Just the thought of needles makes
most people a bit queasy but they don’t bother me at all, so I had a little fun
on Facebook with this picture of my brand spankin’ new wood glue syringe. I posted the picture and left it up hoping
people would guess what it was used for but most people grew concerned that it
was for my personal use so I had to set the record straight and tell them what
it was really used for.
As I’ve said before, this blog isn’t always about Chiari; this entry begins a series of posts based on the sad little “Strat” pictured below. This poor guitar had been hanging up in the music studio where my daughter takes piano lessons for well over a year. The guy that owns the studio also sells beginner instruments, nothing I would ever be interested in but stuff that is serviceable for someone just starting to learn to play an instrument. That way if they decide they aren’t really interested in playing guitar, bass, or piano they aren’t left with a huge investment. Back to this guitar…It was hanging behind the area where the register is so I figured it was waiting for a repair or maybe it was damaged in shipping and was going to be sent back. Ever since it showed up I’ve been intrigued by it, always wondering what its story was. This guitar is the cheapest “Strat” that Fender makes, it’s called a Starcaster, I think you used to be able to buy them at Target or Walmart. A few weeks ago I finally got a good look at it, and wow was it beat up, I could see a crack that went ALL the way through the body. Suddenly my mind started to consider the possibility of buying the guitar, fixing the body damage, and "hot rodding" it. I called the owner of the studio and asked what was up with the black “Strat” with the big ol’ crack. The story is that someone brought it to him to see if it could be repaired - it can be – after it had been dropped. The poor thing looks more like it was thrown accrosss a room than dropped. Anyway, he told them it could be fixed but it would cost more than it’s worth. Apparently they held no love in their hearts for this little black gem because they left it and never returned. I asked him if it was for sale since I knew I could repair it, he said “give me ten-bucks and it’s yours”, so I did. As soon as I got it home I checked the neck, and to my amazement it is perfectly straight, the frets are a bit sharp but a little time with the file will fix that. And as a bonus all of the pickups work, and it even stayed in tune. So here is my $10 guitar.
Lets take a closer look at the it,
the body damage is just the beginning…
OUCH!! There is more than one
crack
The back makes it seem so much
better...Hey look you can see part of me :)
Closer…Dang, looks like someone
took a hammer to it!
CLOSER…Oh No, thank goodness for wood glue and clamps!!
CLOSER STILL…is this a crack or a
ding or a gouge?
There is either something seriously wrong with the tremolo system on this guitar or someone tightened the screws as tight as they could. Let’s hope the screws are just really tight because in this picture all of the tension is off the strings and it’s still tilted all the way forward.
Moving on…Oh the headstock. First of all the tuning machines, I mean
really, how freakin hard is it to find the correct size el-cheapo tuning
machine, plus there is a busted one they never replaced. They hated this thing so much
that they just stuck anything on there, they will all be replaced, and maybe I’ll
even splurge and go for staggered locking tuners. I’m also not a fan of the shape of the headstock
so I’ll be changing it to something more esthetically pleasing to my eye. Looks like I’ll get to play with my saws and
sanders again. I love that it says it was "Crafted" in China.
Let’s take a look at what is going to happen to my $10 guitar
- Disassemble the entire guitar
- Repair the body issues – hence the syringe. I'll probably relic the paint job.
- Repair or replace the tremolo
- Replace all of the electronics. All new pickups, since this is a cheap guitar I’m going low budget so I’ll probably just put in a set of Fender TexMex pickups. It will also get new pots, 5 position switch, output jack and of course all new wiring.
- Replace white pickguard with a black one. I’m going for the David Gilmore look
- Change shape of headstock
- File, clean and dress the frets
- Replace the nut
- Replace the tuning machines
- Replace the crappy string trees
- Add strap locks
- Set it up – Make sure the intonation is correct
- Enjoy my new addition.
As I make progress there will be
new posts. I’m looking forward to having
a project so stay tuned.
