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Blog on Michael Winston Dales Guitars
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Workshop catchup: Bass edition

In the previous update I talked about the process of designing my first bass guitar, my Delfinen Bass, looking at how it differs from a regular electric guitar design. This set of notes will catch us up on how the build of that has got going. Refinement Before we start in th...

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SOLD! An Enjoyable Distraction

I had some spare time recently as I waiting for the lacquer I'd sprayed on my current batch of acoustic guitars to cure in readiness for polishing, and as I'm becoming a big fan of headless guitars, I put the guitar pictured together while I had the opportunity to do so. I'...

Blog on Michael Winston Dales Guitars
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Designing a Bass Guitar

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been able to get into the workshop, which has happened before, but it’s always a little hard to get back into the swing of things. Mostly I’ve been dragging my heels on getting back into doing design work, of which I have a bunch to do...

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Dry Sanding With Super Assilex and Super Buflex Abrasive Sheets

I put this East Indian rosewood/European spruce guitar to one side as I proceeded with my usual process of wet sanding and buffing four other guitar bodies, the motivation being that I wanted to compare wet sanding with the dry sanding alternative. There was an unavoidable ...

Fret Science
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Fret Science: Improv 101

A high level overview and detailed syllabus for the Fret Science: Improv 101 course

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Some Silent Sanding


 Cheers, Pete

Blog on Michael Winston Dales Guitars
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Workshop catch-up: Maintenance and Repair Edition

This set of week-notes is a bit of a catch-up on one guitar I’ve been fixing up, and another I started reworking a little. Whilst it’s easier to get people excited about new builds, every luthier I’ve met does work to maintain, repair or restore old guitars. Even the best gu...

Blog on Michael Winston Dales Guitars
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Workshop photography 101

There’s an easy assumption to be made that because I’m always taking photos for this blog of the guitars I build, and because photography is another hobby of mine, then I must have lots of nice photos of the guitars I build. Alas, that’s not really the case. Whilst I enjoy p...

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Sanding and Buffing Tips

I'm definitely not the most experienced finisher around, and thought it wise recently to undertake something of a personal refresher course by sifting through some relevant forums and Facebook groups with a view to improving the quality of my finishes. Here's a collection ...

Blog on Michael Winston Dales Guitars
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A Week in the Shop

Being back in the workshop last week for the first time in a month, I was keen to press on with the nearly completed Hästen. It got so close last month, so I was keen to see if I could get it playable this week. Pick-guards R us When I last wrote about progress on Hästen I’d...

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On the Home Stretch

It's a fact of life that events and circumstances can conspire to delay and reshape our plans, and this has certainly been the case where the instrument pictured is concerned. Given that building guitars is such as passion for me, it's amazing - and even a little embarrassi...

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Level Sanding and Buffing

I'm still chasing rogue sanding scratches and polish residue on this Claro Walnut/Port Orford OM body, but I'm calling it "done" for the time being. I'll return to it shortly with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. It's been some time since I last level sanded and buffed a ...

Fret Science
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An invitation to join me on Patreon

As a way of releasing content much more frequently, and as a way to make motivate myself to make more progress on the future Fret Science book, I'm…

Fret Science
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Cowboy chord superpowers

Cowboy chords, often criticized by experienced guitarists, can unlock hundreds of chord variations across the fretboard by mastering just five of them. These chords are essential for AC/DC’s rhythm guitar sound, effective capo usage, and quick learning of triads across the fretboard. Check out the video for more details.

Fret Science
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The Big Picture

The Fret Science method connects music theory concepts like CAGED, 3NPS, pentatonic scales, triads, and major scale modes to master the fretboard. This approach provides a big picture view, enabling improvisation by visualizing the notes as a palette of sounds. Watch the video for a concise explanation.

Stories - Tom Sands Guitars
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‘Lucía’ - Tom’s Model S!

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Stories - Tom Sands Guitars
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‘Regia’ - Adrian’s Brand New Model S!

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The Long Wait

As keen as I am to string these guitars up and wave them goodbye, I have no choice but to wait several weeks for the lacquer top-coats to cure before I sand and polish them. I know from experience that to give in to my typical impatience is an exercise in futility, so the long wait begins.



Cheers, Pete

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The Finish Line

After what feels an eternity, I managed to begin the arduous process of applying finish to this crop of guitars this morning, with a seal coat of shellac applied ahead of the first coats of lacquer tomorrow.


I have three other guitars under construction, but with the inevitability of cold wet weather ahead I vowed to put them to one side and take advantage of our unseasonably dry autumn with a view to finally completing these instruments, some of which I began years ago.

With fresh ideas in mind, I'm well and truly ready to move on from this collection of instruments, and I've come to the realisation that working on a big batch of guitars like this can detract from my enjoyment of the process. A completed instrument would be nice!

Cheers, Pete

Fret Science
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The Dickey Betts hexatonic scale

Jack Ruch is one of my favorite guitar YouTubers because of his beautifully lyrical phrasing and excellent teaching style. He recently released a tribute to…