I get the opportunity to try out quite a few guitars. Some are good and some are not. I have found that when it comes to guitar models in the $100 - $500 range which are made by not so well known companies, most are substandard beyond even being playable. However, every once in awhile there is a gem that seems to come out of nowhere. In this case, my newest surprising acquisition came in the form of a CraigsList guitar that caught my attention recently.

This particular guitar is a copy of the ever popular Les Paul style guitar. The strange thing is that I can not seem to find any information about the manufacturer. This guitar is called the "Panache" and says San Antonio, TX on the headstock. I searched for a website for this company and came up with a single webpage that simply said "Coming Soon". Further research revealed that these guitars have been getting rave reviews from players who own real Gibson Les Paul's. Everything I read told me that this guitar had the sound, playability, and feel of the real deal. It also seemed that the price paid for these guitars was ranging from $150 - $350. The strange part is that nobody seems to know who is making them, or if they are really coming out of San Antonio, TX as the headstock implies. I use the word imply becasue it does not say “Made in San Antonio, TX”. There is nothing anywhere on the guitar with the country of origon.

Based on the reviews I read, I decided to get this guitar to check it out. I have to admit that I was very surprised by the quality. For a guitar in this price range it definitely went beyond any expectation that I had. I wouldn't put it on par with a LP, but it is a great guitar nonetheless, and at a fraction of the cost. The low E string had an intonation problem, but a simple setup would take care of that. Also, the tuning keys and one scratchy pot were the only hardware issues I found. The tuners seemed a little lackluster in quality and seemed to slip a little on the mid range strings. These are easily replaceable with higher quality machine heads. The scratchy pot will be easily replaceable if contact cleaner does not work to solve this issue. The pickups had great output, and overall the guitar sounded incredible. The action and playability were awesome.

I would be interested in finding out who is behind this instrument. Whoever they are, they are turning out a great guitar, especially if you take the time to do a few small and relatively inexpensive upgrades. I do have to admit that I have a hard time believing that a guitar company could be building a guitar of this quality in this price range in the United States. The mystery remains unsolved. If you have any further details or contact information for the San Antonio Guitar company, please feel free to pass it on to me.

Gary Allen

We all know that strings eventually loose their brightness as they corrode over time. Those rust spots can really dull the sound, and most players will opt to buy a new set of strings when they reach this point. For the guitar player, this is a relatively small investment, but for the bass player this can be fairly expensive depending on the brand and style of strings they choose. Here is a recipe to get more playing time out of your bass strings.

Ingredients:
1 pot of boiling water
1 set of corroded strings

Steps:
Once the water is at a full boil, place the rusted strings loosely in the pot. Let water boil until the corrosion has worked loose and come off the strings. While the water is still boiling, carefully remove the strings from the water using a long set of tongs. The air will cause the hot water on the strings to vaporize almost immediately leaving the string completely dry and for the most part free of corrosion. Put them back on your guitar, and play your heart out.

When doing this process, you do not want to coil the strings up before adding them to the water. This will allow water to be trapped between the coils when they are removed, and this water can quickly cause rust to appear again. Keep them as loose as possible. Also, if you let the water cool before removing the strings, it may not vaporize completely, and the remaining dampness will also cause corrosion to quickly appear once again.

This boiling process will make your strings once again sound newer and brighter. It is by no means as good as a brand new set of strings, but it will give you more playing time for your invested money. While I recommend this mostly for bass strings, I have heard of guitar players who have used the same process, but for me personally, guitar strings are inexpensive enough to just buy a new set.

As an added note, I have heard of one player who adds a little cooking oil to the water. He believes that the oil coats the strings giving them even longer life. I am not convinced that this works, and I do not recommend it personally, but I am willing to hear from others who may have tried this extra step, and their experiences with it.

Gary Allen

Recently I received a set of Boxwood bridge pins from Planet Waves. This was perfect timing since I recently broke a bridge pin on my "Greg Bennett Rio Grande". I had a spare to use for the interim, but it was black in color while the originals were white. While it worked, it just didn't look right. I also had the problem with the old pins in that some sat very low against the bridge and were wedged very tight in the pin holes while others stuck out to much giving the bridge an overall sloppy finish.

The set of wooden bridge pins from Planet Waves consists of seven bridge pins and a single strap pin for the bottom of the guitar. The bridge pins are fairly standard and should fit just about any guitar. The addition of an extra pin shows the consideration Planet Waves show for the guitar player. You get one extra in case you break or loose one, or for the rare case that you may have a seven string acoustic. The addition of a strap pin makes sure that your guitar has an all around consistent look.

I started by removing the strings and old bridge pins from the Rio Grande. This became more of a task than I anticipated since some of the pins were so tightly wedged. I broke the heads on a few trying to get them out, and ultimately ended up scratching the bridge as can be seen in the final picture. This was partly from not having the proper pin pulling tool, and partly because I was getting frustrated. The scratches however do not look as prominent on the actual guitar as they seem in the picture. To avoid my careless mistake, I recommend that you protect the bridge wood with a cloth and make sure to have a quality bridge pin puller on hand.

Once I had polished the guitar and conditioned the fretboard and bridge with lemon oil, I installed the new wooden bridge pins with a set of D'Addario EXP coated strings. The pins went in easily but establish a firm fit. They also set on the bridge in an even consistent manner giving a very professional finish to the look of the bridge area. I really like the small offset ridge on the bottom of the pin head that makes it easier to pull these pins without marring the finish, although you should still be cautious and protect the bridge wood. On the Rio Grande, I had to opt out of using the strap pin because of the plug jack in the end of the existing strap pin. I saved it for future use along with the spare bridge pin.

Since the Rio Grande is a beautiful guitar that consists of all wood construction including the inlayed ovangkol pick guard, the addition of wood bridge pins really complimented the overall look of the guitar itself. Wood being a natural product resonates better than plastic, so the use of wood for bridge pins makes sense not only in the look, but in the tonal aspects. I did notice an improvement in the sound of the guitar, although not hugely significant. Any advancement however is welcome when it comes to tone. This is a simple yet effective way to affordably upgrade your acoustic guitar. Check out these bridge pins at http://store.daddario.com/category/148546/BridgeEnd_Pins

Gary Allen

OK…I admit it…sometimes I slow.  In this case very slow…

I’ve had these DVDs on my shelf to review for “many a moon” but never really got around to giving them a proper shout on GGH.

I met Robbie at NAMM a couple of years ago and he handed me three of his DVDs to take a look at - and I was recently digging through some things in my new quest to get organized (it is working!) and found them - among other things.   It was like Christmas!

Since the DVDs had not been in my mind for awhile, I decided to throw the “Build a Steel String Guitar” video into my player.  I am not a wood-worker, nor do I have any skill in that department (talk to Sal or Gary if you need something built); however, after watching this video for awhile - even I was thinking “I could do this!”  I also checked out the “Guitar Finishing” DVD since I have some interest in refinishing an old guitar that I have.  All-in-all, there are four DVDs available in this collection:

Build a Classical Guitar
Guitar Finishing
Build a Steel String Guitar
Build a Electric Guitar
The DVDs are interesting in their production - since they are really slideshows and not video.  Each one contains about 1400 step-by-step pictures and audio.  This, in my opinion is better than a DVD since it allows Robbie to get much more detailed in a smaller time space.

If you have any interest in building your own guitar: electric, classical, steel-string acoustic or even just guitar refinishing - this is a definative resource.  Check out the site for example videos!

http://www.obrienguitars.com/?page_id=8

Dan