Brooklyn Fretworks

1971 Gibson Dove Preservation

ChipTait — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 21:02:10 +0000

Today’s feature is a 1971 Gibson Dove acoustic guitar preservation project. After 55 years on the road, the player wanted to have some damage repaired in preparation for fifty more years of making music. The bridge was coming loose, and the neck needed to be reset, so that’s where we started, by removing the bridge and neck. The body then underwent rehydration therapy at the BFW spa, returning the box into balance with nature. This would also allow me to repair about 1000 millimeters of cracks in the soundboard, which was accomplished using the method pioneered by TJ Thompson. Once the cracks were repaired, I was able to address replacing some missing purfling in the rosette. After a partial refinish of the soundboard, I installed a new Fishman PRESYS Pre-amp and undersaddle piezo pickup, reseated the bridge and the neck with hot hide glue, and performed the legendary Southeast Setup with a set of Stringjoy Natural strings. This one took a couple months to complete, but I’m pleased with the result.

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1969 Gibson J-50 Preservation Project

ChipTait — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 02:59:28 +0000

For your viewing pleasure, we have a fairly rare 1969 Gibson J-50 acoustic guitar. I found out about this guitar when one of my clients reached out after he saw it offered for sale at a music store in Baltimore County. It was in rough shape, and my client wondered how much it might cost to make playable again. I looked at a couple photos and made a non-binding guess that it would need around $1200.00 worth of repairs in order to once again be a dependable, great-sounding jumbo guitar. He thought it over, and decided to pass. I couldn’t blame him, but I also couldn’t help myself, as my curiosity had been piqued. I packed a bag, and made the trek all the way into “the County” to see it up close and personal. And after a little haggling, took it back to the shop with me! Further inspection revealed five cracks in the soundboard, darn near every brace needed to be re-glued, a shifting neck block, a separating bridge, the need for a neck reset, and a metric ton of cat hair inside the body. Or, as I like to say, “Just another day at the office!” First introduced in 1942, the J-50 went into full production beginning in 1946 after WWII, as the blonde/natural sister of the sunburst-finished J-45. It features a spruce top and mahogany back and sides, with a rosewood bridge. In 1969, the Gibson company was sold to what would be known as the Norlin Company, and changes began quickly. Norlin “beefed up” a lot of the instruments, including a double x-brace skeleton, in an effort to limit the need for warranty repairs, I’m told. This negatively impacted the sound. Our model preceded these changes, as reflected in the single x-brace configuration. By 1982, the J-50 was no longer part of the Gibson product line. Over the last few months, I’m glad to say I’ve brought her back from the brink, and she plays and sounds great. Cracks and braces repaired, bridge re-set, neck block re-set, the neck itself has been re-set, and she’s sporting a new fret job, a new set of Grover tuners, a new bone nut, the Legendary Southeast Setup and a brand new set of Stringjoy Natural 12s. And, if you’re interested, she’s available for sale at $2200.00, with my personal guarantee for all of my work. Reach out if you’d like to take her for a test drive.

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SPRING BREAK HOLIDAY

ChipTait — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 02:28:34 +0000

My favorite school teacher and I are heading out of town April 1st through April 5th. Brooklyn Fretworks will be closed these days. Thanks for your patience.

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1942(?) Gibson L-50 archtop project

ChipTait — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:21:35 +0000

The player who brought this guitar into the shop tells me, “I bought it from a guy who said he bought it second hand back in the 1940’s. I’m told a lady sat on it at some time in the past.” And from there, the mystery unfolds. Measuring the box tells us it’s most likely the model L-50 made after 1934, models before that time had an oval sound hole, where ours features f-holes. Gibson wasn’t using serial numbers consistently at this time, but they did use a system called Factory Order Numbers, which were stamped on the back plate visible through the treble-side f-hole. Our FON is likely 2138. I say “likely” because the “21” is stamped, but the “38” is hand written in red ink. “Spann’s Guide to Gibson 1902 – 1941” shows that FON 2132 was for the L-50, and that FON 2139 was for the Southerner Jumbo, with no evidence for the numbers between. During the wartime production era, Gibson added the banner “Only a Gibson is Good Enough” to the headstock of many – but not all – of the instruments produced. Ours lacks this banner. But, wartime steel rationing measures required the factory to omit the steel truss rods Gibson had been using to counter the string tension in the necks since the 1930s. Ours has no steel truss rod. The L-50 was Gibson’s entry level arch top guitar. It features a carved maple back and maple sides, with a spruce top that was pressed into shape and glued to the bracing system in order to hold its form. Our version has seen a lot; I wish it could tell us more of the stories. At some point, there was a Polysonic Pickup installed, which still works 70+ years later. The body had several cracks, and then there was the damage from someone mistaking a guitar for a chair! Since the side sheets had become separated from the heel block, I chose to remove the back plate in order to make repairs. See the photos below. After mending some cracks, gluing it back together and stabilizing the architecture, we have once again a fully functioning guitar, warts and all.

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1981 Gibson ES-Artist

ChipTait — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 23:31:49 +0000

From Google: The 1981 Gibson ES-Artist was a high-end, technologically advanced hollow-body guitar featuring active electronics designed by Robert Moog. Produced around 1979–1981, it blended classic ES-335 styling with modern innovations, sometimes featuring unique finishes like Fireburst. These models were designed for active artists, often featuring advanced tone controls. Key Details of the 1981 Gibson ES-Artist: Electronics: The guitar was known for its active electronics, which were designed by Bob Moog to offer a wide range of tones. Design & Build: It maintained the classic Gibson ES (Electric Spanish) thinline, double-cutaway design. Era Specifics: While some 1981 models featured standard humbuckers, others in the ES line during this time, such as the ES-335 Pro, utilized high-output “Dirty Finger” pickups. 1981 Context: 1981 was a transitional year for Gibson, with the ES-335 Dot also making its return, and other models like the ES-175CC being phased out. The ES-Artist remains a distinct, albeit less common, model from this era, aimed at providing versatile sounds for professional players. The one we are featuring here came to us from a family member of the player who bought it new in 1981. The original owner passed away unexpectedly, and the guitar went into storage for over thirty years. Our mission was to bring it back into playability. Dampness had set in and tarnished a lot of the hardware, but the bones were still good. BFW got some assistance from Brooks and Shawna, the fine Texans who own and operate Big Crunch Amplifier Service & Design in downtown Baltimore, who breathed new life into the active circuit boards. A tip of the hat to Big Crunch! We replaced some of the hardware and the passive electronics, cleaned it up, performed the legendary Southeast Setup, and now she’s back, as good as new!

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Project: Hannah

ChipTait — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:32:46 +0000

For your viewing pleasure we have perhaps our most ambitious modification project from 2025. We started with a lawsuit-era Masada Telecaster clone and turned it into “Project: Hannah.” This player is a devotee of Prog Rock, and he likes to have lots of sonic options at his disposal. The look of this project was inspired by one of Steve Howe’s guitars, of Yes fame. We put in a pair of Fishman Fluence Classic Humbuckers through push-push volume and tone pots, allowing three distinct voices. The humbuckers surround a passive single coil pickup salvaged from the original set of pickups from the 1970s. All three pickups are wired through a 6 position Free-Way switch. I think that adds up to around 18 different sonic choices. We created a custom pickguard mimicking the design from Mr Howe’s Tele, and added a Bigsby Vibrato system and roller TOM bridge, just for good measure. This was a delight to build, and I really look forward to what the player has in store for us in 2026!

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Brooklyn Fretworks: Origin Story

ChipTait — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 17:51:53 +0000

A few months back, a film student and bass player reached out to see if he could shoot a video project featuring your fair Luthier. “Anything for the Arts,” I said. Here’s what he eventually posted to YouTube: Thanks, Cy! I hope this answers all your questions.

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Fender Stratocaster in for a spa treatment

ChipTait — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 02:10:49 +0000

I had the pleasure of working on this 50-year old Strat this week. My client recently bought it from the original owner’s family, and he wanted to take care of some deferred maintenance issues, and to spice it up a bit and make it his own. We started by making a custom pickguard and back plate out of matte black .08 triple laminated plastic. The pickguard was loaded with three period-correct Seymour Duncan single coil pickups and brand new CTS pots and a Fender 5-way blade switch. I then refretted the neck with Stewmac 0155 nickel silver wire and added a hand-carved bone nut, after which she got the legendary Southeast Setup with a set of Stringjoy Signature 9 – 42 steel strings. Isn’t she lovely? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joseph “Chip” Tait (@brooklynfretworks)

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Composite Acoustics carbon fiber travel guitar

ChipTait — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 15:41:12 +0000

Talk about a great idea that didn’t seem to catch on! Feast your eyes on the Composite Acoustics “Cargo” carbon fiber acoustic travel guitar. From their website: “Composite materials allow us to break with tradition in more than one way. Molding a one-piece body enables us to shape the form of an acoustic guitar to the contours of the player’s body. Our guitars are lighter, stronger and more comfortable as a result. Our soundboards are extremely responsive, making for a very clear and powerful guitar. Each guitar is hand-crafted, yet employs computer guidance to control precise tolerances from design to assembly.” It seems the company wasn’t able to stay afloat, unfortunately. Their assets were taken over by Peavey, but there has been no production for a number of years. Their website still exists, so perhaps one day we will see more of them. There are other companies operating in the carbon fiber guitar space, such as Emerald, Rainsong, and Blackbird, so the forward-looking player still has options.

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BROOKLYNFRETWORKS.COM is migrating to a new DNS server

ChipTait — Wed, 21 May 2025 17:54:31 +0000

If you have trouble reaching me through the site or email, text me directly at: 410-756-0365 Thanks!

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