22
votes
Accepted
I broke my G string and my other 3 strings are out of tune too
You have eleven days until the concert. Even if you don't have a local music store, that's plenty of time to order a string online.
In case you can't get hold of a replacement:
The strings are all ...
- 21.6k
12
votes
How do I fix a broken bridge pin without going to the guitar shop?
Do not try to force the peg out using the string, the ball presses against the peg to lock it in place and you can damage your peg slot by forcing it.
Here's how we do it at the shop:
Loosen all the ...
- 7,534
12
votes
Accepted
Crash cymbal turned green
For your first question. Your cymbal is oxidized, and the green color is called patina
Initially, bare Cu metal atoms react with air to form the pink oxide,
cuprite, Cu2O, which has Cu+1 cations. ...
- 687
9
votes
Accepted
Cork in the base of a violin's chin rest
Pre-cut 'violin chin rest cork' is offered from several suppliers. Yes, you just loosen, insert new cork, tighten. Glue is optional. Or you can buy sheet cork from a craft store and cut it yourself. ...
- 94.8k
8
votes
How risky is it to have a maple fretboard refretted?
When removing frets damage to the fretboard is always a consideration, some kind of chipping as the old frets come out is something to be anticipated, rather than disregarded. There are various ways ...
- 2,016
8
votes
Strat tremolo bridge sits too high. How to fix?
BTW, guitars are really simple bits of wood & metal. They're almost always fixable.
I think we may need a third picture to be certain, but see this -
The height at 1 looks far too big. The screws ...
- 27.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Bach Stradivarius LT42 restoration
A trombone is the sum of its components. And the words of the economist, Thomas Sowell, "There are no solutions, only compromises..." applies to the trombone world as well. Part of why you might ...
- 1,409
7
votes
Crash cymbal turned green
This cymbal is an alloy of copper and tin. The green coulor is the a phenomene of the oxidation of copper. It can be cleaned and will disappear by a chemical reduction with hydrogenium.
https://...
- 26k
7
votes
Accepted
Bottom Strap Holder Broke, Can I Fix it?
If someone has previously drilled the hole larger, or swapped the screw, or even just continued to screw in a screw that was coming loose & eventually wearing the hole out… the task really just ...
- 27.9k
7
votes
How to tell if piano has "clicky hammers" problem?
You would hear it
Hammer click is a very distinctive sound. When heard, it leaves no doubt that there's a problem.
There are a variety of videos on YouTube, for example, demonstrating hammer clicking ...
- 92.5k
7
votes
Is my truss rod broken?
An addendum to leftaroundabout's answer.
Never tighten the trussrod against the tension of the strings. Slacken them first.
Never use the truss rod to pull the neck. Pull the neck manually & use ...
- 27.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Busted guitar top, how to fix?
This is a relatively simple repair if you don't mind that the guitar doesn't end up looking the same as it did new:
Drill out the damaged parts of the wood.
Add a pickguard with the slot for the ...
- 3,003
7
votes
I broke my G string and my other 3 strings are out of tune too
This boils down to knowing how to tune your violin—which is not a simple skill for someone who hasn't worked with a string instrument before, but a good thing to learn. I think I will create a ...
- 18.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Troubleshooting Roland analog synthesizer's 'moving' dead notes
If it's anything like the archetypal polyphonic analog synthesizer (the Prophet 5), it has six analog voices (probably consisting of two oscillators, a low pass filter, and a couple envelopes each, ...
- 57.7k
6
votes
How do I fix a stuck Joint on a plastic recorder
As Tim commented, warm water may loosen the grease, but for stuck woodwind joints we usually use a refrigerator or freezer. Chilling the plastic and/or grease can both shrink the joint and make the ...
- 7,534
6
votes
Accepted
Is my truss rod broken?
It does tighten up if I turn it clockwise
The truss rod doesn't seem to be broken.
I don't see much of a change in the relief of the neck. It seems to be dead straight all the time.
Normally the ...
- 35.6k
5
votes
one of the saddle's springs on the bridge of my guitar is missing
As you can already see, the saddle is out of position (note the head of the saddle position screw is not against the bridge plate as it should be.
You just need to find a replacement spring. You ...
- 57.7k
5
votes
Why is my bass eating up 9 volt batteries like candy?
On the assumption you're taking the jack out after playing (You are, aren't you..?) then I'd go for the jack socket itself, which is switched, so as to activate the circuitry when a jack is inserted. ...
- 196k
4
votes
How to tell what is broken with my bass guitar
Oh, I've just read “I've tried 3 different batteries” – this suggests your bass is active, so the following may not be relevant for you. I'll leave it anyway, just in case:
This is strange, but it ...
- 35.6k
4
votes
Blown (?) speaker, or swapped poles?
On the jack pictured, Positive (the tip of your cable) is the highest of the two connections, and the Negative (Earth - the body of your cable) is the lower.
Connecting speakers in series will ...
- 1,920
4
votes
Crash cymbal turned green
I hate to break it to everyone but, this is not oxidation at all... Yes, copper-based oxidation is green and occurs for all the reasons stated but, it's also (9 times out of 10) highly localized and ...
- 2,608
4
votes
Crack on guitar neck. Possible solution?
It looks like it's being held together by the tension of the strings, which isn't too bad a scenario. It could stay like that for years!
However, if you need it fixing, an obvious is take it to a ...
- 196k
4
votes
Accepted
What should I ask my luthier about from a general maintainence perspective?
Well, tell the luthier all the points you have posted here and ask him to make an overall check of the violin, in case there are matters you are not aware of. That should make sure that he does look ...
- 4,815
4
votes
Why would a pickup be quiet?
With the assumption that you have tested all positions of volume and tone knobs and selector switches, that leaves only two likely causes:
The most likely is a damaged wire, worn selector switch or a ...
- 36.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Tool that can turn this kind of particular screw in upright piano?
That screw is known as the "let-off regulating screw" (see part #28 in the linked diagram). Yours appears to be a "spade screw" (below). To adjust it, you need a "Piano let-...
- 92.5k
4
votes
Fixing loose strap button screw in solid-body guitar
Put wood glue on a toothpick, break it off clean so nothing sticks out. Side-cutters can help here.
Then screw the button in. The extra wood will give the screw more bite and it won't pull out anymore....
- 13.2k
4
votes
I broke my G string and my other 3 strings are out of tune too
Please keep the violin horizontal for the time being to minimize the risk that the sound post falls out of position (inside the instrument). If it does fall, you must not bring the strings up to ...
- 4,598
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