Remembering the Decade

 These old shots ( before the advent of digital cameras ) taken at my old Brunswick St. shop, will give you all a glimpse into a time where I had just started to teach my first Conestoga College "Guitar Repair and Design" courses, was developing the very first StringTech Workstations and had retro-fitted an old chair-factory into a fully functional guitar design / restoration and teaching facility .

I am very grateful for this period and for the accumulated experience and skills acquired during this time. All of this became possible due to the help, faith and encouragement of countless customers, students and  friends who shared the vision and contributed in so many ways.

I am very excited and grateful for the continuing opportunity to share what I have learned over the past 4 decades with my students and the "Global Guitar Community ".

As I formulate the Level 2 curriculum for the Spring 2010 sessions over the coming weeks, I welcome your feedback and requests.

There are several new possibilities on the horizon for an augmentation of courses and curriculum to be offered in the coming 2 years. Feel free to contact me directly with your input.

Gratefully in your service,

              Michael McConville

Seasons Greetings and a Prosperous New Year !

A special welcome to the new group of Saturday students who will be starting their studies after Christmas ... 

Thank you all ... Peter, Michael, Ryan D., Jim, Ryan M., and Dan ( my returning 09' Fall Session student ! ) for making the commitment to drive in from Toronto, Aylmer, St Catherine's, Kitchener , Hamilton each week to support and be part of this experience. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you.

Have a great Christmas .... we'll see you in the New Year !

Thank you to all 36 students this past year for your faith and encouragement.  I sincerely wish all of you success in the coming year with all your guitar-istic goals and aspirations.

The Spring 2010 Level 2 curriculum details will be sent out to all of you in January.

We are planning on having our "Grand Get-Together" in March 2010 so that all of you ( all 42 of us ! ) can get to meet each other and swap ideas / techniques / sources / and explore networking opportunities.

Guitar Repair and Design - Fall Session "Wind Down" last night.

This was the "Wind Down" last night for the Second Fall Session Tuesday class.

Every single student was Go Go Go all night long.Thanks to all of you for your relentless enthusiasm .... it was a great session with plenty of unique challenges that were overcome and sorted out. Looking forward to our student party ... and introducing you all to the Monday group. I'll send out the particulars this week.

Guitar Repair and Design - Level 1
Conestoga College
(Stratford Campus)

Next available course : Spring 2010


Saturday, January 9th, 2010.
11am to 2pm.
Six - three hour intensive lessons.
Course full ... waiting list only
Register online
(See Conestoga link below)

Dates:  Monday, November 2nd – December 7th, 2009  (FULL)
              Tuesday, October 27 - December 1, 2009 (FULL)
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Place: Northwestern Secondary School
428 Forman Ave. Stratford  N5A 7W2
Instructor:  Michael McConville
Phone: 519-275-2188
Email:  mcconville@wightman.ca
Conestoga Contact : Joyce Irving jrving@conestogac.on.ca

                             
Next available Courses Level 1 and Level 2 Spring 2010

Synopsis:
This introductory course will provide students with hands-on training in the set-up and repair of acoustic and electric guitars. The repair of cracks and fractures, a detailed study of fretting technique, the fabrication of hand-cut nuts and saddles, basic wiring and pick-up installation will be covered in six 3 hour sessions. Workstations and hand tools will be supplied for the duration of the course. Study with Luthier and Guitar Repair Technician, Michael McConville.

CURRICULUM

WEEK 1

1. Overview of course

- Solid Body Guitar featured weeks 1 & 2

- Acoustic & Classical Guitar featured weeks 3 & 4

- Complete Fret Job on Solid Body Electric weeks 5 & 6


2. Overview of Guitar Family

- Classical and Flamenco

- Steel-String Acoustic

- 12 String Acoustic

- Arch-top Electric

- Solid Body Electric


3. Orientation to work stations and hand tools


4. Safety issues

- Hand and power tools


5. Basic Design and physics of Solid Body Electric

- Pick-up combinations and placement

- Basic switching options


6. Basic truss rod designs, variations and functions

- Guitars without truss rods


7. Setting action and intonation

- Practical overview


WEEK 2

Solid Body Electric

1. Recap of Week 1 – Truss rod adjustments and intonation


2. Practical Application of Week 1

- Truss rod adjustments

- Pick-up adjustments

- “Lay” of the neck

- Setting the action and intonation – physical and atmospheric (seasonal) influences

- Dressing nuts and saddles

- Floating tremelos – bridges

- Balancing “K” value of spring assembly

- String gauge – variations & their effects on intonation & play-ability

- Alternate tunings

- Tailpiece/Bridge combos


WEEK 3

Acoustic Steel String and Classical Guitars

1. Overview of these instruments

- Bracing design

- Bridge design

- Fret profiles

- String gauges & types


2. Discussion and demonstration of setup and intonation

- Fabrication of bone nuts and saddles

- Adjusting focal points on saddles

- Arching saddle to fingerboard radius

- Basic radius template design


3. Cracks and Fractures

- Loose braces

- Quarter sawn cleat & patch fabrication and installation


WEEK 4

1. Practical application of Week 3

- Fret level, crown and polish

- Edge dressing


2. Discussion of Arch-Top Guitars

- Trapeze style tailpieces & stop tailpieces

- Bridge placement and set up


3. Discussion of Twelve String Guitars

- Intonation requirements

- Extra string load considerations


WEEK 5

Demonstration of Complete Fret Job - Solid Body Electric Guitar with Rosewood Fingerboard

Instruction in Fretwork:

- Fret removal

- Truing of finger board

- Preparation for new frets

- Fret wire profile variations

- Alloy variations




WEEK 6

Continuation and Completion of Complete Fret Job for Solid Body Electric

- Refretting

- Dressing and polishing

- Intonation

- Final setup


Conclusion – Discussion – Questions

- Recap of past 6 weeks

- Tooling requirements for home workshop

Conestoga "Guitar Repair and Design"

A big thanks to all 12 of the Second Session Fall 09' Monday and Tuesday night students Drew, Dan, Travis, Andrew, Allen, Matt, Greg R., Walter, Kyle, Dave ,Chris and Greg F.

Special thanks to all of you who are travelling the distance from Acton, London, Kitchener, Ingersol, St. Marys, Woodstock, Hamilton, Guelph etc.. to Stratford to study with me. It has been a rewarding experience teaching, working and sharing ideas and techniques with all of you. As we wind down the Level 1 curriculum, I welcome and encourage your suggestions for the Level 2 course curriculum so that it meets and exceeds your expectations. 


Gratefully , Michael

This a solid Koa ( hawaian mahogany ) Uke bridge ( rosewood ) came

off ultra-clean !

 

This is a Martin guitar bridge that I slipped off  "right on the glue line"  ( it was lifting slightly ) and re-glued this past week. As you can see, when you blow up the picture for a close look ... there was not so much as a micro-sliver of wood that pulled away from the foot of the bridge OR the top wood !

Conestoga College : Course Discussion and Student Feedback

Conestoga College : Guitar Repair and Design Course

This approach, with 6 students bringing an average of 5 instruments each - we end up with a broad cross-section of different types of guitars as well as different repairs. With all the various members of the 'Guitar Family' ..... 12 string / solid body electrics / classical / fretless bass / arch-top / flamenco / dobro / left-handed / floating tremolo systems / acoustic-electric systems / etc.. etc... there is layer upon layer of information to cover.

The week long break between lessons gives the students a chance to consider what has been covered in the 3 hour session and to formulate questions for the upcoming class.

Comments from students:

" I have benefited hugely from this course. It has allowed me to learn a lot of skills in a hands on enviroment. Tons of knowledge in a small period of time.  Ryan Mc.


" I believe I have a solid foundation for making money with these skills if applied".  Dan P. 


"Thank you for your graciousness, enthusiasm and encouragement ". Warren H.


"A lot of great information has been shared with us. The hands on aspect helped solidify the information." Amber G.

"Great guy. Very knowledgable. He really knows his stuff."  Bill C.

"Great course and great info!  Thanks a lot Michael!"  Michael S.

"Always spoke positively about progression in learning."  Carlos P.

"I can now do things I wouldn't have even dared to try before".  Cody M.

"Teacher was great,course was great.  I'd take it again.  Looking forward to

future courses."  Matt B.

"Everything brought to the table was well planned and demonstrated."  Rob D.

"Mike made this course really enjoyable, a great person to learn from."  Peter D.

"I can't believe what I've been able to do on my own."  Bill C.

"Excellent experience, I would strongly recommend to others."  Warren H.

"Obviously you have been through many processes of elimination to come up with the most efficient, simple, yet correct way of doing each repair and to me they seem logical , not mystical.  The thing that impressed me most was the way you took what seemed to me to be the complex make-up of the guitar and simplified it to a step-by-step, controlled process that most could follow."  Paul H.

"The amount of information and the variety of topics was incredible."  Josh D.

"I own a number of guitars and wanted to learn how to do basic repairs.  It was very informative; he took the time to show us in great detail."  Larry J.

Guitar Repair and Design Course November 2 / 09'

Joyce Irving jirving@conestogac.on.ca  to register.

Thank you ... to all of the First Session Fall 09' students .... for driving up to Stratford each week from Niagra Falls, London, Cambridge, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener to study with me. Congratulations on your completion of GRAD Level 1 ... looking forward to seeing you again in Spring 2010 for Level 2. Your commitment and enthusiasum is a big inspiration !

Amber / Dan / Kevin / Steve / Stephan / Wayne / Nick / Brandon / Ryan /..... special thanks and to Steve and Sam .. my first Father/Son duo and Warren my returning Spring Session student !

StringTech Goes - Green !

StringTech goes Green !!

Scroll down for details

Michael came down from Elora for a Tremelo Bridge install / neck fitting /fret dress and setup.

David ( London ) needed his Taylor " tweaked to perfection " for a solo "wedding gig".

John drove up from London and entrusted his 335 to my care for fret dressing/ tailpiece inserts /input jack re-wiring and set-up. Thanks John ... I always appreciate the work and it is always extra nice to work on beautiful instruments like this one !

Thanks to the engineering prowess of Dave Hunt, at Canadian Recycled Plastics ( CRP Stratford ) , ALL plastic components for the TechDeck workstations are now made with recycled plastic !

The vast majority of the sources are within a 60 mile radius of my workshop door.

Special thanks to " Conceptual Impact Design " ..... the Design / Engineering firm from Waterloo Ontario .... for an amazing feat of engineering !

Thank you Scott /Trong/ Thuy/ John ( all 4 are Conestoga College ..... Graphic Design / Engineering / Robotics ... Alumni ) and Art .. our one-man-army production manager !

A big thank you goes out to NWSS for their unwavering support and enthusiasum , from Deborah McNair ( School Principal ) , Steve Faber ..... veteren cabinet maker / carpenter / Wood Shop Teacher, Donna Camp ( Music teacher ) to the custodians. 


My sincere thanks also goes out to Joyce Irving at Conestoga College for initiating this whole project back in November 2008.

The combined efforts of all of the aformentioned  have made this whole project an inspirational, joy-filled experience for all concerned.

Gratefully and Sincerely,

Michael McConville   
      

" Think Global ... buy local "

Small ..... really is the new big !

McConville Rosewood Jumbo Cutaway

This guitar was co-designed by Philip Patterson ( one of my former music students )

This was a shot that I had almost deleted. After taking a second look, I thought ... hmmm ? .... I think I like that !

For those of you who aren't up on your " Ancient Hebrew " ..... the gold leaf lettering is a quote from the 18th Psalm .... hence the model name .... Psalm 18

In a Luthiers Workshop ... multi - tasking is an everyday affair

Fitting the neck with an off-set dovetail. Cutting the dovetail off centre for this cutaway Jumbo .... puts the male dovetail in the centre of the head block for more stability.

This is my version of a compensated nut ... cut from a bone blank.

This was the day the new StringTech "TechDeck" arrived. I was ' One Happy Camper ' that day!! Been using it every day since.

Even the bowl back instruments, like this Ovation can be handled firmly and safely without the use of dangerous clamps or vices.

If you scroll down , you'll see how the TechDeck handled David's upright bass for the fingerboard levelling, nut filing and set-up.

This is a Ricky 4001 Re-Fret with Dunlop 6105 fretwire.

I finished up this Re-Fret today ( also Dunlop 6105 ) on this 73' Strat.

Joey's Mex Jazz De-Fret

.025" Brass inserts are used to fill the saw kerf after removal of the frets. This restores the rigidity that is lost when frets are removed from a fingerboard.... much more effective ( and cleaner ) than trying to fill the kerf with up epoxy!

Levelling Double Bass Fingerboard

National Tri-Cone , Taylor 12-String

Rick Taylor dropped this guitar off for a pickup install after indicating that he was ready to drive to Michigan USA to get this job done because after checking with the "12th Fret" and a couple of other places within a comfortable driving distance of home ( Bayfield ) he had failed to find anyone who had done this installation. After hearing this, I took a few dozen photos of the job-in-progress and decided to post this tutorial / pictorial for the "12th Fret" and the "Guitar Repair Community" as well as my "Guitar Repair and Design Course" students ( past and future ) .

You can check out Rick Taylor at http://www.ricktaylormusic.com/

The following photos are a step by step pictorial / tutorial for the installation of the Highlander pickup system for the Tri-Cone National steel.

This is a fairly involved installation, so if you are thinking about doing this job and have any questions ... zip me an email .. I'll be happy to walk you through it !

The clearance between the "chrome clip" ( see previous picture) and the pickup ..... " WITH THE STRINGS TUNED TO CONCERT PITCH " .... needs to be between 1/16" and 3/32".This is the single most critical part of this install.

Taylor 12 String bone nut detail

This 12 String guitar now plays easier than most six string guitars !

Action after neck re-set

This is a nice guitar that sat virtually un-played for 10 years.

Taylor 12 String compensated bone saddle detail

Removed neck before clean up .



Top surface cleaned up and ready for neck + fingerboard extension.

The relieved neck heel ( face ) and cleaned up fingerboard.

Taylor neck re-set

Neck and top surface ready for re-attachment.

Lowest possible treble side action before re-set

Lowest possible bass side action before re-set.

Saddle bottomed out and action still un-playably high.

Guild Guitar Bridge Replacement

Gibson L-50 Restoration and Kent Armstrong pickup retro-fit

Thankyou Will P. for entrusting this instrument to my care . I consider it a great privilage to have worked on so many wonderful guitars over the last 38 years ... I never take it for granted.

My interest is not in 'Vintage Guitar Dealing'

I will occasionally , upon request of the buyer or seller, act as a liaison to broker a fair deal for both parties but my main interest is the instruments themselves .... and bringing them up to their maximum potential as fully functional instruments. It is always very gratifying to breathe new life into an old instrument that has sat dormant for so many years.

After a complete refret/new fingerboard binding / Ivory nut / top crack spliced /side repaired /
and ' retro-fit ' Kent Armstrong floating bridge pickup with volume and tone controls ; rest assured that this guitar will be played more than it ever was !

Seeing as this guitar already had a hole drilled in the side .. after some consultation with the customer, we decided to reinforce the hole with a cross grain patch and utilize it for our input jack .

This a quarter-sawn cross-grain patch , to prevent the top from splitting any further.

The Kent Armstrong floating pickup is mounted on the aftermarket replacement pickguard.

This shot is here ... because she just looks so darn pretty layin' there !

Complete Re-Fret + Ivory nut and new binding.


Those brass thumbwheel adjustment discs were buffed out and lightly lubed ... they now turn as smooth as silk under full string load !




This is what it looked like when it arrived

This is the jig I made up to cut out the mess with a 60 Degree 'V' bit.

Another shot of the bash ... pretty nasty.

Ready for the patch

New binding bass side.

Original plastic nut

Finished side repair

Gluing inlay pieces

Setting up for inlay re-glue.

Gibson Hummingbird Bridge Replacement

Bruce Kirkaldy sent this one up from San Diego California last month for some restoration work.

Thanks Bruce for giving me the opportunity to bring this old gem back to life !

I have a strong hunch that this Ol' Girl sat in the case with that broken bridge for a good 30+ years.

I added the rosewood bridge pins figurin' it was about time to dress the Grand Old Gal up and take her out to the ball.

This press-fit sandwich of bone and rosewood replaces the original bolts and fasteners.

I left the brass body inserts in the top so that if someone wanted to put the original adjustable contraption back in .... be my guest !

This press fit replacement delivers the string force directly to the sound board surface, more like a typical ' Martin ' style bridge

What does that mean for the sound ? ......... Well it pretty well means a lot more of everything !
More bass more treble more projection more sustain more volume and a lot more stability!

Fret level /re-crown /buff on those upper frets

How long do ya figure THOSE strings have been on there?

Get a load of this case !

Go on ... blow up the picture and take a good look .

If you look closely at the bone and rosewood sandwich insert .... you will see that I have decreased the pitch of the angle from treble to bass in order to tweak the intonation more precisely.

I did NOT through cut the channel like the original bridge. I decided to leave a floor of rosewood at the bottom of the slot for a little more stability.

After the bridge was glued on I connected the dots with a 1/4" router bit to form the wide channel for the fasteners and insert.

The first two holes I drilled before I started to cut and carve the 7" x 1 1/2" x 1/2" block of rosewood .... were the centering holes for the threaded brass body inserts.

McConville Dreadnought DMC -18

The Voice of Authority

Thick sweet treble and plenty of punch for single line or rhythm playing Full Depth Body ( 4 25/32" ) to deliver that big thumpin' Dreadnought bottom end. Hand rubbed nitrocellulose Satin Lacquer

Quartersawn Aged ( 7 years ) Black Walnut back and sides Trimmed with Curly Maple binding and dyed Holly purfling AAA Seasoned (7 Years ) Sitka Spruce soundboard 30' Radius - Soundboard 24' Radius -Back

Black Walnut Burl Rosette

Quilted Honduras Mahogany Pickguard ( soft curly maple underlay )

Ebony Bridge + Bridge Pins

25 3/8" Scale Length

14" Fingerboard Radius

Dunlop 6105 ( Medium width -Jumbo height ) Frets

Loads of left hand fretting traction for all those pull-offs,hammer-ons and fingerboard gymnastics!!

Nut String spacing -1 13/32"

Nut Width -1 21/32"

Bridge pin string spacing -2 3/16"

'On the home stretch' with the latest McConville Dreadnought

Rosewood Headstock Overlay with hand-drawn Sterling-Silver wire Trim

The back of the headstock also has a rosewood overlay ( .030" )

Taylor Neck Reset + Fret dress + Setup

1936 Gibson Nick Lucas

This is an instrument that I ended up shipping to Oxford after brokering an exchange between a customer of mine from Woodstock and a Gentleman from Oxford who saw the instrument here on my site and had expressed an interest in purchasing it from my customer.

After a refret, some minor some bridge work, new Ivory nut and a setup; I packaged it up and shipped it off to England.

My sincere thanks goes out to both Peter and Bernd for entrusting me to mediate a fair deal for both parties on this magnificent piece !

1936 Nick Lucas Re-Fret / Nut / Saddle

Bernal Flamenco

Gibson LG3 Restoration

Making a Gibson LG3 Bridge

Gibson LG3 when it arrived on the bench

Repairing Remi Boucher's Classical .. Soundboard cracks and fret work

I first met Remi when he was a young teenager. His technique and passion was staggering. I always knew that he would go on to re-define what was possible to do on the guitar. He still remains ( 30 years later ) "the force to be reckoned with" in the classical guitar world.

If you think I might be exaggerating ? Go to www.remiboucher.com and judge for yourself.

Stratford Festival Lute/Guitar Fret Dress Bridge Pins + Set-up

Martin Re-Fret A to Z

Acoustic Guitar Bridge Removal + Re-Glue

Martin Bridge Removal and Re-Glue

1957 LG3 Bridge Removal

Acoustic Guitar Bodies on Route

My Personal Bluegrass Machine

Taylor in for Refret and Top Crack Repair

Beauty in the Detail

Stratocaster Nut replacement

45' Gibson Bridge Removal and reglue P.R.S setup and fret dress

Gibson Flying V and Fender Tele Refret and String Bass set-up

Marc Beneteau Neck re-set and trim

Re-Gluing Neck + Fingerboard after re-set

PRS and Les Paul Standard

Fretless Acoustic/Electric 5-String Bass Soundboard Bracing

Rag Mamma Rag ..

Gibson Hummingbird Bridge from Rosewood Blank

Taylor Partial Re-fret and New Nut

64' Fender Jazz Re-Fret + 5-String Fretless System Install

Building and Repairs .. the infinite juggling act

" Paulino Bernabe' "inspired bracing

Guild 12-String Set-up and Fret Dress and Martin Edge Dress

Fret Dress + Pick-up Install

45' Gibson "Banner" Logo "Barn Find"

Sliding Dovetail Neck Joint

A cross-section of my building models

Dayna taking the 12 String for a Whirl

12 String

Walnut Burl Rosette

Flamenco ( modeled after M. Barbero )

Parlour ( local Maple )

Carved Top Solid Body

The One Model of electric guitar that I offer. Hardware is customer's option.

Dylan's Hot Rod

Roller nut install

Instruments on Route

Ian Vibin' on the Fretless

In The Morning Light

Darcy's Tobacco Burst

Splitting Nut for Removal

1936 Nick Lucas ( soundboard crack repair)

70 year old tuners!

Love those Maple Bursts

Martin Re-fret / New Nut / New Bridge

Mask-off those inlays before dressing !

Darcy's Vintage Finish