Can anyone tell me more info about my new El Degas?

[rachel]

I'm a beginner guitarist, and the first electric guitar I bought was this OLP John Petrucci Signature model thing. I'm not really a prog-rock lady, so I don't know why I chose this guitar, but anyway, the point is that I didn't bond with it or get into it all that much.

Today I traded it in for this beautiful beat-up El Degas! Link comes from eBay, but I actually bought it from the seller locally: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-El-Dega ... 3f19befbc9

I think I'm in love with it, but I know very little about guitars and would like a little more info about the one I have (for example, could anyone figure out the year, or close to it, that it was made? I was told it was from sometime in the 70s). Any other thoughts or info you might have would be great---like if it had a model number or name. I was told that it's supposed to be similar to a Telecaster. Will it sound pretty much like a Telecaster---worse, better?

Anyway, thanks for any help you can give, or comments about its look, style, sound. Let me know if the link doesn't work and I can try to post a picture separately.



---Rachel

[charles]

It's a copy of a Telecaster, will probably get you into the ballpark of a real Tele sound, depending on the pickups. Most likely MIJ (Made in Japan), sometime in the 70's. The neckplate should have "Made in Japan" stamped into it if this is the case. There's no way to know the specific year of manufacture, sorry.

I'm not 100% sure but it would appear that at some point someone removed the original finish from the body and did some relic work on the fretboard.

[rachel]

Thanks for the info! I'm curious---what are the ways you can tell whether a guitar had "relic work" done on it or whether it aged on its own? As I said, I'm new to this, so I didn't even know what relic work was before today.

[charles]

Normally, if I see a guitar that looks to have been through hell and back and is not owned and played nightly by a hardcore touring artist like Springsteen... I assume it's been relic'd.

I could be wrong, but guitars only get been to hell one of two ways: lots and lots of gigs, and by someone beating it up with sanders and blowtorches . Most people I know don't get to do lots and lots of gigs. But then again, what do I know? Could have been owned by someone who's played it daily for the last 30 years.

[rachel]

Well, I guess I'll just have to do lots and lots of gigs for the next 30 years so I'll know that either way, it has earned its beat-upness. I'm looking forward to it

[charles]

That's the right attitude
Enjoy it!

[joshwilkesbooth]

Nice score! I have the exact same guitar, and I love it. Great neck, and the classic tele sound without the "mud" that I get out of most tele clones.

Yours has definitely been stripped/refinished. As to the wear... I play a fair amount of gigs, and my guitars get pretty beat up. That might not be a relic job after all, I mean... that guitar is around 40 years old. I expect that I'll look pretty beat up at 40 too.

[Barry]

Looks like an interesting old model you got yourself there. I bet she sounds great!
Yeah the OLP John Petrucci Signature is an odd choice for a beginner for sure. John Petrucci is an esoteric sort of player off in a world of his own. Most of us just look at him and wonder what he's up to.

The OLP has elements of Music Man design but it isn't one. We have a genuine Music Man JP signature guitar here at the shop and it's a gorgeous piece of workmanship. Even then, not a guitar for most players, let alone a beginner. All of which is to say, good choice on the el Degas. I'm sure you'll get far more fun out of it!