spacecowboy Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Hello so i started a thread before talking about putting the pickup in the soundhole. I finally got the guitar and im going to start to put the pickup in. Theres a few things. This is a really ....USED guitar lol... and i like it cause i mean it cost me pocket change.. Tell me what you think i should do...To turn this shitty guitar, into a cool shitty guitar lol... 1- Theres a fret right under the nut... weird no?? 2- I took the pickguard off cause it was warped and the glue was shitty. (Should i put a new one like an electric guitar one) 3- The trapeze has a block of wood under it (just loose) i think it was to keep it a certain height.. not sure... 4- the strap thing and the trapeze where its screwed isnt aligned... its just the strap knob that isnt in the middle..no biggie 5- I felt with my hand theres enough space to drill a like...3"x2" hole... if i do this then i can easily fish everything to wire/pot. Then put a pickguard over it. What do you think??? Pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 First off no that's not weird, it's a zero fret. I have a twelve string acoustic with one as well I a know at least a couple people on here use them. As far as the back coming out, us an L brace, might look kinda cool. I mean, as you put it, it's a shitty guitar anyway, got nothin' to lose. You also might want to move the knobs and jack down a bit, just for looks and so you don't hit them when you're strumming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 I have a feeling this guitar is not worth any time or effort put into it...it likely plays badly and that tailpiece looks as if it would sound like a sitar...there normally would be a bridge in front of that which is missing. Otherwise, brass frets, no truss rod structurally unsound...possibly not even built for steel strings...honestly not the kind of thing that's a fixer upper. Nothing wrong with the concept on something that at least plays ok, but I suspect this never will and you could get a cheap guitar worthy of messing about with a lot cheaper. In fact, if you were down here in Oz...or any other people around, I have a bunch of different guitars that would be great for all manner of parts or messing with...certainly, you could get a cheap electric with the pickups and have more chance for less than with this one... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ross Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Ditto. Looks like kindling to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 As long as you don't spend a lot of money, I see no reason not to mess around with it. I have to agree though, by the look of the rosette, this is a toy classical guitar, probably meant to have nylon strings. You should be able to tell easily by the width of the nut slots (the high E, B etc. slots will be about as wide as the bass strings.) I don't think there's a missing bridge. The neck joins the body at the 12th fret, and the tailpiece looks to be the same distance from the 12th fret. If you keep your expectations low, you could enjoy this project. You could also use it more as an oppurtunity to teach yourself some guitar repair/modification skills. I'm guessing though that it will sound horrible even as an electric because of that wonky bridge/tailpiece thing. OR, if that's what you want, it might sound awesome to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 If you keep your expectations low, you could enjoy this project. You could also use it more as an oppurtunity to teach yourself some guitar repair/modification skills. I'm guessing though that it will sound horrible even as an electric because of that wonky bridge/tailpiece thing. OR, if that's what you want, it might sound awesome to you. I understand what everyones saying, but this is just a fun little project...if it does turn out horrible I'll blow this bad boy up. But I'm just doing it to practice and get a super ugly distortion sound (which i might not get or i will who knows its an experiment) As for the L brace thanks I'll give that a try if I glue it and it doesnt hold. Do you have any examples? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Nope, no examples, just pulled it out of my ass lol And I do agree what everyone else said, but it sounded like you knew it was bad and would never be good at all, so I figured you had a handle on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 haha ur ass is a smart place. Yeah i agree with everyone also haha. I like going for the underdog guitar...although this guitar is a underunderunderdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Well...if you must...first off, measure the distance from the zero fret to the 12th...then measure that distance from the 12th fret...that is where the bridge needs to be roughly. The way that tailpiece is set up, the strings go over and have no clear break over point...it looks like a sitar's 'buzz bridge'...if you look close you can see the string takes off from the ball end windings Further, the way the back is pulling off and back is due to string tension...it is very unlikely that this is built to take steels strings at full tension or was built to last any appreciable time... Distortion or not...it won't play in tune nor hold together if these fundamentals aren't addressed. Otherwise...if you don't care about the acoustic nature...insert a 2x4 into the body to take the string tension and the strain will be transferred to the next weakest link...the neck which will bow without a truss rod and eventually snap off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Of course there are under dogs and dead dogs...sometime it is better to leave them rest in peace... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 +1 on the 2X4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 okay about the 2x4... do u mean so it would cover the soundhole from the inside??? like from the neck all the way to the butt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 I thought about doing this as well a while back... I think its a good idea and if it doesnt work out theres always the 'at least i learned something factor' One problem that I dont think has been addressed yet is the grounding issues. With an electric guitar pickup (from the diagram that looks like what you will be using) you will need to have an electrical ground for the strings, otherwise you run the risk of shock/or the guitar will sound bad (a LOT of humming). I'm sure there is an easy solution to this problem, I just never delved into it that much. Also as with all hollowbody electrics there is a lot of feedback from the amp... and converting an acoustic guitar into an electric guitar will make it feedback even more than that. For a cigar box mandolin I made a while back I used a Piezo mic I bought from radio shack for like 5 bucks, it doesnt sound great, but sound comes through at least. The Piezo would eliminate the need to ground the strings, and you can mount it right inside the soundhole as its about the size of a quarter. Hope this information helps/ is valid... im sure someone will correct me if im wrong Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 but what about the 2x4? lol About the string ground. I remember fishing out my humbuckers in my semi-hollow electric and I dont remember seeing any string ground... and theres noooooooo hum at all.... weird? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 okay about the 2x4... do u mean so it would cover the soundhole from the inside??? like from the neck all the way to the butt? That would be the easiest way. If you're concerned about the appearance, there are probably better ways to go. If you did put a 2X4 in there, you could mount a pickup in it. And you could try to make it look pretty by painting it or covering it. I'd cover it with something cool looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billm90 Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 that guitar is not so bad. get a thing of super glue and get it back in shape. I would probably pull that 0 fret and move the nut there. I hate 0 frets. I would build my own bridge. That tailpiece is not going to cut it. 2x4 inside will change everything. you can mount a pickup in there easier... the 2x4 might help with cutting out the uncontrollable feedback you will get with distortion on an acoustic. you could also drill a hole on either side of the sound holes. find a piece of flat thin wood and drill it the same. mount the pickup to the wood and install bolts/nuts and springs to raise or lower the pickup. maybe 4 bolts/nuts with a humbucker. can of paint can fix the looks. I once glued sand all over a guitar. that thing hurt my arm. so I removed it and wrapped it in aluminum foil. looked kind of cool with a black pickguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) I once glued sand all over a guitar. that thing hurt my arm. so I removed it and wrapped it in aluminum foil. looked kind of cool with a black pickguard. Edited February 1, 2009 by chops1983 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billm90 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Haha thats cool! What made you think of sand? And whats weirder aluminium foil!haha thats crazy. How did you attach the foil to the guita I decided on the sand when my buddy and me got into guitar and bass. we both wanted something different. I was poor, there was sand, and I had a thing of glue. so they became one. bad idea though... maybe if I didn't put it in the arm rest (strat style body) I was actually amazed it stayed on the guitar. The foil was glued on with wood glue as well. lol. If I were to do it again, and I wouldn't... lol. I would use the can of 3M spray adhesive. often used for glueing headliner back into a car. however I dont know how well that would work on foil. I have a F'd acoustic too that I am making a 7 or 8 string, b and g bender, and 3 electric pickups. I am thinking thing sheet metal top, or the clear plastic flourecent light covers (diamond design) and shoving a ton of lights in it. I am getting lazy with my projects and trying to not spend a day cutting metal for pickups and bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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