Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

09/06/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" This older German made Warwick bass came in for a cleanup and setup. I found out it had a tung oil finish, so I had to use a different type of cleaner and polish on it. Have you ever gone to polish an old guitar with a nitrocellulose finish on it and the polish just makes the finish get dull? I will address this and other finishes, and explain which polishes I use on the different types of guitar finishes in my comments on the photos. Thank you for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

08/30/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" Finally, after over 50 years as a guitar luthier, I get to work on one of these! This 1953 all original Fender Telecaster came into the shop for strings and a checkup! This guitar needed new strings and a go-thru so James Oliver could use it on his tour. Some of you may have seen James play at Chan's or the Park Theater this month. I could not take it up to the house for a photo because the owner would not let it out of his sight. This guitar is now valued at over $80,000, so I was happy he stayed with me while I took care of it, then took it with him. These guitars were originally named "Broadcaster" during 1950-1951, then the name was changed to "Telecaster" in 1952 due to a lawsuit by Gretsch. I will comment on the photos as usual. Thank you for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

08/22/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" This Martin 000-16R guitar came into the shop with some common wear issues. This guitar is a workhorse, and sees hundreds of gigs a year. I will explain in my comments on the photos how I address these issues in order to make this a reliable stage guitar once again. Thank you for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

08/19/2026

08/16/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" This Gibson guitar, now part of the Kalifornia Karl collection, came into the shop for setup. This guitar, known as "The Fool", is a 1964 Gibson SG ReIssue painted for Eric Clapton by the Dutch design collective The Fool, from which the guitar takes its name. One of the world's best known guitars, it epitomizes the psychedelic era. Clapton used the guitar extensively while playing with Cream and it was an essential element of his famed "Woman tone". From the 1970s to the 1980s, the guitar was owned by Todd Rundgren, who was often seen playing the instrument in his live performances. He nicknamed the guitar "Sunny", after the Cream song "Sunshine of Your Love". I hope you enjoy the photos and history. Thank You for reading. Dave Ross 'The Guitar Doctor".

08/13/2026

Fender unveils how they relic guitar bodies.

08/09/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" This Vintage Epiphone guitar came in for some cleanup and to reglue the loose bindings. Epiphone first came over to the USA from Turkey and started making jazz guitars In New York city. These guitars quickly became more sought after than Gibson jazz guitars, so Gibson bought the company. I will comment on the photos as usual. Thank You for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

08/01/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" I would like to address the Richlite fingerboard in this post, as well as the plecking of frets. There are some new developments in guitar construction and repair that I think you will find quite interesting. I will explain in my comments on the photos. Thank you for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"

07/25/2026

This Week's "On The Bench" This Johnny A. signature guitar (Part of the Kalifornia Karl collection) came in for a setup, and I had to break out the big guns to get this one to play. I will explain in my comments the course of action I took to get this guitar stage ready. Thank you for reading. Dave Ross "The Guitar Doctor"