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- paul wilczynski
Guitar Making and Repair/Expert Profile
Expertise
Anything concerning building, tuning, theory of construction. Specialist in finishing (40 years' experience); extensive knowledge of Rickenbacker instruments of all vintages. Rickenbacker factory connection on personal level; ONLY licensed Rickenbacker luthier in the world.
Experience in the area
Extensive. I build and restore electric and acoustic guitars (steel string and nylon classicals). I build all of Rickenbacker's acoustic instruments in my own shops in San Francisco and Healdsburg, CA. I write two online columns with a total of over 15,000 posts since January, 2005. Google my name or my screen name, "jingle_jangle".
Organizations
American Guild of Luthiers.
Publications
Mostly automotive and hobby (in the past).
Education/Credentials
Manage the University Department workshops(Industrial Design) in SF, also have taught and written design and fabrication classes for almost a decade. Have produced online classes, written curricula, syllabi, etc. Run an online forum for my students (500 in number).
Awards and Honors
Awards won for product, vehicle, and preschool toy design in the past.
Past/Present Clients
Rickenbacker International Corporation, Waterstone Guitars LLC, many Fortune 500 companies before I worked in guitars (I ran a design studio for 22 years). I have hundreds of individual--private party--customers.
What do you like about this subject?
It allows me to use virtually everything I have learned in my 40-year career in design and fabrication, from the physical and aesthetic design of beautiful musical instruments, to the challenge of constructing new projects in order to see results and "push the envelope".
What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?
Learn new technologies as they arrive, and continue to refine my skills and tax my patience.
Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:
It's easier than you might think, but a lot harder than it looks, at first glance!
Something controversial or provocative about this subject
A great looking guitar may not be the best-sounding guitar, and vice-versa. The challenge is in accommodating both utility and aesthetics in the same instrument. A good deal of this is the luck of the draw with regard to the specific pieces of wood chosen and the way they're put together.
Average Ratings
Recent Reviews from Users
K = Knowledgeability C = Clarity of Response P = Politeness| User | Date | K | C | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espen | 04/22/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| germain | 04/19/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Dear Mr. Wilczynski, Thank you so much ..... |
| Jake | 04/10/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Quick response, and easy to understand. This ..... |
| Murray | 04/09/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks for the info, very helpful, I ..... |
| chuckwagon | 04/04/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thank you Paul. |
Recent Answers from paul wilczynski
2012-05-18 Ovation elite 1778lx soundboard:
Depends on the price, Colin...these Ovations have a history of the soundboards splitting, warping, and/or separating from the composite back shell, due to different rates of expansion of the two materials
2012-04-19 Acoustic guitar string buzz:
Germain, I would suggest loosening the truss rod about 1/2 turn, stretching the strings thoroughly, letting it sit in the case for a couple of days and then re-tuning. It's likely that the neck has
2012-04-09 Repair Acoustic archtop soundboard:
Although the brand is "Stewart", this is probably a Chicago-made archtop from either Harmony or Kay, who supplied literally dozens of proprietary house brands back in the day... The cracks can be glued
2012-04-07 The Bridge:
Hey, Jake-- I'm assuming that it will be a bolt-on neck, not a glued-in one. At any rate, you first need to draw a centerline in pencil on the front of the guitar's body. Next, fit the neck into
2012-04-04 guitar painting:
The clearcoat you should use is a catalyzing automotive type like PPG EC-700, with ECH 7080 hardener/catalyst. This is my current choice. This will go on over virtually any type of paint with no ill effects
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