anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

Dark Rider

New member
well my friends dad gave me this guitar he said he used to play but hasnt in a long time but the thing is idk anything about it and i cant find anything online about it. on the head stock it says memphis tryed searching google had no luck also tryed musicians friend the only thing i found on there was a few guitars made by gibson called memphis. the guitar has a les paul style body so im thinking it's some kind of remake or somthing.

here are some pictures of it im hoping some one here knows somthing about this guitar.

http://www.wackysnaps.com/guitar/guitar1.jpg
http://www.wackysnaps.com/guitar/guitar2.jpg
http://www.wackysnaps.com/guitar/guitar3.jpg
http://www.wackysnaps.com/guitar/guitar4.jpg
http://www.wackysnaps.com/guitar/guitar5.jpg
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

ive never seen that type (les paul) of memphis but ive seen a few fender knock offs. in general i wasnt all that impressed but these guitars werent taken care of and the necks were both a little twisted and out of whack.
its probably not worth much but if it feels good, play it
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

I had the same Exact guitar that I bought in Pergaments (kinda like Ace hardware):laugh2: in 1982. I think I payed $89 for it brand new. It's a plywood body,Cheesy hardware & electronics made somewhere in the orient.
It played pretty good though. It was great bang for the buck for a 15 year old in 82'. Although now I see 15 year olds with P.R.S. and mesa treadplates.:smack:
BTW, I don't think Gibson had anything to do with Memphis guitars.
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

I've got a memphis myself, and it's badass. I dont know nothing about that one though.
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

I had a Memphis Strat. It was a pretty cool guitar, except the electronics sucked.
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

I bought a memphis Les Paul when I was in high schoolm around 1987. Once I saved up for a used gibson Les Paul I dismantled and burned it for firewood.

The neck was completely warped. Tuners fell apart. The bridge pickup crapped out. I tried to fix the pikcup, only to find they were single coild with humbucker covers.

It cost me $149 back then. 6 months later Sam Ash had a sale on the low end import Charvels for $149. I wish I had waited that 6 months...
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

A local Music Go Round had a few of those. I played them a couple times. Regardless of quality, it's pretty tough to bitch about free :)
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

My brother plays one of these all the time. We got rid of the tuners and put Grovers on it. I had some EMG's that I didn't want anymore, so we put an 85 in the neck and an 81 in the bridge. New EMG wiring and switch. It actually plays very well and sounds great...of course he spent more in parts than the guitar cost. Truly it sounds better than the Les Paul Studio I took the EMG's out of which was a little less than a grand, but not much. My point is it could be a good axe for you to wank on until you get something different. My first move would be a wiring job...they are singles under the cover as a previous poster pointed out. The wiring itself really stinks and you'd benefit greatly by replacing it.
 
Last edited:
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

My first guitar, bought in about 1984, was a Memphis Explorer copy. I remember the LP copies up on the wall with it, but I hadda have that Explorer! I took it apart about two years later, painted the body some red & silver splatter-type scheme, & never put it back together. I bought my RG410 in '87, & traded the disassembled Mephis for a tuner. Haven't seen it since.
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

A local Music Go Round had a few of those. I played them a couple times. Regardless of quality, it's pretty tough to bitch about free :)

+1

If the neck's straight and it stays in tune, slap a set of new strings on it and play the heck out of it! The electronics can always be easily replaced if you or someone you know is handy with a soldering iron. Pots and a switch is relatively inexpensive, and you could probably score some used SD pups either here at the forum or at ebay. There's plenty of resources here at the forum and the SD site if you need any help.

Rock on, brudda!

....Bob
 
Re: anyone know anything about this guitar? *memphis*

My first electric guitar was a used tobacco burst Memphis LP copy that my parents bought me when I turned 10, or maybe it was 11...

At the time I thought it was fukking amazing! Life changing really....



A few years later I had another guitar (an EpiPhony Strat!) that was still a piece of poo but LIGHT YEARS beyond the build quality of the Memphis with it's frets that were popping out and all that crap...

It's fate was sealed when I threw it headstock first into a concrete wall at a band rehearsal because it WOULD NOT stay in tune for longer then 30 seconds.

I've seen a few other Memphis guitars over the years, Strat copies IIRC and maybe an Explorer or two.

"Free" is tough to beat...but not by much.

As a wise old man once said, the price of free...is hassle.

Good luck with it!
 
Back
Top