The guitar thread

The guitar thread


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This is a question for anyone who can help. My uncle gave me this guitar that he has had since the 70's. It's been taken apart, but I have all the pieces. (i think) I want to restore it, but I know it's going to need all new internals. Where is a good place to go for parts? As a side note, it's been repainted once, and all identifying marks/logos have been removed. My uncle also has no idea of the model name or manufacturer. Any help is appreciated.
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Any help is appreciated.

See the following: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(guitar) - this shape was popularized by Jackson guitars.

...but the headstock doesn't look like a Jackson so I'm thinking its another brand. It looks like it only had 1 pickup, is that right?

It might be a fun project to make even better than new. I'd go to your local guitar shops and see what a tech says about it.
 
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It does only have one pickup. Also, I have gotten confirmation that the headstock and body came together, and that it was pearl white when new.
 
I could be wrong, but that headstock makes me think of a BC Rich. It could also easily be a no name knock off though. And if you're after parts to rebuild it, check out Carvin, you can get everything you need from them for next to nothing, their install kits even come with solder and copper shielding to apply to the pickup and electronics cavities. http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitarparts/
 
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Keep in mind that their bolt-on necks are designed as Strat replacements, which means that the neck pocket, neck tilt, and scale length are all the same...something to think about if you are looking to replace the neck.
 
Keep in mind that their bolt-on necks are designed as Strat replacements, which means that the neck pocket, neck tilt, and scale length are all the same...something to think about if you are looking to replace the neck.

Well I was talking about the hardware and electronics, not the neck or anything, I assume he wants to keep what it came with.

I personally think he should bust out the sandpaper and spray paint and really customize it, it's not like he could lower the value and it could be a great learning experience.
 
Well I was talking about the hardware and electronics, not the neck or anything, I assume he wants to keep what it came with.

I personally think he should bust out the sandpaper and spray paint and really customize it, it's not like he could lower the value and it could be a great learning experience.
thanks for all the help so far! I'm planning to keep the same neck, and I'm going to sand/spray it. I need to sort out the internals though, I've got a limited budget.
 
thanks for all the help so far! I'm planning to keep the same neck, and I'm going to sand/spray it. I need to sort out the internals though, I've got a limited budget.

You're going to need a soldering iron and learn how to use it, I did when I replaced everything in my Peavey, it's not hard or expensive though. I did it after watching a few how-to videos on youtube. And you can get some mighty fine results with rattle cans.

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One trick with spray paint: you reeeealy need to let it dry. No, not just...like...a day or two. See, it'll dry to the touch, but it won't fully "cure" enough to sand it for at least a month. Otherwise, it's still a little bit tacky.

But that's just the few times I've used it. Did you have better luck with yours, PB?
 
One trick with spray paint: you reeeealy need to let it dry. No, not just...like...a day or two. See, it'll dry to the touch, but it won't fully "cure" enough to sand it for at least a month. Otherwise, it's still a little bit tacky.

But that's just the few times I've used it. Did you have better luck with yours, PB?

Yes and no. I've gotten good results (like with the LeMons GTP and my bass above) and shitty ones (like the LeMons LeSabre). During that major rebuild I did, I had everything painted and then clear coated it, only something went horribly wrong with the last stage and I was forced to go almost all the way back to square one (not back to the first coat of primer but damn near) and start over again. The second time around it was fine though. It really depends on what kind of paint you're using, what the temp is you're using it in, and how experienced you are with it. It also depends on how much time you have or are willing to put into it, with both LeMons cars I had to paint them in less than a day, while for my bass I invested like 10 weeks on the body and paint alone.

Personally, I like to go with a base coat/clear coat method. Lay down any colors/graphics/designs you want and then bury it under several coats of clear, trying to do the whole thing with gloss paint is nigh impossible if it's more than a single solid color. And I couldn't agree more on letting it sit for much longer than the can says, especially when dealing a top coat, but I wouldn't describe it as still being tacky, more a soft shell that hasn't had a chance to fully harden. Best way to tell if it's ready for wet sanding and future abuse is to press your finger nail somewhere on the back where it will be hidden, if it leaves an indent it's not ready, if nothing happens then you're ready to rock.

If you guys want, I could write up a summery of how I did mine step by step with what paints I used and such.
 
thanks for all the help so far! I'm planning to keep the same neck, and I'm going to sand/spray it. I need to sort out the internals though, I've got a limited budget.

You can find used pickups, pots, etc on ebay for suer chearp...but I would stick with name brands. There are a lot of "budget" manufacturers that make terrib;e pick-ups. Some are fine, but too many are shit.

Also, Dimarzio used to have wiring diagrams on their websites for all sorts of pickup and control layouts.
 
*sigh* I want a new guitar. :( I shouldn't, though, as I don't deserve it. I promised myself I'd buy one if I stock to my new years's resolution last year, and failed miserably. Add that to the fact that I just don't play as much as I know I should...*sigh*

I want a strat-style guitar with 3 single coils, I want a super-strat-type (still 2 frets) with a piezo, and I want a larger-than-average thinline acoustic. :(

I only have an LP-style with 2 humbuckers. While it's equipped with a coil-split, it's not quite the same. 70% there...but that's a vital 30%.
 
Damn...missed out on this pedal...

"Akai Professional Analog Custom Shop Deluxe Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal"

$39.99. It's $169-$199 on sites like Sam Ash and Guitar Center.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

Always the bridemaid...

Figures. They haven't had any good deals in like...3 months (and I check every day). I missed checking last night, and missed a good deal on something I would have bought at twice the price. Arg!
 
Fiiiiinally sold my 4x12. I've been trying to sell it since almost 2 years ago, when I bought my Carvin V3M.

Not a bad deal...bought it used for $225 about 14 years ago, sold it today for $165. Since it was just hangin' out in the garage, I wasn't in a hurry to slash the price to sell.

She was about 65 years old, 90lbs fully-clothed and wet, drove up in a white Volvo 850 T5-R. Smelled like bay leaves, and had a ooooold Danelectro guitar covered in old-timey brand-name stickers in a leopard-print, fuzzy gig bag...and then she said she was plugging it in to a JCM800. She needed it for a gig, and then was going to re-sell it afterwards. Interesting lady.
 
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I've been wanting a Strat-alike guitar for years (used to own a couple Strats over the years, and miss the single coil "spank.") But before I buy a nice one (re: Carvin Bolt or C66), I've been on the look-out for a beater atrat-alike for about a year. After seeing what was out there for different ranges of cost, I finally set my optimistic budget at $100. The next day I walked into a local Guitar Center, and found a Fender "Starcaster" for $60. GC has to wait 30 days to release it in case it's stolen, so I get to pick it up on the 8th.

Honestly, the neck is about as good as one might expect on a $150-$200 guitar, so it's serv icable for the short term...I expect it'll be "fine" until I decide if I like it enough to work on it.

It's metallic black, with a sort-of off-white pearloid pickguard. First order of business (after blocking the trem) will be Dunlop strap locks. If I still like the guitar after a month, next will be a pre-wired pickguard swap out to put on a brighter white pearloid pickguard, and Carvin's white S60 pickups. I plugged the guitar in at the store with it's stock pick-ups and it buzzed and fed-back like a mo' fo'; the pickups sounded like they were made of tin foil.

Then, if that all works out, I'll get a Carvin or Warmoth neck. Thinking 12" radius, flat "D" shape neck, satin finish, stainless steel medium frets, birds-eye maple fretboard with MOP dot inlays. The guitar's stock neck has a black-painted headstock, so I might get that on the new neck, too...might not...undecided. All 3 of my past strats has "natural" headstocks, and since the guitar is black anyways...might be interesting to have a black headstock.

The one I bought is something like this, but is SSS (not HSS), is metallic black, and with a kinda-vintage-tinted white pearloid pickguard.

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Congrats!

I just put my acoustic up on Craigslist to help fun my next one. Won an iPad mini (to sell) from one of my vendors, got a surprise bonus from work, and with selling the acoustic, I should be about 1/2 way there. Hopefully once I'm done re-building this strat copy, I'll break even on that. :)
 
Damn, guitars are expensive. :p

Nice one Thunder, my friend had an older one very similar, they are a dream to play.
 
Ha! Well, I determined I can never spend less than $700 on a guitar again, and I've been spoiled by fancy woods. :)

ALL GUITARISTS AND BASSISTS!!!! Even if you have zero intention of ever buying a Carvin, you owe it to yourself to like them on facebook, honestly. Just about every day, they upload a batch of photos from the factory floor of guitars-in-progress, and they have been pounding out some unbelievable instrument porn. Like this page: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCarvinFans

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