Chubbuck Guitars / Kevin Chubbuck, making & repairing guitars in an old building just north of Boston, Massachusetts.
Dried-out Fret Level :: Gitane DG-455 [4.0 lbs]
This past winter took it's toll on this thinline gypsy jazz guitar. The guitar had dried out to the point of the strings touching the frets, along with top cracks along the fingerboard extension. The fingerboard also developed cracks where the frets were pushing out the ends of the board. The cracks were all glued and the sharp / raised frets were leveled and dressed.
Installing a middle pickup :: 1997 Fender Jaguar [8.9 lbs]
A made in Japan Jag in for a middle pickup installation. This guitar has been in the shop a few times before to remove a Buzz Stop, replace a Tuneomatic with a Mastery bridge and swapping out the pickups for Lollars.
Adding a middle pickup involved routing the pickguard, copper top shield and the body (prep photo here). The low-cut / strangle switch was moved to a Bourns 1 meg push-pull pot that replaced the stock tone pot. The original Lollar neck pickup was moved to the middle position and a new Curtis Novak went up front. All pickups are selected via the three-switch plate.
This setup sounds incredible. Wow.
Leveling Frets :: Gitane DG-455
This guy had a rough winter. Along with uneven frets, the top dried out so much that the strings were touching the frets when it came in. A few weeks in a humidified shop has brought the action up significantly.
Adding a 3rd pickup :: 1996 Fender Jaguar
Stripping down and prepping for a middle pickup installation on a 90's Japanese Fender Jaguar. The new pickup is a Curtis Novak, the other two are Lollars.
Adjust Bridge Posture :: 2002 Gibson L5-CES [8.0 lbs]
A beautiful Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division L-5 archtop with a Florentine cutaway in for a bridge adjustment and setup. The bridge foot was initially fit so that it was leaning towards the neck. I refit the foot so that it would stand back up straight and allow the string pressure to be more perpendicular to the top. Strung with Thomastik flats.
![Dried-out Fret Level :: Gitane DG-455 [4.0 lbs]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53dfcee2e4b0c0da377c65c7/1430977447302-0BAIMRUH8OSS4D3AQ52R/image-asset.jpeg)
![Installing a middle pickup :: 1997 Fender Jaguar [8.9 lbs]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53dfcee2e4b0c0da377c65c7/1430977510376-MVQRLXFZUMPDQ0YFMB4C/image-asset.jpeg)
![Adjust Bridge Posture :: 2002 Gibson L5-CES [8.0 lbs]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53dfcee2e4b0c0da377c65c7/1430977608738-OZ8POTLPL13B6YVZ5BQY/image-asset.jpeg)