1972 Traynor 2x15 cabinet

We recently acquired this cabinet for the arsenal and it arrived infused with a thick coating of nicotine and THC ~ and smell to go with it!  It's missing the Traynor badge, but the screws alone are a tell-tale sign of where it was made.  Only in Canada would a manufacturer use Robertson-head screws!









Equipped with a pair of Marsland 15" ceramic magnet speakers, which give it a super clean, fat tone with a throaty midrange.  The design was originally for bass, but many guitar players have found these speakers quite excellent for Fender-type amp tones with single coil guitars.



We disassembled the cabinet completely for cleaning.  A good scrub-down of warm soapy water did the trick and the brown sludge that resulted was used for weed control in the garden!  It cleaned up very nicely and now has a great road-worn look, plus it no longer smells like Keith's tour bus.  The grille-cloth on these 70's amps is much easier to clean than old tweed style cloth from earlier generations that used cotton as a main material.  Regardless, it still requires special care.

A spray bottle filled with 4 parts hot water, 1 part white vinegar and a few drops of scented mineral oil (to dull the smell of the vinegar) works very well.  Just make sure to remove the speakers first!  With the entire baffle removed, the grille-cloth was sprayed liberally then very gently scrubbed with a soft bristle brush.  We then used a shop-vac to remove all excess water and repeated the process twice more.  Huge difference!  Before and after pics below show the same area of the cloth.  Left in the sun to dry, it took on a classic vintage patina that didn't look stained at all.  This will sure look and sound great under our '69 silverface Bandmaster Reverb!










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Broken potentiometer shafts

Here's a Les Paul who's owner prefers the look of Tele Custom style volume & tone control knobs.  Not a bad option until a while later they go wobbly and off-centre because they're a set-screw, solid shaft type that don't fit properly over the typical splined shaft of a Les Paul or Strat.  Once removed, the two tone control shafts were broken as a result of the set screw and the volume controls were obviously destined for the same result.

In order to keep the original controls intact ~ and to have the guitar ready for a fast approaching gig ~ a workable solution had to be found.  The intact volume shafts were an easy fix/mod.  Inserting a 1/16" piece of metal cut to fit the gap in the splined shaft is an effective repair that is easily reversible.  You can see how the lop-sided knob has dug in to the maple cap, which won't be a factor after this.  For the tone controls pictured above, however, I had to think outside the box...

It needed a small piece of sculpted 3/16" diameter steel rod to complete the missing 2/3 of the shaft, effectively making it a solid shaft.  Where to find such a thing without driving across town to the industrial metal supply store to ask for scrap?  Peg Board hangers!  They are the exact diameter required and also have a protective coating that prevents corrosion.  The added bonus is the little blue rubber ends ~ they fit perfectly snug over the 9v adapter cable train to stop shorting out of the unused terminals of my pedalboard.  For a package that was less than $2CDN at the local hardware store, this is a great find!

After some persuasion with a hacksaw, vice grips,  sander, file and some super glue, the solid shaft was established.  Granted, this can't be used with the original knobs but for this particular instrument it's all about function and less about fuss!

Travelling Tone Lab

Hello everyone!

We've recently taken the Tone Lab on the road and will be working on some great projects in the near future.  Some wonderful things developing with Birchway Sound and our partners that we look forward to telling you all about, so stay tuned for updates.  Also, if you would like to read about or see the occasional picture of our ongoing guitar repair work, please follow us on Twitter @Birchway_Sound.

Our friends at guitartonetalk.com were kind enough to post an article by our resident Luthier which can be read here:
http://www.guitartonetalk.com/2013/07/22/tone-vs-feel-the-importance-of-a-good-setup/
Some excellent reading through the whole site and we look forward to providing articles for them in the future.

Any suggestions, ideas, rants or bad jokes related to music, bands or guitar work are always welcome!  Please drop us a line at BirchwaySound@gmail.com

Favourite Luthier Tools that aren't Luthier tools...

The old pink paisley Tele dropped by for a pit stop the other day with some burrs that had developed in the nut and one of the saddles.  Not a repair that I would usually post something on, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to show a few of my favourite Luthier tools that weren't designed for Luthiers...

Tools made specifically for Luthiers can be irritatingly expensive considering what they actually are.  Looking around at tools from other artistic professions can often lead to some great discoveries that won't put such a dent in your pocket.

This is a cleaner tool for the tip of a welder's cutting torch.  Inside are a series of round files that are near-identical in radius to guitar strings.  Thereis also a small flat file.  Perfect for getting burrs out of nuts and saddles.  The other bonus is, with the addition of the layer of cork adhered to one side, it is the perfect taper for Strat style trems for when you want to keep them flush to the body for set-up!  An outstanding tool that can usually be found for well under $10.  To top it all off, it folds away nicely into a pocket friendly Luthier multi-tool!

This is easily the crown jewel of budget-friendly, can't-do-without non-Luthier contraptions.  There are a few other gems that I'll add to this post as they are discovered and put to good use.



The spray tube from WD-40 or contact cleaner also has a bonus feature.  Speed-up that Tele or Strat re-string by feeding the spray tube through the string channel first, then feed the string itself through the spray tube.  It eliminates the possibility of getting the string caught on any misaligned ridges ~ as if guitar players ever have trouble finding the hole!

Just because I don't like going to the dentist doesn't mean I liberated their tools!  These super handy and versatile dental tools can be easily found in any discount industrial surplus store.  This lot cost less than $20 and their stainless steel construction holds up to daily use.  Perfect for a multitude of detail work ~ scraping, scribing, inspection ~ and the forceps are wonderful as mini vice-grips/clamps for wiring.  You'll spot these on many of my posts.







The thin metal fingerboard guards that allow you to isolate a fret are certainly handy, but cost around $15 delivered for a set of six.  This stainless-steel erasing shield for $2 from a local art & craft store can be used on most frets, and is also an excellent tool for repairing minor dents and scratches.  With it's stencil-like variety of shapes you can usually find one that will surround the area to be treated while protecting the rest of the body.  It's flexibility also allows it to sit flush against a contoured surface.







Say AWWW!  Regular tongue suppressors are a must-have in every shop.  Not only is it handy to have a thin piece of wood around to use for various projects without sacrificing a choice piece of veneer, but these have many other uses.  When a single fret needs some TLC, for example, these 3/4"x1/16"x6" pieces can help simplify the process by keeping the strings out of the way without having to remove them.  Being soft wood, they cause no damage.  Also perfect as a quick shield between a clamp face and finished surface, or between wiring and components when applying heat to shrink-tubing.  And a box of 200 cost just $6.


Any avid bicyclist will recognize this little contraption.  It's the quick-release wheel skewer from the front axle of my old mountain bike.  These come in various sizes, with the rear wheel skewers being the longest.  This one allows for 2.5-3.5 inches to be clamped and the springs are great for holding it in an awkward place while setting-up and tightening.  The lever operates on an elliptical cam so once it's screwed on snug you simply turn the lever and it clamps down tight. Very strong and durable, you can often find a bunch of them used for quite cheap.  Add a couple of pieces of maple dowel with some cork lining and you have a binding clamp that you'll find is better than the usual threaded rod type with the butterfly nut.  I made this one years ago and it's come in handy dozens of times for small jobs, and I've since added a few more.  Drilling the hole through the dowel off-centre is advantageous too as it makes it much more versatile.

Stay tuned for more!  Would love to hear your suggestions on this topic as well ~ please email me at BirchwaySound@gmail.com or tweet @Birchway_Sound!

The way ahead...

Lots of exciting things happening with Birchway Sound!  Great friends and contacts are being made, new clients every week, website is being developed, and the new logo is ready for launch!  Keep an eye on this blog for page updates including sound samples, video and pictures of the instrument arsenal as well as some very talented musicians throwing their hat in the ring.  We couldn't be happier with the way things are unfolding and we owe a lot to the kindness and professionalism of many friends and colleagues.

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Over the last few months we've been displaying some of the Guitarsenal in "The Sanctuary" at Prodigal Recordings in Cayuga.  It's certainly generated a lot of interest and ideas which will be shared very soon.  This is an intimate live entertainment lounge that offers a unique chance to connect with the artist in a way like no other.




Check out this clip kindly put together by our friends at Prodigal of the incomparable Phil Naro and John Rogers enjoying some of our guitars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liq0F7riys0


Stay tuned!

Schatten BJ-02 Banjo Pickup Install

Although it's an acoustically loud instrument, putting a mike in front of a banjo isn't always the best solution, especially when you're a player that uses the "clawhammer" picking technique!  The owner of this banjo became tired of not be able to hear himself on larger stages or with a full band, so we opted for the elegantly simple yet very effective Schatten BJ-02.













This is a piezo pickup that is fastened on the underside of the drum skin (head) beneath the centre post of the saddle.  The volume/jack box is clamped to two tension posts (brackets) of your choice, and the wire is hidden discreetly in the resonator after being fed through the rim.

After setting the intonation so the saddle is positioned perfectly, the resonator was removed.  From the underside of the head, the piezo element was fed through the rim and fastened using just a drop of epoxy ~ easily removed with a heat gun and razor blade if need be.  The excess wire is first tied loosely around the tension rod and then a zap-strap around the threads to prevent it from moving.

Before clamping the control box to the brackets, I wanted to make sure the chance of it coming loose and/or damaging the finish was minimized.  Some double sided tape and a thin piece of cork sheet will do the trick ~ it acts as both a lock washer and finish protector.

Installed at the bottom beside the tailpiece is the perfect spot for volume control access and you can still set it on a stand without knocking it.  The cork subsequently acted as a spacer to make the jack positioned at the perfect angle.

The two screws at the bottom of the control box go through the unit to a small threaded bar behind the two brackets, clamping it in place.  A very discreet and excellent sounding unit that any pro would be happy to use!