Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

WINNERRRRR!:banana:

Congrats! I was wondering how this fiddle would be sent to you. I am NO expert!!!, but you might want to suggest the seller remove the pickguard from the guitar body, and pack it away from any possible body contact. I have heard of LP's getting transit damage from attached pick guards, but these are heavier.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I'm not too worried, he has 1400+ perfect feedback on eBay. So he knows what he's doing. But yes, I will ask him to remove the guard, good idea, thanks! I don't want the hardware bent or anything.

By the way, I'll stop posting in the thread, I don't want to annoy anyone. Thanks for all the help guys! I'm SUPER stoked!

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Hah! You aren't annoying anyone!

Just play the guitar several months without changing the pickups! Oldies but goodies can have amazing voicing. Sure, there are dogs out there, but a close look at the photos posted revealed un-tampered screws, and very good stamping/plating qualities to the pickups.

Enjoy, and post more pics!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Sludge I don't have a choice! WHen (and if) a replacement happens, it'll be TV Jones probably. I've been hearing them, and they're just sublime.

But the glory of this guitar (my favorite part) is that I can't really play it yet! I am going to have to work to make this a player, and that's my favorite part. Nothing fills me with more joy than bringing a beat up or lifeless guitar back to life. This one is just wood and pups. Replacing everything on this is going to be a SERIOUS treat, and I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm gonna do some sort of pic-blog too, much like the Thursday Burst. Shwo what the guitar turns into. Should be cool!

Later guys.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Awesome! I had this really bad feeling I was gonna open this thread to find you'd been outbid by $10 or something.

Under two bills? That's great. You've already got plenty of dough to get started on fixing it up. Like Sludge said.... more pics!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Yeah I'm really happy JB. I had about $400 to start with, and so I'll likely not spend the other $200 right off the bat.

The first thing to do is to make sure that the current, springless Bigsby will maintain tune. I don't want to be retuning every day. Also, I really hope the current tuners are alright (at least for now). If I can string it up and play acoustic right out of the box, I'll be VERY happy.

If those two things are good, then they can wait for a while to replace. I want to get electronics in there, a new nut, a new bridge and some knobs right away. Installation might be very expensive though. I'll buy the electronics from BadaBing's store (really cool guy). The pups will have to do for a while (at least six months to a year). I'll see if straplocks are possible, although I dunno. I gotta get a hardshell case somewhere in there too.

Electronics - $60
Knobs - $5
Nut - $5
Bigsby - $100
Case - $60
Tuners - $30
Straplocks - $10

Total=$270, before installation. I only need installation on the nut and electronics. That may be almost $150 though, with a proper setup (which is automatically done with nut installation). So that's like $420 total, or so.

Pups=$150 or so. So what, like $770 or so for the total thing? That's really not bad at all. I spent more on my Les Paul total. The setup and case included, that's not bad at all.

Very pleased with this! To answer your questions about the pics, like I said I hope to do a pic blog topic. Should be cool! Later guys.

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

To be honest i think your mad spending 770 'fixing' that hunk of junk.

But if it makes you happy, then enjoy!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Junk!? If I could install stuff myself, then the price would be like $150 lower. I can install the Bigsby and tuners easy, but I cannot solder.

And that price includes the $200 I just spent, the case, a setup, all the parts to make this ridiculously awesome (including a Bigsby which is a lot!), and the installation! Sound-wise, it will rival mid-level Gretsch's (assuming the wood isn't terrible) for far less than half the price. Plus it's old! And it's awesome!

I personally think it's a fantastic deal. Plus, I can do this over time. I love this kind of stuff!

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I personally think it's a fantastic deal. Plus, I can do this over time. I love this kind of stuff!

Thats all that matters. I was just voicing my opinion.

I just hope you can still say this when it arrives at your door

What makes me say this, is that i also bought a 'vintage' hollow body thing off ebay a couple of years ago......it was a pile of dog poo, and i've regretted it ever since.

Good luck

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Ah. Well, if it sucks, I can easily make most (if not all) of my money back. The reason I'm somewhat confident is that the seller has (like I said) over 1400 perfect feedback. You'd think that if he sold crappy guitars, it might be reflected in at least one feedback.

 

[viewaskew2k5]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

If that guitar had clothes, i would want to see the guitar without the clothes. Doesnt matter if it was a chick or a dude. Its just hot.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Yes!!! That was an awesome comment! Thanks dude! Starts the day off right.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

BIG AL GOT HIM SOME!!!

I was pumped for you when I saw you won the auction this morning. Wish you all the best. That guitar is just a freak man. Everyone (including me) is going to be JELL--US. Wish you the best. It's unusual, but in a beautiful way. Kinda like that rare beauty you see at the county fair, but think you have no chance with--then she comes on to you. And no, that's never happened to me, lol.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

lol Thanks a lot dude! viewaskew got the day started off right, and that made my day even better 75! I can't wait for this little mini-jap-beast to be done.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Why are you replacing the tail piece with another Bigsby? Just put a spring on that one.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I will for the time being. But I want:
1. A cleaner tail piece, i.e. not one that's all scuffed and rusted and dinged.
2. One of higher quality.
3. The Bigsby logo.

I should be able to sell this one like you said. The spring should run about $5 or so, then I can sell it and get some money hopefully.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I don't remember if you said so already, but are you already sure you like Bigsbys? If not, give this one a throough workout. I still think you should make it a fixed bridge, with one of those Gibby trapeze tailpieces.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I love Bigsbys. It's my favorite tremolo/vibrato system. I've played them many many times before, never owned one though. I'm not a fan of the trapeze tailpieces (althoug they do look really nice on the old 20's-30's L4 type guitar.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

Eh.... even with the Bigsby, that greenburst makes it cool (if you hadn't caught it, I'm not a Bigsby fan)

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Opinions on this guitar I'm thinking of buying please

I can understand not liking Bigsbys. It's an acquired taste, I understand that!