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  #16  
Old 07-11-2017, 11:05 PM
email4eric email4eric is offline
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Glue is not used.

These armrests are attached using an almost gel-like (soft and squishy yet firm) adhesive tape that comes attached to the arm rest. You simply peel off the backing paper exposing the tacky surface and gently press it onto the guitar top at the rim binding after having determined where it should go.

They're removable. They're comfortable. They're inexpensive. They're innovative. They improve sustain by removing dampening. They look great on many guitars and less so on others.

No glue! No muss, no fuss!
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  #17  
Old 07-11-2017, 11:24 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Tico wrote:

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Originally Posted by Tico View Post
I don't care if 100% report no damage from gluing these things on. What's the longest anyone could have had one of these things glued on? And was it glued on with the exact same glue used today?
In my case, the longest time any armrest has been on any of my guitars has been some thirty years. In 1987 John Pearse sent me a production prototype armrest about two months before they became available to the general public, and I put that first one on my 000-42.

Ten or fifteen years ago I decided to replace that armrest (which was a high impact plastic, rather than the wood armrests the company now sells.) I took off the armrest which had been there 15 or 20 years, and the lacquer underneath it was fine. It didn't have a suntan line either, which kind of amazed me, since I'd been expecting one. Then I put the new ebony armrest on the guitar, which has been there ever since.

And, yes, the adhesive strip used on the armrests is the same 3M product that's used today. The development of that safe, non-reactive adhesive material is what spurred John to develop the armrest as a commercial product in the first place.

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Originally Posted by Tico View Post
I'm super conservative when it comes to what even remotely might damage the finish of my nice guitars over the very long term.

In a century or two I'll check; if everyone has zero damage to their nitro celulose finishes I might consider gluing an armrest to my guitars.
Gosh, Tico, I guess we'll all be hanging around waiting with bated breath until you do!

No, seriously, the armrests aren't for everybody, and you're obviously not even remotely open to the idea of using one. Which is fine. It's interesting to see the vehemence with which some folks reject them, but I'm not about to try to convince you or anybody else otherwise.

Quite a few of my friends and acquaintances who've expressed skepticism about the idea have changed their minds after playing some of my guitars, though. All of my flattop guitars have John Pearse armrests on them, because they do exactly what they're designed to do: they allow the top to vibrate to its fullest extent, generally increasing bass and lower midrange response at the same time. (Sometimes they increase volume, projection and sustain, as well.) They keep sweaty forearms from damaging the finish by elevating them above the guitar, and they provide a more comfortable, rounded edge to put your arm against, instead of the 90˚ angle that most guitars present to you.

Eric wrote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by email4eric View Post
They're removable. They're comfortable. They're inexpensive. They're innovative. They improve sustain by removing dampening. They look great on many guitars and less so on others.

No glue! No muss, no fuss!
I like 'em, too. More importantly, I use them because they do exactly what they're supposed to do.


Wade Hampton Miller
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  #18  
Old 07-12-2017, 01:33 AM
Tico Tico is offline
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Thanks Wade.
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  #19  
Old 07-12-2017, 09:02 AM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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When receiving a John Pearse Armrest, and before installing it, you may want to remove the adhesive and sand the bottom of the armrest on a flat surface to remove any warping. Apply new 3M VHB adhesive, available from Elderly Instruments, and install armrest. This is what I've done because, being a machinist, I like things as precise as I can make or modify them to be. Always bear in mind though that "perfection is the enemy of good" and the armrest will work, as received, whether the one you receive is warped or not. If applying an armrest right out of the box, trim the excessive width of the adhesive before applying the armrest to your guitar. No sense having that extra adhesive width that doesn't enhance the sticking power of the armrest encroaching onto the vibrating surface of the guitar's top.
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Last edited by SpruceTop; 07-12-2017 at 10:14 AM.
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  #20  
Old 07-12-2017, 08:25 PM
email4eric email4eric is offline
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If I may add to the above suggestions...

I spend a fair amount of time making sure I determine exactly where the rest needs to go. I use blue painting tape to mark the two ends where the rest will locate on the guitar.

Once that's been determined, I spend some time "dry" mounting the rest and observing any mismatch between the rest's outer shape and the shape of the lower bout such that I can determine where some shaping of the arm rest should occur.

I sand the arm rest where needed to perfectly match the radius of the guitar. Then apply.

Beside the improvement, I find a little bit of employed craftsmanship adds to my "bonding" with my guitar.

Arm rests will grow on you and I've seen "never-an-arm-rest-for-me" types converted!
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  #21  
Old 07-13-2017, 10:48 PM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by email4eric View Post
If I may add to the above suggestions...

I spend a fair amount of time making sure I determine exactly where the rest needs to go. I use blue painting tape to mark the two ends where the rest will locate on the guitar.

Once that's been determined, I spend some time "dry" mounting the rest and observing any mismatch between the rest's outer shape and the shape of the lower bout such that I can determine where some shaping of the arm rest should occur.

I sand the arm rest where needed to perfectly match the radius of the guitar. Then apply.

Beside the improvement, I find a little bit of employed craftsmanship adds to my "bonding" with my guitar.

Arm rests will grow on you and I've seen "never-an-arm-rest-for-me" types converted!
Excellent points to bring up. That's what I'd do too to get a nice contoured fit!
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Taylor 618e
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Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi
Larrivee D-40R Sunburst
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  #22  
Old 07-13-2017, 11:03 PM
Llewlyn Llewlyn is offline
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Good to find out about armrests. Would you guys recommend a JP armrest for a Martin with a nitrocellulose finish (OM-28)? Or would that be bad not being "bomb-proof" like the Taylor finish?

Ll.
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  #23  
Old 07-14-2017, 12:46 AM
markrj markrj is offline
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Ordered an Abel. I have an unused BNIB JP. I'm 99.4% sure, the store where I bought it, will take it back. Otherwise it will be for sale soon. I just cant see using the Red 3M tape or similar on my LV-10 or my L-35.

The design of the Abel looks very nice. I especially like that it is removable and portable between guitars. I don't think my L-35 would fit in its case with a JP installed on it. It's a very tight fit as it is.
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  #24  
Old 07-14-2017, 02:23 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
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Let us know how you find the Abel amrest especially concerning any scuffing or impression marka on the nitro finish of your guitar also do the felt pads anchor at any point on the top or is it just on rhe sides of the guitar?
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  #25  
Old 10-14-2017, 03:17 PM
thegreatgumbino thegreatgumbino is offline
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FYI, I installed a JP armrest on my Gibson SJ last year. I purchased it new through their website. I removed it today thinking I might sell the guitar to fund a new purchase. Unfortunately, the finish was marred where the tape contacted the finish. It looks similar to the mar a tuner leaves on a headstock if left on for an extended period of time. I'm very disappointed to say the least. Can this be repaired? Drop filled?





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  #26  
Old 10-14-2017, 04:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thegreatgumbino View Post
FYI, I installed a JP armrest on my Gibson SJ last year. I purchased it new through their website. I removed it today thinking I might sell the guitar to fund a new purchase. Unfortunately, the finish was marred where the tape contacted the finish. It looks similar to the mar a tuner leaves on a headstock if left on for an extended period of time. I'm very disappointed to say the least. Can this be repaired? Drop filled?
I tread lightly on this subject, but in my experience that is pretty typical. It's not guaranteed, but when removing one of these armrests, I have a greater expectation of seeing it than not seeing it. I've seen that exact same mild damage on many guitars over the years. I liken it to the same sort of footprint left after removing an over-finish pick guard, not the "tan line" but a rippled sort of surface on the finish. It might be described as an indentation or impression.

The severity of it will lessen over time, but to make it go away completely is more difficult. It can be drop filled, wet sanded, and buffed, but that has its own problems. That will eliminate the impression, but leave the finish very flat and smooth. The original finish has probably started to take on the slight ripple of the grain lines in the spruce top, so the flatter area will be more obvious.

All that said for the sake of discussion, but the only what to make it better is to have a GOOD builder or repairman look at it and assess it first hand. There are not very many people who are really good at finish repair, so the safest course of action might be to leave it alone for a month or two so you can see if it will diminish on its own, then sell or trade it as-is. This is the kind of thing that isn't too bad now, but it's very easy to make it worse.
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  #27  
Old 10-14-2017, 04:43 PM
thegreatgumbino thegreatgumbino is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd Yates View Post
I tread lightly on this subject, but in my experience that is pretty typical. It's not guaranteed, but when removing one of these armrests, I have a greater expectation of seeing it than not seeing it. I've seen that exact same mild damage on many guitars over the years. I liken it to the same sort of footprint left after removing an over-finish pick guard, not the "tan line" but a rippled sort of surface on the finish. It might be described as an indentation or impression.

The severity of it will lessen over time, but to make it go away completely is more difficult. It can be drop filled, wet sanded, and buffed, but that has its own problems. That will eliminate the impression, but leave the finish very flat and smooth. The original finish has probably started to take on the slight ripple of the grain lines in the spruce top, so the flatter area will be more obvious.

All that said for the sake of discussion, but the only what to make it better is to have a GOOD builder or repairman look at it and assess it first hand. There are not very many people who are really good at finish repair, so the safest course of action might be to leave it alone for a month or two so you can see if it will diminish on its own, then sell or trade it as-is. This is the kind of thing that isn't too bad now, but it's very easy to make it worse.
You're correct that it's like an indentation. Thanks for the advice about letting it go for a bit, Todd. Probably a smart approach. Very disappointed, obviously. Hopefully my post will help others make an informed decision before installing one. I read mostly glowing reviews about them and that they didn't cause any issues when removed when researching it before installation.
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  #28  
Old 02-24-2020, 05:11 PM
woofy woofy is offline
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Default I used velcro ovals

just chiming in to say what worked for me. i found this post when trying to figure how to attach an ebony wood armrest to my guitar.
it came with no tape or instructions or anything but the piece of wood...
i was worried i would need a very strong bond to keep my arm from pulling it away but when i read people here used two sided tape i decided to try the velcro ovals i already had. i got them at walmart. they are sticky backed and i put a bunch of them on covering most of the surface of the armrest, and they work great. three or four would probably have been sufficient (instead of the 8 i used) and i was able to readjust the position when i found the first try was not quite right.
what i found was that you really dont need any super duper adhesion force there. they way your arm will contact the rest doesn't tend to pull it away from the guitar with much force at all. the rest feels solid and im not worried about it coming loose at all.
i cant say what the sticky ovals might do to the finish if you tried to remove them but i doubt they'd be worse than the tape.
also i bought my ebony wood armrest from a seller in india and it looks much like the one mentioned earlier in this thread. it is real ebony and it was much cheaper ...
his store:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/violin-india
the one i bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-different...e/281857327488
thanks for the info ....
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