NOPOCGD!

[KuruPrionz]

New old piece of crap guitar day. 

I wanted an inexpensive acoustic "beater" that I can take anywhere, anytime and not worry about at all. 

Open mic, jam at the BBQ, etc. Things are tamped down right now, it won't last forever.

I saw a Rogue acoustic guitar at the thrift store, there is a small cracked area on the back. I don't care. 

It was $20 and it plays well with low action and a flat fingerboard. I plan on mounting a sound hole pickup with a jack on the guitar, something that doesn't use a battery. I've got a few old ones laying about, that will be easy. 

 

It came with a broken first string so last night I was messing about and came up with a tuning using a low C on the 6th string, then G, E and then C and G again, an octave higher that the two low strings and lower pitch than the string tuned to E.

Kinda weird to play for me but it sounds like Hawaiian slack key fused with the Vietnamese style of wide string stretches, hammer ons, etc. 

 

I'll probably end up tuning it down to D and "normal" tuning most of the time. I had more than $20 worth of fun with it last night. 

I have a decent padded gig bag for it. 

[Larryz]

Kuru, Congrats on the latest find, have fun with it! 😎👍

[KuruPrionz]

1 minute ago, Larryz said:

Kuru, Congrats on the latest find, have fun with it! 😎👍

Just played it fr a bit. I'm having fun with it so far.

I need to work on the frets and make them perfect. I do that to any guitar I want to use seriously. 

This one will go places and get passed around campfires and such. I've got the tuning written down, will retune this after frets standard tuning but down a whole step to D.

I won't have to worry about it much, just get another beater if it dies. I like that. 

[desertbluesman]

Nice score Kuru, WOW twenty bucks, I think I spent more on my first Stella Guitar in 1964.👍

[desertbluesman]

and the Stella was unplayable.

[Larryz]

DBM, I got my 1st and only Stella for free...my uncle gave me his old one back in '63 or so...that was my 1st guitar and it was played at a few beach/surf campouts.  In '72 I bought a Fender acoustic for $99 as I needed a guitar when I got out of the Army.  It's been played around so many beach and forest campfires that I couldn't name them all. It's never been in a case and has taken some very hard licks over many years.  It's a wall hanger now.  I'm wishing Kuru a lot of fun times camping out with friends and family and his latest find!   😎

[desertbluesman]

6 minutes ago, Larryz said:

DBM, I got my 1st and only Stella for free...my uncle gave me his old one back in '63 or so...that was my 1st guitar and it was played at a few beach/surf campouts.  In '72 I bought a Fender acoustic for $99 as I needed a guitar when I got out of the Army.  It's been played around so many beach and forest campfires that I couldn't name them all. It's never been in a case and has taken some very hard licks over many years.  It's a wall hanger now.   😎

My Stella was unplayable truthfully. I went out and bought a Guild Dreadnought style guitar to replace that. I gave the Stella and the Guild to my 2 sons when I got my first electric, a Fender Telecaster which I replaced with a Gibson SG (Which would not stay in tune for very long) So I traded the SG for a Les Paul Custom so I had to give the LP owner $300 to pay for the trade And I played that for a some years.

[KuruPrionz]

My first real guitar was a Harmony arch top with the headstock logo sprayed over, maybe a second?

I got it at a pawn shop in downtown Fresno for $40. The bridge height was adjustable so I could get the action down pretty low. 

Long since gone. A neighbor gave me a nylon string guitar too, I've always liked those and still have one. 

 

Stuff came and went. Eventually I worked my way up to a well beaten but great sounding/playing Martin D-35. I kept that one for decades but when I got my Rainsong OM-1000 I almost never played the Martin again. Eventually I sold it to somebody who would play it. 

 

Most of the guitars I see at thrift stores are unplayable, damaged, warped or just plain crap. Here and there one pops up that can be played, maybe I get it and maybe I leave it for somebody else. I only want guitars that I play.

[KuruPrionz]

Today I loosened the truss rod, rounded the fret ends, did a level, crown and polish on the frets and restrung the guitar with a set of Martin .47-.10 strings.

The neck's barely moved, those are pretty light strings. I'm guessing tomorrow it will need a tweak but not much. 

It plays and sounds fine for a $20 guitar. I plan on putting a pickup on it, one that doesn't need a battery or do anything but work. 

 

This is my "don't have to worry about it" guitar. It will go places other guitars do not, down on the beach, by the fire at the party, left in the trunk of my car sometimes, etc. 

It's relaxing to not have much at risk and it's fun to play music just about all the time. 

 

Still looks just like the first photo, if anything it will just get a little more beat up eventually. I do have a gig bag for it, that helps. 

[Larryz]

+1 Kuru, for most of us Non-luthier types, doing your own fret work and truss-rod adjustments is best left to the techs IMHO. However, if you have the right tools and want to go for it, a $20 dollar guitar is a great way to start out. 😎

[Winston Psmith]

@Larryz - Fret work requires a combination of skills and the proper tools, but adjusting a truss rod isn't as daunting as it sounds. Unless you're looking at a severely curved or back-bowed neck, you're generally looking at a 1/4 turn adjustment either way. Seriously, if you can turn a wrench, replace a spark plug, and have more than a passing acquaintance with hand tools, you can probably do your own truss rod adjustments.

 

It always helps to loosen the truss rod slightly, first thing, acting on the "First, Do No Harm" principle. Tightening an already stressed or "frozen" thus rod can lead to breakage*, while loosening it slightly assures you the the truss rod will move, to begin with, and it can help release the tension on a seemingly "frozen" truss rod.

 

*Mute or remove the strings on a Guitar and tap along the neck; if you hear a rattle, or any metallic sound that isn't a wire somewhere inside the body cavity, you got a broken truss rod. In a word, Doubleplusnotgood . . .

[Larryz]

@ Winston, funny you should post that info, I just got through changing the spark plugs, oils, oil filters, front and rear end gear oils, air filters, fuel filters, etc., on my Suzuki 400 Artic Cat and a Briggs 15hp OHV Brush cutter LoL!  I have done some minor truss rod adjustments, but I usually leave it to my techs when they do the initial set ups.  For anyone thinking of doing truss rod adjustments that have not done them before, I would recommend they watch a few YouTube clips 1st.  I agree with your techniques.  I have never busted a rod yet and hope I never do as I am careful.  Fret buzz, neck relief, back bow, etc., issues can be created by those that are unaware of how to adjust a truss rod.

 

Thanks for the info and for posting a good response! 😎👍

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Larryz said:

@ Winston, funny you should post that info, I just got through changing the spark plugs, oils, oil filters, front and rear end gear oils, air filters, fuel filters, etc., on my Suzuki 400 Artic Cat and a Briggs 15hp OHV Brush cutter LoL!  I have done some minor truss rod adjustments, but I usually leave it to my techs when they do the initial set ups.  For anyone thinking of doing truss rod adjustments that have not done them before, I would recommend they watch a few YouTube clips 1st.  I agree with your techniques.  I have never busted a rod yet and hope I never do as I am careful.  Fret buzz, neck relief, back bow, etc., issues can be created by those that are unaware of how to adjust a truss rod.

 

Thanks for the info and for posting a good response! 😎👍

I let the guitar sit for a couple of days after loosening the truss rod to the point that it wasn't engaged. This morning I checked the relief on the neck - fret it at the first fret and the 12th fret and there should be a tiny gap between the string and the 6th fret. In other words, the neck should have a slight curve to it, very slight. 

I checked the curve before loosening the truss rod and it did not exist, the 6th fret was touching the string - too tight! Since I'd put light gauge strings on I released all the tension and gave the neck a couple of days to stabilize. That's how I do things now, takes longer but better results.

 

I gently tweaked the truss rod nut so it is now firmly in place without losing the gap. It should stay there, I'll check it again in a few days. 

 

The correct sequence would be level the frets (done), adjust the truss rod (done), adjust the action - I can take this down just a small amount and I will and LAST (always last!!!) I will adjust the height of the nut slots. 

 

This is the most efficient sequence I've found, otherwise you end up going round and round and on an acoustic guitar with a saddle you risk lowering the action at the bridge too far when the rest of the guitar is properly set up and/or need to cut a new nut because you went too deep. Little by little, in the correct order - setting up a guitar is easy if we are patient and careful. 

[Larryz]

@ Kuru, I definitely leave the bridge saddle sanding and nut cuts to the techs.  +1 on leaving it overnight and check it again on any truss rod adjustments.  Then check it again a day or two later.  I'll try your 1st and 12th and 6th fret string technique for gauging and checking the gap using the string as a straight edge (even when not doing an adjustment).  Some one long ago (may have been me LoL!) posted an acronym "TRAIN" that I had read somewhere.  T = tune, R = relief, A = action, I = intonation, N = noodle.  Then do it again in that order each time...I do intonation on adjustable TOM and Strat style saddles on electrics and leave the acoustic intonation to the techs.  

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Larryz said:

@ Kuru, I definitely leave the bridge saddle sanding and nut cuts to the techs.  +1 on leaving it overnight and check it again on any truss rod adjustments.  Then check it again a day or two later.  I'll try your 1st and 12th and 6th fret string technique for gauging and checking the gap using the string as a straight edge (even when not doing an adjustment).  Some one long ago (may have been me LoL!) posted an acronym "TRAIN" that I had read somewhere.  T = tune, R = relief, A = action, I = intonation, N = noodle.  Then do it again in that order each time...I do intonation on adjustable TOM and Strat style saddles on electrics and leave the acoustic intonation to the techs.  

It's never a bad idea to have  tech take care of your guitars. I've got a friend in Fresno that did some finish work for me, he is a better sprayer and has a place he can do that. 

I have no idea how many nuts I've made from blanks but it's many. The nut adjustment comes last because you need everything else set correctly to get the nut right. Otherwise you may be chasing your tail. Don't ask me how I know this!!! 🙄

[KuruPrionz]

Truss rod snugged up tight, saddle lowered a little and nut slots lowered even less. 

It plays pretty good, kind of sharp sounding and there is a boxy midrange that my other acoustic guitars don't have. 

It sounds like a cheap guitar but it plays pretty good. It will get used!