View fullsize Up until last week it was holding at around 40% relative humidity here in the Iowa City area. The cold settled in over the weekend and the humidity had dropped down to 28%. Today I cleaned up the big dog humidifier, new filters and filled it up. I wa
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View fullsize This old Goyatone 12er came outta the fire with a story to tell! It took some work cleaning it up and getting the tuners working but it was worth it! Someone along the way made the neck joint permanent but it’s still fun to play! That bridge pi
View fullsize This one’s going down as the most punk rock stick of all time to hit the bench! This Carvin is still very fun to play after cleaning up the guitar and straightening the neck out. Strap button is in a strange place but hey it’s not mine so
View fullsize Epi mandolin from the house fire. After deep cleaning the instrument, wire brushing/lubricating the tuners and polishing the frets and bushings, it looks great! Truss rod adjustment, strings, cleaned the jack, went over the nut slots and we have a ni
View fullsize A bunch of house fire guitars came in this week. Here’s this banger bolt on Kay first. Covered is soot and tons of rust and corrosion happening. Used some very diluted ammonia, soap h2o n some polish. Disassembled, wire brushed and lubricated t
View fullsize Happy to announce we’ll be opening up the show for @loslobos at The Englert Theatre! They’re absolute legends and I’m very excited about this show! See you there!! 😎🤘 Dave Helmer Band 😜 #guitar #guitarist #sologuitar #guitarsol
View fullsize Had a great time Friday night at @theblackangeliowacity doing the trio thing. Thanks everyone who came out! Great to see so many musicians in the crowd!! Thanks to @maximumlevitation n @rbernema for joining me. They’re the best musicians. Cheer
View fullsize I’ll spray clear coats over this. It’s looking really good. Today was warm but rainy and 88% humidity so not a good finish day. There may be a good spray day before thanksgiving, dry n warm. Cheers y’all 👀🤘🙏 #loothing #luthier #
View fullsize Epi custom headstock repair. Clamped up w/ west system gflex epoxy. Strong stuff. It will hold 10’s no problem. I sanded n blended the black I sprayed and w/ clear coat will absolutely look good. I’ll post follow up pics. Next is sand the
View fullsize The band had a great show Friday at @iowacitygabes!! Thanks to everyone who came out! Thanks @drellasam for the 🎥 @matthewbernemann @maximumlevitation @theblankdaily and Adam Grosso crushed it! Hope everyone is doing well! Fall shows are the best
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View fullsize Headstock break on this Schecter. The string locks are still holding it in tune so I spent some time this afternoon playing for a while 😂 it’s plays great! I was told it broke a year ago. I love when out the norm stuff happens in the shop. I&r
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Dave tightening a ukelele in his vice.
Dave inspects bridge re-glue on guitar.
Dave holding a guitar seminar at Hermit Music Festival in Kuna, Idaho.
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