NOGD - thrift store find

[KuruPrionz]

New Old Guitar Day. Was Saturday but who's counting. I was at Goodwill and saw a Johnson Strat copy behind the counter. It was complete, nothing missing and nothing broken.

Sealed tuners, a heavy duty vibrato bridge with heavy saddles and smooth action, Johnson - EMG pickups (passive) and it's not filthy or covered with stickers. $30 so I bought it.

 

I thought I could just swap in the Warmoth extra wide Strat neck I recently picked up, and maybe I can - but on further investigation I realized that this is a short scale guitar. 22.5" with 20 frets.

It needs a full setup, no fret wear to speak of but they always need to be leveled, crowned and polished and it doesn't take me long anymore. I've done hundreds of them.

The body is smaller than a Strat but the same shape. Photos don't show it but it is a very dark blue color. See attached crappy pix.

 

Plugged it in and tuned it. The tuners look nice but they are not very good, it's possible tightening the tension screws will improve them. The electronics all work but the 5 way switch and the jack should probably be replaced. ALL jacks should be replaced with Switchcraft, it's just easier to get it over with since jacks on cheap guitars will fail.

 

The pickups sound nice and "Stratty" and are quiet. Overall it's a pretty decent little guitar. I don't have anything with a whammy bar right now and there is a solo I want to record that will require a bit of whammy action.

After that, I may convert it to Nashville tuning since the neck is fatter than the one on the Ibanez Gio Mikro I've been using for that and the pickups have a chimier, more acoustic tone than the humbuckers on the Ibanez.

 

Not a big deal, especially around here. But fun anyway!

[desertbluesman]

Good Score........Enjoy it amigo

[Larryz]

Congrats Kuru! Nice little project and recording find!

[Caevan O’Shite]

...this is a short scale guitar. 22.5" with 20 frets.

 

The body is smaller than a Strat but the same shape.

 

That's actually pretty cool! Whether you tune it to Standard/Standard Pitch or, say, up a 4th with necessary set-up and string gauge considerations, for fretted or slide playing, it's really cool to have an extra-short scale Strat like that!

 

My first halfway-decent electric guitar was a 23-1/2" scaled Peavey T-15, maaanny years ago. That's when I started using 11's, as the string-tension was so light... too light for me, with 9's or 10's. I sometimes wish I still had it, and toy with the idea of getting another, or something similar...

 

I may convert it to Nashville tuning since the neck is fatter than the one on the Ibanez Gio Mikro I've been using for that and the pickups have a chimier, more acoustic tone than the humbuckers on the Ibanez.

 

See? There ya go... I bet that'd be GREAT!

 

The tuners look nice but they are not very good, it's possible tightening the tension screws will improve them. The electronics all work but the 5 way switch and the jack should probably be replaced.

 

Well, there's a plethora of great tuner options out there, right? As simple or fancy, vintage or cutting-edge modern, as you like to choose from...

 

It'd be a GREAT opportunity to try a Free-Way 5-Way/10-Position switch... !

[KuruPrionz]

...this is a short scale guitar. 22.5" with 20 frets.

 

The body is smaller than a Strat but the same shape.

 

That's actually pretty cool! Whether you tune it to Standard/Standard Pitch or, say, up a 4th with necessary set-up and string gauge considerations, for fretted or slide playing, it's really cool to have an extra-short scale Strat like that!

 

My first halfway-decent electric guitar was a 23-1/2" scaled Peavey T-15, maaanny years ago. That's when I started using 11's, as the string-tension was so light... too light for me, with 9's or 10's. I sometimes wish I still had it, and toy with the idea of getting another, or something similar...

 

I may convert it to Nashville tuning since the neck is fatter than the one on the Ibanez Gio Mikro I've been using for that and the pickups have a chimier, more acoustic tone than the humbuckers on the Ibanez.

 

See? There ya go... I bet that'd be GREAT!

 

The tuners look nice but they are not very good, it's possible tightening the tension screws will improve them. The electronics all work but the 5 way switch and the jack should probably be replaced.

 

Well, there's a plethora of great tuner options out there, right? As simple or fancy, vintage or cutting-edge modern, as you like to choose from...

 

It'd be a GREAT opportunity to try a Free-Way 5-Way/10-Position switch... !

 

Yep, lots of options with the shorter scale and the fully adjustable bridge. I might try some flat wounds on it too, that could be fun.

 

I probably have a good quality 5 way switch here already. I'd like a 3 way switch to be honest, for neck - bridge - or both. Then I would run the knobs as Master Volume, Master Tone and Volume for the middle pickup.

[KuruPrionz]

It has also occurred to me that I could just run the neck pickup always on, I do that most of the time anyway.

And then have a volume each for the middle pickup and the bridge pickup and a tone control. No switch, all the sounds.

It will be a few weeks before I get to it anyway at this point.

[Larryz]

Kuru, since you will be replacing the jack with a SwitchCraft (great choice) and have thought of going direct with no tone control in the past, now might be a good time to try the idea? Also, How about having all three pups live with each having their own volume control. You could call up more or less treble by adjusting the volumes on each pup. just a thought.

[KuruPrionz]

Kuru, since you will be replacing the jack with a SwitchCraft (great choice) and have thought of going direct with no tone control in the past, now might be a good time to try the idea? Also, How about having all three pups live with each having their own volume control. You could call up more or less treble by adjusting the volumes on each pup. just a thought.

 

 

I've considered that too, Larryz.

It sort of depends on what I can dig up out of my boxes of parts. I won't be getting to that for a bit, going to California for a bit first. I may have other ideas by then.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I'd like a 3 way switch to be honest, for neck - bridge - or both. Then I would run the knobs as Master Volume, Master Tone and Volume for the middle pickup.

 

It has also occurred to me that I could just run the neck pickup always on, I do that most of the time anyway.

And then have a volume each for the middle pickup and the bridge pickup and a tone control. No switch, all the sounds.

 

Now, similarly, in a future build- or, perhaps modifying my current one with an added Middle Pickup hidden beneath the pickguard- I'll be using the Free-Way 3-Way/6-Position Switch for six selections between the Bridge and Neck Pickups; and then adding a Middle Pickup in parallel that can be switched in and out via, say, a push-pull volume-pot.

 

This will allow me:

 

• 
  
• Bridge
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Parallel
   
  
• Neck
   
  >sideways click<
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Parallel / Out-of-Phase
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Series / Out-of-Phase
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Series / IN-Phase
   
  =PLUS=
   
  
• the Middle Pickup added in Parallel to any and all of the above combinations

 

That's what, a total of a dozen useful pickup combinations? And seven of 'em are tones I really, really like and would use often.

 

All with one 3-Way switch, one Volume knob, and one Tone knob.

 

Add in the tone control- with two different value caps to choose from with a push-pull tone-pot- and you've got a LOT of versatility.

[KuruPrionz]

I'd like a 3 way switch to be honest, for neck - bridge - or both. Then I would run the knobs as Master Volume, Master Tone and Volume for the middle pickup.

 

It has also occurred to me that I could just run the neck pickup always on, I do that most of the time anyway.

And then have a volume each for the middle pickup and the bridge pickup and a tone control. No switch, all the sounds.

 

Now, similarly, in a future build- or, perhaps modifying my current one with an added Middle Pickup hidden beneath the pickguard- I'll be using the Free-Way 3-Way/6-Position Switch for six selections between the Bridge and Neck Pickups; and then adding a Middle Pickup in parallel that can be switched in and out via, say, a push-pull volume-pot.

 

This will allow me:

 

• 
  
• Bridge
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Parallel
   
  
• Neck
   
  >sideways click<
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Parallel / Out-of-Phase
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Series / Out-of-Phase
   
  
• Bridge and Neck in Series / IN-Phase
   
  =PLUS=
   
  
• the Middle Pickup added in Parallel to any and all of the above combinations

 

That's what, a total of a dozen useful pickup combinations? And seven of 'em are tones I really, really like and would use often.

 

All with one 3-Way switch, one Volume knob, and one Tone knob.

 

Add in the tone control- with two different value caps to choose from with a push-pull tone-pot- and you've got a LOT of versatility.

 

While that is all lovely, this is one place where we are quite different. One of my "builds" that I hope to get to this winter is a massively bogeyed but still amazing original single cut Melody Maker. I've put gigantic frets in it and I want to put the TV Jones rewound to vintage specs Gretsch Supertron in the neck position - going straight to the output jack. No switches, no pots, nothing.