Ratings and reviews

This is a great little tool for lifting strings at the nut but hang on to the handle when you use it. If you let go while lifting a string it can fling across the room and get lost. Ask me how I know.

M.J. Franks Guitars

Stew Mac hit a home run with this well designed tool. The roller bearing and easy adjustability make this tool a joy to use.

M.J. Franks Guitars

How do I like my Ultimate Scraper? Let's just say that if my shop ever catches fire, my Ultimate Scraper will likely be the first thing I grab before I haul butt out the door.

M.J. Franks Guitars

This item wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure others would find it fine. It just seemed a little fragile to me. Plus, given the set up of my bending iron (which I like a lot, side-review) it would not stay put. The fine folk at Stew Mac were incredibly helpful, even sent a new one while I still had the other, but I could not make this work for me. Your mileage may vary. I'll take a moment to praise the customer service again. It was excellent and the reason I'll be sticking with Stew for other purchases.

As many have stated here, it's a great kit. I agree. I also agree that you should take it slow. And do buy the video, it's money well spent. I built my kit in about 4 months, but it was my first time and I had never built an instrument before. Now I'm building from scratch and the things I learned during the building of the kit are serving me well.

I'm very happy with the fret wire this will be used to restore an old Layle Classical Guitar that belonged to my Grandfather. Thank you Stewmac you guys have great products

I've said it before, Waverly Tuning Machines are the "Rolex" of tuners. M.J. Franks Guitars

Works great with just a simple drill press. Frets must be radiused correctly for best results.

Very good quality frets that match very well with vintage Gibsons. You need to start at the longer frets first in case you cut one short, you can use it up higher on the neck. There is not much waste on the length, so do not over measure on these, because you'll run out.

Great quality on the tools, the guide is really simple but achieved a nice setup and I am happy with the results, my guitar feels great to play.

The bridge I ordered was the rosewood version for my Epiphone ES-175. Was encouraged by the previous reviews that installed it on the same guitar although I took the plunge and got the rosewood instead. The bridge itself came with a healthy gloss and the quality shows. However the one that I got had one corner slightly rough and jagged, nothing some sandpaper couldn't fix. Took me 3 seconds. I tested the difference between sanding the feet to fit the contour of the body and not and the tone was much fuller when properly sanded. Otherwise it might sound slightly nasally. Very acoustic like tones from this rosewood model. Brings out a lot of interesting woody harmonics when playing chords not unlike an acoustic guitar. Playing single notes produces full tones and turning down the tone knob can still give a warm tone peppered with bright acoustic flavour which would be hard to get with the metal tune-o-matic. Like a previous review mentioned however there is a slight loss in sustain. For me it's a trade off I'm willing to accept for the complex tones you can coax from this bridge but it does make the guitar feel quite different. I wish I had the ebony one for comparison but this is the most apt description I could do. Bridge comes unslotted, but this is by no means a flaw. You can adapt this to your preference or to fit your guitar. Generally this bridge is good to go with minimal work out of the box. I finished my purchase with some gold top hat knobs just to compliment the 1960s ES-175 aesthetic. Great products from stewmac, will be ordering more stuff from them in future.

Works just like its supposed to. Excess wipes away with water. A bit pricey but very nice to have instead of trying to use car polish compounds or the like.

As Ive mentioned in other screw and hardware reviews, instruments use a special breed of screws that you cant get at a hardware store. They are specific to instruments and if you use a hardware store screw it may work but it wont look right. These screws do just what they are supposed to. Buy in bulk for sure. Every time I order from StewMac I try to add a 100 each of one or two different types of screws. Put them in little jars in your shop. Not having the right screw to finish a job can be really annoying. Its good to have the right screw for the job. And you wont find these at the hardware store.

The idea that you can buy a nut thats slotted and just drop it in and play is wrong so dont let these mislead you. They do require fitting and slotting. Ive found to get the 'slippery' factor to actually work you need to polish the slots a lot. They have a matte finish so if you want a polished nut youll need to go through the process. Its easy to work with and doesnt stink like bone. The only ones Ive noticed that have added good tonal qualities are the larger ones. Fender style are just too small it seems for the TUSQ material to enhance the tone. Mostly I prefer bone or sometimes Corian but if you get the slots on a TUSQ XL nut slippery smooth on a guitar with a traditional tremolo, it does help with tuning stability.

These work pretty good. My only complaint is that they are quite expensive for a simple foam pad but since you cant get anything like this anywhere else I guess its alright. Theyll get dirty but are easy to rinse out cause they are pretty much a tough sponge. I prefer to use them in my drill press rather than on a drill cause you get more control. Used with StewMac polishing compounds and they are great!

Im not really familiar with other strap lock systems since my first ones were Dunlop. I prefer the dual design so you can use them with a regular strap if you need to. 3 finishes to match your guitars hardware. The gold does wear off which is a bummer if you like your hardware to stay shiny. I like mine to age so I think it looks good. You have to add a drop of oil on the ball bearings every once in a while.

These are very nice.... at first. They dull very fast. They are hard to find, like most luthier related tools, anywhere but through a specialty supplier like StewMac. Also, if you buy them get at least 4 or more additional bearings. Make very shallow passes on hardwoods. Let them cool frequently. I wish they made them in carbide.

Its very odd that instruments use screws that you cannot get in your local hardware store. They are a special breed of hardware. These are just what you need. Buy in bulk and have them handy.

This saved so much time. I added a bone saddle and it worked perfect. I prefer to finish mine rather than leave them raw. Nice little maple detail strips that make it look just a little more classy. Its big enough to cut down if you dont want all the surface it provides. But if you are gluing it down, more surface glued means better stability. I used it to restore this 1964 Harmony Model 910.

For hand routing on guitars, this is your router. Powerful enough to route solid hardwood and smooth enough to route delicate binding channels. The micro adjustment wheel gets stiff very fast and needs to be kept clean. Unlike other routers Ive used, it runs fairly cool and is light and easy to handle. With safety gloves on I find the on/off switch hard to use sometimes but its nearly impossible to accidentally turn on which is much more important. The base plate will get scratched up but you can get a replacement from Bosch.

Ive had some mixed results with CTS pots but not when I buy them from StewMac. Its obvious that they are tested because they are very consistent in performance. Buy them in bulk and save. Smooth to use and clean sound with no crackling.

I didn't want to buy this cause its a bit pricey for what you get but then I got one and realized its worth every penny. You'll use the strait edge and string height gauge/measuring tool every day. It is very basic and you'll need more tools later but this is where to start.

This is an often overlooked component when building, re-building or upgrading a guitar or bass. I use stereo jacks in everything I do and I dont do much work on stereo instruments. The extra spring contact point holds the jack tip tighter than a mono jack for a few cents more. Great contact without crackle or noise. Tough spring contact points won't bend out of shape over time. Great product.

If you're learning repair or an old pro, its good to have books like this to look through just to get your creative ideas going. For me its not so much that the book goes over the basics (and then some) of set up and some repair, but that it encourages each person to come up with methods and tricks to use themselves. How to make little tools and attachments for tools or make things from shop scraps that you'll end up using all the time. For these reasons books like this are a must-have.

If you want a lever switch then use a CRL. Thats it. Other brands will work but if you go with a CRL theyll last and last and last. The material is easy to solder to since its not covered in residue like most other switches are.