Jamolay
Thank you! The 12ver is a recent addition and weāre getting familiar with each other 
. I must say, the more I play it, the more I want to, and Iāve received a number of compliments on the sound, which is seasoned and to me, remarkable.
I have learned a lot from watching his YouTube channel, to the point of modding many guitars. Just put Hipshot locking tuners on a new one, they are good.
Itās an unforgiving learning curve and I can fully relate to the apprehensions. I have a persistent ājump first and hope the net will appearā streak, and my tinkererās curiosity compels me to open things up and see what makes them tick. A successful āoperationā is one where I achieved my goal and didnāt screw anything else up along the way. Check out this hopeful fix on an Alvarez I rescued. A previous owner had stripped the holes that secure the pre-amp to the body. I stuck toothpicks dipped in wood glue into the holes. Once dry, Iāll clean them up (both sides) and hope theyāll provide good bite to hold the original screw. Wish me luck!
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Good Luck, I hope it works out. True learning seldom comes without mistakes.
Couldnāt you also just glue a little strip of wood on the inside and screw it into that? It shouldnāt affect tone on the side, especially paired with the electronics box in place.
Yes, and thank you for that excellent suggestion. That occured to me as well. Iām sort of a minimalist by nature and with these things, a perfectionist 
. Iām going for clean cosmetics - even knowing that few if any would know or care under this pre-amp trim; and start with the most restorative least intrusive means. Having said that, blocks and glue just will do just fine if this fails. Hereās where I am, so far. Iāll let the glue cure before re-attaching the unit.
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I wanted to mention your inlay work earlier and forgot. WOW - understated elegance all the way. Tastefully composed and creatively designed images, 5 stars, really.
Thanks Gary!
Would love to get more into this. I probably need to look more at the basics as @LievenDV mentions but building a guitar from scratch would be great.
Dont really have the skills but I can learn!
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Yes, it would be nice if everyone were able to do those things. However, as someone without an affinity for woodworking and the option to turn my flat into a workshop, Iām happy to pay a professional luthier in case some more refined adjustments are needed.
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Those skills need some basic tools but absolutely no woodworking skills
(and no electronics skills either)
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I adjusted the truss rod on my Strat today. I was getting some buzzing on the sixth string.
Fender call for a capo on the first fret, press down on the last fret and measure the gap between the 8th fret and the sixth string with a feeler gauge. For a 9.5" radius neck you want a 0.25mm gap. Mine was less than that. About half a turn anti-clockwise with a ā
" allen key set the gap to 0.25mm and the buzzing is gone!
If you decide to do this yourself, use a new or as-new ā " allen key (NOT 3mm!). If you round-out the socket in the truss rod nut, itās major sugery or a new neck.
EDIT: I built my own acoustic from a Stu-Mac kit. Itās a Martin D28 clone. Iām very happy with the result, but Iād never build a guitar again. Too much work. These days I prefer to make noise with them.
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I had things like fret levelling, nut slot filing and saddle height adjustment in mind, particularly for acoustic guitars. The more meticulous tasks.
ah yeah, thatās stuff I trust to my luthier; except for saddle height on electics, you can do that with a tiny Allen key and you canāt do much wrong
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This always makes sense. Anyone who has followed my posts for the past year and a half (more?) knows I am all about DIY stuff. Even these things. They arenāt that difficult.
Howeverā¦doing them well is pretty fastidious with plenty of room for error, or worse: imperfections, for the amateur.
The frets, nut and saddle are not that expensive and honestly, outside at least semi-professional amounts of playing, shouldnāt need to be done very often.
It is a small and worthwhile expense. I am glad I spent $70 for fret and nut setup (would be $100ish if the saddle needed anything) on my guitars. I donāt expect to need to do this again for many years.
and you are absolutely right.
I have some guitars I dare to fiddle with some more than others but I do agree with the notion that people must first to learn to identify all those kind of issues. Iāve seen āfixesā by handy people how to work the gear and tools but donāt understand what affects the playability for their needs and style. You are clearly not one of those āfixersā but I think it is wise to either understand fully first ORā¦ buy some dirt cheap guitar or parts and start tinkering away 
I believe Papa G is correct about reversing your damage. Think about how long it took the top to ācaveā and then think about how long it could take to reverse it. The would will soften with moisture and you may be able to gently and slowly apply consistent pressure up from the inside. But it wonāt happen over a few days, be patient. Also check out StewMac.com, they have dozens of DYI videos.
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Iām ashamed to say that here was a time - and not all that long ago - when I didnāt know what setting up a guitar meant or that there even was such a thing. After shelling out 100usd a few times for little perceived improvement, I made it point to learn all I could about, what to me was, a very mysterious process (still learning, long way to goā¦).
For me itās therapeutic, so I save on Luthier and doctor bills - a two-fer!
Anyway, itās not a bad idea to check your instruments periodically; Excluding trauma, settings will creep out of spec over time due to climate/season changes, exposure, travel etc and can go unnoticed until tuning and play-ability become an issue. Itās recommended to check at least once a year; more if you travel a lot or have relocated. 
I have got the āhowā but definitely not the āwhenā sorted out.
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When youāre unhappy with the sound
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