Fixer upper

[rollypolly]

Ever buy a guitar cause it looks all sad and mistreated? A fun little fixer upper project?

I was looking for a rosewood Martin and came across a mmv that needs a little love. Top has a crack, binding is coming off, but has solid bones.

I cleaned it up and strung it with fresh retros. Very impressive so far and very much like a little poor mans d28.

[Wasper]

I think something on the order of 80% of all guitars I purchased have been Used, B-stock , scratch & dent and ugly ducklings. There is a lot of really great misfit guitars to be had out there, Just have to look past some cosmetics.

[pickinray]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Ever buy a guitar cause it looks all sad and mistreated? A fun little fixer upper project?

I was looking for a rosewood Martin and came across a mmv that needs a little love. Top has a crack, binding is coming off, but has solid bones.

I cleaned it up and strung it with fresh retros. Very impressive so far and very much like a little poor mans d28.

MMV's are good guitars. I had one for a few years before I traded it in for my D-35. I think the description of "poor man's D28" is accurate. The MMV is fine as-is, but I'd recommend upgrading the gold stock tuners and maybe installing a bone saddle. I think those upgrades would make it even better.

[lowrider]

Very nice guitar. Good luck with your project!!

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Ever buy a guitar cause it looks all sad and mistreated? A fun little fixer upper project?

I was looking for a rosewood Martin and came across a mmv that needs a little love. Top has a crack, binding is coming off, but has solid bones.

I cleaned it up and strung it with fresh retros. Very impressive so far and very much like a little poor mans d28.

We used to call the Harmony Sovereign H1260 a "poor man's D18."

While none of mine are as new as your Martin, most of my guitars have been in none too good condition when I stumbled across them. Top and back cracks, loose braces, binding popping off, missing pickguards, and what have you. Even brought one home once with a broken headstock. Never regretted it.

[donlyn]

Fixer upper

Got my '94 Epiphone EJ-200 in such a condition. Cheap.

New nut, saddle, strings, some fretwork, & a set-up later, and it's first out of the bullpen when my big solid wood guitars need relief in wicked humid weather. They can sound a bit wonky under such conditions, and the big laminate does the trick. And we've already had a bit of that so far, with more maybe due this weekend.

Actually the guitar looks pretty good at this point, except the silk-screened (?) pickguard design is somewhat worn off, but no other obvious blemishes.
But no problem, it's a veteran guitar after all. I've had it for the last 6 years or so.

Don
.

[Bob Womack]

I bought an amp like that, a Motion Sound Sidewinder rotary speaker amp. The rotor wouldn't stop rotating and the grille cloth was punched in. I watched it sit at the nearby Guitar Center and noticed that it wasn't selling. After trying it out and seeing the fault, I got on the Internet and learned everything I could about the amp. I negotiated a deal, took it home, and fixed it in a matter of minutes. Voile'!



It is a lightweight single-rotor amp that is comparable in size and weight (40 lbs) to a Deluxe Reverb. It is very smooth and milky. I should warn you, though. Rotary speaker is like the Hotel California: you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. This little amp was my gateway to a full-sized Leslie.

Bob

[musicman1951]

I have great admiration for people who pursue fixer uppers. It's definitely not in my wheelhouse. I hate to gamble on the final outcome.

All of my used instrument purchases have been instruments that are virtually indistinguishable from new except one trumpet. It was incredibly cheap and I had the many dents fixed and had it silver plated to look like new again, so I'm not sure that counts.

[rollypolly]

I've reached the point right now where I'll only attempt simple repairs and only if the guitar isn't worth much. It looks like this mmv fell victim to the binding falling off and someone did an amateur job trying to get it back in place. Lots of overspray and missing finish. But it's overall a good looking guitar and feels very much like my D-18. A cheap but good way to get into a rosewood Martin.

[davenumber2]

I picked up a Seagull Rustic S6 that had high action, old rusty strings, scratches all over, covered in dust and grime. I cleaned it up, set it up with a new bone saddle, restrung and put on a new pickguard as the old one was slipping toward the bridge leaving exposed glue. It's now a great player's guitar. It's got a great deep, dry tone with the cedar top, all for about $200.

[zombywoof]

Here is my '56 Epiphone Mercy Salvage..

What the guitar looked like with the screwed down double pickguard removed.


What the guitar looks like today

[Br1ck]

I've reworked a no name (probably Stella) archtop. Cheater neck re set, frets, real binding, it was a fun project. Older Gibson and Epiphone bottom of the line guitars like the Epi Caballero can be nice projects. People are asking way too much for solid wood guitars these days, and the reworking of old Harmonys is adding to the problem. Project guitars like the Guild D 25 used to be had for $400-500. Not so much now.