Master luthier Mark Erlewine takes us through the fascinating process of repairing Trigger, the same guitar Willie Nelson has played for nearly 50 years.
Parts of Trigger have been repaired numerous times over the decades. This time, Mark is tasked with fixing a hole that has opened up again between the pickup and the sound hole. Mark shares a lot of history about the guitar, pickup, and amp, and he shows off a number of specialized tools he uses to repair an instrument that looks beyond repair. One interesting side note discusses the lengths they went to when creating a duplicate guitar for Willie, who has said that when Trigger is no longer playable, he will no longer play. No pressure for Mark!
• Repairing Willie Nelson’s Trigger (YouTube / stewartmacdonald)