Real Beauties Dirt Cheap

[FrankD77]

Just buying because it's cheap will probably dissapoint. Unless you have a very good technical knowledge to get the setup right and are willing to do loads of fret work. Which is nice for "therapy" but will not warrant the idea of a cheap killer guitar

Sometimes there is hardly any info. In that case (off brand) things like the print on neckplates and years will be important to check.

I've had 300 euro junkers and 200,00 japanese strats from the 70-80s that rivals usa strats from that period in quality.

 

[Old Music Guy]

So, I built these three. All but one is built with Fender licensed parts bought from Fender.

This is a USA body with a MIM maple neck, The pups are Seymore Duncan SSL3, SSL5-RWRP, SSL1 from neck to bridge respectively. The neck is blocked. 2 point bridge. Locking Fender tuners. The pickguard was painted by my wife, Robin. It was one of her first. It's a 3 ply done with alcohol paints. We did a little extra and it came out with a very nice 3D texture that almost feels like leather. I actually chose the parts based on the pickguard because it deserved it. It's quieter than I would expect from a Strat. Really nice player. The most versatile of my Strats. In parts, more expensive than new, for me it's priceless. It's never out of my sight.

This guy is MIM. It has a 6 point bridge, roasted maple neck, Fender lockers. The neck has a really gorgeous grain. This is set up for tremolo. The pickups are Lindy Frailin Vintage Hot pre-wired. Treble bleed with a blend pot. This guy is a little odd. It sounds completely different depending on which amp and stomps I use. For the most part, to me, it's very thin. It also quacks like crazy. It sounds best through the Blues Junior, but it really needs to be driven, HARD. Beautiful weight, great neck, feels really nice and balanced. It's a lot of guitar with those pups. Again, more $$$ than new. It could be on the block. I'll take a loss, but, hey.

This one is an odd ball. The body is MIM, but the neck is from The StratOsphere here in NH. Also, roasted maple. Generic 18:1 Grovers. Also a 6 point bridge set up for tremolo.
The pups are all Seymour Duncan SSL-1s. This is the only Strat with identical pups. It's also another one where Robin did the pickguard. It's very light for a Strat. It's a bit twangy, like a Tele, but mellows out nicely when you get to the neck/middle stop. I would say this is a good "second" guitar, or a great starter guitar.

All but the Frailin are hand wired, CTS 250K linear pots, .022 Mylar or Orange drops. Gavitt wire.

I guess my showing these is that, first of all, it's a great feeling to your own. Make it my own. Second, it's a really great feeling to have a buddy come over and grab "YOUR" guitar because he likes it (I'm sure Scott knows that feeling!"

Thanks for indulging. Next time I'll go through the Chinese upgrades.
"

 

[FrankD77]

So, I built these three. All but one is built with Fender licensed parts bought from Fender.
View attachment 152364
This is a USA body with a MIM maple neck, The pups are Seymore Duncan SSL3, SSL5-RWRP, SSL1 from neck to bridge respectively. The neck is blocked. 2 point bridge. Locking Fender tuners. The pickguard was painted by my wife, Robin. It was one of her first. It's a 3 ply done with alcohol paints. We did a little extra and it came out with a very nice 3D texture that almost feels like leather. I actually chose the parts based on the pickguard because it deserved it. It's quieter than I would expect from a Strat. Really nice player. The most versatile of my Strats. In parts, more expensive than new, for me it's priceless. It's never out of my sight.
View attachment 152363
This guy is MIM. It has a 6 point bridge, roasted maple neck, Fender lockers. The neck has a really gorgeous grain. This is set up for tremolo. The pickups are Lindy Frailin Vintage Hot pre-wired. Treble bleed with a blend pot. This guy is a little odd. It sounds completely different depending on which amp and stomps I use. For the most part, to me, it's very thin. It also quacks like crazy. It sounds best through the Blues Junior, but it really needs to be driven, HARD. Beautiful weight, great neck, feels really nice and balanced. It's a lot of guitar with those pups. Again, more $$$ than new. It could be on the block. I'll take a loss, but, hey.

View attachment 152365
This one is an odd ball. The body is MIM, but the neck is from The StratOsphere here in NH. Also, roasted maple. Generic 18:1 Grovers. Also a 6 point bridge set up for tremolo.
The pups are all Seymour Duncan SSL-1s. This is the only Strat with identical pups. It's also another one where Robin did the pickguard. It's very light for a Strat. It's a bit twangy, like a Tele, but mellows out nicely when you get to the neck/middle stop. I would say this is a good "second" guitar, or a great starter guitar.

All but the Frailin are hand wired, CTS 250K linear pots, .022 Mylar or Orange drops. Gavitt wire.

I guess my showing these is that, first of all, it's a great feeling to your own. Make it my own. Second, it's a really great feeling to have a buddy come over and grab "YOUR" guitar because he likes it (I'm sure Scott knows that feeling!"

Thanks for indulging. Next time I'll go through the Chinese upgrades.
"

Love the first one.
Others look great too but that combination looks very nice.

 

[Track Rat]

I don't think I'd buy any guitar that could not play and examine first. That said, I was in a Pawn Shop a few years back and this caught my eye as a experimental platform. It's an Ivy. I recut the headstock and dropped in a set of TV Jones Filtertrons. A little elbow greese and this is one of regular players.

 

[Mick Doobie]

So, I built these three. All but one is built with Fender licensed parts bought from Fender.
View attachment 152364
This is a USA body with a MIM maple neck, The pups are Seymore Duncan SSL3, SSL5-RWRP, SSL1 from neck to bridge respectively. The neck is blocked. 2 point bridge. Locking Fender tuners. The pickguard was painted by my wife, Robin. It was one of her first. It's a 3 ply done with alcohol paints. We did a little extra and it came out with a very nice 3D texture that almost feels like leather. I actually chose the parts based on the pickguard because it deserved it. It's quieter than I would expect from a Strat. Really nice player. The most versatile of my Strats. In parts, more expensive than new, for me it's priceless. It's never out of my sight.

Nice, I like that one there.

 

[TalismanRich]

A friend was thinking about a Tele for use in a country band he's working with. I was in a local store a couple day ago and they had a Nashville Guitar Works tele on the wall used. $199. NFW is a division of MIRC who refurb guitars from folks like Fender and bought the existing stock when G&L shut down a few months back.

I didn't plug it in but the neck on it was pretty nice. No fret sprout, somewhat beefy. Setup was excellent. It played much better than a $200 guitar should. For $20 you could put in some CTS pots, a new tone cap and a good switch if you needed to do some "upgrading". You probably wouldn't embarrass yourself pulling it out at a local bar.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Part of this cheap guitar game is going to be getting rid of it. Unless you are gonna smash it and make firewood.

Looking at the ads in ebay and Reverb, they will give the customer his money back every time, why?

If I say that I'm selling the item as is , and I don't want the hassle of returns. No returns please...They get a refund automatically. Ouch. That is like saying f**k you to the seller.

 

[Old Music Guy]

Part of this cheap guitar game is going to be getting rid of it. Unless you are gonna smash it and make firewood.

Looking at the ads in ebay and Reverb, they will give the customer his money back every time, why?
View attachment 152368
If I say that I'm selling the item as is , and I don't want the hassle of returns. No returns please...They get a refund automatically. Ouch. That is like saying f**k you to the seller.

I got caught up in that shit when I sold a guitar for a friend. It was a Tele and absolutely gorgeous. The clown that bought it said it needed frets, the truss rod was broken and the neck sucked. He had all that work done by "his luthier friend" BEFORE he even contacted me about it. It took damn near a year before it was finally resolved in my favor, but what a friggin' PITA.

 

[Old Music Guy]

I don't think I'd buy any guitar that could not play and examine first. That said, I was in a Pawn Shop a few years back and this caught my eye as a experimental platform. It's an Ivy. I recut the headstock and dropped in a set of TV Jones Filtertrons. A little elbow greese and this is one of regular players.View attachment 152367

That's a beauty. Love the TV Jones pups.

 

[Old Music Guy]

Nice, I like that one there.

That's a fave. It looks vanilla in the pick, but it's actually Olympic White.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

It was a Tele and absolutely gorgeous. The clown that bought it said it needed frets, the truss rod was broken and the neck sucked. He had all that work done by "his luthier friend" BEFORE he even contacted me about it

Everyone's an expert.

 

[TalismanRich]

Part of this cheap guitar game is going to be getting rid of it. Unless you are gonna smash it and make firewood.

I don't worry much about getting rid of something. I haven't sold a guitar since 1975. I had a Washburn Strat that I bought for my son about 25 years ago. WHen my nephew's son wanted to try guitar along with bass and saxophone, I did a setup on it, cleaned the pots, and gave it to him. The case cost me as much as the guitar did.

It's like worrying about losing a $150 on a cheap mic vs selling a U87 at a $800 loss.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

I don't worry much about getting rid of something. I haven't sold a guitar since 1975. I had a Washburn Strat that I bought for my son about 25 years ago. WHen my nephew's son wanted to try guitar along with bass and saxophone, I did a setup on it, cleaned the pots, and gave it to him. The case cost me as much as the guitar did.

Wait. In that story you say ' i never get rid of..' then next sentence ' i gave it to him'.

That is what I love about this place..

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

I bid on this, but backed out. (I already had the same guitar once, and it was really nice.) I lowballed my offer, and he came back with $600+$100 shipping,

Ya, this one is new. no case. made in china

the guy bidding against me backed out. So does it go back down, or do I cover the cost of his raising of the price?
Hovering at $500. New in box. Whatever that means.

 

[TalismanRich]

I said I don't "worry much about getting rid of something". Resale value isn't even in the equation. I buy things I want to keep. Actually I think that the "flippers" are part of the problem with used prices. Buy a guitar for $1000 (plus tax and shipping). Now let's sell it. Got $1125 in it, so sell it on Reverb. Gotta cover the Paypal and Reverb fees... let's add $300 to cover all that plus shipping. Now that $1000 guitar is $1425. I should make a profit, so add another $125. Yeah, $1550 sounds about right. The next guy will do the same and that guitar will be $2500 before you know it.

People get all bent out of shape about resale value. "Buy good quality gear and you can always get your money back". Mostly hogwash. I don't know if it's a syndrome or what. CoolCat was talking about the U87ai that he got used at Guitar Center. Someone probably lost $2000 on that "quality gear". I could throw my NT1, my WA47jr, my AKG 420 and my Rode M5s in the trash and not lose $2000.

I never hear about people worrying about losing $20,000 when they buy a new car and hold it for 4 or 5 years. How much will that $100,000 Cybertruck bring you today?

About the only place you can expect to get more than you paid is real estate. When I first got married, the house we lived in cost $28,500. We added a garage for about $4000. Fifty years later, that house is appraised at $219,000. BTW, the city loves that. They used to get about $250 in property tax, but now they get about $2000. But the motorcycle that I paid $1900 for in 1980 is now at a taxable value of $300.

Yeah, a few people bought 59 Les Pauls for $400 and they sell for a quarter million now, but those are aberrations.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

1 day 7 hours

Getting close, cheap china guitar, you will be mine..

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

No the price doesn't come back down, when they retract their bid. It stays at your max reserve.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

-When you buy something , check the tag in your browser tools. That is for microsoft shopping rebates. Money back deals.
then
-check your bank for cash back deals at participating companies. My bank has ebay. So you click the the tab to activate the deal , then there is 4 hour window to buy it. 2% cash back.
then
-check the vender/company for in app discounts.

I found-
$7.50 Microsoft shopping (little tag web tool Microsoft pays you back a few bucks)
PNC 2% back activated for purchase, another $10 (banks website had ebay selection for money back)
$10 back from 1st time in app purchase (ebay bonus deal)
free 2 day shipping
no web tax state

$28.50 bucks back, free shipping.