60's Teisco(?) MEGA PROJECT

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:33 am

Yes, YES! Absolutely! If you (or anyone else) is seriously interested in a pickguard treatment by my girlfriend and me, just PM me and we'll work out the details. She actually just bought a repro'd pickguard/truss rod cover for my Univox Hi Flier to paint for me. It's the thanks I get for buying tickets to see Billy Elliot.

We had so much fun doing this and hope to find another funky 60's import soon to revitalize.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 12:34 am

...and here's a weaksauce demo. I did all the wiring today. Sorry about the lighting, by the time I got around to doing the demo, it was dark.

[youtube][/youtube]

And more girlfriend + guitar

:

George · Post by **George** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:01 am

Fricking. Awesome.

How does it play? It sounds fantastic.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:17 am

GeorgeF wrote:Fricking. Awesome.

How does it play? It sounds fantastic.

I was completely surprised at how smoothly it played. I had to shim the neck a little and compensate the bridge to get the strings over the massive neck pickup, but after a thorough setup, it plays VERY nicely. The action is PERFECT right now, and the frets are in remarkable shape. I believe it's a short scale guitar, but it's downstairs now, so I can't be arsed to measure it now.

Even though the bridge isn't adjustable beyond 2 height thimbles, it's quality and it sounds nice. The single problem with this guitar is that the A string tuner takes about 25 pounds of pressure to tune fully. A little WD-40 in the morning should help that. I thoroughly cleaned everything with metal cleaner another time.

And the greatest news all day: I might end up just keeping this guitar for myself. Although my girlfriend and I worked together in painting it, it was funded solely by me. I dunno, it'd be cool if her brother wanted to get into guitar... but DOES WANT!

And since my nice Nady condenser microphone shit the bed, this is all from my macbook's built-in.

Setup:
Teisco > OC-3 > an old Dunlop Hendrix Wah > Dano Fab OD > EHX LBM > Small Clone > Electric Mistress > DD-3 > RC-2

I have a cable running from the dry output of the EM to my Behringer 1200h. That pushes a PA speaker. The rest of the rig goes through my Marshall Mosfet Lead 100 head and the 4x12 Fender cab

astro · Post by **astro** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:54 am

Wow, really nice! I love the idea of revamping the budget guitars from oldy times.

I've always been curious about those old 60's Asian cheapies. I've never seen one IRL, though, just on the intertubes. Do most of them play well? Or is that rare for these things? I'm guessing these Teisco types were made in Japan? Was Japanese QC as good then as it is now?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:56 am

astro wrote:Do most of them play well? Or is that rare for these things?

rare, i would say.

astro wrote:I'm guessing these Teisco types were made in Japan?

mine was korean. ask ends how it plays in a few months.

damienblair17 · Post by **damienblair17** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:14 am

that's some kickass work there Sparky! Props to you and your lady friend!

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:36 pm

Hey sparky... how far down did you sand it, I notice that the finish was still visible when you started painting. Would just taking the gloss off of it be enough before I start repainting you think?

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 5:27 pm

endsjustifymeans wrote:Hey sparky... how far down did you sand it, I notice that the finish was still visible when you started painting. Would just taking the gloss off of it be enough before I start repainting you think?

Yeah, I just sanded the gloss up and roughed the surface of the burst up. *shrug*

I'm a painting n00b. The finish is far from perfect. I'd consult another SS.org member on that.

We figured it was a cheap guitar, it wasn't a huge priority to get it perfect. It was our way of learning by doing, for future use. The pickguard however, we took our time on. That part came out wonderfully.

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 5:45 pm

Sparky wrote:
endsjustifymeans wrote:Hey sparky... how far down did you sand it, I notice that the finish was still visible when you started painting. Would just taking the gloss off of it be enough before I start repainting you think?
Yeah, I just sanded the gloss up and roughed the surface of the burst up. *shrug*

I'm a painting n00b. The finish is far from perfect. I'd consult another SS.org member on that.

We figured it was a cheap guitar, it wasn't a huge priority to get it perfect. It was our way of learning by doing, for future use. The pickguard however, we took our time on. That part came out wonderfully.

That's pretty much my whole thinking on this. It's a cheapy guitar so I don't mind learning on it. what exactly did you use to get the rust off of the metal bits?

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 6:31 pm

I made a bath of silver cleaner, brasso and vinegar and let the hardware sit in it for like 20 minutes. My girlfriend and I then wiped the rust off with q-tips.

lancer88 · Post by **lancer88** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:55 am

i need to get my girlfriend to work on guitars with me

Jelloman · Post by **Jelloman** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:06 am

Good luck and have fun with your project man.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:19 am

astro wrote:Was Japanese QC as good then as it is now?

in some cases maybe, like in the higher end teiscos that were never budget priced (and still aren't), but for the most part the exceptional craftsmanship the japanese are known for didn't start really showing until the late 70s.

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:30 am

That red is beautiful, and the drips would've looked nuts if you kept em.

But the red is yummy like candy.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:29 pm

Bumpity, bump for Univox & link to the Whore House

Get your own pickguard or guitar done in this thread.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:23 am

that univox is wayyyy nice. not a fan of the pickguard'age, but looks great.

mezzio13 · Post by **mezzio13** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:31 pm

robert(original) wrote:you should at least level them. there is no way even the best fret job in the world will stand 40 years of closet dust.
just get a straight peice of wood, glue some 220 grit paper to it, and run that bastard evenly across the frets.
i remember walking mezz thru it and he said his shit came out great!

This is 100% true. It was real easy to boot. Thanks again R(OG)!!!

mezzio13 · Post by **mezzio13** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:46 pm

1) They make thes spray can handles that are less than $2. They totally improve control on your can and coverage.

Cut and paste link: http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(qcvr4 ... ?SKU=13886 Totally worth it.

2) Cute GF.

3) Tie her shoe.

PerfectforYou · Post by **PerfectforYou** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:30 pm

mezzio13 wrote:

1) They make thes spray can handles that are less than $2. They totally improve control on your can and coverage.

Cut and paste link: http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(qcvr4 ... ?SKU=13886 Totally worth it.

2) Cute GF.

3) Tie her shoe.

1) My thumb was killing me.

2)

You ought to see Sparky!

3) Those are his shoes.

I'm the gf, by the way. Thanks for looking at our work! We're having blast with it!

60's Teisco(?) MEGA PROJECT

hmm