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Black Strat with a crook in its neck
Today’s patient is a Fender Stratocaster, circa 2002. The initial complaint from the player was a “stripped truss rod nut, and it’s just not playable.” I made some quick measurements and found the neck to be quite bowed. This model of Strat is equipped with Fender’s BiFlex Truss Rod, which works differently than a typical dual action truss rod. A dual action setup utilizes a matched pair of rods anchored at the nut and at the heel of the neck, allowing for quite a bit of movement in either direction, as well as a good amount of man handling. The BiFlex setup utilizes a single rod, anchored in the center,…
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1942 Martin Tiple
Today’s show-and-tell is a 1942 Martin T 17. The “Tiple” as it is known to aficionados. After much demand from distributors, especially in South America, Martin began producing tiples in 1925, with the T 15. It was based upon a 1/4 scale guitar body. The tiple in one form or the other was produced by Martin until 2000. This one came in with a broken bridge, but otherwise, in pretty decent form for its age. All of the bracing is performing as intended. I must admit, I had to seek guidance on how to string one of these things! It sure is a cool sounding instrument!
Brooklyn Fretworks
Baltimore guitar design, repair and modification
