A Little Bit of Guitar

I like to learn about the repair and care of guitars, ever since I signed up for Fender Play, a gift from Mom. My first electric is an orange Squier Bullet Special, the first strat I have owned, and the first one I tried learning to maintain. I started with some classes from Darrell Braun’s guitar channel on YouTube, figuring out how to sand rough necks, adjust string trees, and more. It was a little nerve wrecking at first but I got braver.

Recently I purchased a Mitchell MD 300. This particular guitar needed lighter strings and some tone knob repair. In order to avoid the knob rolling onto the floor when I played or filmed my lessons, I had to do some research.

Some things do require a skilled luthier or local shop adjustment, but this was done-able on my own. Easy stuff! So naturally I got all excited and after taking some decent photos of my efforts, decided to share with anyone who had a similar problem.

These hematite , pewter looking tone and volume knobs are our current focus because they kept rolling off or proving to be loose. The guitar was in great shape but looked like it had been sitting around unplayed and needed some TLC, common in this situation. You may be able to see a small hole in these knobs in the photo above. It has notches in it for a tiny tool , which I don’t have but improved. By taking a jumbo paper clip and some wire tools from my bead kit I was able to bend and squeeze a curved end that was strong enough to grab the tiny space inside and tighten it with a few delicate turns. That’s all you need, no force, just carefully securing them. The only other issue I had was low action, a subject I’ll cover more on as soon as I try it.

In the meantime I hope this helps anyone who needs a little knowledge on knob repair. I’m learning that tools can be found anywhere from Stew Mac to Fender to Daddario. If you have any good suggestions feel free to comment.

Thanks for visiting the blog and please share!

~ McGLAMOROUS