Big-G
So, there I found myself browsing through the usual Gumtree pages, and spotted a potential project that looked interesting.
The guy was selling an electric, gator case and a small amp for not a lot o' wonga. So I thought I'd go take a look, and decided that the case alone was nearly worth what he was asking for it, which was what I was mostly interested in.... So I bit the bullet, and went to collect...
At first glance, the case was in excellent condition, and even had the original tags and keys with it, but the guitar looked a bit of a mess..... It only had 5 very grubby strings, no whammy bar, and the previous owner to the guy I bought it from had made a complete balls up of the paint, by trying to make it look 'cool'! Wasn't so worried about this, as I figured I could sell the guitar on for a couple hundred rand or so, and recoup some of the money, and keep the case and amp.... Then I tried my LTD in the case, and found that it was about 2 cm too wide to fit into the case! Typical just my luck! So, by this point I was figuring I'd wasted my money, and should just sell all of it on, and be done with it.... Until.....
I plugged the guitar in..... After tuning it up, I could see that it needs a good setup, especially once the missing string was replaced, as the neck is near as much straight, with no relief in it what so ever! But just having a little twiddle on it, I was seriously impressed with the tone, and versatility this guitar showed, especially for the price.
So... It now looks like I have a new project to work with! Its a Washburn 'Lyon series' guitar, which by all accounts are not the best, but once I've set it up well, and played around with it a bit, I think its going to be a seriously nice little 'strat' copy! Obviously not the real thing, but if it plays well, and records clean enough, that'll do me for that 'strat' type sound. Got a bit of work to do on it first though.....
As for the amp... Its a tiny little 'Eko' M6 amp. Whilst I wasn't expecting anything great from this amp, I was pleasantly surprised by the features it has... three band EQ with mid sweep... two channels (clean/distortion)... and even chorus and delay! It also has a headphone out which is the 'keeper' for me, as it'll really help me out of an evening once the kids are in bed! ? Obviously this will never replace the Vox, but it will never the less, be a very useful little bit o kit! I have to admit though that the chorus is somewhat noisy, adding lots and lots of hiss to the amp!
I'll get some pics up asap, but that may not happen till Monday now?
Cheers
G!
Norman86
you know the rules... pics or it didnt happen! ?
it'll be really interesting to see how this turns out for you! All the best G ?
Big-G
So I managed to snap some pics.....
The somewhat butchered body.....
The full frontal shot.... Oo er....
And the little EKO amps controls....
My imagination is already running wild with potential paintjobs and ideas of what I could do with this.... Even if it turns out to be a complete chomp, it will have been a learning tool... and hopefully lots of fun!
Cheers
G!
Neon-Gecko
Huge potential there, especially seen as it's a playa!
You may not have to repaint the whole body though, some careful sanding with 1200-1500 grit sand paper on a block may just remove those awful 'GT' stripes and then you could polish the white up to a high gloss even if the black is under a clear coat.
It's always nice to refinish though, just a little more costly to do even if you DIY...
Big-G
Unfortunately, Mr Gecko, I would have thought the same, but the black is actually the original paint underneath, and the white has been sprayed on over the top! Really horrid mess! Looks far worse in real life than it does in the pics!
I'll try and see if I can sand off the white, but at this point I think I'd rather strip it right back, and then refinish it... Was thinking a nice Red Sparkle, or Electric Blue, or perhaps midnight sparkle purple? Then I was considering cutting a new scratch plate for it from white pearl type stuff. That's if I can source a piece to cut to shape?
But whilst I have all these ideas, I don't want to spend huge amounts doing it up since the guitar, amp and Gator case cost a fair bit less than a ticket to see the RHCP's!
Cheers
G!
AlanRatcliffe
Good score! If it does the job, no need to care about what's on the headstock.
Those cheaper Korean instruments are easy to sort out if he original finish underneath is intact. It's usually a poly finish that is pretty much inert, so chemical stripper will strip off the paint job and leave the original finish behind (if it's rattle can paint on top you'll be able to just wipe it off after a while). Then do the fine waterpaper and polishing compound thing or repaint over the original again.
Big-G
So I've done a bit of tweaking and adjusting on my little gem, but still haven't replaced the missing string as yet. I had intended to just have a little play with it, then strip it all down to start my redesigning project. The problem I'm having is that I'm just enjoying playing it too much! Everytime I pick it up, I seem to have new inspiration and bash out a new idea for a tune on it!
Sure it doesn't play any where near as nicely as my LTD, or any of my other guitars, but there is just something I really enjoy about its basicness (good at making up words)!
So, anyway, thinking forwards to when I finally manage to strip it down, I have been considering whether to upgrade the pickups or not, and whilst looking around, I came across AXL pickups, which I believe are designed by EMG? I found some on ebay for what seems to be a very reasonable price, but I've never actually heard AXL's in use. Anyone have any comments?
Regards
G!
