Friday, December 12, 2008

Fret Not

I was changing my strings recently when a very bad thing happened. The screw that holds the B-string tuning gear in place on my guitar was missing, gone, AWOL. I've been playing the guitar for a long time and this had never happened to me. Even the thought of losing one had never occurred to me (charmed life). Evidently the tension of the string had been holding it in place, but when I loosened it, the gear fell off completely (causing a very different kind of tension). Apparently I unknowingly had a screw loose for a good while, and had now lost it completely. (Go ahead, insert joke here.)

This is a very small machine screw, maybe a quarter-inch to 5/16ths long, but it's a fat little thing with a very tight thread count. It could have fallen off anytime, anywhere. I do a quick search around the room I practice in. When that doesn't work I take the methodical-inch-by-inch approach. This is a Sunday afternoon. Believe me, I am not in the mood for the methodical-inch-by-inch approach. I wanted to change the strings in the first place so I could play the guitar. Football is on.

I wave a magnet over every area I can think to wave it. I dig into the couch (interesting, but no screw). Useless. I give up. I go grab a jar of screws I keep for emergencies. Nothing even close. I'm not crazy about the idea, but I grab my old National classical guitar thinking I can maybe cannibalize it. Different thread.

Off to the internet where I find the tuning keys on my guitar are handmade and hand-engraved "Fustero" tuners crafted in Spain and plated in "real gold" (sic). (My guitar is a Ramirez, also made in Spain.) A new set of similar Fusteros retails for about 300 bucks. Ugh. (More than what I paid for the old National.)

Bill Colgan, of Isle of Wight Instruments in Smithfield had been my go-to-guy for guitar repairs for years. Great guy, but he had tragically passed some years ago, still missed by many in this area. Then from somewhere in my brain (how do these things happen?) I remember someone telling me about a woman on the peninsula who had worked with Bill, and had a guitar repair shop.

8:00 a.m. Monday after a quick search, I call Fret Not Guitar Repair, Inc. and leave a message that I need help... fast. At 9:00 a.m. (she doesn't open until 9:00) Margarite Pastella of Fret Not calls me back. She won't promise she can help, but I can come by and she'll see what she can do. By 9:30 I'm off to Newport News.

Like all luthiers, she has jars and jars of screws accumulated over the years but after a good half hour she still hasn't found a match. She's fun to talk guitars with though, and helps me maintain my semblance of sanity. She offers to let me play a guitar she'd built. It was a high quality steel string. I mean beautifully made — real craftsmanship. I didn't ask how much she wanted for it, but I knew it couldn't be nearly what it would actually be worth given the time she had put into building it. Come to find out, Margarite is a certified repair lady for Martin, Taylor, and Fender too. Those companies don't give out those certifications lightly.

She finds a screw that fits. Great(!), except that the head of the screw is so small that as she put's it in, it goes right through the gear and won't hold it in place. Back to looking, and remember this was a LOT of screws to look through. More drama for me.

Finally, Margarite finds a screw that's the right size and thread count. Only one problem — it's about a half inch too long. No problem for her, she whips out a small hand saw and cuts it to length. It takes a long time to cut, too. Problem solved. Margarite had just spent nearly an hour and a half, having dropped whatever she was doing, to help a total stranger. What else do you need to know about Fret Not?

Monday, December 1, 2008

Classical Guitar Basics

Friend and student Scott Wood had a great idea. Scott is one of those IT guys who is a whiz at computer stuff and has created a new site called Classical Guitar Basics. He has kindly invited me to be a part of CGB, has published some of my posts on there, and allowed me to be a featured instructor for the site. CGB is beautifully designed and features lessons, articles, a blog, and even a participatory forum. There are also some great videos of guitarists (my favorite: Kevin Loh, aged 10, playing Bach), and links to other very good sites.

I hope you'll take some time to give it a look and bookmark it. Scott is a great writer, with a strong understanding of how the mind works as it relates to playing guitar. Let me know what you think!