Rand-O-Monium
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
Love that last GT pic!!!
What year is it?
Love that last GT pic!!!
What year is it?
Beat up ratty guitars
- Thread starter strat dude
- Start date
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
This guitar looks like you dug a trench with it. In a good way.
http://[URL=http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/Cheshier2830/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20151222_172215_zpslc6ytncj.jpg.html][/URL]
Here is what mine is in a mock up, still thinking about it. Maybe one of those skull splitters would help with the desicion making. There has to be more beat up guitars out there.
This guitar looks like you dug a trench with it. In a good way.
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Rand-O-Monium
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
Sweet!
Sweet!
Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
View attachment 69107
LOL, My Rat-O-Caster!!!
This guitar has made a few appearances on the forum in various forms. It was my first "real guitar", I bought it new when I was about 15? Once upon a time it was a plain old 97 MIM Stratocaster & I got quite a few enjoyable years out of it before the modding started! Since then I've used it to make well over 100 different Strat guards & it's had too many different pickups in it to count! When I'm not useing it to build a new guard for one of my other Strat's or trying out a new pup before moving it to a more permanent home I typically keep it loaded with one of two guards?
One is a single Humbucker (59/Hybrid today, tomorrow who knows) single Vol., kill switch guard (pictured) or a more traditional 2 tone 1 Vol. H/H guard with a TB-14 in the bridge & SH-59N in the neck. Both sound awesome and for some unholy reason the guitar still plays beautifully! Considering what I've put this thing through it shouldn't be salvageable, let alone playable!!! I didn't post it to this thread for it's super sweet "I'm stoned and bored, let's do a awful relic job" motif, but more for the way it has been treated over the years and still is to this day!
As I said I use it to build guards and test new pickups. It lets me get a feel for them running off my choice of pots & stuff in Alder & afterwards I can usually pick whatever tone woods, pots, capacitors, EXE will work best for them. So it's been taken apart a few times, maybe a few hundred??? This is really where it earns its place on this thread!!!
Because I take it apart so often & there's constantly something new going in or coming out of it I needed a way to get at all the bits I needed to get at to work on it without all the hassle? The other issue for me was the strings, if I had to put new strings on it every time I took it apart I'd probably be buying them by the case! Actually I already do, but I'd go through them a lot faster! Plus I'm not a huge fan of new strings anyway, I like them a little dead. So the way I get around all this is by putting a piece of tape around the 12th fret, I loosen the strings just enough, and then I remove the neck! I flop it to the back of the guitar, strings attached and I have instant access to the Pickguard, Trem cavity, & Jackplate!
Now you would think that after once or twice this would start to have some adverse effects on it? After all the times I've done it the intonation should be a mess, the action should be awful, & really something should have broken by now, not just replace something & it will be good but proper broken!!!
Nope, no matter what I do to it, after the neck goes back on it plays & feels the same way it always does! The last setup it had was well over 10 years ago & honestly I think it plays just as well now? I'm sure it could be better & if I ever find a permanent guard for it maybe I'll give her another one but as for now it still plays way better than a new MIM Standard Strat does out of the box & that's plenty good for me!!!!
Sorry for the Bible reading & sideways picture, don't know what happened there.....
View attachment 69107
LOL, My Rat-O-Caster!!!
This guitar has made a few appearances on the forum in various forms. It was my first "real guitar", I bought it new when I was about 15? Once upon a time it was a plain old 97 MIM Stratocaster & I got quite a few enjoyable years out of it before the modding started! Since then I've used it to make well over 100 different Strat guards & it's had too many different pickups in it to count! When I'm not useing it to build a new guard for one of my other Strat's or trying out a new pup before moving it to a more permanent home I typically keep it loaded with one of two guards?
One is a single Humbucker (59/Hybrid today, tomorrow who knows) single Vol., kill switch guard (pictured) or a more traditional 2 tone 1 Vol. H/H guard with a TB-14 in the bridge & SH-59N in the neck. Both sound awesome and for some unholy reason the guitar still plays beautifully! Considering what I've put this thing through it shouldn't be salvageable, let alone playable!!! I didn't post it to this thread for it's super sweet "I'm stoned and bored, let's do a awful relic job" motif, but more for the way it has been treated over the years and still is to this day!
As I said I use it to build guards and test new pickups. It lets me get a feel for them running off my choice of pots & stuff in Alder & afterwards I can usually pick whatever tone woods, pots, capacitors, EXE will work best for them. So it's been taken apart a few times, maybe a few hundred??? This is really where it earns its place on this thread!!!
Because I take it apart so often & there's constantly something new going in or coming out of it I needed a way to get at all the bits I needed to get at to work on it without all the hassle? The other issue for me was the strings, if I had to put new strings on it every time I took it apart I'd probably be buying them by the case! Actually I already do, but I'd go through them a lot faster! Plus I'm not a huge fan of new strings anyway, I like them a little dead. So the way I get around all this is by putting a piece of tape around the 12th fret, I loosen the strings just enough, and then I remove the neck! I flop it to the back of the guitar, strings attached and I have instant access to the Pickguard, Trem cavity, & Jackplate!
Now you would think that after once or twice this would start to have some adverse effects on it? After all the times I've done it the intonation should be a mess, the action should be awful, & really something should have broken by now, not just replace something & it will be good but proper broken!!!
Nope, no matter what I do to it, after the neck goes back on it plays & feels the same way it always does! The last setup it had was well over 10 years ago & honestly I think it plays just as well now? I'm sure it could be better & if I ever find a permanent guard for it maybe I'll give her another one but as for now it still plays way better than a new MIM Standard Strat does out of the box & that's plenty good for me!!!!
Sorry for the Bible reading & sideways picture, don't know what happened there.....
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Rand-O-Monium
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
^^^^^^^
Kewl!
Mebbe rig up a modular swappy system thingy!!!
^^^^^^^
Kewl!
Mebbe rig up a modular swappy system thingy!!!
Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
I could literally change pickup's between sets, never mind assembled guards..... LOL!!!
I could literally change pickup's between sets, never mind assembled guards..... LOL!!!
Rand-O-Monium
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
gottalovethe80s
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
my beat up tele! looks rough and sounds hella rude!
my beat up tele! looks rough and sounds hella rude!
HALENisking
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
How did you get the design on the finish going and what the the pickups? killer looking man. Love it
my beat up tele! looks rough and sounds hella rude!
How did you get the design on the finish going and what the the pickups? killer looking man. Love it
BriGuy1968
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
How about a little fire, scarecrow...?
"The Phoenix" went through a fire back in 1995 and a buddy of mine refinished her with clear epoxy over the char.
She's perfectly smooth to the touch, but she's definitely got her battle scars... ugly and beautiful at the same time. She's also my main gigging guitar (loaded with a JB Bridge, Jazz Neck, and STK-S2 Hot Stack Center).
How about a little fire, scarecrow...?
"The Phoenix" went through a fire back in 1995 and a buddy of mine refinished her with clear epoxy over the char.
She's perfectly smooth to the touch, but she's definitely got her battle scars... ugly and beautiful at the same time. She's also my main gigging guitar (loaded with a JB Bridge, Jazz Neck, and STK-S2 Hot Stack Center).
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
That's actually kinda cool, in its own way.
Here's my worst "rat":
Constantly devolving.
That's actually kinda cool, in its own way.
Here's my worst "rat":
Constantly devolving.
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
Man, if I'm going to spend the time and money making a guitar sound and play good, I'm not going to end up with a POS hunk of junk that should be living in a dumpster. To me, it's just a poor excuse for not having the ability or desire to expend the effort to properly finish a musical instrument. Just a total cop out!
Man, if I'm going to spend the time and money making a guitar sound and play good, I'm not going to end up with a POS hunk of junk that should be living in a dumpster. To me, it's just a poor excuse for not having the ability or desire to expend the effort to properly finish a musical instrument. Just a total cop out!
BriGuy1968
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
:soapbox: Go get 'em Doc!
I don't think I could purposefully relic a guitar... it would break my heart! The Phoenix was a repair after a horrible accident and it has preserved memories and a great story. I also really dig that '69 GoldTop mentioned earlier, but because the wear and tear is from years of, well, wear and tear!
I think the guitar should write its own story... I couldn't write one for one of mine and just skip to the end!
That being said... to each his (or her) own!
:soapbox: Go get 'em Doc!
I don't think I could purposefully relic a guitar... it would break my heart! The Phoenix was a repair after a horrible accident and it has preserved memories and a great story. I also really dig that '69 GoldTop mentioned earlier, but because the wear and tear is from years of, well, wear and tear!
I think the guitar should write its own story... I couldn't write one for one of mine and just skip to the end!
That being said... to each his (or her) own!
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daan
New member
Re: Beat up ratty guitars
My "ratty" guitar
I had no $ and no guitar at one point. A buddy had a Kramer Focus RR/V type thing, that he dropped and broke the body. He gave it to me, and I used the neck, bridge and hardware to finish a Floyd-routed body I got at a pawn shop (traded a Walkman for it, IIRC)
It looked like crap, but sounded good. The pup said "Jackson" on the bottom, I have no idea what it actually was though. I wired it straight to the output. There were pots in the cavity, but they weren't connected to anything. I never got the FLoyd (a cheap copy) quite right, I got it close and just locked it down. I played that thing for years, as my only guitar. No finish on any of it, other than sweat and beer (EEEW!) It sounded right on for heavy music. I kinda miss it.
My "ratty" guitar
I had no $ and no guitar at one point. A buddy had a Kramer Focus RR/V type thing, that he dropped and broke the body. He gave it to me, and I used the neck, bridge and hardware to finish a Floyd-routed body I got at a pawn shop (traded a Walkman for it, IIRC)
It looked like crap, but sounded good. The pup said "Jackson" on the bottom, I have no idea what it actually was though. I wired it straight to the output. There were pots in the cavity, but they weren't connected to anything. I never got the FLoyd (a cheap copy) quite right, I got it close and just locked it down. I played that thing for years, as my only guitar. No finish on any of it, other than sweat and beer (EEEW!) It sounded right on for heavy music. I kinda miss it.
