My pickguard attacked Grampa's Gibson L5!!!

On the bench today is a Gibson L5 with a classic example of something called "outgassing". The celluloid used

Merry Christmas from Gunzawless...and Guitar Omnivore!

Happy Holidays everybody! This is a sweet video the band Gunzawless did for their version of Jingle Bells.You can download the music for free at http://www.gunzawless.com/home.cfm. You can also check out their Facebook page here. Enjoy!

A rare Floyd Rose on a 80's MIJ Squier

Here's a fun one for fans of the Floyd Rose. The guitar is a great example of why some guys collect Made in Japan Squier's from the 1980's. It was in the shop for a simple restring and played and sounded great.

Here's our Floyd Rose tremolo,a rarely seen version,made to look more traditional but retain some of the advantages of a Floyd. Because someone had modified the guitar with some Schaller locking tuners,that means this guitar is perhaps the only double-locking guitar in the world that has neither a locking nut or fine tuners!

Collapsing bridge on an Alvarez Kazuo Yairi CY127CE

   We've covered similar things before here on Guitar Omnivore but I do like the Kazuo Yairi guitars and this one has some different things going on that made it fun. Over time,the saddle had acted like a wedge and

Son of The Return of...Big John Robert's awesome swag collection - PART FOUR - The ticket stubs!

   You certainly can't be a music fanatic without a collection of ticket stubs from shows you've attended! Already taken a peak at parts one, two and three? Well then,have at it! Kids,these are what tickets used to

Epiphone Les Paul Bigsby Jr. - Patrick Schwab's latest mod

A stock Epiphone Les Paul Junior

   If you're a long time reader of the Guitar Omnivore blog,you may remember Patrick Schwab from the How do you make a great parts "Tele" even greater? article back in May. If you stop by the shop on occasion,you might know Patrick as the guitar department manager.  He has also been having a blast at home,tricking out inexpensive guitars into custom one of a kind axes. Just the kind of thing we love! As Patrick's guitar modding skills have gotten better,he's needed my help less and less. This one was all Patrick...I just took the pictures.

...and after!

Let's see,we've got a Bigsby tremolo,a new bridge,new knobs and a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat pickup. Patrick also stained the fingerboard black!

Tusq nut and a custom truss rod cover.

Patrick,quite understandably,dubbed this guitar the "Les Paul Bigsby Junior". Hey Epiphone,perhaps a new model for next year? I don't do any engraving so the custom truss rod cover was made by the fine folks at Philadelphia Luthier Tools. http://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/servlet/StoreFront I've also just found out Philadelphia Luthier Tools has a blog! Be sure to get over to http://blog.philadelphialuthiertools.com/ and check it out.

Here's another cool Epiphone modified by Patrick:

Tusq nut,Gibson P-90's and a new pickguard.

I actually had something to do with this one! I wired the electronics:

CTS pots,orange drop caps,Switchcraft 3-way and jack.

I hope this inspires you to do your own "cheapo" guitar mods!

Rice Custom Guitar #141

   Check out this sweet Rice Custom guitar. The guitars owner was out in the store checking out amps when

The Return of...Big John Robert's awesome swag collection - PART THREE - The picks!

   So,what collection would be worthy without a few guitar picks? Don't miss part one and part two where we look at John's back stage passes and part four where we check out some vintage ticket stubs.

Keeping a 1968 Epiphone Rivera all stock!

Our patient on the bench today is a 1968 Epiphone Rivera. It came into the shop in desperate need of a setup and had some electronic issues. The volume and tone pots were terribly noisy and I was pretty sure

Making a truss rod cover for an Ampeg Stud!?

   You are forgiven if you've never heard of the Ampeg Stud. An interesting mongrel of a guitar,these were made in Japan during the 1970's. The "Stud" family also included the Super Stud and the Big Stud. (No,seriously. It was the seventies.) Despite having some less than desirable features (hope you like plywood) they a pretty cool guitars.This one came in for a routine setup (along with a sweet 1976 Fender Telecaster Deluxe) with one additional request...

c.1900 Washburn Cremonatone mandolin

   I thought some of my fellow mandolin fans might get a kick out of seeing this antique mandolin that recently passed through the shop for a re-string. Its older style is what is referred to as a bowl back or potato bug mandolin. Due to the large number produced they're