Just picked up a strat.

[aallen]

Okay. So a guy had this listed on craigslist for $75. The plan was to buy this and sell my surfacster, not sure I can do that right away though, this guitar needs work. Anyhow he was willing to drop it off at my band practice tonight, there are intonation problems which can likely be fixed with a professional set up. There are scratches and things but overall it sound allright. I couldn't go wrong for $75 so I gave him the cash and now I have a cherry red ED strat.

[charles]

That's a later MIK model - you did right for $75.

[aallen]

I was assuming it was MIJ but there is no indication anywhere on the instrument on place of origin.

[aallen]

I was assuming it was MIJ but there is no indication anywhere on the instrument on place of origin.

sorry I meant MIK

[charles]

The headstock & logo style are dead giveaways of it being a MIK.

Your house looks really nice.

[aallen]

Thanks for the compliment on the house. Just moved in in December and it is great. The orange paint photographs well, but it took four coats to get it on there right.

[Barry]

That looks like a good little rocker.
And setting the intonation is an easy DIY job; all you need is a screwdriver and an electronic tuner. Save yer money.

[aallen]

So I've had this for a couple of weeks now. It feels pretty good and it sounds more than pretty good. For $75 I am pleased, but there is work to do:

It is a trem bridge but it did not come with the bar, that is is easily replace-able but of more concern is the e-string saddle. A previous owner must have lost the saddle and replaced it with a tele saddle, this is causing the intonation problem. Will probably replace the entire bridge.



There are many of the usual cosmetic flaws for a guitar of this vintage. Though this was probably abused more than most. These scratches by the bridge almost look like they were made on purpose.



One tone pot is different from the others. It has too much girth to hold a standard strat knob. The pot in question will be replaced.



The neck position pick-up cover is cracking, I am not terribly concerned about this. And yes that is a crack in the pickguard



This picture shows a poor repair job on the neck. looks like some binding fell off (and possibly a chunk of the neck) at the twelfth fret and someone cut a piece of wood to the approximate size and glued it in place. Also, I'm guessing as a part of the same repair job, one of the dot inlays was replaced with a round piece of aluminium or something which is not perfectly level with the fingerboard. I'm a rhythm player and seldom find myself that high up on the neck.



My lovely assistant.



string guides are missing, easily rectified.



I suspect the pickguard is not original because the screw holes don't line up. If all goes well I will remove the pickguard tonight and see whats going on under there.



by the time I buy new saddles and a trem bar I might as well buy the whole bridge. The neck problem is not easily repaired, if I wind up in a situation where buying a used neck from elsewhere is required then I would likely do something with the finish on the whole guitar. Some of you may be familiar with my other thread http://www.eldegas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=196 I guess I just like to muck with stuff. I suppose I should make the LP my priority project and then worry about the strat.

[Barry]

Hey, all in all it ain't too bad! Take your time and all this stuff is fixable.

A previous owner must have lost the saddle and replaced it with a tele saddle, this is causing the intonation problem. Will probably replace the entire bridge....

Yeah that's gotta go. You should still be able to adjust the intonation, but the string location is wrong because of it. Replacing the bridge could be done but I'd focus on a new saddle. Whatever bridge you put in there likely won't be as good as the original, unless you're prepared to spend some $$$. Usually the sustain block on the cheaper trem bridges is pretty light weight for example. Check Stewart MacDonald to see what's available. I suspect that the string spacing on this is narrower than the North American standard.

These scratches by the bridge almost look like they were made on purpose.

I think so. These can be repaired or lessened considerably using the cyanoacrylate (crazy glue) drop fill method, and the entire body would benefit from rubbing compound and polishing compound and a good quality liquid wax. It's work but worth it.

The neck position pick-up cover is cracking, I am not terribly concerned about this. And yes that is a crack in the pickguard

These are both likely due to somebody trying to fit a North American sized pickguard. As you pointed out the installation is bad and forced. You can see evidence of a very crude cut effort around the tray of the fretboard.

This picture shows a poor repair job on the neck.

That is brutal! Rip it out of there and fill it with either a good quality wood filler or even epoxy, then sand it down and refinish at the same time you do the drop filling and polishing on the body. Depending on how bad the metal position marker is, you can pop it out and replace it with a proper one, or attempt to level it (carefully) with something like a Dremel tool.

My lovely assistant.

Yup! She's a sweetie!

String guides are missing, easily rectified.

Almost any Strat string tree should work I would think??

I will remove the pickguard tonight and see whats going on under there.

Yeah, I think it's a very good idea to strip her down completely and do an autopsy! Be prepared for just about anything though. Judging by what's visible there may be some surprises under the plastic! I think if you take your time and have some fun with it, she may just turn out to be a decent little player!

I suppose I should make the LP my priority project and then worry about the strat.

Don't worry, this one will wait patiently for you!

[aallen]

Opened her up. No dead animals or termites. The soldering on the volume pot is sloppy, but all I really need to do in here is replace the wrong pot. What I thought was a crack in the pickguard is actually just a scratch so that pleases me.

[charles]

If you can, do the crazy glue drop method Barry suggests and polish the guitar.

My experience is that these MIK Strats are MDF bodies... I would hate to imagine trying to refinish one.

[Barry]

...My experience is that these MIK Strats are MDF bodies... I would hate to imagine trying to refinish one.

Right, I hadn't noticed that! You can see it in the cavity routs if you look closely. Perhaps it's HDF, but still...I agree, what a terrible material to make a guitar out of! That might also explain the wonky screw angles and poorly fitting pick guard; probably crumbling a bit, no bite.

[charles]

...My experience is that these MIK Strats are MDF bodies... I would hate to imagine trying to refinish one.

Right, I hadn't noticed that! You can see it in the cavity routs if you look closely. Perhaps it's HDF, but still...I agree, what a terrible material to make a guitar out of! That might also explain the wonky screw angles and poorly fitting pick guard; probably crumbling a bit, no bite.

Hopefully the OP can still do the old wood glue & toothpick fill method for filling the holes if they need to be redone. I think it's possible.

With the only MIK El Degas Strat copy I ever owned (note that I no longer own it ), I planned to do crazy things with teh top and refinish it, and it worked to some extent. Luckily the fellow I sold it to was far more skilled than I, and apparently he stripped and finished it again and was pleased with his result.

[Barry]

...apparently he stripped and finished it again and was pleased with his result.

I have enough trouble with real wood!

[aallen]

I don't expect to make this my primary axe, so if anything I will fill any major crevices, sand and spray paint... and on goes the cycle.