New Project

[Slaughthammer]

Hi,

i just got an old guitar from a friend, and i want to make something special out of it. it plays pretty nice, but the pickups are crap. it seems to me, that the guitar has much more potential that comes out right now. so i'll put new pickups in it. i have a mighty mite humbucker out of my cort fat strat for the bridge-position, a real high-gainer, and one no-name humbucker i bought of ebay for very few money for the neck-pos.

some pics:

anyone of you got an idea, what type of guitar that is? I never saw a bodyform like that before.

the finish looks on the pics way better than in real. besides that, i dont like sunbursts very much at all, so i'll refinish it. in some places, the finnish is damaged, so that you can see the wood. it seems to be a nice wood (mahagony?), so i thought i'll do a stain black and wax/oil-finnish. i got no idea what woods are used in this guitar, so i'll have some surprise. is this hard to do? this is my first real guitar-project, so i hope for adwise.

or do you have any ideas, how to turn it into a real metal-axe? i' like to keep it a hardtail, but i'm open to suggestions, so if you have any ideas about what to do with this guitar, post'em.

in the last pic, you can see a little crack, is it something i have to worry about?

mods that i will do: a jem-style output jack, a split-coilswich where the output jack is now, redesigning the heel a little for better high-fret access

[litchfield]

$5 says its plywood. Looks to be cort made. But honestly, I dont know what the hell it is.

[Slaughthammer]

ok, send me the money, it's not plywood, its probably a onepice body

btw, it says "made in japan" on it and it is at min 20 years old

[litchfield]

Hmmm....I wouldnt worry about that crack. Most BOs that I see have them there. Its usually in the paint.

[GregP]

Unless it's collectible (doubtful), I'd do a headstock makeover, too... a bit smaller and with a cooler shape (still keeping with the body's design, though... no need to go wacko) with straighter string pull. Also, although it's hard to tell by the pictures, those tuning machines are probably horrific, so even a fairly cheap set will be an upgrade.

I like the scoop at the tail end.. reminds me of the Holdsworth guitar.

Refinish... no idea. Black.

[Slaughthammer]

i put in other pickups and it has a very bright sound. i still got no clue, what woods are used in that guitar. but i was right, when i said, that there is much more potential in it.

can anyone please give me information on this guitar????

[rob]

the body shape looks abit like one of those carvin alan holdsworth guitars. If its from japan and about 20 years old, it might have been made by the Matsumoku company. I'd keep hold of that, Jap guitars are great IMO.

[soapbarstrat]

I'd just clean the finish, experiment with pickups, fret-level or re-fret if needed. Probably a new nut, probably new wire, pots and switch.

In other words treat is as the vintage guitar it is . yes a cheap one, but better to be safe than sorry-- avoid irreversible mods. Get it to sound and play good and accept it for what it is.

[Slaughthammer]

first of all, thanks for advise.

the frets are in great condition, so there is no reason why messin around with 'em, but perhaps i'll do something about the nut. the electronics were (besides the pickups) also in great condition, i think they have been exchanged somewhen.

hmm, keeping it as it is as an vintage guitar.... the problem is that i absolutely don't like vintage guitars, or at least the look of 'em. i think i'll redo the finnish cause it plays so much nicer than it looks to me, and i want a guitar that plays and looks great.

i found sperzel locking tuners at ebay, still going on 4 days, standing at 2,50€! if i get them cheap... it think this will be a real upgreade for this guitar

[Dr. Jabsco]

When you replace the pickups you could take a closer look at the wood thats under them. Cut away some of the wood if you need to to see the inside.

My bet is that it is good tone wood, but just not soo good looking. Maybe thats the reason for the heavy finish.

[Slaughthammer]

well, it probably is good tone wood, it's light weight at it' got lots of highs, but there is also a low end in the sound of this guitar. it seems to me, as if the wood doesn't look too bad.

for a refinnish i thuoght something like staining it black and then do a shellac clearcoat on top of it or just oil. btw, would it make sense to first staining it, than oiling it and then doing shellac on top of it?