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Conference napalm::guitar

Title:	GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:	Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	3280
Total number of notes:	61432

2734.0. "Spare machine head (preferably in REO)" by FORTY2::KNOWLES (DECspell snot awl ewe kneed) Tue May 18 1993 07:39

    My wife has bought a wreck at a jumble-sale and has asked me to make it
    playable (so that she doesn't have to keep shouting at the children to
    be careful with my own guitar). Any reasonable person would burn the
    so-called `guitar' and get something worth having, but to save my
    wife's self-esteem (and my family's view of me as Mr Fixit) I'm looking
    for advice for some cheap/cheerful ploys. Here are some descriptions of
    details of the problem:
    
    It's Spanish shape but metal-strung, with a steel-reinforced neck; the
    neck's bent and the truss-rod is sealed in the wood, so I guess I'll
    have to live with this.
    
    One machine head is broken (turning-key's sheared off); the machine
    heads are in sets of three. I could replace the whole set, but only
    by throwing good money after bad.
    
    The bridge is coming away from the belly, but as with other
    steel-reinforced jobs the bridge is held on by two screws/bolts (not
    sure which - the heads are hidden) - so it hasn't come adrift
    completely: I'd guess about 70% of it is still stuck down. To
    compensate for this, and the bend in the neck, the previous owner has
    taken a chunk off the bridge and replaced the saddle with something
    lower (a knitting needle). Again, I could try replacing it all, but
    that would be throwing even more good money after bad.
    
    If I replace the machine-heads (just one half of the 3+3, if possible)
    I think the bridge would take the tension of nylon strings.
    
    Help!
    
    Bob

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2734.1		SOLVIT::SNORAT::OLOUGHLIN	The fun begins at 80!	`Tue May 18 1993 08:16`	15
	Sit on the floor and work on it with vigor for two hours. Go to the kitchen and pour a cup of tea. While it's steeping walk back to work on guitar. Trip and crush guitar - or snap the neck off and claim it happened while repairing. Buy a beater for the kids and yourself! You deserve it for the high quality acting you just pulled off. Devious, eh? Rick.
2734.2		E::EVANS		`Tue May 18 1993 08:18`	12
	Dear Mr. Fix-It, Be a reasonable person, use soothing words to tell your wife that her heart and intentions were in the right place, get rid of this instrument and get something that will be playable. All this assumes that you want this to be playable. If your children are young, you might consider letting them have it "as is" with virtually no changes. They will enjoy it more if they don't have to worry about breaking something that Dad put a lot of work into. Jim
2734.3	a real guitar? Or a Sears guitar?	EZ2GET::STEWART	Fight fire with marshmallows!	`Tue May 18 1993 09:07`	7
	Yeah, I like the last one. Or, you could tell them that you're "re-finishing" the junk guitar...and replace it with something vaguely similar...
2734.4	Some more suggestions	NWACES::IXTLAN::HICKERNELL		`Tue May 18 1993 12:20`	6
	I think it's hard to learn on an instrument that doesn't play well. Tell your wife the kids will be much better served if you buy them another one. Then let 'em play Pete Townshend with this one while you videotape it. %^) Dave
2734.5	ya can't break one!	WOLVER::SDANDREA	TrialsRidersDoItStandingUp	`Tue May 18 1993 12:27`	9
	re: the kidz........ go down to yer local volume dealer and pop the $250 or so for a Japanese strat....they're cheap, easy to learn on, and they're bulletproof! (and you'll enjoy it too!) 8^)
2734.6	Steel reinforced neck????	ISLNDS::BELLEFEUILLE		`Tue May 18 1993 14:39`	14
	Hmmmm, interesting... Spanish "shape", Steel reinforced neck, steel strings. I was under the impression that many of the "classical" spanish shape guitars had NO neck reinforcement. That's why it is unwise to put steel strings on them, because the addition tension causes the neck to bend. Not sure how much this thing cost, but based on the description I'd have to agree on not throwing good money after bad. Personally, I liked the Pete Townsend idea. Or, you could always fill it with dirt an plant daisies in it. Rich