Guitars... what you've got / what you want

I think Fender’s parallel universe line is an answer to the popularity of parts guitars and small builders making such instruments.

I only have parts caster guitars at this point myself. Mine are more fender bodies with Gibson style pickups.

i'm contemplating fixing up my first guitar, a squire strat, for my kids to learn on. i don't want to go overboard but it needs to be painted, needs a new pick guard and bridge, and i wouldn't mind replacing the pickups. does this sound like a terrible idea considering they go for like $150 new?

Do your kids really need those upgrades for learning purposes?

If working on it sounds like fun to you, rather than a chore, why not? Do it for the satisfaction. Peeling/chipping off the poly shell may be messy and annoying, and I wouldn't expect to be able to do a slick factory-style finish, but whatever you end up with will feel special. I did this with a Mexican Tele, a can of chalk paint, and some wipe-on finish, and I feel happy every time I look at the thing.

i guess in my mind i'm like, it would be super cool to fix this up and make it sound better than it ever did! but i'm also cool with just painting it and never playing it again

so i need to reconcile the fact that this is not worth fixing up super nicely

I mean, is it easy / comfortable to play? If not, then sure, no point upgrading something that'll still feel bad in your hands. But if feels nice to play and just has cheap hardware, that's kind of the perfect candidate for replacing things. "Sound better" is simple and "look better" is doable, but "feel better" can get out of DIY territory real fast.

The neck is the decider. If it’s great, do what needs doing (except don’t strip the body, you will never get as good a surface for your new topcoat if you do that). If it’s average, move it on to someone who likes it and put the money toward something genuinely better.

That’s good advice. In fact now that I think about it, this might have been the one my dad smashed during a fight and then later fixed

I upgraded my Squier strat. They have some advantages, they are comfortable and lightweight guitars.
I actually put a real vintage Fender pickup in the neck position (1956 Duo Sonic). It sounds great.
Once you have a decent quality nut and pickups and the bridge is in good shape it will probably sound good.

I have a fender bullet strat I like a lot though the high e string is a bit high action for some reason - and it was only 180$

ok i'm having the hardest time figuring out what kind of squier i have on my hands. when i bought it used for $50 in 1991 or so, it was yellow, black headstock, black locking nut, two humbucker pickups, pickup switch, one volume knob and one tone knob. also, it plugs in on the side of the guitar, not by the knobs. it was made in japan and the serial number starts with A which should put it around '85/'86 but i cannot find anything that looks like it on the web. any good guitar sleuths out there?

ok figured it. it's the ST-335 1985 Contemporary Series: https://reverb.com/item/41431931-squier-boxer-stratocaster-hh-st-335-1985-contemporary-series-vintage-white-fender-japan-mij-rosewood

Boxer serieswas actually reissued in the last few years.

Japanese Squires are fairly popular used guitars.

Chuck Prophet has played one of those Teles for decades.

You got it. I had a Fender ST555 from that series which had a wonderful neck but I wasn’t a fan of the pickups. The A and E serials generally had wonderful necks, a few have passed through my hands (and several have stayed).

And yeah the JV, SQ and early 80s Squires follow a trajectory from “exceptional” coasting down to “lovely”. The later Silver series feel a little less bespoke. And recently the Classic Vibe and Paranormal Squiers from Indonesia and China have lifted back up to that level, pretty much.

any painting advice? found some online store called stewmac that is leading me to guitar lacquer, but also telling me i need a special sealer (i assume i can use any primer here) and like 4 cans of clear coat. i'm not necessarily against this, i want it to look nice, but open to other options

I don't think you need 4 cans of clear coat. The more you have on, the more you can buff the guitar without sanding through to the colour coat. But I don't think you need 4 cans. I don't remember how many I used but I don't think it was 4 anyway.

What condition is the original finish in? If there are any gouges in it, you need to fill them up before you spray over it, as they will surely show through.

With grain filler, that is

I took original finish was taken off a long time ago and threw a coat of primer. I’ve refinished plenty of wood furniture so I guess I’ll continue as I would with regular paint. Never worked with lacquer before

You can just use a krylon type spray can, or nitro if you prefer, but try to mist it on evenly to get a wet coat without dripping. Helps if you float the can in warm to hot water for 5 minutes before using, and shake for a long time, like a minute. I usually hang bodies using a wire coat hanger from a string between trees or poles in a sheltered area.

After painting to a good surface leave it to dry for like a month or so, to really go hard. Then you can wet sand up to 2000 grit to get it smooth. After that you can clear coat, or even polish the colour coat if that looks good - I usually use an auto buffer which works pretty well.

Preciate it!

my child is attempting to renovate an 80's Harmony strat copy. UNfortunately the nut we got is way too fat!

https://reverb.com/en-br/item/77335660-vintage-1990-harmony-since-1892-model-h-80t-strat-style-electric-guitar-pro-setup-original-korea

Just thought I would throw this in here..

No offense to vintage owners, I have a few old instruments myself, but..
I am starting to really dislike the whole mythology around vintage guitars. I don't like the idea that these very, very simple designs must have some sort of magic unrepeatable essence. They were designed to be made in a factory again and again, that was always the point. I don't like when people try to turn something very simple into something complicated and enigmatic. Because the simplicity of these guitar models is what makes them egalitarian. One person's electric guitar is really not much different than the next person's, and that's a good thing.
People acting like the true essence of a Les Paul is only contained in a rare collector's item, I don't like that. Or any other model for that matter. They are inserting a class and status difference where it is not needed. It's a model, not a one-off custom item. A model with blueprints, templates and measurements.

Now, if somebody wants to just enjoy their vintage guitar, obviously that's fine. But I have seen people repeating unproven mythology about needing rare Honduran or Brazilian rainforest woods to have a proper Les Paul, and I just think that's bogus. Because, even if it did make some subtle difference, which I am not sold on, you have to think this: I bet if they used Meranti on those instruments, and you couldn't get it anymore, people would be talking about the magic unrepeatable tone of Meranti, and how nothing else will do. I actually do have a 70s bass with a mahogany body, I don't know which species of mahogany though, and the funny thing is, I genuinely prefer my 90s bass with supposedly inferior basswood. So even if there is any difference, it's bogus to assume that the more common, less vintage species will sound worse somehow.

Anyway, I just have to get this off my chest, as I have seen some absolute nonsense talked recently by vintage guitar 'experts'.
To end on a positive note, I have assembled a Tele partscaster recently, just with standard modern parts, and I am amazed how good it sounds. The Custom Shop Nocaster pickups sound really good in my opinion. Indeed, this is another reason I have been thinking about this stuff, hearing how good a sound you can get just with standard modern parts. Nothing rare or especially unaffordable needed. The MIM Fender neck has a nice U profile too. I tried a Squier Classic Vibe tele neck and it was very good quality, nothing wrong with it, but I just preferred the thicker profile and vintage radius on the Mexican neck, so I'll use that one.

I always check this thread and love seeing everyone's guitars. I used to have more when I played in bands 25 years ago but have sold some off to make space/$$ over the years. These are the last two guitars I have - a 1970 Fender Mustang bass, and a 1960-something Sears Silvertone 1448 (with amp-in-case). Just before the holidays I got together with old friends to play together -- we'd played in a band which I left when I moved cities in 1999 -- so I felt legitimate to post these here finally (actively using these vs mostly sitting in the closet).
https://i.imgur.com/VNP46il.jpeg

Those are both nice looking instruments. I've always wondered about those Silvertone headstocks, do you encounter any issues with the tuners lined in a straight column like that or does it just work like any other headstock?

Slightly embarassed now that I posted a big long rant, maybe it was not in the spirit of this thread, been spending too much time watching Guitar Youtube and forming opinions I guess.
Anyway, finally got my old Ibanez Rickenbacker bass copy working, it was a nightmare to repair, I did a complete reassembly of the neck, re-gluing, re-radius, binding, the whole lot. I would *almost* say it wasn't worth the trouble, but official Rickenbackers are so expensive to buy, so I guess it was worth it to me in the end.

Drop some picccccs

Also don’t worry about it. I like that the world of guitars has a place for collectors, screw counters, tinkerers, parts builders, high end & low end buyers, utility only truthers, vintage snobs, etc.

I don't see much of that vintage mojo/tonewood/Custom Shop or Death stuff anymore... but 90% of the guitar videos that pop up on Youtube for me are about fuzz pedals or doom rigs.

I've had three vintage guitars they all ruled pretty hard, I miss them

Silvertone 1457 (I think - the red burst ones not the black) - previous owner had it refretted, neck was much thicker than the Danelectro reissues. I would swear the lipstick pickups were better than the newer Danos but who knows. (Sold when my dad died)

Harmony Rocket two pickup with gold foils, early model before they had truss rods - it sounded like a spy movie, weighed nothing but it desperately needed a refret and there was a hole in the lower horn and it was opening up. I stupidly didn't think it was worth spending $400 on a refret and repair for a guitar I bought for $100. Now they're like $1000 minimum and would still need work.

'64/'65 Mustang in Dakota Red - I had it refretted, neck felt amazing the way the nitro had sunk in, deoxited the electronics but the switches would have needed repairs. Sold it in March 2020 when pandemic money worries were at a peak... for ~$850. Can't get one similar for less than $2500 so I'll probably just never own another vintage guitar.

If you believe wood matters, the wood is "better" on old guitars. Even cheap stuff like old Danos and low end Fenders used Brazilian Rosewood, for example.

I'd say inconsistencies in manufacturing in the old days (including the individual components) meant that sometimes, yes, the stars really did align to produce amazing guitars. Once in a while. Just as many duds though (I've played some horrendous 70s Fenders/Gibsons... which is when and why "vintage" became a thing in the first place), and even wildly assuming that all vintage guitars are stock, I would deduce that ones being sold and not hoarded would be the lesser ones. But of course, so many of these old guitars have been worked on and modded, maybe for better or worse, but how much of a premium should you pay for a plank of wood from the 1950s or 60s? Hard to justify ten, twenty grand, or even more, IMO.

$2500 for any Mustang is insane. They don't have... pole pieces, lol. You could get a used CS Strat or a really decent Les Paul for that (not vintage of course). I had the vintage Gibson equivalent, a late 60s SG-shape Melody Maker and gave it away a few years ago. The only thing I miss about it is the way the blue had turned green-ish.

Well the pole pieces are just hidden. I agree a Mustang is probably the least “musical” of the classic Fenders. I have an old one and a 90s one and neither calls to me much.

btw I put the old one together from bits for about 800, I wouldn’t buy a vintage one.

I love the vibrato on Mustangs, take the arm off and press it with your palm. The early slab Mustangs look cooler than the later ones but the forearm contour does make the latter more comfortable.

I’d like to find one of the pawn shop Mustangs they did with (fake) wide range humbuckers.

I've always wondered about those Silvertone headstocks, do you encounter any issues with the tuners lined in a straight column like that or does it just work like any other headstock?
No issues but I've mostly just played at home here and there the last 20 years, not playing shows or anything.

Am I correct in my observation that bending one string on a mustang puts the adjacent strings out of tune due to the bridge design?

Unless I'm wrong I'm thinking it's probably an unavoidable aspect of any floating tremolo system?

Vintage fretboard radius neck probably is not the easiest to bend up the neck.

The Mustang bridge has separate saddles for each string, I don’t know how bending one would put the others out of tune?

That was my observation on the last mustang I plinked on. It was definitely a cheapie someone had laying around.

And you know what, I'll take back my diss on no (visible) pole pieces. My fanciest guitar has an active pickup with no poles.

tweedy talks about a bunch of his gear, a lot of unique pieces:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv-X-meHMGw

That was great. His take on the SG is totally different from mine. My SG is soooo overpowered, so loud.

apparently all it takes to prise a hundred bucks out of me for a partscaster is to make it out of Tele parts
https://i.imgur.com/U76vtfz.jpeg

Recently learned Martin Gore has a signature Gretsch and imagining that being super annoying to someone

Ooo I forgot to mention that my dream guitar is being set up right now and I’m more that chuffed about it. Its basically a very modded ES-125 TDC

Congrags Matt and fgti. Speaking of parts, as a lark and a distraction I recently bought and assembled a four-string solid-body electric mandolin. This one

https://www.sagamusic.com/shop/instrument-kits/saga-mt-10-electric-mandolin-kit/

It came together pretty easily, though I confess I was not super-professional about the finish.

A few days ago I took it out to a bar for open mic with some friends - did two songs with it and it was well received. Lots of questions ("is that a ukulele?").

Spanky if a little honky through a clean amp. Gets more interesting through flanger with a slapback delay. Fun.

The Gore Gretsch actually seems really charming. It's funny to see him do promo videos for it from his insane room of synths with wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling Eurorack. The guitar costs the same as about 10 square inches of wall.

I bet if they used Meranti on those instruments, and you couldn't get it anymore, people would be talking about the magic unrepeatable tone of Meranti, and how nothing else will do.

I find this aspect of the electric-guitar world as funny as anyone — there's this happenstance way things worked, and that's what went on the records, so that's what the instrument "sounds like" and the tradition players are working in, so now they spend thousands on cutting-edge technology and complain that it doesn't quite perfectly replicate the unique magic of inconvenient 65-year-old gear — but to be honest this is true of any musical tradition, right? You could also rethink violins or bassoons or tabla in ways that people would hate because they just didn't sound quite right. You can only update the thing by creating a new artistic tradition around it, not a technological one, and electric guitar does not currently seem super ripe for new artistic vocabulary