Alchemy Instruments

These two sun dogs (Ziggy and Hen Wen) are meant to be my apprentices, but that last bit of summer sun is just too precious (especially when you're a little under the weather like Zig is!)

Before and after. I will never get tired of cleaning and conditioning fretboards. Only naptha and lemon oil used to get those frets shiny and that grain POPPING

Absolute gem of a guitar; simplicity at its finest.

A beautiful custom Tele that had a full wenge neck. Really had to be seen to be believed how beautiful the grain is from top to bottom!

 

Absolutely awesome Honor Strat Replica (ignore the decal, it's an inside joke). Now rocking a new nut, new input socket, and a setup to make it smooth AF. Really awesome instrument to work on 🙏

From the archives: this beautiful mandolin got a new nut on account of the original plastic one breaking. The action was also quite a bit higher than usual so the bridge was shaved to compensate for the extra height.

The ol' electric drill ran out of battery hallway through piloting some tuner holes - sometimes the even older ways get you out of a pickle just fine.

 

Every now and then you get something really special come through your workshop. This bass was hand crafted and hand wired in 1988 in Kolkata. I was grateful for the owner for giving me the full history of the instrument, because sometimes we really take for granted just how lucky we are with our access to musical instruments. Truly an honour to have been part of it's refurb.

Unfortunately, nuts of any kind don't count towards my 5-a-day, least of all this kind. Doesn't mean I don't take extra care shaping and scoring those first string slots to make sure everything is right the first time. And remember, too much time with your nuts might make you go blind 👀

Unfortunately, nuts of any kind don't count towards my 5-a-day, least of all this kind. Doesn't mean I don't take extra care shaping and scoring those first string slots to make sure everything is right the first time. And remember, too much time with your nuts might make you go blind 👀 #alchemyinstruments #alchemysetup #alchemyrepair #guitarrepaircardiff #localguitarrepair #guitarrepairbristol #luthier #luthiers #guitarist #bassist #cardiffmusicscene #cardiff #bristol #guitar_share #guitarsofinstagram  #whatsonthebench

Is it Sea Foam Green or Surf Green? Whatever it is, it's an eyecatcher to be sure, and is fully setup and ready for the big waves 🏄🏄‍♀️🏄‍♂️

 

Had this dream of a guitar back in today due to it's vintage pots getting used for the first time since forever. Old solder becomes brittle, and some crumbled into the open back pot and caused a short. It now has a new CTS pot with absolutely no snap crackle or pop.

 

Popped and slapped this MM V7 into shape with a full setup. Some of the best hardware I've come across for micro adjustments, so thank you for great design work!