ShortScale.org

This is what i put in a thread on the same guitar which i started on SDUGF so instead of pissing about i thought i would paste it...


My mate runs a vintage toy and collectors shop selling old star wars figures collectibles, model cars and all that crap, but he personally plays bass and a little guitar.

He bought three guitars on the cheap and he's keeping one and selling the other and I bought this one

It must be seventies. has to be, it isn't all original, however, as you will see it has been modified and badly resprayed. I like the quirkyness of the guitar and I will make it into something special for me. [It is a Teisco Spectrum two.... QUESTIONS AT END]

WARNING PIC INTENSIVE 20+ Images

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ok, so there's a LOT of work to be done to this thing, the fretboard has some minor damage, the neck needs securing properly and that heel slot filling in... if i keep the original pickups i need to raise the neck height by 6mm to clear the pickups and all sorts of stuff..

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Right this thing IS a mess. But i want to learn from it and maybe resurrect the woodwork and neck joint.

what do you think and advise?

howwould i sort that neck joint?

the bridge was on a wooden plate kinda thing to raise it. when i got it the string height or something wasn't high enough, when you played it it bottomed out around 12th.....

I'd use the pups and upgrade the electrics and maybe use the bridge...

however, If it isn't worth it I will sell the neck, the tuners, the bridge, and the pickups. (pots and switches were totally ass fucked electric wise)

Neck pocket too wide? You could always glue a thin strip of wood if you could figure out what it's made of. Sand to bare wood (lightly) so that the glue isn't just sticking to paint. It's easier than it sounds.

The bridge is too low. He probably used what was laying around. I would expect you could find the exact bridge on ebay for cheap. This one may not be the same year, but you get the idea. That bridge is low, and not very adjustable. The original was more an archtop style, which could be raised by turning the thumbscrews. GFS makes a repro of that trem style.

the trems aren't cheap over here, it's weird...also a lot of the listings are international sellers from the US anyway lol.

I could go T-o-M?

actually is mine a spectrum two??

if you look, no bullet heel adjuster, my truss rod is at the peg end.

also my pickups are different, so I don't know if they are earlier or later??

It's probably not a Spectrum II. Looks like a generic Teisco, sold under a host of names including Kay, Audition, Starlight, Top Twenty, yadda, yadda, yadda.

It would've had a trem and height-adjustable bridge originally - the bridge has to be set fairly high to clear the surface-mounted pickups, which is why the hardtail isn't cutting the mustard.

When I come across a guitar like that - with few original parts left and a host of wrong-headed 'improvements' - I just part it out. The pickups will fetch more than they're worth on eBay, bought by misguided blooze dentists who believe they can sound like Ry Cooder using a pickup that looks vaguely similar to the legendary gold foils he uses, which were probably rewound by Curtis Novak or someone to begin with.

Trying to make something like that into a decent, playable guitar is a foolish enterprise. Even all-original ones are nightmarish to try and set up (we have a couple in the shop, neither of which are fit for much more than wall-hanging).

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:It's probably not a Spectrum II. Looks like a generic Teisco, sold under a host of names including Kay, Audition, Starlight, Top Twenty, yadda, yadda, yadda.

It would've had a trem and height-adjustable bridge originally - the bridge has to be set fairly high to clear the surface-mounted pickups, which is why the hardtail isn't cutting the mustard.

When I come across a guitar like that - with few original parts left and a host of wrong-headed 'improvements' - I just part it out. The pickups will fetch more than they're worth on eBay, bought by misguided blooze dentists who believe they can sound like Ry Cooder using a pickup that looks vaguely similar to the legendary gold foils he uses, which were probably rewound by Curtis Novak or someone to begin with.

Trying to make something like that into a decent, playable guitar is a foolish enterprise. Even all-original ones are nightmarish to try and set up (we have a couple in the shop, neither of which are fit for much more than wall-hanging).

major +1. I've owned a few teiscos as well, but always ended selling them/parting them out. With these lower end models, It's just not worth the time and money to try and make it a great player.

how much do you think for the pickups?

I will part it out, might as well, lol make my money back!

Left_Hand_'Stang wrote:how much do you think for the pickups?

I will part it out, might as well, lol make my money back!

I'd sell the whole scratchplate, personally, since the pickups are glued onto it. Just start it at 99p, sit back and wait to be pleasantly surprised. Unless you paid silly money for the guitar in the first place you'll be amazed by the return.

Keep the pickups, sell the rest and make yourself a custom.
Here's one I've started with a set of Teisco pickups.

Those foil pickups are worth holding onto

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:

Left_Hand_'Stang wrote:how much do you think for the pickups?

I will part it out, might as well, lol make my money back!

I'd sell the whole scratchplate, personally, since the pickups are glued onto it. Just start it at 99p, sit back and wait to be pleasantly surprised. Unless you paid silly money for the guitar in the first place you'll be amazed by the return.

i forgot to say it's currently in bits....

anyways...

pickups have small screws and nuts, they aint glued on... which i was surprised about.

I never understood the allure in those type of guitars.

JJLipton wrote:I never understood the allure in those type of guitars.

They look amazing in my opinion, and the pickups are great. They're just full of other problems. I wish the aesthetic carried through to modern builds that are done properly but it never took off.

George wrote:

JJLipton wrote:I never understood the allure in those type of guitars.

They look amazing in my opinion, and the pickups are great. They're just full of other problems.

One of the most common problems being the totally microphonic pickups....

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:

George wrote:

JJLipton wrote:I never understood the allure in those type of guitars.

They look amazing in my opinion, and the pickups are great. They're just full of other problems.

One of the most common problems being the totally microphonic pickups....

Which you can easily pot...

Yep yep

There's a common misconception about those pickups, that they're the same gold-foil pickups popularised by Ry Cooder. They're not.

Yeah, I guess they could be potted, but you'd have to believe they were worth the time and effort, like if they actually were those gold-foil pickups popularised by Ry Cooder, which they're not.

well I have my batteries on charge for my pentax and I will list the bits tonight.

Here's what I am selling:

2x pickups with attaching screws and nuts.
1x pickguard
5x headstock tuners (Long story, I helped a friend out and nicked a gear)
and possibly that bridge, IDK if to hold onto that actually... since it is a strat hard tail??
also 1 x Neck (it is fitted with a Lefty nut already, that's how i got it, dunno if to remove nut and sell nut and neck seperately or just together?)

I know i was previously advised 99p start for the pickguard with pups mounted.... IDK if to sell guard and pups together or seperately....

So what would people advise? should i just go with the wind and start low or ensure I cover some of my original cost?? just to be safe?

Edited to make things clearer. I am NOT selling my junk here...

Hi,

I hate to do this, but please refrain from setting up any kind of sales outside of our Classified section, which requires a minimum number of posts to access. This is for protection of everyone on this board, and most forums have similar rules.

Pens wrote:Hi,

I hate to do this, but please refrain from setting up any kind of sales outside of our Classified section, which requires a minimum number of posts to access. This is for protection of everyone on this board, and most forums have similar rules.

I aint. I am just asking for advice. I have no intentions to publicise the sale what soever.

edit perhaps my wording didn't help but it wasn't meant to be a 'hi im selling my crap' thing I was seeking advice.