I was visiting my brother this weekend and, like I always do, I checked his local craigslist and found a listing for what was described as:
Old strat like guitar - I know nothing about it - traded for a pedal and the guy says its a warmoth neck and mexican body - $80
Listing included two blurry sasquatch pictures that showed a maple neck, maybe a strat head stock - natural finish with tortise pickguard. So I call the guy and he immediately starts with "This is what the guys says... I don't really know" already making excuses, but he says he is willing to negotiate so I figure, even if its a cruddy squier and I pay $50 no big deal. So I head off with a 50 in my wallet and GPS figuring I'll find an ATM on the way.
NOPE - this guy lives in the middle of NOWHERE!!! 13 minute drive to the location and an hour trying to find his house. So I get there and ask the guy if he knows where an ATM is and that I only have a 50, this is before I even see it and he says he'll take 50. Good, now I'm buying it no matter what it looks like after this ordeal. Soooooo
It aint a cheap-o. I can tell that, but it needs help, terrible action, but its nice and it looks super super sexy... and I'm like SOLD! $50 never bought a better looking guitar and he says "you want the case?" Well hell yes I do, mister. And he pulls out this nice G&G like tweed case... now I'm waiting for him to hit me over the head with a pipe and make me his cellar lady. And we are thick in the woods here... Good news is he doesn't kill me or anything and I have a new guitar. I told him I would gladly get the rest of the money and that it was worth more than $50 but he wouldn't have it.
The tuners are good mini's, the bridge is crap and the pickups are mexi's, The body has some crude routing, but it is two peice alder finished in tru-oil. Super nice, probably not mexi, and very light. The neck IS a warmoth vintage C, with medium frets and also finished in tru-oil so it feels great and it is straight with a working russ rod. In parts its easily worth $450 not to mention the case (that my custom shop moved into). I putting a new bridge on it tonight and I'm going to give her some new pickups and tuners. I can't decide if I'm going to sell it, part it out, keep the neck or what but this was the second best guitar purchase I have found (investment wise, unless you count percentages - then it is the best at %500 return) and by far the best $50 I have ever spent.
What a great find! Got pics?
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Maybe. I haven't had much success with pics on here so far. She is nice. I have encountered a few issues so far: A two point KMD tremolo came off it and I haven't located anything that I'd want to fit the spacing. I can mount a vintage trem between the post flanges but it bugs me, even though it is almost completely unnoticeable with a standard pick guard and I can cut one to cover it completely. Getting them out is going to be a bear, luckily its a tru-oil finish so drop finishing it will be easy. However, much bigger problem is the neck pocket has been routed about 6/16" further than standard to allow the neck angle for the KMD bridge. So I'll have to plug it and re-route the pocket, no big deal but it will be noticeable being that its a natural finish, no big deal, but it will bug me.
I'll see what I can do on the pics.
Wow nice find!!!!
Just goes to show that deals are still out there if you keep looking.
Paul B
