Articles by: Jack Ellis

Jack runs an independent guitar setup and guitar repair service in Manchester, England. He serves the musicians of the Northwest of England, working on electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars and more. Jack has been writing the Fix Your Guitar column in Total Guitar Magazine since 2017.

Articles by: Jack Ellis

How to make your guitar stay in tune

By Jack Ellis published 15 July 23

Avoid frustration by improving your electric guitar's tuning stability

How to upgrade your guitar by fitting new locking tuners

By Jack Ellis published 3 November 22

Upgrading your guitar yourself will not only save you money, it's also a fun way to get to know how it really works

Adjust your guitar's truss rod in 12 easy steps

By Jack Ellis published 1 November 22

Learn to set and maintain your guitar’s neck relief

Guitar setup: how to find and fix pickup phase problems

By Jack Ellis published 7 April 22

Guitar sounding thin? You might be experiencing phasing issues between your pickups

How to upgrade Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitar bridges

By Jack Ellis published 1 March 22

We show you how to tame this famously idiosyncratic piece of Fender hardware

How to restore your electric guitar’s tremolo

By Jack Ellis published 3 December 21

Has gunk and rust set in? Bring your vibrato back from the dead and restore it to its former glory with our step-by-step guide

How to sand your guitar neck for a satin feel

By Jack Ellis published 1 November 21

Refinish the back of your electric guitar's neck

How to fix a common Bigsby guitar tremolo problem

By Jack Ellis published 5 October 21

Say goodbye to tuning woes with our guide

How to fix tuning problems on your guitar

By Jack Ellis last updated 1 October 21

Our guitar guide shows you how to stay in tune

How to fit a humbucker with a coil-split

How to swap a humbucker pickup with a coil-split control

By Jack Ellis published 31 August 21

Take out your old humbucker, put in a new one, and keep that cool coil-splitting function with our step-by-step guide

How to set up a wraparound bridge

By Jack Ellis published 5 August 21

Wrap your head around wraparounds and enjoy maximum vibration transfer with our step-by-step setup guide

How to restring an electric guitar: a step-by-step guide

By Jack Ellis published 30 July 21

Learn this easy way to change electric guitar strings like the pros

How to restring your Bigsby guitar tailpiece the easy way

By Jack Ellis last updated 30 June 21

Don't believe the scare stories – changing strings on a Bigsby is easily done and our step-by-step guide shows you how

How to clean your guitar fretboard

By Jack Ellis published 23 April 21

Get your maple, rosewood and more looking and sounding great again

Guitar DIY: how to wire a Strat for two humbuckers

By Jack Ellis last updated 14 December 21

You can slap nearly any pickup into a Strat… space permitting

How to mod your Strat to sound like a Tele with a 7-way circuit

By Jack Ellis last updated 30 June 21

Taking a versatile guitar to a new level; we’ll show you how to strip down, prepare and rewire your Strat-style guitar with some cool tips along the way