And a day later, the mandolin / dulcimer hybird is finished. Sounds & plays great too. Got lazy & went with the piezo under the saddle.
On my bench is this New (to me) acoustic. One of my neibors is moving and gave me this guitar, its a conrad Japanese import from sometime around 1970, but it's in pretty rough shape. The neck heel was badly cracked, the bridge seems to be starting to lift, one of the tuners fell apart when I took the string off it. Of course it has lots of cosmetic damage as well, and a really horrible nut of some kinda plastic. The first thing I had to deal with was the cracked heel, so I applied some glue and clamped it up. And here's how it looked after the glue set up Its fairly ugly, but feels solid. I guess I'll see how it holds up over time. Next up, deal with the tuning machine problems. I could probably fix the originals (only one screw is needed) but they are quite literally the worst tuners I've ever seen and I'd rather just replace them. I dont know with what yet, but nothing too expensive.
OK, so I don't have a bench per-se, it's a kitchen table - but it's in the spirit, right? And it's not SG based, but I thought I'd share anyway... A colleague from work is looking for a guitar to learn on, and after a chat about what music he'd like to play (Funk & Soul), a Strat type guitar seemed the best option. I've been keeping an eye out locally, and managed to get this for him... A clean & original Yamaha Pacifica 112 from 1998. Barring the odd small finish ding and a little buckle rash, it was in great condition for a 19 year old guitar - it's not much younger than the work colleague! It came with a Fender Frontman 15R amp, which will need a clean too, but we should get him up and running with a full set up inc. new Snark tuner, strap, plecs (I have one or two spares... ) and even a gig bag (more spares) for his budget of £150 - not bad I reckon It wasn't too dirty, had been sat under a bed for a while, and responded well to a good clean up. Under the dust was a pretty clean and well looked after guitar. Just restringing, action and intonation to set up and he'll be good to go
Realised I'd only put the one pic in, and I know what you lot are like for pictures Seeing as we can't add pictures when editing posts (bit of a pain, is that) here's a couple more close ups... The fretboard came up a treat, and overall, I think it's a pretty example of the type. I do like a natural guitar! Did wonder about having a go at fixing the scratches and drinks - but it's a satin finish. Is it much harder to get repairs to blend in than gloss finishes? Would appreciate your advice / comments tips & tricks Cheers, Bob
If you want to have a go at that try and come up with a product called MinWax Wipe on Poly Satin. As the name implies its a polyurethane product that is applied with a rag or paper towel; it goes on in very thin coats so its easy to control.
It looks interesting DC But at around £30 a bottle, a bit expensive for such a small project - I get the feeling it would be worth it if I sanded the whole body back and then applied this, but as it's not my guitar, I wouldn't be comfortable doing that. I know the procedure for repairing deep scratches and drinks in gloss poly, but not confident I could get a satin finish to match the original on the body when repairing a small area. Not to worry, just a thought. I don't think he'll be put off by a few small marks
At that price, for such a lovely piece of natural finished wood and a first guitar to learn on. I certainly wouldn't, especially if someone else was doing the work to set it up for me. I'd be grateful.
Showed him the pics today, he seemed pleased! Hand over day is Thursday, then on to something else to tinker with
Jesus Christ, Scootermuppet, that boat ride across the Atlantic must have been in a first class cabin! I feel your pain. Its too bad there isn't a similar product made in the EU at a more reasonable price.
A humbucking bridge? I actually know someone who would not have any problem at all using a small amount of the product, and then returning it with a demand for a full refund, while claiming it was the worst product he has ever tried. And, NO... it's not me!
My colleague picked up his Pacifica this evening, and he's one happy bunny He's off to look up funk styles on YouTube - look out Nile Rodgers! Will be on the lookout for a multi effect pedal for him next, so he can see what sort of pedal tones he likes, then get himself some nice ones that give the tones he wants.
The two bridges stacked side by side = humbucking bridge. Helps cancel out fret buzz. The extra weight also prevents neck dive.
Does anyone remember when I said I put Kluson Vintage locking tuners on my strat? I'm finally getting to wetsanding the finish touch-ups on the headstock of my Strat that I had to do whenever I took out the old bushings.
been working on my straplocks .. these were going on my LP, but i noticed now the tokai strap buttons are smaller, so on the tokai they go
Frets are leveled, need crowning/polishing, replacing dots lost in the scalloping process. Final sanding and finishing next. Finished wiring the body with YJM Fury pickups, single volume and tone.
