My Philosophy

Why do my business cards say “dirty deeds done dirt cheap”?

Besides being rock and roll? Simply put, I realized I was getting the short end of the stick, and you were too. I worked for a repair company and was getting paid $11 an hour before tax. This means even if I completed a $300 repair in an hour, I still only made $11. “So what?” you might say. What if I charged you a fair reasonable price instead of what the big boys are charging? I still get paid fairly and you get a fair price too. Sounds well... fair right? You can also rest assured knowing you also get extremely personalized one on one attention, and a certified luthier with a 2-year diploma in advanced guitar repair and construction doing your work.

In addition to repairs, upgrades, and custom moding services, I also offer guitar teching at single shows as well as on tour, emergency “at venue” and house call repairs, heck I have even been known to teach a lesson here and there too. I do pedal repair and mods, some basic amp repair, setups of all kinds from banjos to mandos, and more. I also particularly enjoy restoring vintage and heirloom instruments, especially the ones already deemed unfixable or not worth it by other repair people.

If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to ask. I am completely open to any questions I might be able to answer or help with; not just about repairs, but even if you’re just in need of advice (Do you know what this problem sounds like? How do I fix it myself) or opinions (what do you think of these pickups? Should I buy this guitar? Ect.). I have spent hours dispensing advice on guitar forums and would love to be able to help you too.

Kevin Monzel

“You play better when your gear is playing at its best”

Precision Bass Finger Rest

Recently made a Precision Bass finger rest for a fretless bass. It is fitted extremely well and you can even play notes up onto it as requested. If anybody is interested in these let me know. I can make them for any style bass. If there is a lot of interest, I could easily write a cnc program, go into production, and sell them online. Sorry about picture clarity, I didn't take them ;)

DIY Pedaltrain Pedalboard Build. Make one for $25 with limited tools.

This is modeled after a Pedaltrain novo 32 type pedal board
If you want to make one yourself or want all the details on my build, follow the link to my instructable.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wood-Pedaltrain-Novo-32-Pedalboard-Easy-Build-Limi/

 

Installed a K&K into this 60's gibson today.

I got to work on a cool 60s gibson today. Installed a K&K pickup

Heres the guitar:

Not to be confused with the Les Paul build...

I changed the color of the plastics on my les paul from black to Creamtone brand Cream plastics.
Before:

After:

The new pickup rings were flat on bottom so I cut, matched and sanded the final curve of the top into the bottom of the rings so they don't warp like on some old Les Pauls. I have a pretty good example for another post some other day

Les Paul Update No. 2

Well it's together neck needs to be sanded out. Next paycheck I'm ordering finish. Or maybe a dremel with the router base to put the headstock inlay in. I have pointed out one of my mistakes a les Paul connoisseur will be able to spot. (Hint it's the ledge where the neck meets the body in the cut away) normal Les Paul's are flush there. I'm going to try and sand it down on the drum sander to make it less noticeable. But I need to be careful not to go through the binding. Also not happy with the pickup routs. The locking mechanism on the plunge  router I used at school slipped (which just happened to be the 1 in 10 routers) the first time I though I just got off the template and blamed myself it wasn't until the second time I realized that was going on and switched routers. But it was too late the damage was done. Now I need to try and hide that little crescent moon on the bridge pickup cavity. The pickup ring will cover it but at the cost of misaligning it so I will have to cut or commission a new pickguard. Am I being hyper critical?

One Great Big Les Paul Build

I was just too busy working on other stuff to continually update my Les Paul build so I'm pouring everything out on the table right here.

Stay tuned for the rest.