DIY Workshop

After a break for lacquer curing, sun fading and tinted clear coats, it’s time to see how close we can get to the look of a vintage instrument.

Changes in temperature and humidity can play havoc with guitars, from the fretboard to the tuners.

Finding a bargain-priced 1962 Stratocaster at a local auction sounds like a fairytale, but this guitar needed a lot of work.

The backbone of Fender's beloved Jazzmaster, the offset vibrato delivers a range of pitch as impressive as its ability to snap right back in tune. We take the deep dive.

After covering humbucker and P-90 mods last time around, this time we take a look at how you can improve the tone of classic Fender and Gretsch-style pickups.

Strings breaking at the tuner end? Here’s how to fix it.

Unhappy with your tone? Before you throw money at the problem and install a new set of pickups, try these simple modifications first. You may find your existing pickups can be tweaked to sound better than you’d ever imagined.

Adding a shiny new vibrato to a guitar with vintage or relic’d hardware can spoil the aesthetic. Find out how to make it your brand-new Bigsby look like it has aged gracefully.

Nothing beats the look of a late 1950s Les Paul Standard. Find out how to mix your own colours and spray your own sunburst using period-correct materials – and the best thing is you don’t even need specialist equipment.

Is your single-coil electric plagued by noise? We can help.