Nice! The American Original/Vintage series are great guitars. About as true to the originals without going Custom Shop. I also love the Tele Custom look with the double binding. What did you end up snagging it for?

It also looks like the last owner installed some compensated saddles, which is nice.

One thing I'll throw out there because of the Alder body and lam rosewood fingerboard: If you find the tone to be a little too trebly or tinny, swapping those steel saddles for brass saddles will really help round that tone off. It's a common preference among Tele owners: Steel vs brass.

I was experiencing that with my green Tele, which is why I went the brass route, and am loving the change. Whereas my #1 Tele is still rocking the steel saddles and sounds amazing.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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I think I went a little overboard here but it's new (to me) guitar day. Now I just have to learn to play.

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That's how you enter a thread!

Define know how to play. I can play chords with sloppy transitions, scales, pentatonic scale and parts of some songs, blues riffs and rhythm. Can I pick up the guitar and rip off an improvised solo or play with a band? Nope.

I'm progressing my way through the Fender Play app for now but I can see a time where I'll need some in-person instruction because the one-way interaction will lead to some potential bad player habits.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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It's an American Original 60's. This thread really inspired me to stretch my budget so I scoured the web to find something nice, located an instrument and negotiated the price down some. I was getting a little fluttery after just this morning three US teles were listed locally for $800 asking. Looks like two already sold. Either way I don't have any remorse and look forward to making terrible noise for the foreseeable future.

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Go Big or Go Home!

Congrats! That's a beaut!

-------------------- ETA the Ray Bans that I left off. (be sure to buy a pair to go with that rig!)
I
v

Think my jack on my Takamine GB-7C is toast. I noticed the cable wasn't going all the way in already and the last few times I've had a gig it seemed to be fidgety about actually getting signal through. The cable fell out as I was getting set up today and now it won't do anything at all. Luckily I always have a second acoustic at gigs, but I guess I get to fix that. Not too big a deal and certainly on the low end of issues, but still annoying.

Hercules Electric Guitar Stand (GS412BPlus)

There are a few hours left on this deal for a nice stand at $38.49 with free shipping if you're a Prime member. I bought one last week and received it yesterday.

So I finally got the project up and running. I wound up going HSS with an EMG 89/SA/SA set. Had a heck of a time fitting everything into the Starla control cavity. In fact, I had to hack out a new slot for the 5-way switch for it to fit (as seen in the photo). Because of that, and the fact that I went with a single coil neck pickup., I'll definitely have to get a custom pickguard made at some point. No big deal.

As for the finished product it sounds good overall. Very little quack in the 2 and 4 positions. I'd love to flip the leads on the middle pup to see what happens but that's easier said than done with EMGs. You have to buy a little phase reversal switch module that retails for $79 to do that. I'll play with pickup heights to see if the quackiness improves in the 2-4 positions.




Note the orientation of the pickups. Since the pre-packaged set I bought from EMG came with a regular 89 humbucker as opposed to the 89R, I had to install it backwards to get the split-coil away from the bridge. I've found with the split coil next to the bridge it's way too bright and thin sounding. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me substitue an 89R in the pre-packaged set. No big deal, as the logos being "upside down" have never bothered me.

Here's a mockup of what it will eventually look like

Do you know if these American original series have a routed channel to adjust the truss rod without removing the neck?

Quincey P. Morris said:

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Think my jack on my Takamine GB-7C is toast. I noticed the cable wasn't going all the way in already and the last few times I've had a gig it seemed to be fidgety about actually getting signal through. The cable fell out as I was getting set up today and now it won't do anything at all. Luckily I always have a second acoustic at gigs, but I guess I get to fix that. Not too big a deal and certainly on the low end of issues, but still annoying.

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So I'm probably going to need to take it in. I'm not an expert on electric guitar wiring so I know zero about acoustic wiring and there's not even enough wire to pull the whole jack out to look at it when I unscrewed it. That will mean I need to take the strings off and look at it from the inside. Given it's age and that this is my absolute number 1, irreplaceable guitar; I'd rather have somebody more qualified deal with it. There's also probably some other work that a 22 year old acoustic that has seen a lot of play and wear needs. The lower frets may need to be replaced and I know the nut needs some help. Possibly the bridge pieces too.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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Do you know if these American original series have a routed channel to adjust the truss rod without removing the neck?

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You have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. Have to appreciate the process, with a guitar based on vintage specs!

@maroon barachetta -- Thanks. We're in Colorado, so I'm looking at GC or something online...completely agree on practicality. He actually tried one of those 'cool' Stranger Things guitars out and said it was bulky and sounded bad. So I was like "wtf are you considering buying it for then?" He's young and cool points matters more than it does to an adult. But I can win that argument.

@dalllasTeleAg -- Thanks for the used/vintage angle. I think he'll be open to it since we watch some documentaries and all the guys he's a fan of rep older/cheaper guitars when they were starting up. Rigs they hang on to year over year. That said, if we go used, I do worry I won't know if I'm buying a dud or if there's a way to 'certify' that it's in good shape. Since I have zero background here to help him.

One more thing I should have mentioned -- the guy has an immense musical appetite. I mentioned the headliner bands he likes, but it takes him all of 1 day to go down a rabbit hole and now he's listening to a bunch of Iron Maiden. What I'll say is that he's definitely a fan of classic rock...but that is very far reaching. Still haven't gotten him into Alice in Chains yet...

I've got a Sire S7 Vintage and really like it. Everyone that has tried it is amazed at how many features it has for the price and how great the neck feels.

Darrel Braun does some thorough Sire reviews but DallasTeleAg hates Canadians or something so I won't link his videos.

Here is a demo from Anderton's instead.

If you decide to go new, you might consider these or try a used one in a GC if you can find one.

These satin PRS guitars they just released are priced low for what you get and look great. He could consider one of those.

Not fair... I love Ryan Reynolds!

maroon barchetta said:

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These satin PRS guitars they just released are priced low for what you get and look great. He could consider one of those.

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Those are really tempting.

Yes they are. I would love to try one.

Seems like a really good modding platform.

Buying used is not that big of a deal. It's not like buying a used car, where there can be a lot of issues under the hood. With a guitar, you pretty much get what you see/hear. Based on the model guitar you are looking at, there are certain areas to check or questions to ask. You can always run it by this thread and we'll tell you what to check.

You have no more risk buying used than you do buying new. The little idiosyncrasies some of us would catch are issues you will find in both new or used guitars. For example, neck warping, fret buzz, etc. Would you be able to tell if a new guitar had any neck warping moreso than a used one, or a fret buzz issue? Probably not. That comes from years of playing, and having a guitar that is properly setup.

I am also looking at quality control issues like file marks on the fretboard, fret sprouting, nut file depth, string alignment, etc. Would you notice any of those issues in a new or used guitar?

Now, let's say you were looking at a Les Paul, whether Gibson or Epiphone, then there are places on the neck that are prone to cracking/breaking when dropped. Those are the first places you want to check, and ask the person whether there has been a repair.

With a Strat or Tele style guitar, you want to ask what has been replaced. These guitars are easy to swap out parts for, so you want to make sure you're buying all original or that you like any mods made to the guitar. If mods have been made to the guitar, make sure they include the original parts.

If I could go back and do it over again, my first good guitar would have been a Gibson Les Paul Special. Back in '05, I could have gotten a nice used 90's LP Special for a steal.

Not sure where you are in CO, but I've always wanted to visit Drum City Guitarland. If you're close enough for a trip I'd take little man there.

I could have bought two Strats in high school that I'm sure were stolen.

A guy in another band at our high school offered to sell me his dad's Strat for $150. I'm relatively certain his dad was estranged from the family at the time and this guy was going to get some cash while also sticking it to his dad.

A high school classmate had spent some time in the clink for theft and was always trying to sell jewelry or clothing he stole from stores in the mall. Radar detectors and car stereos were also a frequent offering by this dude.

He offered me a Strat for $100 or $150. I knew whose Strat it was. We all knew. A local player who had his guitar stolen after a gig in Angleton.

My big brother had taken me to see this guitarist with his band. He was excellent, but his Strat had a unique paint job. If I had been into buying stolen guitars, I would have had to repaint that one for sure. It was unique.

I played bass then. Would have been good to get a good guitar and start playing way back when. I just couldn't bring my teenage self to buy hot gear.

Being new into playing (1+ yr), this scares the hell out of me. I often times go pick up my electric just to put it down and play the acoustic because it is simpler (to me at least). It amazes me the people that can play a guitar and make it sound a hundred different ways and know why.

not worth it MB, and you made the right choice back then even if you didn't understand why at the time. It is not something I would ever have knowingly done. Can't imagine playing an instrument at home much less performing with the knowledge that someone else went through the pain of losing something they possibly treasured. just not worth it.

I knew it at the time.

The guy that wanted to sell his dad's Strat ended up dropping out of high school because he felt like high school wasn't helping his "image". I think he thought he could be the next Charlie Sexton, who had burst onto the charts as a teenager or 20 year old.

That guy has been playing in bands in Austin for 30+ years as a bass player and claiming on social media that he is "left of Bernie Sanders on the political spectrum".

The guy that was selling the stolen Strat had already dropped out of school. He was killed in a car wreck on Dec. 30th of our senior year. Him and three other guys including a sophomore that played in a band with me.

The sophomore was thrown from the vehicle and amazingly didn't sustain any injuries other than being bruised and sore to hell for awhile.

Driver broke his neck and some other stuff and was in a halo for a long while.

Fourth guy was buckled up and uninjured other than soreness from the seatbelt.

But the guy with the theft problem was thrown from the vehicle and died on impact.

I have been messing around with guitars for a while, enough that my wife rolls her eyes whenever I talk about getting another one. This time, I had a really good excuse - we now own a small artsy shop and I wanted to see if I could come up with a project guys may actually pay to do. So tonight I went in and did a custom paint job on this kit guitar. I wish it would dry faster, since I really like the way it looks and I want to put the rest of it together. This was supposed to be a prototype but I have a feeling I may end up replacing/upgrading all of the kit parts if I like how it turns out and I can make the neck playable.

Probably gonna need to sand that neck pocket.

Yeah - it's taped up. Going to remove the tape and then sand it smooth.

Ah, didn't notice the tape. What kind of pait did you use?

It's a mixture of acrylic paint mixed with floetrol. It's something they do at her shop with paint pouring so I thought I'd give it a shot. After it's done, I'll have to put a layer of lacquer on it. I guess I am going to do some shielding paint while it's being painted up as well.

Also, that pedalboard site is great. I just built one but went too big. Probably could've used that to right size it had I had that link a couple months ago.

sweet use of hooks to keep all the screw holes intact.....looks amazing, can't wait to see it put together!

jvd2002 said:

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sweet use of hooks to keep all the screw holes intact.....looks amazing, can't wait to see it put together!

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Thanks! It was a last minute "oh crap I forgot toothpicks" and now the gold has me thinking about putting gold hardware on it.

Nice!

You want to put a bone nut on that thing, anyways!

CONGRATS!!! What a feeling….I demand a photo the moment it arrives! (Or a link in the meantime)