ShortScale.org

WTF say WHAT? This looks like the floating blue meanie hand.

I'd really be into owning a microfrets. They're such weird guitars, from the way they're made to the placement of parts like the potentiometers and such. That price is ridiculous, but I've never seen a vintage microfret on ebay so maybe it's standard? Now there is two of them.

This is a cool page documenting an "autopsy" on a similar guitar, but a way more conventional body shape.

Sorry for bumping such an old thread. This short 24" scale semi-hollowbody guitar while a bit ugly to some, was the first to offer a wireless radio transmitter and also featured the first nut designed for proper calibration of intonation at the nut side of the guitar. This nut is so superior that it makes the Earvana and Feinsten nuts look conservative. These guitars offered intonation adjustments at not only the bridge, but also the nut and Vibrato.
This is the only vintage-made American guitar to use Grover tuners, have a super fast slimline neck, Pro DeArmond pickups very similar to the original Gretsch Dynasonic (later had Bill Lawrence design p-90-like white soapbar pickups), semi-hollowbody design and also feature risky designs like Valco did.

Unlike Valco the original Micro-Frets guitar models used real plywood gaskets between the body halves for extra cosmetic flare. Valco guitars had their fiberglass bodies and heavy necks without truss-rods,
Micro-frets had a real gasket, truss rods, name brand pickups and tuning machines that were up and above budget inline Kluson's with plastic buttons.

Ugly guitars? Maybe so.
Inferior guitars? Far from it.

As with all Wacky/Fetish guitar designs of the time, they failed horribly. The company was lucky enough to catch this and make their guitars more traditional looking before they had manufactured 200 to "maybe" 300 of the original cool designs. After the initial production, they lost the offset bodies and gaskets, switched from DeArmond to Bill Lawrence pickups. This quick save scored them endorsements from Carl Perkins, Buddy Merril, Mark Farner, and even Johnny Cash's brother's band Tommy Cash and the Tom Cats.

While radical and cool 60s designs were not popular in their time, I am thankful that they are cherished today.

The creator of the wonderful instruments, Ralph Jones passed away suddenly about 1973. The circumstances surrounding his death are a mystery and have been rumored as a possible suicide. His wife decided that she wanted the company to end with him, despite opposition from the Micro-Frets staff & employees.

Welcome. From your enthusiasm, it sounds like you may have one. Pics please?

Resurrection, the right way. (pictures, please? +100)