Nothing kills my interest like...

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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apreswho
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Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by apreswho » Sun May 14, 2017 4:26 pm

"Recently refretted with jumbo frets!"


What is your immediate turn off when browsing vintage instruments? What "sweet upgrade" just isn't worth it for you?

I don't mind a refret, but jumbos just really ruin a fender neck, especially a shortscale, for me.

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by mgeek » Sun May 14, 2017 4:46 pm

Probably a bit peculiar, but I have a total blind spot for clean, unmolested 'collector grade' instruments.

I do prefer things to be largely original, but my preference is for a wrecked bargain I can rebuild to my own personal spec, whilst having it appear to be as it left the factory.

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sun May 14, 2017 5:40 pm

Trem Blocks on strats..or anytime a bigsby is removed on a vintage Gibson in favor of a hard tail :k
Last edited by Unicorn Warrior on Sun May 14, 2017 6:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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antisymmetric
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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by antisymmetric » Sun May 14, 2017 6:03 pm

mgeek wrote:Probably a bit peculiar, but I have a total blind spot for clean, unmolested 'collector grade' instruments.

I do prefer things to be largely original, but my preference is for a wrecked bargain I can rebuild to my own personal spec, whilst having it appear to be as it left the factory.
Totally agree.
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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by soggy mittens » Sun May 14, 2017 7:38 pm

refins, just don't. If you want a different colour then buy a different guitar. xD
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by marqueemoon » Sun May 14, 2017 8:04 pm

I guess I'm not one for projects. If it's not playable and more or less to my liking as-is (original or not) I'll pass.

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Sun May 14, 2017 10:20 pm

antisymmetric wrote:
mgeek wrote:Probably a bit peculiar, but I have a total blind spot for clean, unmolested 'collector grade' instruments.

I do prefer things to be largely original, but my preference is for a wrecked bargain I can rebuild to my own personal spec, whilst having it appear to be as it left the factory.
Totally agree.
Yeah, same here.

It took buying two mint vintage guitars (a Mustang & an ES125) to make me realise.
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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by Despot » Sun May 14, 2017 11:24 pm

Very few things to be honest.

Refins don't bother me - I've managed to snag a few bargains that way. Headstock break? Not a problem - it's probably more secure after the break than it was before. Worn to death? Also not a problem - I don't have to baby it.

But non-vintage pickups? Nope. That bothers me. I recently bought a '66 Telecaster that had a vintage (but non-original) neck pickup with a modern/repro bridge pickup. The bridge pickup sounded fantastic ... but I just couldn't leave it alone. I went through a few pickups before finally finding a 'legit' mid-60s grey bobbin bridge pickup. Now that's in there I'm finally done with the guitar.

On the other hand I have stripped the vintage pickups out of a '80s Les Paul Custom and replaced them with something I liked more (it had those horrible circuit board Lawrence humbuckers - so they were taken out and stored in the case and replaced with a set of Lollar Imperials). So I guess I'm okay with the pickup stripping if I'm the one doing it!

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by eggwheat » Sun May 14, 2017 11:55 pm

..the price

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by zhivago » Sun May 14, 2017 11:59 pm

eggwheat wrote:..the price
+1

Also, sellers that appear to be on drugs.

Broken/over-sprayed Gibsons with missing PAF pickups and changed tuners for thousands of £££/$$$?

Routed and refined Fenders with rewound pickups that are otherwise "All original" for vintage Gibson money??

Put down the crack pipe, I say! :D
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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by Despot » Mon May 15, 2017 12:07 am

Yeah, but for every overpriced reverb/ebay guitar there's a 1966 refinished B&B Jazzmaster that everyone overlooked because it was posted with terrible pictures (the one I bought in 2014) or a headstock repaired ES355 that could have been sold to me as straight (so clean was the repair made) that I instead picked up for half price.

While there are some out there who are clearly fond of the crack pipe, there are some sellers and dealers who are realistic about their expectations. I'd like to think that I fall into that category when I'm selling or trading gear too...

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by zhivago » Mon May 15, 2017 12:28 am

Despot wrote:Yeah, but for every overpriced reverb/ebay guitar there's a 1966 refinished B&B Jazzmaster that everyone overlooked because it was posted with terrible pictures (the one I bought in 2014) or a headstock repaired ES355 that could have been sold to me as straight (so clean was the repair made) that I instead picked up for half price.

While there are some out there who are clearly fond of the crack pipe, there are some sellers and dealers who are realistic about their expectations. I'd like to think that I fall into that category when I'm selling or trading gear too...

+1000 Kev...this is actually exactly how I got my '56 Custom...I actually bought it from a store in Surrey here in the UK for a very reasonable price. The pics were truly terrible, but I could make out all the right bits in the photos :)

I too try and price things at where they should be...I just don't see the point in putting something up for sale at a price where I know it will never sell! :D
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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by sunburster » Mon May 15, 2017 12:53 am

Non-original pickups totally kill my interest in any vintage guitar. A refret in anything but the original wire size also kills my interest.

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by Despot » Mon May 15, 2017 12:59 am

zhivago wrote:I too try and price things at where they should be...I just don't see the point in putting something up for sale at a price where I know it will never sell!
I find that I have to build in my 'bargain price reduction feeling factor' into my original asking price. Whenever I sell stuff here in Ireland it's taken as a given that unless you get a 10-20% price reduction off the asking then "you've been had buddy!". So what do people do? Inflate the price to get the price they want for it....

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Re: Nothing kills my interest like...

Post by zhivago » Mon May 15, 2017 1:20 am

Despot wrote:
zhivago wrote:I too try and price things at where they should be...I just don't see the point in putting something up for sale at a price where I know it will never sell!
I find that I have to build in my 'bargain price reduction feeling factor' into my original asking price. Whenever I sell stuff here in Ireland it's taken as a given that unless you get a 10-20% price reduction off the asking then "you've been had buddy!". So what do people do? Inflate the price to get the price they want for it....

Same thing here...especially with expensive stuff...it's a bit like selling a car sometimes! hahah!! :D
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