Neck Resetting

Reviewer: Lane M.

Dan Erlewine's videos are among the best luthier's how-to and educational videos around... anywhere! "Neck Resetting" is no exception. Dan covers in explicit detail how to remove and precisely calibrate and reset the neck of every kind of guitar from yard sale specials to high end vintage guitars. To top the whole thing off, he brings in the ace of neck resetting, Bryan Galloup of Galloup guitars. Bryan takes you step by meticulous step through steaming off a vintage Martin 018 guitar neck using a home made steam machine and a neck removal jig as well as the tricky Gibson J-45 neck. He also shows how to avoid some potential problems and shows you some fixes for little "glitches" that can happen along the way. He is such a cool operator- never gets excited at all about the little things that go awry. Both Dan and Bryan discuss different variations of neck joints (easier ones and harder ones too)in different popular makes and models of guitars. They cover just about all you need to know to get you started in neck resetting. Very highly recommended video... a must have for the repair tech both newbie and veteran.

Reviewer: Stan S.

Another excellent Erlewine video. Clear descriptive text, clean audio with no muffled narration, and sharp video. A video that removes any hesitation about attacking at least a flea market find that needs a reset. Clarifies the methods and order of tasks in a way even an excellent book just can't describe (like the sound and motions when you press a neck out of the dovetail with a fixture.)

If you want to learn guitar repair and don't have access to a skilled luthier for hands on instuction grab the Erlewine videos, some tools, and a few flea market guitars and have at it!

Reviewer: John B.

This video was just what I needed for my first neck reset. It gave a straight forward demo of how to do it on several types of necks, pitfalls, and which ones not ot bother with. Worth the time and money.

Reviewer: Robert L.

Really only of great benefit to those looking for this specific tenon neck joint. Not nearly of the quality of the Erlewine or Benedetto disks.

Reviewer: Matthew K.

This is a good video, especially for flattop acoustic guitars. There is a short section in the beginning for archtop guitars (my interest), pretty much the rest is for flattop acoustics. Most of this latter section is for Martin guitars, there is a short section for one Gibson flattop, and at the very end they touch on other models and brands. This is a bit unfortunate (unless you want to work on a Martin) as there appears to be a diversity of how necks are attached, so much of the techniques shown may not be applicable for the guitar you are considering working on. I think the video could have been much better organized in this respect, i.e. spend a few minutes on each way a neck can be attached (and the basics of how to remove it), then perhaps go into detail on a few examples. Bottom line, if you have a Martin, it will likely be very useful, otherwise you may not get what you need from the video (vis-a-vis safely removing the neck, which is the major hurdle). Once it is off, the techniques for resetting necks probably do not differ greatly, so that should be applicable across brands and styles. The explanations given are very clear and should be easy to follow, and there are only a few specialized tools that seem necessary.

Reviewer: Glenn F.

Clear video and verbal narration make this a valuable lesson on guitar repair. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: Arie W.

Excellent, you get to see the educated approach, the experienced approach, and both done with a whole lot of common sense.