Askem Guitar Works – Guitar setup, repair and restoration.

Green Telecaster guitar.
'Memphis Bellecaster'

Over 30 years experience working on guitars and basses,
carrying out guitar set-up, repair and restoration work.
Based in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. UK.

Whether your instrument is new or old, affordable or vintage, get in touch here to see
what I can do to ensure it plays and sounds it’s very best, allowing you do the same.

Be sure to take a look at the Instagram and Facebook pages too.

askemguitarworks

Instagram post 18293951434231394

Instagram post 18293951434231394

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Instagram post 18044337464131849

The jack on this #stratocaster had got itself in a

The jack on this #stratocaster had got itself in a right mess.
It was also lightly corroded, so a thorough clean and a careful reshape and it was all good to go.

Had this rather cool Nightingale bass in for a fla

Had this rather cool Nightingale bass in for a flaky jack socket. Just an age thing really and with a barrel socket, not a great deal that can be adjusted with any reliability going forward. Opted to fit a PureTone full contact one and it's all good again.
As an aside...this thing sounds gnarly!

#nightingalebass
#puretone
#guitartech
#guitarsetup
#guitarrepair

Nice #squier40thanniversary #jazzmaster in for a f

Nice #squier40thanniversary #jazzmaster in for a full set up. 👌🏼

Some cool guitars in lately, such as this partscas

Some cool guitars in lately, such as this partscaster, built by the owner but in need of a fret level and full setup.
Squier neck, @pistolscrown body, @lollarpickupsuk neck pickup and @oil_city_pickups bridge.
Plays and sounds frankly amazing!
Proof that great guitars don't -have- to cost to the earth.

@lollarpickups
#pistolscrown
#lollarpickups
#oilcitypickups
#partscaster
#squier
#telecaster
#benaskem
#askemguitarworks
#guitartech
#guitarsetup
#stalbans
#stalbansguitartech

Had this cool Tanglewood in for a full resto. It h

Had this cool Tanglewood in for a full resto.
It had been left for many years but had huge sentimental value.
I'll post the time lapse up shortly.

#tanglewood #semiacoustic #guitartech #guitarsetup #guitarrestoration #askemguitarworks

This Dean acoustic had been sat for a while and ne

This Dean acoustic had been sat for a while and needed some TLC and a setup. Some fret ends had come up and obviously needed reseating, plus it needed a spot level and the saddle taken down to achieve a nice comfortable action.
Surprisingly full sounding guitar, playing sweet again now. 👌🏼

#deanguitars #acousticguitar #acousticguitarsetup #guitartech #guitarsetup #guitarrepair #timelapse #benaskem #askemguitarworks #stalbansguitartech

*SWIPE FOR TIME LAPSE* This Squier Custom Tele ca

*SWIPE FOR TIME LAPSE*

This Squier Custom Tele came in for a service and a few extras such as swapping the saddles out for excellent Wilkinson compensated ones.
So much guitar for the money, these.

#squier #squiercustom #telecastercustom #askemguitarworks #guitartech #guitarsetup #guitartimelapse #timelapse #musicnomad #stalbans #stalbansguitartech

Rejoice! Finally built a second workbench in the w

Rejoice! Finally built a second workbench in the workshop, so can fit more of your lovely guitars in. Still some stuff to do, but getting there.
Queen @officiallzzyhale presiding over all, natch... (Great print by @66robfenn )

Had this absolutely gorgeous Fender MIJ Jazz Bass

Had this absolutely gorgeous Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special in for a tone pot issue. All sorted and playing beautifully again.
I'm no bassist, but if I was, I'd almost certainly play one of these. I think they are everything you need and nothing you don't and the fit and finish really is first class.
Essentially a @duffmckagan Sig, (aside from a few appointments like a Hipshot bass Xtender), which can only be a good thing, right?
Lovely bit of kit!

#fenderjazzbassspecial #duffmckagan #fenderbass #sherwoodgreen #guitartech #guitarsetup #benaskem #askemguitarworks #stalbansguitartech

'It doesn't have to have a big name on the headsto

'It doesn't have to have a big name on the headstock...' Part...1? 🤷🏼‍♂️

This is another one of my own instruments and it needed some TLC before a gig last weekend.
It's a Korean built Hohner Professional SE35 from about '91 and most likely of Gakki origin, if that means anything to you. It's stock other than the wiring loom. Whilst the wiring worked ok when I got it, as is often the case with these import guitars it is an area where they could save money to be more competitive so they often used mini pots with less than ideal values, so the tapers on them were not great. I replaced the whole wiring loom and it's made a world of difference.
The stock pickups are really very good, if a little mismatched in volume so the neck is wound down low to compensate.

This is obviously the 'poor man's 335', but to its credit it delivers the expected tones just great and I use it on your standard Johnny B Goode, Foo Fighters, dare I say it Oasis numbers.
I'll not compare it to a genuine 335 as that would be a bit unfair, other than to say it stands me at about one tenth the cost of one and does what I need it to.

I've had many Hohner Professional guitars on the bench over the years and they have never disappointed. Not to be confused with the cheaper Hohner ranges, the word is out on some and they now command high price tags of their own (I'm looking at you, #madcat ...). If they were good enough for @prince , perhaps they are good enough for you?...

#hohner #hohnerprofessional #prince #askemguitarworks #guitartech #guitarrestoration #gakki #335

I had tickets to see the mighty #aerosmith on the

I had tickets to see the mighty #aerosmith on the UK leg of their tour, when Covid hit and suddenly all bets were off. They rescheduled, but then cancelled.
Well I'll never get to tick that box now 😔, - BUT, what a legacy and what a back catalogue. That'll be the order of the day today, playing that catalogue while I'm at the bench and playing it loud.
Thanks for everything @aerosmith and for being part of the truly epic soundtrack to mine and so many others lives.🤘

New nut on this #squier #jagmaster today. @musicn

New nut on this #squier #jagmaster today.
@musicnomadcare nut files for the win as usual. 👌🏼

Had a 335 in with intermittent Jack socket issues.

Had a 335 in with intermittent Jack socket issues. Turned out, (see what I did there), over the years the jack socket had been tightened, but had spun round and round, winding the wire up into a bunch of loops, which the input would then touch and earth out on.

Candy Apple Red Squier in for some wiring issues,

Candy Apple Red Squier in for some wiring issues, failed the poor lad on his exam day! Thankfully all sorted now. (And apparently he aced it with a last minute loaner 💥👊🏼)

#guitartech #guitarrepair #candyapplered #squierstratocaster #benaskem #stalbansguitartech

Nice Jazzmaster in for some electrical gremlin fix

Nice Jazzmaster in for some electrical gremlin fixes!

#jazzmaster #guitartech #guitarsetup #guitarrepair #askemguitarworks #stalbansguitartech

Nice Pacifica in for a string change and some TLC.

Nice Pacifica in for a string change and some TLC.
Great guitars, these, I remember when they were released and they pretty much changed the game. I'll always have a soft spot for them.

This Faith acoustic was all out of it I think… B

This Faith acoustic was all out of it I think...
Broken tuner, missing bridge pin and clearly in need of some serious TLC.
Thankfully I managed to source identical replacement parts and with a serious clean and set up, it was good to go.
Faith restored! Ahem...

@faithguitars #faithguitars #guitartech #guitarrestoration #acousticguitar #benaskem #askemguitarworks #stalbans #stalbansguitartech

This Gibson ES335 Studio was in for a recommission

This Gibson ES335 Studio was in for a recommission after long term storage in...less than ideal conditions.
Moisture had caused surface corrosion on all the hardware and some minor pitting. Obviously, as Murphy Labs will tell you, this kind of look is desirable to some! but the issue here wasn't the look, but more that it had actually caused various parts to not work - bridge saddles seized, tuners very stiff, and sharp to touch, switch not working etc.
So, we elected to strip all the hardware and remove the troublesome aspects, but try to retain the patina and 'age'.
Obviously the frets and fingerboard got the full treatment too and after a full rebuild and setup this really versatile guitar played incredibly well and sounded great. It has a Classic 57 neck pickup and a Super 57 in the bridge.

Got a guitar that's been sat a while? Call me! 🤙🏼

Great Tele in for some minor electrics – Jack sock

Great Tele in for some minor electrics - Jack socket had become detached and the wire to it was very short, so I extended it and re fitted. Also removed some black marks from the headstock.
Cool guitars these, with the set neck and p90's they are so versatile.

#thinline #telecaster #guitartech #guitarrepair #guitarsetup

Another great guitar through the door this week –

Another great guitar through the door this week - US Highway 1 Tele. General clean up, refresh and set up. 👌

#highway1
#highway1telecaster
#guitartech
#guitarsetup
#fendertelecaster

Beautiful @taylorguitars 210e in for a restring, c

Beautiful @taylorguitars 210e in for a restring, clean up etc.
What a lovely sounding guitar!

#taylorguitars #acousticguitar #guitartech #guitarrepair #guitarsetup #stalbans #stalbansguitartech

Cool seven string @ibanezuk_official in for a serv

Cool seven string @ibanezuk_official in for a service and some tremolo setting. It was making a few creaks which was primarily down to the springs. They got a good soaking in some light oil, the spring claw was dressed slightly and oiled and the pivot surfaces were all checked and polished.
Sounding sweet afterwards.
Used the excellent @musicnomadcare F-One oil on the fingerboard. I'm a complete convert to this stuff - having used various things over the years, mainly some sort of lemon oil, I tried F-One about a year ago and have never looked back. Treats the wood, brings out the grain and yet doesn't make it greasy or leave any nasty residue. Brilliant stuff, go try it! 👌

If you liked the last post, chances are you'll lik

If you liked the last post, chances are you'll like this one.
1960 Hofner electric in for a recommission.
Similar story - stored for a long time, unplayable etc etc.
The truss rod was not helping here, but the neck was actually at a usable position, so we elected to remove a little wood from each side of the adjustable bridge to allow it to sit lower.
The zero fret was huge and obviously unoriginal, so I replaced it. This, combined with some cleaning, adjustments, setup etc all resulted in a pretty low action and a great playing vintage guitar.

#hofner #guitartech #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #stalbans

Want to see something prettier than that last Engl

Want to see something prettier than that last England match? Try this - A Hofner acoustic that had been stored for many years, very high action, and essentially unplayable. No truss rod adjustment on these, so some careful reduction of the bridge and the zero fret, along with some light gauge strings brought it down significantly.
Obviously it got a clean / fret polish / board oil too, all making it sing as it should once more.

#hofner
#guitarrestoration

Lovely ES-339 in for a new unbleached bone nut. Sw

Lovely ES-339 in for a new unbleached bone nut.
Swipe to see a bit of the process.
Awesome @musicnomadcare nut files doing their thing as usual. Love their stuff 🤘.
I really did enjoy playing this one, could almost be tempted....👀

#es339 #gibson #luthier #guitartech #musicnomad #guitarnut #hertfordshireluthier #hertfordshireguitartech #askemguitarworks

A few more of this Telebird / V-Bird while the sun

A few more of this Telebird / V-Bird while the sun is out (for all of 17 seconds, being this is the UK summer... 🙄)

I have to say, I've kind of fallen in love with this one a bit, yet another great experience with @sunbear_pickups, they really are cracking.
Customer collecting next week. 🙂😐😔

#vintageguitars_official #vintagev62 @vintageguitars_official @sunbear_pickups #sunbearpickups #barncaster

So, it's finally finished. Take a @vintageguitars_

So, it's finally finished.
Take a @vintageguitars_official V62, some rather nice pale moon ebony and a customer that wants a telebird and you end up with this!
A lot of work involved here:
Joining the ebony, then planing it flat, routing out for it, shaping the sides, then routing for the excellent @sunbear_pickups firebird pickups and for the rather lovely Schroeder half Tele bridge.
It's also got Gotoh aged nickel tuners, a treble bleed and countersunk strap buttons.
I have to say though, I really like the outcome.
Better do a video of this one in the near future.

#sunbearpickups #vintagev62 #telebird #schroederbridge #ebony #guitarrefinishing #guitartech #guitarart #guitarworkshop #guitarbuilding #gotoh

Had this frankly beautiful 5 string P bass in for

Had this frankly beautiful 5 string P bass in for a little fettle. Lovely guitar, gorgeous colour, what's not to like?
And, it can be yours - available now at @the58sound 👌
Get on it!

#fenderprecisionbass #fenderprecision #5stringbass #askemguitarworks #benaskem #guitartech

Bit of work on one of my own – my 1990 Les Paul st

Bit of work on one of my own - my 1990 Les Paul studio in....white/cream/old/etc.

Cracking guitar this, Bill Lawrence 'circuit board' pickups, ebony board and one of my most played guitars for the last 10+ years. As such, it needed a little fret work. 💥👌

Get in touch if your favourite axe needs a touch of TLC too.

#stalbansguitartech #guitartech #fretwork #billlawrencepickups #lespaulstudio #ebonyfretboard

Cool @schecterguitarsuk bass in for strings and a

Cool @schecterguitarsuk bass in for strings and a set up. Love this colour. 😎

Quick 'after and before', on this @prsguitars Silv

Quick 'after and before', on this @prsguitars Silver Sky, in for a general set up. Cool guitars, these.

If your axe needs a little sharpening, get in touch here or through the website. 👍

#prssilverskyse #prsguitars #prs #guitartech #guitarrepair #askemguitarworks #stalbans

Very cool @officialspector bass in for a string ch

Very cool @officialspector bass in for a string change and a spruce up.

Lovely @guildguitars in for some switch based wiri

Lovely @guildguitars in for some switch based wiring fun!

#guildguitars

The joys of fitting pickups/wiring back into a sem

The joys of fitting pickups/wiring back into a semi hollow guitar... *Swipe*

#burnyguitars #guitartech #guitarworkshop #benaskem #askemguitarworks

Another great guitar through this week, a 33 year

Another great guitar through this week, a 33 year old Korean made Squier.
This guitar has lived a life, plenty of recording time, active pickups at some point, etc.
It needed some attention though, the wiring was less than ideal and only partially functional.
The rather lovely fingerboard got a clean and a dose of oil, the frets got a polish, the neck shimmed slightly and then everything set up
Just a great playing and sounding guitar with bags of genuine character.👌

#squierstratocaster #f1guitaroil #guitartech #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #askemguitarworks #benaskem

'69, duuuudes!' 😉 Had this cracking '69 #telec

'69, duuuudes!' 😉
Had this cracking '69 #telecaster in this week for a general spruce up. Obviously with something as cool as this, I think it's important not to kill the character and genuine 'mojo' as they like to say, so it was really just a very careful clean and some basic maintenance - the pots needed a little attention, one of the saddle screws was a touch out of sorts so was causing the saddle to wander and some surface oxidisation was very gently removed. No abrasives and actually, no polishes on anything other than the frets.
After a proper setup, this thing is the very definition of a Tele: lovely neck pickup and ice pick bridge tones!
The new owner is going to be very lucky indeed.

#billandted #69dudes #fendertelecaster #guitartech #guitarworkshop #benaskem #askemguitarworks

Been a busy week here so far. First in was this ol

Been a busy week here so far. First in was this older Squier that had various issues, mainly some rather random fretwork, meaning a full level, crown and polish was in order. It also needed a small neck shim and a thorough clean.
All playing like a dream now and ready for the customer.👌

@squierguitarfans #squier #guitartech #guitarrepair #guitarrestoration #fretwork #askemguitarworks

*First pic is finished, swipe to see how we got he

Had this gorgeous @music_man @johnpetrucciofficial

Had this gorgeous @music_man @johnpetrucciofficial signature in for some maintenance recently, namely a restring, some work on the jack socket and a little on the nut. It's a compensated nut on these and for whatever reason, the high E had become too low and was causing buzzing issues. Rather than replace the whole thing, I was able to rebuild the slot with a little adhesive and graphite and re cut the slot.

*First pic is finished, swipe for progress* 1. Fi

*First pic is finished, swipe for progress*

1. Finished
2. Original setup
3. Small brass collar made for boost switch
4. Collar in place
5. New solderless system wiring loom
6. Frets polished
7. Battery cover
8. Wiring done
9. Scratches before
10. Scratches after

Had this rather nice @officialibanezguitars Prestige in the other day for some fairly extensive work. The customer wanted to swap out the pickups for an active @emgpickups setup, complete with boost switch.

Although this sounds straightforward enough, various small issues present themselves :

The pickup cavities don't account for larger square style pickup legs, so they had to be re shaped to fit.
The solderless system works well, but the connections on the bottom of the pickups meant that in this case, they wouldn't sit down low enough, so I had to remove a little wood and repaint with shielding paint, before fitting.
The boost switch barrel was much smaller than the tone pot it replaced, meaning it would be extremely loose and most likely damage the finish, so I made up a small brass collar to take up the gap.
The wiring cavity is fairly tight, but as we didn't really want to make a new cavity just for a battery, I managed to make it fit but made up a sleeve for it to ensure it won't short anything. Keep those used inner tubes handy, people...

After all that and a full setup, this beautiful guitar was a bit of a beast. 💥

@ibanezuk_official
#ibanezprestige
#ibanez
#emg
#guitartech
#guitarwork
#guitarrepair

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