[@armin0815]

When the weekend's gone by and I haven't made it to the shop once more, it's always nice to see your video come up and watch you work your wonders with your craft.

[@kindabluejazz]

Are we going to see a video of Alfie playing slide on that Gibson soon? 🙂

[@ShannonFerguson]

Quoting Macbeth? You are a Renaissance Man, Ted!

[@dalgguitars]

Thank you.

[@grundunterrecording4197]

Ooohh, that Century is a lovely guitar!

[@goodun2974]

They used to refer to Larry Carlton as "Mr ES-335". If I remember correctly he played the solos on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne", and "Don't Take Me Alive". This ES-335 clone guitar is pretty but the pickups sounded a bit midrangy to me, lacking definition and sparkle. I definitely like the way the P90 sounds in that Epiphone, even through your tiny little shop test amplifier.

[@MikeyMack303]

P90's are awesome! I have preferred them since I started playing in the 60's!

[@stealingtomorrowband]

I was having an extremely bad evening until i seen this video pop up... Woodford needs more videos... Someone get this man a film crew

[@graham6229]

Love the old Epi. Sounds really great after you exemplary work

[@graham6229]

Is it for sale then ?

[@Terry3Gs]

Great video as always !! Thanks again for keeping up with posts !! Take care !!

[@stevengood6434]

I have a cherry Sire H7 and the quality is really good and the pickups sound good.

[@johncreighton8872]

Compulsory viewing. Zen and the art of guitar repair and maintenance.

[@Atm979]

Very informative as always. Thank you.

[@boldlygo3469]

Beautiful guitar!

[@jltrem]

Never knew that Larry Carlton shooting story. Wow.

[@J.C...]

Whoa. Look at the green stuff that came out of that tuner when he filled it with lithium grease. Jeez.

[@fairguinevere666]

The pain of polishing is why I only use stainless frets on refrets or new builds. Even the best nickel goes fuzzy within months, but I've got stainless frets that are coming up on 3 years without so much as a hit with some of the fret polish in a tube, let alone level/crown/work through grits/polish. Still haven't quite captured the feel of a musicman I tried once, with frets so perfect I nearly cried, but perhaps it's become a white whale in the telling of the story over the years... I also very much agree about how it's wrong they're so cheap - those folks building these deserve far more money and the instruments need to be far more treasured than how someone here might approach them with our global purchasing power. Genuinely good instruments can now be had for the price of a damn trinket, and I worry it only encourages guitar players prone to GAS.

[@Ruefus]

Beautiful work on the harness. It's a shame no one ever sees stuff like this once it's installed.

[@billbones1000]

Thank you sir

[@danielmargolis3210]

I had a red Sire h7 that I gave to my grandson, who loves it. I couldn’t get comfortable with the narrow neck. Now I have an excellent Eastman t59/v with a 1.75” width.

[@activese]

Oh that soldering, it's impressive, tidy. Take care, cheers.

[@petertiffany8096]

Nice work! I have found from prior experience that the braided shielded wire is almost imperative for ES style installs. Anytime I have tried it with more modern wire, some stray wire breaks. Could just be my fumbling efforts, but with the braided wire, I have had good results.

[@JackdeDuCoeur]

Nice work

[@vincetaylor6126]

Awesome video ty

[@frankwebster9110]

I don't know how new it is but, your mic is sounding great!

[@RealBobLoblaw]

I enjoy your vocabulary

[@KristopherCraig]

I ordered one for my ship. I can’t keep it in tune so I’ll have to do the same thing and set it up correctly

[@williamknell864]

It seems like every YT review I seen of any Sire guitar has marveled at the seeming "out of the box" perfection of these guitars. Especially for the money. I wonder now if those were purchased guitars, or if they were sent to YT channels for review, and were given extra setup attention.

[@normanwaller2924]

He was the guitar player for the crusaders

[@jeremywilliams703]

Thanks again. I really look forward to your posts. I hope my .00001 of a cent helps in some way. ✌️❤️🙏🇦🇺

[@zdcyclops1lickley190]

Tall frets will not cause intonation problems if you lace your finger tip immediately behind the fret, or better yet on the fret. You can even mute the string by allowing your fingertip to go slightly past the fret. Takes lots of practice and is very hard to do with barre chords.

[@milt7348]

Stay safe and we'll see you next week.

[@jipes]

Neat work as usual and clever tips. Beautiful Epiphone I use to have on of a similar model they are great slide machines.

[@bevo65]

I treasure having big fingers, except for situations like these ...

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

A zero glide nut would be a good upgrade

[@fretnut3510]

I thoroughly enjoy these videos. I wish I could have you work on a few of my guitars.

[@Joe___R]

To make wiring hallow body guitars easier, you might want to look into laparoscopic surgical instruments. They make all kinds of great tools to easily reach into small areas and precisely manipulate things while being able to see everything you whole time. Most of the basic surgical instruments are actually pretty cheap and made to last.

[@alext8828]

That is one beautiful guitar. (the Sire). Ted, you can bring back the white color on that pickup cover w/ strong hydrogen peroxide vapor and UV light in a closed container. I'll try to find the link if you're interested.

[@mikemace9644]

I'd watch this channel for the commentary alone, but your fine workmanship, eye for detail, how you always seem to go above and beyond doing more than & never less than just blows me away. Today everyone is cutting corners trying to do less. Plus, either people just don't have the skills to do the fine work that used to be the norm or they just don't care enough to do quality work. I do heating & air conditioning, totally different beast, butt some of the work I come behind is terrible. If I did it I'd be embarrassed.

[@duster71]

Wow I forgot he got shot,what fun figuring out Room 335 back in the 70s as a teenager..

[@troyclayton]

Thanks!

[@QuestionMan]

"sodder" "sold-er" still gets me every time. 😂

[@rankenfile]

Mr. Carlson really nails that pronunciation 😉. Interesting how many Canadian channels to which I am subscribed.

[@kevinhill1848]

Thanks for posting Ted, great work as ever. Keep safe 👍

[@briefcandle]

Life is but a walking shadow.

[@mellowvids9637]

Lovely

[@waltergwiazda1803]

Nice work!👍

[@RichardMcLamore]

exotic scraps needs to be a super group of indie phenoms . ..

[@friedjohn]

Really for me this is just fantastic entertainment. Just love that bit of King Lear and George Harrison thrown in on top of the serious stuff.

[@stephen3366]

First time iv seen ted wearing a watch ! Very interested to know what a perfectionist like himself would deem worthy for the wrist. My best guess from the very short Clip is a Bulova mechanical field watch on a nice leather nato style strap .. God... two of my favorite worlds colliding!

[@88BLLO]

New sub Been Fixing my & other friends guitars for 20+ years. Learned something useful in the first 4 min. Thanks

[@_rittenden_]

Another enjoyable and enlightening video, even for someone like me who doesn't play. Have you ever done a "workroom tour" video? I find those fascinating as well. Thanks for the new video!