Sabu2k1 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 (edited) Hey board I got this memphis LP from what looks like a loong time ago, lol its a direct Gibson copy, and has seen better days, here some pics http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/ZOMB13/memphisLP.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/ZOMB13/memphisLP1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/ZOMB13/memphisLP2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v681/ZOMB13/memphisLP5.jpg Anyway, I want to fully restore it, as in, new paint, parts, filled holes and dings, new binding and possible even a new neck, but for now, I gotta use the old one (I wanted a maple neck with black binding all over, black square inlays and white gibson style headstock, lol) I have planned to paint the guitar white and add black binding to it, black parts, and white EMG pickups, but first I gotta fill the many dings in the body and take off the old binding, does anyone have any suggestions? Edited November 19, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 If it were me, I'd just build a new one. That guitar doesn't look like its worth putting all that time into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 (edited) If it were me, I'd just build a new one. That guitar doesn't look like its worth putting all that time into it. Yeah, I know it kinda looks bad right now, but then again we all shot down DiezelMonster's idea and look how that came out. I don't have a shop or work area to build a guitar, so I can only attempt to restore this one in the space I ahve to work in EDIT: I just sturng it up (only had 2 bridge nuts, lol) and it sounds wonderful if you like that classy, glass warm tone, I like more bite, but it will work for now Edited November 17, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtommyb Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 i think a restoration job would be a kool project go for it! and the black white theme seems kool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 If you want to restore it, fine but I'd look at current LP copies first. You can buy a set neck LP for about £100 nowadays which will most likely be better built than that, have better components & probably available in white from the start. Here's an example: http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbl500bk_egitarre.htm Cheap guitars made 15 or so years ago were far worse than anything made nowadays...if it has sentimental value & you want to repair/restore it then I can understand it but trying to turn it into something that it will never be...well, you can't polish a turd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 If you want to restore it, fine but I'd look at current LP copies first. You can buy a set neck LP for about £100 nowadays which will most likely be better built than that, have better components & probably available in white from the start. Here's an example: http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbl500bk_egitarre.htm Cheap guitars made 15 or so years ago were far worse than anything made nowadays...if it has sentimental value & you want to repair/restore it then I can understand it but trying to turn it into something that it will never be...well, you can't polish a turd! Um, you're assuming that the Memphis guitar is a complete POS just because of the bolt-on neck. I'd be willing to bet that the older guitar is superior, especially if it was built in either Japan or even Korea. Most new set-neck cheapo copies are made by small hands in Indonesia, Malaysia, or China and the quality is nowhere near what it used to be. Pick it apart, try some new ideas, have fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 it's not because of the neck join. I bought a jazz bass copy by Harley Benton from that same site for £65 & it's better than an Encore one I had in the early 90's which cost three times the price. I've never heard of Memphis guitars so I don't have an opinion on them, all I'm suggesting is to try some of the cheap, new alternatives before spending the same money (or more) on restoring that one. Just my personal view Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 Things like this can be fun for practicing your restoration techniques on... As is said above, you cant polish a turd but you can probably improve it to some degree and its all good experience for the days when you need to work on something with more value Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 You never heard of Memphis guitars? me either, lol but this LP looks very well built, no cracks or broken parts, and its very old too I found cobwebs under the pickups and years of dust too, how? I don't know I don't want to call this guitar a diamond or polish it into one and I also don't call it a POS because it actually plays better than I thought it would, I just want to restore it a bit as I am a guitar player and not some collector, I don't mind that it has a bolt on neck because, well, you can't change a broken Gibson neck can you? I prefer bolt on anyway for the long run. I will be pickip parts up little by little and working on sanding the body, also looking on how to remove the old binding, Thanks for the feedback guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 I've never heard of Memphis guitars so I don't have an opinion on them, all I'm suggesting is to try some of the cheap, new alternatives before spending the same money (or more) on restoring that one. Just my personal view This is why we call it Project Guitar. It's about building new guitars and restoring or modifying old ones. I see nothing wrong with having a beater around to play with new electronics, fretting, or finishing. Beats the hell out of learning on a vintage Les Paul Custom. Load it up with some EMG's and you'll sound just like Zakk! That is, if you're Zakk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) hahaha I'm letting my facial hair grow, but it won't ever be like Zakk's Heres some new pics, I basically took off some parts I don't want and just cleaned the guitar (neck, body, back) it was really dirty and had alot of junk on the fretboard. http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3747/gvdcerer4ca7.jpg http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4896/gvdcerer3gj9.jpg http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6193/gvdcerer1cv6.jpg http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/593/gvdcererha9.jpg I am still waiting for a neck quote since the current neck is rosewood , Edited November 18, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 Don't let 'em put you off, Sabu2k1 - quite a few of those 80s/early 90s Korean el-cheapos were very nicely made.Their major flaws were usually the appointments, especially the rubbish hardware, like the cast zinc tune-o-matic copies and those wretched machine heads, and the pickups, which almost always left a bit to be desired. I've got an old friend who still plays his Memphis bolt-on SG for bar gigs - it's a beater, but it has a Leo Quan bridge, SD pickups, Schaller keys and a Graphtec nut, and it plays in tune and sounds great. For the couple of hundred bucks he's got invested, it'll smoke any new Epi for twice the price! I say go for it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) Don't let 'em put you off, Sabu2k1 - quite a few of those 80s/early 90s Korean el-cheapos were very nicely made.Their major flaws were usually the appointments, especially the rubbish hardware, like the cast zinc tune-o-matic copies and those wretched machine heads, and the pickups, which almost always left a bit to be desired. I've got an old friend who still plays his Memphis bolt-on SG for bar gigs - it's a beater, but it has a Leo Quan bridge, SD pickups, Schaller keys and a Graphtec nut, and it plays in tune and sounds great. For the couple of hundred bucks he's got invested, it'll smoke any new Epi for twice the price! I say go for it!! Thanks man I will try my best to revive it I've been playing it with 2 strings and I really like the feel, lol they really are misjudged because they are copies, but this one just feels like butter, thick creamy butter Im looking for a shop that can make me a neck to my specs, and how to remove the old binding from the body too. Edited November 18, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 I;ve been looking at those pics and I;d like to know what on earth is wrong with it? nothing that really needs restoring in my eyes, if you want to refinish it go ahead but redoing that binding is no fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) I;ve been looking at those pics and I;d like to know what on earth is wrong with it? nothing that really needs restoring in my eyes, if you want to refinish it go ahead but redoing that binding is no fun If you look at the pics I posted closely, you will see it has alot of dings, scratches, fish eyes and holes. So I want to fille those in and give it a new paint job. Binding isn't hard to apply, I do that for a living now taking it off is the hard part, since I don't have any routers at home. Edited November 22, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prauny Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 I removed the binding from a guitar by Jamming a blade between the binding and the guitar from the top, and working the blade around the guitar while pulling gently on the binding. It came of suprisingly easy. I did score around the edges of the binding first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 (edited) Starting sanding the back by hand and I noticed I'm spoiled by the hand sanders at work anyway, it looks very nice, I only did the back, I will start on the sides today. I was looking for a cheap router to re-route the binding slots, but had no luck, I wonder if I can sneak it into work and route it there...? I'm still looking for a neck quote, so any work on the neck will be left at the end pending a new neck. Heres what I plan to do to it a> Also, my ebay addiction won me this http://i20.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/77/75/4e64_1_b.JPG http://i5.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/77/75/504b_1.JPG http://i15.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/77/75/4fd4_1.JPG http://i13.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/77/75/4f3e_1.JPG Edited November 21, 2006 by Sabu2k1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 I'm with billious on this one...especially if you're planning on replacing the neck...doesn't make any sense at all, really. How can it 'feel like butter' if a) it doesn't have any strings, and b ) you're getting rid of the neck? Another question--is the guitar solid wood or just plywood? That's the biggest problem with most of those cheapos from yesteryear. The guitars were usually plywood, even the Epiphones --they didn't have the same sources of cheap lumber they have now. Nowadays, even the cheapest guitars are solid wood, albeit not always the most noble of tonewoods. Don't be fooled by the hype about the Japanese, they churned out enormous quantities of crap guitars too. And the Koreans only moved into the quality guitar segment in the mid-1990s. Before that, they were largely producing garbage. (In other words, they were equivalent to today's Indonesian guitar industry) It's a matter of developing the technical skills. What's impressive about the Chinese is the speed with which they've moved from producing garbage to achieving a certain level of quality. But that may just be the better CNC machines. So if it's a plywood body and you're ditching the neck...well, the project just doesn't make any sense at all. But hey, it's your project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 I'm with billious on this one...especially if you're planning on replacing the neck...doesn't make any sense at all, really. How can it 'feel like butter' if a) it doesn't have any strings, and b ) you're getting rid of the neck? Another question--is the guitar solid wood or just plywood? That's the biggest problem with most of those cheapos from yesteryear. The guitars were usually plywood, even the Epiphones --they didn't have the same sources of cheap lumber they have now. Nowadays, even the cheapest guitars are solid wood, albeit not always the most noble of tonewoods. Don't be fooled by the hype about the Japanese, they churned out enormous quantities of crap guitars too. And the Koreans only moved into the quality guitar segment in the mid-1990s. Before that, they were largely producing garbage. (In other words, they were equivalent to today's Indonesian guitar industry) It's a matter of developing the technical skills. What's impressive about the Chinese is the speed with which they've moved from producing garbage to achieving a certain level of quality. But that may just be the better CNC machines. So if it's a plywood body and you're ditching the neck...well, the project just doesn't make any sense at all. But hey, it's your project! Hey, thanks for the heads up man, I said it felt like butter because when I strung it up with 2 strings, it played very good. I'm not "fooled" by any hype, I once got a squier strat for $75 that was a tone machine, so I think I don't fall into the "hype" genre, I like to try stuff for myself if its resonable. I haven't checked if the guitar was plywood or solid, I will do so when I check the front and remove all hardware from the front, I just sanded the back cause it was free of parts. Im only thinking about ditching the neck, thats why im waiting for a price quote, if its too much, then no, but the pickups im putting in this thing will cost more than the guitar, lol. Yeah, a project is a project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 You never heard of Memphis guitars? Sure, my first electric guitar was a Memphis tobacco burst LP copy, similar to that one. It came complete with bolt-on neck, flatwound strings, veneer-over-plywood body, and pickups that looked like PAFs until you opened them up. :D I stripped that one down and painted it black, then polar white... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee6 Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 It's great for practicing your building and repair techniques. You may have to level or dress the frets, which is good experience. The sunburst does nothing for the guitar, in my opinion, so a new, nicer finish will improve it. All black may look great, put on locking tuners, etc. and you may have a pretty decent git. Customize and make it yours. By the way, the plywood used in the industry is high grade no void material. You can even buy some from Aircraft Spruce. Acoording to Tom Doyle (Les Paul's guy) The es-335's were/ are all ply except for the neck and toneblock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 Wow all plywood? I did the routing today, the back came out fine and the front not so good, I will have to hand sand the path for the binding do that it lays straight and dosen't curve. I will have to put 2 pieces of normal binding over the slot to make up for the deep slots I routed Also, hat do you guys recommend I use to fill in the dings? I might not keep the neck, since its rosewood and I was hoping to get a maple neck. I'll keep you guys updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 Sorry for the double post anyway I added the black binding to the back of the guitar, looks really cool the front I will do next week I still have to scrape the binding flush and sand it clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohm Posted November 23, 2006 Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 (edited) Once you strip it back to bare wood, you should be able to stream them out with a wet rag and an iron. As for the neck, could you possibly just bleach the thing to get it to look more the way you want it. I take it the idea is to have the neck better match the white body right? Edited November 23, 2006 by ohm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabu2k1 Posted November 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 Once you strip it back to bare wood, you should be able to stream them out with a wet rag and an iron. As for the neck, could you possibly just bleach the thing to get it to look more the way you want it. I take it the idea is to have the neck better match the white body right? I already took the binding off, I took it to work and used the routers there and the binding came right off, Well, I could do that, but theres no way I can do neck binding, or fret a neck, thats why im asking for a neck quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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