So THIS followed me home... NGD!

[StevenO]

Too good a price to pass up!

[Telliot]

Heyyy!

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

Looks purty, Grats!

[empyrean]

Yummmmm.

[StevenO]

Got it for $100 canadian buckaroos, too!

I cleaned it up, set it up with new strings, shimmed the neck, intonated the bridge, polished the frets, oiled the fretboard, and I have to say... It plays and sounds incredible. GREAT guitar.

I had wanted Contiki's Silvertone, but couldn't quite justify spending the money at the moment. And then this fell into my lap! Yay!

[frelonvert]

Wow, what a beauty! congratz!

[zhivago]

Wow that looks awesome!!! And what a price!

[Con-Tiki!]

stole it!

nice job.

[StevenO]

Thanks everyone!

I had offered them $50 because I knew the store didn't want it and that they didn't know what they had (the store is a music shop devoted to drums and they got it for free). They wound up doing an eBay search on the guitar and then came back with the $100 price. So I took the offer.

I felt bad offering so little, didn't want to be insulting, but I'm just glad I was able to breathe new life into the guitar. It was in pretty sore shape, with the strings being super old and rusty (maybe even the originals), and the action was about an inch off the fretboard and the electronics were loose inside the guitar. I fished the pots and jack through the holes, quite easily with some thread, dental tolls, and tweezers, and it's back to being a great guitar!

As everyone probably would guess, the pickup sounds amazing. However, what has surprised me the most is how nice the rosewood bridge sounds. I've always liked them, but never really paid attention to them. I dig it!

[StevenO]

stole it!

nice job.

Yeah, as I said, I felt a little bad buying it for so little. I was honestly worried none of the electronics work, so I justified it that way. Everyone was happy with the deal, so all is good.

Still want your Silvertone, of course...

[antisymmetric]

As everyone probably would guess, the pickup sounds amazing. However, what has surprised me the most is how nice the rosewood bridge sounds.

Absolutely, so much win in these guitars. Congrats!

[Ursa Minor]

WIN!

That thing looks like it sounds woody and dry! Love. It.

[rhythmjones]

Sweet!

[veryredtomatoes]

Does that count as a vintage acoustic?

:-)

I want that pickup behind the bridge or in the center of my jag, like so bad, I can taste it.

[StevenO]

WIN!

That thing looks like it sounds woody and dry! Love. It.

Honestly, it really does sound fantastic. Woody and dry, but also punchy and round. A great guitar for Doo Wop, or old school R&B and Soul. Think Sam Cooke, a The Valentinos, and The Impressions. I've played dozens of these old guitars and this one is easily the nicest sounding and playing Harmony (or Silvertone, etc.) that I've encountered. I've always struggled to get my Silvertone Silhouette to sound and play well. But this guitar, even in the sorry condition I found it in, was super easy to set up. I put about a half hours work into and it was ready to go. No need to adjust anything further.

I'm super happy with it.

Does that count as a vintage acoustic?

:-)

I want that pickup behind the bridge or in the center of my jag, like so bad, I can taste it.

Honestly, considering the dryness of this guitar and that it's completely hollow, this thing is SUPER resonant and loud unplugged. It really sings and has quite the midrange honk. I remember reading about ten or so years ago that Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys used his Meteor unplugged but mic'd for the acoustic sounds on one of the early records (might have been Rubber Factory).

Does it satisfy my GAS for a nice acoustic? No, but that's fine. I'm a fairly patient guy. No rush!

And for sure, I wish these pickups were still inexpensive. Personally, I don't feel comfortable buying these old dearmonds for the going rate that they go for on eBay and such. I'd rather buy a remake from Mojo or Novak, and save these guitars as they're really quite good on their own.