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Help a brother out . . .


Winston Psmith

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A good friend recently decided to take up guitar, and bought himself a cheap ($79) electric guitar online. Yeah, it's terrible - looks like an SG copy, with a bolt-on neck. The neck is straight enough when I lay a straight-edge along it, but the action is 1/4 inch at the 12th fret??? I did suggest to my friend that this thing would make a much better slide guitar than anything else.

 

My friend isn't a stoner, or a complete idiot. He's a smart guy, with an M.D. and some decent keyboard chops, who realizes he acted on impulse. So . . .

 

I'm trying to make this thing remotely playable, while I look for a better cheap guitar. There's some room to lower the fake TOM bridge, and I thought of using an old Strat trick and putting a pick under the neck as a shim, near the body, to offset the neck angle. Yes, I could try planing down the neck heel, etc. Thanks, anyhow.

 

Any reasonable, or particularly entertaining suggestions welcome - anything that leaves it more or less intact. Sure, it would be fun to throw the stupid thing into a wood chipper, especially if it was plugged in, but let's not.

 

No pics, but if enough people really want to see it, I'll get something together. It's not even ugly enough to be cool, it's just wrong.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I think this is a case where yer better off consulting with someone actually dealing with the gtr in person...or at least looking at it, though a skilled repair person handling the gtr is best.

 

There are too many potential problems that you migh add to the mix by trying "solutions" offered by folks not aware of all the facts.

 

The 2nd worst thing you could do is have a reasonable lap gtr or semi Dobro...the worst thing is you might completely wreck the instrument.

d=halfnote
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A good friend recently decided to take up guitar, and bought himself a cheap ($79) electric guitar online. Yeah, it's terrible - looks like an SG copy, with a bolt-on neck. The neck is straight enough when I lay a straight-edge along it, but the action is 1/4 inch at the 12th fret??? I did suggest to my friend that this thing would make a much better slide guitar than anything else.

 

My friend isn't a stoner, or a complete idiot. He's a smart guy, with an M.D. and some decent keyboard chops, who realizes he acted on impulse. So . . .

 

I'm trying to make this thing remotely playable, while I look for a better cheap guitar. There's some room to lower the fake TOM bridge, and I thought of using an old Strat trick and putting a pick under the neck as a shim, near the body, to offset the neck angle. Yes, I could try planing down the neck heel, etc. Thanks, anyhow.

 

Any reasonable, or particularly entertaining suggestions welcome - anything that leaves it more or less intact. Sure, it would be fun to throw the stupid thing into a wood chipper, especially if it was plugged in, but let's not.

 

No pics, but if enough people really want to see it, I'll get something together. It's not even ugly enough to be cool, it's just wrong.

 

seriously, would he play a 79 dollar keyboard? tell the dude to go out and grab a nice Godin session or Progression.

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This should be able to be corrected by lowering the T-o-M bridge.

 

If you lower the action at the bridge, don't forget to double check the pickup height beneath the strings.

 

Also dial-in enough relief to go with the newly lowered action.

 

If you've got to shim the neck for angle, try a feeler gauge, or some thin wood veneer.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Thanks, everybody. I know where my skill set is, and I can easily tweak this poor thing without making it any worse, although I get d's point. I've seen instruments ruined by people who thought they had some idea what they were doing, until it was too late.

 

Zan, I don't know what to tell you. I almost wish he'd called me in the middle of the night to tell me what he was looking at, I'd have talked some sense into him, and we could have gone guitar shopping. OTOH, I have a $2 keyboard, bought sight unseen, when a friend called me from a yard sale, asking if I'd risk $2 on an 80's synth; it works fine, but that was only $2.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Dude! It's $79!!!! That's like a trip to Starbucks for a MD...

 

Of course, I'd want pictures to help. But if the TOM is already pretty low, shim is the next step... Does it have a truss rod you can tweak? Once shimmed, you might want a little bow too...

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So, after lowering the TOM, and doing a few other adjustments, I've got the beast in playing condition, especially considering that it started out in life as a $79 guitar.

 

Considering the overall build quality, I was reluctant to tweak the truss rod - there's nothing like hearing that snap, followed by a nasty rattling sound inside the guitar neck. For now, it'll work well enough, long enough, for my friend to find a 'real' guitar, which is the obvious next step.

 

Thanks for all the help, and remember -

 

"Friends don't let friends buy cheap guitars!"

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Glad that it went well for you, that you persevered and triumphed with a win-win.

 

I know someone who has a cheap "New York Pro" knock-off of a Telecaster; while decidedly cheap 'n' cheesy (chintzy hardware, thin/weak/overly-bright pickups, poor and inconsistent fretwork) it nets enough of the character of a real vintage Tele to be fun; I really enjoyed trying it out with various pedals and amps, comparing it's Tele-ness with 'em all to the response I get from 'em with my Les Paul. It gave me a very definite idea of how a good, REAL Tele would suit me and the rest of my gear.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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