mikesr1963
Meter Reader 1st Class
Posts: 99
Likes: 3
|
Post by mikesr1963 on Jul 10, 2018 19:14:15 GMT -5
Fellow had a Squier II for sale on CL and I went to look at it. It was poop. All he had was poop but I was looking for a project. The mini guitar was solid (grandson) 2 of the 3 necks were nice. He wanted $40 for the Squier II and I told him I would give him $40 for everything. So I bought a box of guitars for $40. I sanded 5 pounds of paint, primer, and bondo off the SII body. I was concerned about two finish cracks it had and stress tested both. Only one opened up and I repaired that. The color I chose was a mahogany stain I had left over from refinishing my desk. The veneer was so thin on top that I couldn't finish sanding all the blemishes from the top from fear was going to sand through it. The bridge is a stock Affinity one that came on a guitar body in the box. The plastic covers for the back looked like poop so I made some from a piece of flooring I had. Booth made from the same sheet cut out next to each other. Same stain as the body was used but the result was two different colors. Turns out I didn't like the coveted Squier II next I heard so much about. I used the bad neck in the box to which all the theads were stripped in each hole. I read all about neck repairs and how I need to drill it out and then glue in hard wood dowels and then drill into that. I thought, that's BS. Nothing would be as secure as the hard wood neck itself. I have a numbered set of drill bits and I selected the size I was going to use went to the hardware store and with the bit and select the screws I was going to use. When I put it together I tightened them as tight as I could without regard to stripping them again. It's tight. 20th Anniversary plate was in the box. The highly technical Eddie VanHalen Frankenstein wiring diagram was used for the stock humbucking pickup. GFS single plate tuners. Finished off with a Tusq nut and .38 special plugs for the holes. Weighs less than 5 pounds. That's less than 5 pounds. It actually sustains for days and is a crunch monster. Before I bought the new tuners the out of pocket cash I had in the project totaled less than $15.
|
|
|
Post by newey on Jul 10, 2018 20:50:43 GMT -5
A man after my own heart, if it plays good and the price is right I love cheap guitars. I've always felt that replacement tuners and bridge are the two most useful mods for cheap guitars, giving one major improvements in playability for small cost.
|
|
mikesr1963
Meter Reader 1st Class
Posts: 99
Likes: 3
|
Post by mikesr1963 on Jul 10, 2018 21:29:58 GMT -5
Recently I've put Tusq nuts on another guitar and a Tusq nut and saddle on an acoustic. On inexpensive guitars (that have a solid playing platform) I've found that minor change from plastic to Tusq to make biggest sound difference on my guitars.
|
|
|
Post by blademaster2 on Jul 11, 2018 9:42:36 GMT -5
That was a sweet deal. I am envious - I love doing that type of stuff and the work you did on them looks great.
Low cost and great results are always inspiring to me. I hate seeing things go to landfill where they can be converted into valuable assets with the application of some skill and effort.
|
|
|
Post by gitpiddler on Jul 15, 2018 21:55:25 GMT -5
Nice work! Your Frankie should have the PU direct mounted. You'll hear the whole package that way. A quality nut is a wonderful upgrade indeed. You have 3 sources of tone there at your disposal: bridge, vibrato springs, and neck. Switching to a neck pickup when playing the higher frets sends a more efficient signal to the amp. A middle pickup utilizes the spring reverb that's built-in, especially useful when working the middle of the neck.
|
|
mikesr1963
Meter Reader 1st Class
Posts: 99
Likes: 3
|
Post by mikesr1963 on Jul 17, 2018 10:43:04 GMT -5
There's 3 different tones in the volume pot alone. Everything else just gets in the way. I learned a lot on this build, especially about where the Brown Sound really comes from.
|
|