Two new acquisitions... for free!

[Steve Henningsgard]

I was at my girlfriend's mom's house today, and I noticed a Strat sitting in the corner behind a foosball table. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an American-made Strat, with part of the nut missing and some bridge work needed, but overall in OK shape. I asked her mom about it, and she told me to just take it! That, and a beat-up old Yamaha acoustic with some sort of nasty liquid stains all over it.

I checked out the Strat, and it appears to be an '82 "Dan Smith" Fender Stratocaster! Score!

It definitely needs some clean-up work, both inside and out...

Made in the USA!

I hope the frets won't be a problem: they look like they might need replacing...

I've heard nuts aren't too hard to replace (haha, head out of the gutter guys...)

Another shot of the offending nut

I don't think I need to replace the bridge outright, but I definitely need at least a couple new screws...

The neck looks good to me! No bowing or warping to my eyes. We'll see how it goes when I get 'er fixed up and strung up.

Some incredible genius decided his '82 Strat wasn't worth the $5 it would've taken to get an actual replacement part; a mistake I won't be making myself.




And some pictures of the less-than stellar Yamaha complete with previously broken neck:

Ain't she a beaut? Well, no... but she's free!

I'm not sure how to figure out what year/model this thing is, but it's probably not worth figuring out anyway...

Needs some lovin' for sure

A shoddy repair job to be sure. Is there any way I could sand down the neck and re-finish it or something?



All in all, a good find I'm hoping I can restore the Fender to its original glory, and at least make the Yamaha playable. Suggestions? Comments? I've never owned a real Strat before, just a crappy Squire, so I'm excited to see how nice I can get this thing

 

[NewAgeMuttLange]

Well.. seeing as you got the strat for free, I'd go ahead and but a whole new bridge peice in since that particular one has some rust on it. as for the nut, should be no more than 15 bux at your local repair shop..

All else should be smooth sailing and definately let us know how that sucker plays.

 

[elenore19]

Wow, I'm jealous of the strat. I've always wanted to find something like that, an old guitar that needed to be restored. Looks pretty nice to me.

Definitely want to know what happens when you finish it.

 

[guitar junkie]

that looks like an old Yamaha FG180 some of those record pretty well, but play like crap, while others play well, and record like crap.... I wouldn't mind having a smallbody Yamaha of that vintage again myself.....

 

[Milnoque]

That Yammie is one of the best ever made for taking to the beach

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

I looked inside of the Yamaha today and saw it's an FG110. I don't know anything about them first-hand, but it would appear that a lot of people get 'em second-hand and use them as their 'beater' acoustic. As I don't own 'any' acoustic, this will (hopefully) make a nice addition to the collection

Any suggestions for replacing the tuners? I figure I'll probably need/want to just get a new set, as it's probably not worth it to try to restore this guitar properly. I just wanna get it playing!


*edit: I found what would appear to be very similar tuners at AllParts.com. For $12, it seems like it'd be worth it to get the acoustic back to playable condition. I cleaned it up quite a bit:

Yay! No more dirt n' grime for me!

Model number confirmed.

ooh, shiny Looks like I'll have to live with the ugly-stain-looking decal outline though... :/

Hopefully this is just cosmetic!

I'm still not sure what can be done about this...

Any ideas for evening out the finish on the cheap?


I live pretty close to Willie's American Guitars, so I'll probably end up heading over there soon to get their opinion on how to best tackle the Fender restoration. I'd like to keep it as close to original as possible, so hopefully I'll just have to replace the nut and the screws/springs from the bridge.

 

[mrface2112]

wow, nice finds!

that looks just like my "beater yamaha". ;-) perfect for taking to the beach, plays really nice, even records surprisingly well. these days i keep it strung in Nashville tuning for recording purposes.

as for the strat--that's a great find. just replace the bridge and keep the old one. get your local repair shop to fit a new nut for it. shouldn't be more than $100 or so (including parts).

how heavy is that strat? i played an 82 similar to that (natural instead of sunburst) last week and it was so freaking heavy--heavier than many Les Pauls. and tonally it had NOTHING on my '83. it had the sonic qualities of a boat oar. i hope this one is better!

my thoughts: fix it up, and if it plays and sounds like a dog, put it on ebay, and use to proceeds to buy a great one and take your girlfriend's mom out to a REALLY nice dinner.


cheers,
wade

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

wow, nice finds!

that looks just like my "beater yamaha". ;-) perfect for taking to the beach, plays really nice, even records surprisingly well. these days i keep it strung in Nashville tuning for recording purposes.

Looking around the 'net, it would seem that most people share your sentiment. I'm hoping it'll end up being a nice addition! Just strumming the decade-old strings, it sounded surprisingly good already. Hopefully it wasn't the grime giving it all of that tone

as for the strat--that's a great find. just replace the bridge and keep the old one. get your local repair shop to fit a new nut for it. shouldn't be more than $100 or so (including parts).

how heavy is that strat? i played an 82 similar to that (natural instead of sunburst) last week and it was so freaking heavy--heavier than many Les Pauls. and tonally it had NOTHING on my '83. it had the sonic qualities of a boat oar. i hope this one is better!

my thoughts: fix it up, and if it plays and sounds like a dog, put it on ebay, and use to proceeds to buy a great one and take your girlfriend's mom out to a REALLY nice dinner.

Looks like the tremolo's around $60 at Stewart-MacDonald (which if I recall correctly is a place that many around here recommend?), and I can't imagine the nut would cost too much to replace. Anybody know if they were actual bone at that time? If the guitars of the era were anything like the cars, I'd imagine it's of the cheapest plastic they could find . I haven't put it around my neck yet, as it is currently un-stringable, but it doesn't seem super-heavy to me at all. From what I've found, the serial number would seem to indicate a later-run '82, so perhaps I lucked out? I'll keep everyone informed

Fully restored, how much would this thing run for? Assuming decent electronics and such?

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Update: I'm slightly confused about the actual year of the guitar. Looking at the bottom of the neck, it appears to be dated 6/17/82:

...but looking at the tuning pegs, they don't appear to be correct for an '82:

According to a couple of different sites, they're supposed to be stamped with an "F", like the ones seen here:

Anyone know where I should look for a better idea of exactly what this Strat's story is? I've included a couple more detail pictures to aid in identifying this thing for certain:

 

[mrface2112]

1982/83 were weird times at Fender. Sales were flagging SERIOUSLY, largely due to the fact that most of the guitars were heavy and lacking in tone, and priced around $1000. companies like Fernandes and Tokai were also really cutting into sales with their $300 clones that SMOKED the Fenders tonally.

That guitar is a 1982 and the neck date substantiates that.

Those tuners are ones that came on the 1983 guitars. So it's possible that you've got one where fender slapped the "new" tuning machines on it, or it's possible that a previous owner replaced the "F" tuners with the next "generation". I'd suspect that it came from the factory that way.

In 1983, they implemented a whole host of changes aimed at cutting costs--different logo on the headstock, the bodies were solid (no thru-route for the trem springs), they only had 2 knobs (vol and tone) and the jack was where the 2nd tone knob was--no route for the jack. they also had the "freeflyte" tremolo system, which some regard as just about the worst bridge/trem system ever.

they shut down US-based guitar production in 1984 and offshored everything to Japan.

anyway.....i suspect yours is a legit '82 Dan Smith strat with the '83 tuning machines.


cheers,
wade

 

[BigsbyBoyUK]

Looks like a great strat to fix up. Seems plenty of life left in the frets. If you aren't comfortable levelling and recrowning the frets it's worth getting a pro to do it, ditto fitting a new nut. Never rush into a refret without getting them levelled first. Some luthiers rush customers into refrets to make a buck when a level would have worked fine.

Sometimes when I pick up old guitars like this I fix the essentials first (in this case the nut) and string her up and play for a bit to get a good idea of what needs doing, just in case it reveals a major problem like a messed up truss rod or something. Shame to waste money or time on something that has a major fault.

Also I can't see any reason to get a new bridge just yet. Replacement grub height adjustment screws are easy to come by if you need them. What I do with old bridges in dismantle them, soak all the saddles and screws in WD40 overnight and then go over them gently with 0000 wire wool and maybe metal cleaner. At least try to get the original bridge working before spending on a replacement, I reckon.

I'm jealous: I get to fix up old Squiers and Peaveys and the like. There aren't that many Fenders lying around over here!

Keep us posted on how you get on with this.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

UPDATE!!! I've got the Fender in the shop right now getting a new bone nut and some new screws/springs/etc. for the bridge (the guy's giving me the originals too, just so I have all of the original parts with the obvious exception of the nut). Grand total should be around $50-75 with new parts, which isn't too bad for a $1k+ guitar or so.

As for the acoustic, I got a cheap set of tuning heads off of AllParts.com, and strung it up. I'd give the playability about a 4.5/10, the sound a 4/10, and the look about a 5/10. The strings are quite high off of the fret board (around 3/4cm at the end of the neck!), which is pretty much the only problem with playability. The frets are low, but there's very little buzz which is nice.

Any suggestions for lowering the action? The neck seems pretty flat: I don't think any truss rod adjustment is necessary, but I could be wrong. Here's some pictures...

It's alive!

...And the action is atrocious!

Behold, $24 of awesome mediocreness!

Anyway, I'll keep everyone updated on the Fender. I put it up on Craigslist and a guy's offering to trade me for a 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard. I'm not sure what either's worth, but I'm gonna get the Fender playable and then make my decision based on that.

 

[guitar junkie]

Sounds like you need to sand the saddle on the Yamaha down a bit, and then adjust the action that way, sound is subjective, I just picked up a FG331 which is the same as your guitar, but a little newer... I put a bone saddle in mine, sanded it lower and worked with the truss rod. about to the place where I am happy, but it will always be a mid rangy sounding axe, not at all boomy like my Eastman AC71O

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Sounds like you need to sand the saddle on the Yamaha down a bit, and then adjust the action that way, sound is subjective, I just picked up a FG331 which is the same as your guitar, but a little newer... I put a bone saddle in mine, sanded it lower and worked with the truss rod. about to the place where I am happy, but it will always be a mid rangy sounding axe, not at all boomy like my Eastman AC71O

Unfortunately, the saddle is already so low that I was getting some buzz from the 2nd string. I filed down some of the wood so the string could sit lower behind the saddle, so I don't think sanding it down is an option.

I'll try messing with the truss rod a bit, but it scares me due to the previously broken neck. I don't want to snap it again :/

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Got the Fender back from the shop yesterday, and I've gotta say it's a pretty damn nice guitar! I'm not sure how much more I want to clean it up, as what grunge is left kind of gives the guitar character. Anyway, I'll probably end up selling it or trading it for something more my style, as I have songs/solos that need at least 22 frets (24 preferred), and I need humbuckers for the tone I use. I'd love to keep it around for the amazing range of tones I could never get from any of my other guitars, but I'm broke and need a new guitar for shows/tour.

Anyway, on to the pictures

Behold the rebirth of an American Classic! (well, sorta...)

It looks like they did a decent job on the nut. I would've liked if the attention to detail was a little bit higher, but it looks and plays nice none the less.

It looks so much nicer with strings on it

This is why you're told to wipe down your guitar & neck after every show!!

I spent a couple of hours with an extra electric toothbrush head and a can of WD-40, and this is the best I could get it to look. I asked the shop to replace any un-adjustable parts, but they apparently ignored my request. I might end up sourcing some new parts myself, I might not.

Again, so much nicer with strings

I was a little over-zealous on the volume knob, and accidentally cleaned out most of the paint along with the grime It was a dumb mistake, which I won't make again!

Purrty

I couldn't get an original strap knob, so for now I have this one in. It looks nice, just not original.



So now I'm going to see how much/what I can get for it! Any ideas?

 

[elenore19]

I'll give you 20 bucks...

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

I'll give you 20 bucks...

Haha umm... no?

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Honestly, hold onto it. Even aside from the fact your girlfriend's mom just gave you the thing (which it'd strike me as a little rude to turn it around and immediately sell it), a decent Strat is the kind of thing every guitarist should have kicking around. You just had a very nice one fall into your lap - try savoring that for a bit.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Honestly, hold onto it. Even aside from the fact your girlfriend's mom just gave you the thing (which it'd strike me as a little rude to turn it around and immediately sell it), a decent Strat is the kind of thing every guitarist should have kicking around. You just had a very nice one fall into your lap - try savoring that for a bit.

After typing the last post, I went and played it for an hour or so... I really do like how it plays/sounds, especially through my buddy's early-70's twin. This is definitely how clean guitar is supposed to sound!

I had already talked to her mom about selling/trading it, and she said she's cool if I split the cash with her, but I really am leaning towards keeping it around.

 

[Sloan]

I think Elliott Smith's #1 guitar was an old FG series Yamaha.