Working on a new guitar art project and need help

[The Dali]

Bought this old Memphis Explorer-style guitar for $70 and I'm going to build a Marvel Comic guitar for a Christmas present. The pickups work (they look like Ibanez Dimarzio style pups) but the bridge is wacked, the tuners are missing, and electronics are old and not working. The bridge is nuts, take a look!


I've never seen a trem bridge with no actual block!

Getting strings into this is going to be a challenge I think once the trem is installed. It will be decked so not worrying about the usage of the actual "tremolo". But really odd!

Of course all the screws are rusty or corroded and half didn't want to come out. I had to use the vise-grips on one of the bridge screws. I may need to use the Dremel on the two small screws holding the output jack. (see below)

Question... does anyone have any extra of these Korean tuners? They are cheapest of the cheap and used on a lot of the old Korean 90s/2000s guitars and now being used in some Epi low-budget models. The guitar only came with 4 and I have extras from older projects but I don't have the push-in bushings. Thought some of you may have some old ones lying around. Any old crappy 6-screw tremolo bridges out there too??

I'll keep you updated on this project. THANKS!

[The Dali]

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[beaubrummels]

That bridge is the same one that was on my first guitar, a Sears Stratocaster. It actually has brass saddles (to make up for the 'block'?)

I don't have spare tuners like that but those are also on recent Indonesian budget guitars. There's a set on my Squier Mini. I have to believe, somewhere in Asia, you could get a set cheaper than one tuner here.

[The Dali]

That bridge is the same one that was on my first guitar, a Sears Stratocaster. It actually has brass saddles (to make up for the 'block'?)

I don't have spare tuners like that but those are also on recent Indonesian budget guitars. There's a set on my Squier Mini. I have to believe, somewhere in Asia, you could get a set cheaper than one tuner here.

You are right! It does have brass saddles! LOL

[ICTGoober]

I've never seen a trem bridge with no actual block!

I've seen these sheet metal sustain blocks on Asian produced guitars since the late 1970's. They have grown less common as those Asian companies improve their production practices to compete in the market, but there's still a lot of old stuff floating around out there - as you've found it. They will work, after a fashion.

I assume you've sterilized the whole guitar?

[The Dali]

I was hoping to re-use the tuners with the ones I have, but without bushings I cannot... I have other 6-in-line tuners but I will need to ream the holes out without damaging the headstock wood. No worries, just worth a shot.

[The Dali]

currently dripping in WD-40 and then, yes - Purell time!

[The Dali]

Well, sadly the neck has a twist and the low E string is just about hanging off the side of the neck around the 7th fret. I didn’t see this because the guitar wasn’t strung when I bought it and the lighting was poor in the Mobil parking lot! (Facebook purchase). I doubt there’s much to do about a 35 year old junky neck so this one is gonna be a straight-up walk hanger.





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[GuitarDoc]

It's looking very cool.

[Mincer]

Well, it will still look really cool on the wall. Very neat concept!

[beaubrummels]

Can't just find another neck that fits that pocket?

[The Guitar]

Very cool! Those cheapo tuners are more than likely Jin-Ho tuners used on many imports. You can search it and get results. Neck heels can be micro routed/sanded to fit if you want it to be playable.

[The Dali]

Can't just find another neck that fits that pocket?

I probably could, but I to me it isn't worth the effort. For something that someone is just gonna hang on a wall, I've made a ton of these and the lower-tier guitars are bought for decoration and not playing.

[The Dali]

Very cool! Those cheapo tuners are more than likely Jin-Ho tuners used on many imports. You can search it and get results. Neck heels can be micro routed/sanded to fit if you want it to be playable.

Agree - I found a set on Reverb for $12 shipped so I went with those!