Gruber Guitars

Put a new jack in this sweet 1967 Fender Telecaster Custom today and enjoyed a little guitarchaeology. I took a close up of the hole on the back that Fender used at the time for locating pins on their routing templates. They filled these with dowels then before finishing.

The sunburst finish on this one had that mid to late 60s opacity and wide red layer that we used to call “clown burst.” Through careful eyeballing and some case receipts I learned this was actually just an amazing period-correct refinish, done locally here in St. Paul.

Even more fun yet, I found a musicians’ union booklet in the case from 1969. Even by the time I was coming up in the 90s local musician labor unions were a thing of the past. A thing of legend that older musicians would tell stories about. Stories set in the 70s and 80s.

Old guitars, like old musicians, tell a story. This was a fun one to hear.

Home at last. I’ve felt lost at sea for a year. Adrift. This is a big change. There is so much repair experience in this room. I’m incredibly grateful to be here.

Time is a flat circle

I did some guitar work this past week, changing pickups and tuning up this fiesta red hardtail strat for . I haven’t been doing much in that way lately, so it was a fun diversion.

Hey gang, selling some stuff to bankroll some car repairs. In Minneapolis but can deliver to Fargo in early March.
1. Fender acoustasonic 90 acoustic amp $250
2. 1970 Musicmaster bass amp (great guitar amp, tube 1x12, 12 watts, first year) $750
3. Sony FX30 video camera with lens and audio attachments ($2900 on Amazon) $1500
4. Orangewood parlor guitar, mint, basically new $160
5. Ernie ball vp jr volume pedal $60
6. Dunlop crybaby wah $60
7. Shure sm57 microphone $60
8. Cat, make offer

Hi gang, here are some guitars, amps, furniture, art, American rifleman magazines I’ll have out tomorrow. Additionally I’ll have some guitar parts (guitar bodies, lots of pickguards, oddly sized neck plates). Prices in the last pictures.

Sorry I’ve been trying to share this from Instagram as I rarely use facebooks but it has not been working.

Bloody hell, my stuff isn’t sharing from Instagram🤷🏼‍♂️. Having a sale on Sunday. Pictures of gear on the instagram, some guitars and amps, tools, furniture. Stop in before I transcend this realm.

Gruber Guitars updated their business hours.

Selling some gear. DM for more pictures of anything. Thanks.
$750 1994 Epiphone Sorrento
$1000 1965 Gibson Melody Maker refin/restoration
$400 Epiphone ES-335
$800 custom LP Jr.
$250 Mako TB2
$250 Mako TB1
$450 Bogner Alchemist 40watt 1x12

or something. Happen to have a few telecasters around so let’s create some content! This is the content.

Sometimes one of my old guitars comes to visit. I enjoy hearing them talk to the newer guitars about places they’ve been and what burgers they have there. These are the only mini humbucker guitars I’ve built, so it was fun to have them together for a day.

The guitar on the left belongs to .e.wood. You can see these two guitars on stage together when and play at on July 14th.

Finished my Knotties Caster today. You can peek through it in spots. This isn’t a commission, so it’ll be here to try out.

Reclaimed cedar beam joined into a super light cabronita-style telecaster. Vintage c.1965 Gibson P-19 mini-humbuckers (from a Silvertone 1446). Vinyl guard. Birdseye maple neck, 12” radius. Schaller tuning machines. A Les Paul/Telecaster mashup of epic proportions.

Material contributions by and . More on reclaimed wood guitars another day. It’s . I have to get home and practice!

Finished the carpentry on my tele. Woooo Friday night! Golden hour in this basement is a 16” strip of sun that is mostly blocked by the counter. Behold.

Made this today out of some more old beams. This was even rougher I’m terms of holes and knots than the last reclaimed I did. But I think it’s gonna be ok.

They were out of Rs. And Ms (it’s a W). This just keeps getting cooler every day.

Delivered my latest build yesterday. This was a unique guitar and process. It’s the only guitar I’ve made that started as a PowerPoint. Many of the features came right from that: fully-hollow thinline acoustic, electric and acoustic pickups, multiple sound holes, custom art, 24” scale. I did my best to incorporate everything while having the flexibility to decide how to do that.

Currently in progress: it’s a tele, no it’s a jaguar, no it’s an acoustic. No, it’s all three!

Having fun creating this one-of-a-kind piece from a pine log and a three-piece fir top. Special appearance by Don Ferguson.

Finished the first guitar for 2022 today for long-time supporter of the shop and friend . Tom has always been a great student, ally, and all-around dude, so I was excited to make this jazzy tele for him.

The body is from one reclaimed beam full of square nail holes that I got from years ago. Tom really wanted the Charlie Christian in the neck position, and I was happy to oblige. Matt at came in clutch with the assist on the 1967 Jeff Beck 45rpm record of “Beck’s Bolero” to top it off.

I’m happy with the results here: a swinging telecaster with the character of a century-old barn. It’s light as a feather and resonant beyond expectations.

On a personal note, Charlie Christian was so influential for me in learning jazz and Jeff Beck is my all-time favorite rock player. So it was cool to combine these elements and put a little of myself into this project. Thanks, Tom. Enjoy!

Hi all, I have some openings for guitar lessons starting in February. The details are by the pancakes. Email me at [email protected] or call me at 218-329-0443 to book.

Congrats to me for being named Employee of the Month for the 144th consecutive time! If you’re math-y that means it’s our 12 year anniversary.

Progress

It all starts with a board.

Something you don’t see everyday. This is the most birdseye (or bird’s eye if you want to be grammatically correct) that I’ve ever seen on a 70s fender neck. This 1976 Fender Telecaster Deluxe also has some classic 70s “quality” moves on the body like misaligned ferrules and what looks like a filled paint nail hole.

Been doing a few little repairs here and there. Backed up. Stay classy.

Hi gang, coming to you from inside the display case to let you know that I still operate entirely by appointment. I’ve been remodeling my space and working at my leisure. A lot of folks have asked when I’m opening and in short, I probably won’t ever open with regular hours all week.

I have a lot of reasons for this but primarily I get more done on building guitars without running a retail store at the same time. That’s been my focus for awhile now and it’s better for me. On another front, some of you know that I took a job playing with full-time and I’m gone all the time now. For example, this week I’m gone from tonight till Sunday playing in South Dakota.

I’ve always done all these other music jobs to support my guitar playing and now I don’t have to. I can actually play guitar for a living, so I’m going to do that for awhile.

I still exist. Please leave a message.
(I tiled this floor)

It being a Sunday and a holiday, I naturally came in at 6am to finish this 12-fret parlor build. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, all ebony appointments including bridge, fret board, pins, buttons, and Waverly tuning machines. Stainless steel frets. This was also built entirely with hide glue by request, which can be laborious, but worth it.

I don’t do a lot of these but this is my second acoustic of 2021 and I’m getting in the groove of it. Happy Mother’s Day. I watched Alien Resurrection at 1am to celebrate.