Problem Child Guitars

Another guitar back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

A customer brought in this Custom Single Cut (LP-style) guitar with a gorgeous Silver Burst finish for a restring and setup.

I gave it the full treatment:

• Cleaned and conditioned the fretboard
• Addressed a few high frets and Polished all the frets
• Installed a fresh set of D’Addario XL 10–46 strings
• Performed a complete setup
• Gently adjusted a few nut slots to ensure the strings move freely without binding and applied Tune-It nut lubricant to help maximize tuning stability

The little details matter when it comes to getting a guitar to play and stay in tune properly. This Silver Burst Single Cut is looking great, sounding great, and ready to play!

Another classic back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

A customer brought in this Martin D-28 for some repair work and a full setup. The binding was beginning to separate from the body, and the guitar was also due for some general attention.

I gave it the full treatment:

• Repaired the binding where it was separating from the body
• Cleaned and polished the guitar
• Cleaned and conditioned the fretboard
• Level-sanded, crowned and polished the frets
• Installed a fresh set of D’Addario 12–54 strings
• Performed a full professional setup to Martin specs

The binding is secured, the frets are cleaned up and polished, and the setup is dialed in. This Martin D-28 is ready for its next song!

Another Taylor back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

A customer brought in this Taylor GS Mini for a restring and setup. I removed the old strings, cleaned and conditioned the fretboard, polished the frets, and installed a fresh set of D’Addario 13–56 strings— an appropriate gauge for the GS Mini’s short scale.

I then performed a complete setup to Taylor factory specifications, getting the guitar dialed in and ready to play.

Fresh strings, clean frets, and a proper setup — this GS Mini is ready to go!

Another bass back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

A customer brought in this Ibanez Musician Bass for electronics service and a professional setup. The volume pot was crackling, and the pickup selector switch was working intermittently.

I carefully removed the preamp to gain access to the electronics cavity, treated all six pots with DeoxIT, and resoldered the connections at the pickup selector switch. Once that was done, the electronics came back to life and were working properly again.

While I had it on the bench, I gave it the full treatment:

• Deep cleaned the bass
• Addressed a few high frets
• Recrowned and polished the frets
• Performed a professional setup to Ibanez specifications
• Dialed in the intonation

Electronics sorted, frets cleaned up, setup dialed in, and this classic Ibanez is ready to play!

Another bass back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

A customer brought in this Fender Precision Bass for electronics service and a professional setup. The tone pot was DOA, so I replaced both pots and installed a new capacitor to get the electronics back in proper working order.

While I had it on the bench, I gave it the full treatment:

• Deep cleaned the bass
• Addressed a few high frets
• Recrowned and polished the frets
• Performed a professional setup
• Set the action to spec
• Dialed in the intonation

A little electronics work, some fret attention, and a proper setup brought this Precision Bass back to life and ready to play!

Another project completed at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

This guitar came in for a **Sustainiac Stealth Pro installation**, including installation of a dedicated battery box and all the necessary wiring to get the system integrated properly.

With the Sustainiac installed and working, I finished things off with a fresh professional setup to make sure the guitar was playing and performing the way it should.

Sustainiac Stealth Pro ✅
Battery box installed ✅
Professional setup ✅

Another custom project out the door and ready to make some noise!

I received tips from Chris at Flippin' Guitars along the way since this was the first Sustainiac installation at my shop. If it weren’t for a bad main board, the installation would have been straightforward.

Another Ibanez JEM back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

This one came in with a complaint of fret buzz on the E and A strings. The missing high E string was actually the culprit — without the string tension, the remaining strings were essentially laying flat across the fretboard.

While servicing the guitar, I also found a few frets that needed to be properly reseated into the fretboard. Once that was addressed, I gave the guitar the full standard treatment:

• Cleaned and conditioned the fretboard
• Polished the frets
• Reseated a few loose frets
• Performed a professional setup
• Installed a fresh set of D’Addario XL 10–46 strings

Fresh strings, a little fret work, and a proper setup have this JEM ready to play!

Another guitar back in action at Problem Child Guitar Shop! 🎸

This Jackson JS Series Dinky Arch JS32Q DKA came in with a non-functioning output jack and was ready for some attention. That quilted maple top with the green burst finish is absolutely gorgeous!

The work included:
• Replaced the faulty output jack
• Deep cleaned the guitar
• Cleaned and conditioned the fretboard
• Polished the frets
• Addressed a few high frets
• Performed a professional setup
• Installed a fresh set of D’Addario XL 10–56 strings
• Tuned and set up for C #

Everything is dialed in and this Jackson is ready for action!

This bass came in with significant feedback from the neck pickup when in active mode. After extensive inspection of the electronics and grounding, I narrowed my focus to the shielding.

The bass had a combination of copper foil and conductive shielding paint, but the copper shielding did not completely enclose the electronics cavities. In other words, the Faraday cage wasn't complete. I completed the copper shielding, making sure the cavities were properly enclosed and electrically connected. After reinstalling the electronics and firing it up...no more feedback. 🎸

It's a great reminder that proper shielding is an important part of keeping unwanted noise and interference out of an instrument—especially with active electronics and higher-gain preamps.

Another bass back in action! 🔧🎸

A special thanks to Chris at Flippin' Guitars for guidance and advice on the complicated wiring with this Bartonlini preamp.

A Rickenbacker 4001 came into the shop for a Rickenbacker V2 Bridge upgrade.

The V2 bridge brings much better individual string adjustment and significantly easier intonation, while also eliminating one of the long-standing issues with the original bridge design — tail lift.

This was a straightforward installation and a true in-and-out, same-day service. New bridge installed, everything dialed in, and this classic Rickenbacker was back in action!

Another job completed at Problem Child Guitar Shop. 🎸