eldegas.com

Hi there. I'm new to the board and hoping someone can give me a little information about the El Degas Lucite Stratocasters and how much they are worth. I'm considering buying one for an upcoming music video shoot as it will match the drummer's lucite Ludwig set. There is a late 70's one for sale nearby priced at $480 US. It struck me as overpriced, but I know very little about these guitars so I'm hoping someone here can help. If I enjoy the guitar I'd gladly keep it in my collection after the video shoot, but if not, how much can I expect to re-sell it for? Thanks!

Mark

That is a little pricey, but you almost never come across the lucite Strats, so sellers tend to push the limits of what the market may bear. The market for a lucite strat might also be a bit niche, due to the sellers asking such high prices... it's sort of a chicken vs. the egg situation.

You might be able to sell the Strat for the same money you pay for it, but you take your chances! Sorry I cannot be more definitive.

Thanks for the reply Charles. Any other info on these lucite Strats? What kind of pickups do they have? How are the tuners? Just trying to know what to expect before going to try out the guitar. Thanks again.

Mark

As far as I know there is nothing unusual or "special" about the electronics or hardware. The only difference is the body material.

But aside from the initial wow factor if you've never seen one before, there's nothing to recommend these things. They're heavy as sin and acrylic is not noted to be any kind of a tone medium. I'd save my money.

Lots of info on Google.

1982 wrote:What kind of pickups do they have? How are the tuners?

It'll probably just have generic Strat pickups, unless this model has Dimarzios (some do). The tuners are a crapshoot - it'll be a 30-40 year old guitar so they might be completely solid, or they might need replacing.

Your mileage may vary, but I think that if you want the "wow" factor for your music video and can haggle the guitar down into the $300 range, you run a decent chance of being able to turn around and sell it afterwards if you do not want to hang onto it. Like Barry mentioned, the acrylic is very heavy and does not add anything special other than the look of a clear body to the guitar.

That makes sense, thanks. My usual guitar is a ten pound Les Paul custom and I've owned a Yamaha SG2000 in the past so hopefully the weight wont be more than I'm used to.

If you get the clear Strat copy, definitely update us on it and post some photos!

Here it is, sorry the photos are a little lousy. Just went and picked it up, turns out the seller lives two blocks from me. Ended up getting it for $320 USD. Beautiful guitar. I assumed it was going to be more of a novelty item, but it actually seems to be a really nicely crafted guitar, I'll definitely be keeping it. You weren't kidding about it being heavy though, wow. I think it's even heavier than my (unchambered) Les Paul Custom. One more question: I'm considering getting a clear, or possibly clear blue pickguard for it. Will any strat style pickguard with holes for three single coils work or do I need to search out a specific type of pickguard for the japanese dimensions/hole alignment? Thanks again for the advice and info.

I've only heard second-hand accounts on this, but sometimes the screw holes on replacement pickguards do not line up to those on copies such as this. Proceed with caution - if you end up having to try to drill new holes into a clear pickguard or body, it will almost certainly be visible.

Always strikes me as counter productive to install a solid pick guard on these things. The whole point of having a transparent guitar is to see through it eh?!

Makes more sense to me to look for (or make) a transparent pick guard or maybe a translucent one. It could be tinted to relieve the monotonous look of the acrylic, and you could change the bobbin covers and knobs to match. I think the solid black does not look very good, especially from the rear.

The pickguard that's on there now actually is translucent. The photos don't really do it justice, but if you look closely in the front photos you can see the wiring and internal components through the pickguard. I hear what you are saying though, definitely want to accentuate the "clear factor" rather than downplay it,

Personally, I kind-of dig the "smokey" transparent pickguards on these Strats; in that it keeps a clear aesthetic while slightly obscuring the electronic wiring; but a nice transparent 'guard with a touch of color will look good too. I think a totally clear pickguard would look really interesting too. Let us know if you end up replacing the pickguard.

Sparkle pick guard is the way. Contrast

Here's the lucite El Degas in action:

https://youtu.be/ANJNK6SwFD0