Librero Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 might as well break my newbie silence. this might be a bit long. anyway i'll start with the first part... i've been planning on building a customized strat for weeks now. so, what i did was visit just about any music instrument shop i can find locally. i found small stuff like pickups, tuners, and things like that, but no body and neck. so, i post a reverse auction in a local site. now i have someone selling me a body and neck of what he claims to be a 1960's white fender strat for roughly less than US$100. an insane offer, i know. the catch is i'll definitely have to refinish it since it was a mothballed restoration project, and the seller couldn't give me the serial number because he says it's no longer there. so, i put checking the items out on hold, despite his lowering the price to under US$80. so, do you guys think i should still see the body and neck for myself? if i should, what are the things i should check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hezochiah Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 It's kind of a tough thing, because there are so many "copies" out there. Without the serial number I don't know if there are any other ways to tell if it is genuine or not. It just brings to mind "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but welcome to the forum and I'm sure someone in here can help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 I'd check it out. If that's a real sixties strat, you got the deal of the century Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 btw, any chance you could post some photo's of that strat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Librero Posted November 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 I still have one more guitar shop to visit: the last place where I found an AllParts unfinished body. If I still come up empty-handed there, I guess I'm off for that alleged vintage strat. tsl60200, I will... after I see it myself. The seller is a 2-hour drive away. That's the problem. The seller isn't much help. Personally I think this is a long shot. But if you're lucky long shots do pay off big time, don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 2 hours is considered a short drive here in texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 If the body were anything other than a 'Fender Strat', then I would say there might actually be a chance in hell it would be the real thing and you might be in for a great bargain. But, it being that, I'd say the chances of it being authentic are pretty much nil, nada, nichto, nonya, zip-zip, snake-eyes. If -you- had a '60's Strat body, beat-to-hell or otherwise, do you really think you'd have to reverse-auction it off to make a few dollars out of it? It would still get several HUNDRED dollars just by itself the way those vintage Fender prices have gone thru the roof, and that name is THE most recognized name in all of guitar-land. I'd be willing to lay serious loot on the table it's something far other than a real '60's Fender. Not saying it's not usable for what you want, but e-Bay suckers (not you) are born every minute, and there are scams running rampant on there for those who are easily parted with their money. It happens every single day on the 'bay. I mean, if you gave me a '60's Strat body that I could authenticate, I wouldn't care how beat or routered it was, I'd turn that baby around and make a Serious Killing off of it. So why would I go out of my way to sell it off for mere pennies??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 Hey hezochiah- bad news- DOLPHINS RULE!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Librero Posted November 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 wes, I'm sure it is. Texas is six times the size of our country. Drak, Hard to argue with that. But I can only pass judgement after I see and lay my hands on the goods. Maybe it's fake, but it may still be good for a project guitar. I'm not really a fan of vintages, anyway. If I think it's good, then I'll buy it, since it would still be a bargain, relatively speaking. Besides, I don't have a long list of choices. Anyway, like I said, I'm hoping to find a new body tomorrow. Not an easy task. The sales guy in the last shop I visited looked at me like I was the first one to ask him for guitar bodies and necks ever. As far as Ebay goes, it's my last resort in shopping for a body. S&H is overkill, and for a package that big, customs will have a field day with me. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 I'm wondering why you couldn't find a local hardwood dealer there, or a local sawmill, or something along those lines. I'm sure there must be some really Gorgeous hardwoods in the Phillipines! Raw (seasoned) wood is usually cheaper than buying a pre-cut body anyway, so you get -much- nicer wood for the same price as you'd pay for a pre-cut run-of-the-mill Strat body. Have you tried that route at all? I'm betting if you asked around, you could come up with some sweet sweet wood for cheap that would smoke us all out! I've found that the best 'real' bargains are always in the places no one else is willing to look, or thinks to look. Buying a Strat body, you're putting yourself right into the middle of the most commonly marketed guitar body on the planet, while if you looked around locally you might come up with an absolute knockout piece of wood that would be really unique, probably for much less. You could start with some local carpenters, sawmills, lumber or forrestry services, and work your way up their resource chain from there...you might be surprised. Just a thought is all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 maybe he doesn't have tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Librero Posted November 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2003 You are correct, wes. Well, I think it's just a matter of priorities and interests. If I were in the seller's place, of course there's no chance in hell I would sell it regardless of its condition. But that's me. I know very few people here who would care about things like vintage guitars. Different way of thinking than yours (ours?), I suppose. True, there are great hardwoods here. I can think of a few right now. Most of them are banned. And it's a shame most of them trees have been replaced by mahogany. Anyway, I do plan on building a guitar body from scratch some time. But I need to graduate, get a job and earn some money to buy those tools first. For now, I'll be content with learning the simple stuff. I'm still a newbie in all this, you know. Thank you. You've given me quite a few things to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Librero Posted November 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2003 Anyway, I'll probably check it out in a few days. I've got nothing better to do, anyway. The semester's just started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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