dave farmiloe

2017 the first and last post

The rear view; just a few of the activities of 2017, 70’s Guild bass; Vintage pot repair; 50’s Gibson soapbar; A trip out to The Forest of Dean, a wonderful place for trees in their glory; Here’s Flint, getting in on the act; …

life is a minestrone

10 cc served this up with parmesan cheese. ‘orrible. Here is some of the stuff that’s been served up in the workshop lately; Firstly, completed just last week is this 5 string mandolin. This is for sale direct at £400 and is the last one of a batch of 6. All custom hardware and pickups …

ovation legend

Ovations tend to polarise opinions for sure. At the time of their introduction in the 60’s it was a bold approach to guitar making that gained a lot of ground with the broadminded. This Legend is a design from those early days, very similar to the Glen Campell model. Having spent a couple of years …

bridging the gap

Another regular turn for repairers…the gap under the bridge scenario. The bridge is a crucial element inherently under stress and needs to be structurally sound, as of course it’s a big factor in transferring energy from the strings to the top for ‘the sound’. The gap thing is more commonly seen on mass produced acoustics from the (ahem..) far east than on …

blog for life

The trouble with doing a blog is that if you don’t do one regularily it looks as if you’ve been doing nothing… and thats not the case, its been hectic. So much so that I regret to say that I am not in position to take on any more major restorations and build projects until …

old box repairs

A small departure from the norm, with this very nice victorian box in satinwood, inlaid with tunbridge ware stringing. I was asked if I could fit some new ebony pieces to the edges. Well why not. Back to business. Jimmy Crowley bouzouki repair works are now completed, this included a new sitka top and green fish …

march madness

It seems the last couple of months have shot past and now low and behold its March. As if to confirm the fact I nearly ran over a hare that shot out into the middle of a local lane. March madness. And its full steam ahead in the workshop as usual; A reissue Les Paul recording; …

Om guitar

In the design stages is a new version of Gareth Whittocks Om guitar. An inspiring instrument played with deep musicality, great technique and control. The new custom instrument will feature increased scale length for the drone strings. Here is Gareth demonstrating the current Om guitar on Youtube

a new year, a new machine

A happy new year to one and all! On the go, between regular repair and custom jobs are the restoration of a ES175 and the zouk, which I mentioned in an earlier post. This pretty old ES175 had a badly split and damaged side. The option was to either glue, internal patch and make good or to replace the …

the refret inspector

Refret using Jescar wire to this vintage SG; 3 SG’s through the workshop this month, two with damage to the area around the controls. This nice 1964 SG had a previous repair where a large piece of mahogany had been replaced. Unfortunately the piece of wood chosen was not a good match so I replaced …

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