Hewitt's Garage Studio

01/06/2026

Fun little resto-mod I just finished putting back together for a friend. 1963 dano built silvertone 1448 that some one added a second pickup to. The old mod work was clean, 1965 pots on the add on pickup. I updated the wiring for independent volume control as there was no switch and the original old style wiring allowed the two volumes to interact. The stock bridge tailpiece was missing, but I was able to source an original. Cool slick little short scale player!

12/15/2025

Unfortunately I didn't do my "raffle" homework, and in our state unless you are a Church or Non profit its illegal to hold one. Refunds are on the way.

12/09/2025

Who is up for a monthly raffle with the best odds you'll ever see?

I pick an item and post pics and video with a set an entry price. The first 20 paid entries to invite a friend to follow the page will get a number 1-20. Once we have our 20 entries, we will do a live stream and the fantastic Mister Orion Pitts will roll a D20 die. If your number comes up, you own it. It's a 1 in 20 chance of winning, 5% odds. If you can't pick it up locally, you will be responsible for the actual shipping cost.

So who would be down to play?

12/08/2025

No f***s given with these guys.

12/05/2025

I have guitars forsale, but if you need something more festive.......

I'm doing a limited Lemmy nutcracker run, because this season needs more middle finger!

It's the nutcracker that doesn't give a f**k what you or other nutcrackers think. You're elf on the shelf ain't got s**t on this.

Dec 24th 1945 a savior was born. They swaddled him in black leather and lay him upon the bar. Three wise men came bearing gifts of Jack Daniels, Marlboro Reds and a bass guitar, for they were told of the badassery he would bestow upon the world.

Each one is handmade, numbered, painted, tattooed, and given a special bottle of whiskey.

Dibs git called quick on these.

10/26/2025

Just picked up and old Italian EKO Ranger 6 1968/69 (two bolt bridge, 1970 went to the 3 bolt bridge). It will be forsale once she's all cleaned up, pickup installed and ready for to rock the ball. They recently reissued these, but this ones is all original complete with the vintage finish cracks to prove it. Feel free to reach out if you need to get your inner Jimmy Page on and call dibs. Shouldn't be an long restoration on this one.

10/20/2025

I do a lot of work on the old Fender Ecco-fonic solid state 501 tape echos built from 1963-65. I dont see many of the later 1967 Fender Fe-1000 tape echos. Partially because the model only lasted a year and didn't sell very well. I did a quick demo video of an FE1000 recently on my you tube channel.

just a quick overview of the differences with the Fender Fe 1000 Tape Echo vs the old Fender "501" Echo units.

09/29/2025

Recently finished up restoring a few Electronic Echo Chamber tape echos. This model was Fender's first solid state effect. These were made 1963-1965, and this one has 1963 potentiometer codes 1963, the low sn:1663, and internal construction all places this one as that first year 1963. It's been fully gone through, restored and updated for maximum performance.

The original RCA output jack has been replaced with a standard 1/4 in jack. The power cord has been updated to a correctly wired 3 prong grounded power cord. It's been fully recapped, cleaned, tested and aligned for maximum echo. I added a small k**b to fit the reverb limit pot for easy adjustment so you can drive the unit to oscillation. Comes with all of its accessories the Fender branded foot switch, and the early original aluminum top cover thats almost always missing. Includes copy of the original manual, extra custom clear tape cartridge, instructions for cartridge rewinding, and head alignment. Most importantly everything works perfectly.

This is a rare 100% complete, fully restored, in great condition and upgraded for best performance example. For my DFW local crew my usually lifetime repair warranty applies.

You rarely see these, and if you find one, it will not be in this kind of condition.

You tube video of this unit on my channel sn:1663
https://youtube.com/shorts/ZcCyc86-nXU?si=DnaZkJcZv1jTC3wK

SOLD

08/31/2025

Cartridge prototype run sucess. I went with clear plexi vs aluminum, easier to work and I like being able to see the tape. If you have any old Fender Electronic Echo 501, FE1000, or an echo-fonic/Fender 109 unit...these will do trick. When you can't find the part you need, you make it.

08/27/2025

Just about done restoring these old Fender tape echos. All heads are aligned, fully recapped, fully cleaned, luricated, tightened, and their quirks all worked out. These early Fenders are actually pretty easy, but getting them to their full potential is the tricky part. They can oscillate like you wouldn't belive, personally prefer them over the echoplex. All that's left is to build a couple new tape cartridges, rewind all of the cartridges with new 1/4 lubricated tape, and build 2 aluminum top shield covers.

08/08/2025

This was an absolute pleasure to bring back to life, and now it sounds magnificent. Vintage Korg Stage Echo SE 500, an absolute workhorse. Full re build topside new pinchwheel, bearing, belts, tape, and head cleaning and polishing. Fully cleaned, replaced the damaged hinges, missing rubber foot, and new grounded cord. I did have fun rebuilding the original slide switch for the output, which is absolute unobtainium these days. She's back to 100%, and the sound on sound function is just an absolute jammin good time.

Those tape echos and vintage gear no one else want to deal with anymore..... I got you covered!