El Degas MT3B

[Conan]

So this is an interesting guitar from the 70s or 80s. It belongs to a close relative who lent it to me almost 10 years ago when they heard I was planning to take up guitar. They in turn got it from a guy who had 50+ guitars and was moving house ( and who didn’t want to keep this one as well as some electric guitar which I assume was in similar shape).

This is a Made in Korea guitar, appears to be between dreadnaught and concert size. Some of the other MT models from this brand are clones of Martin guitars, but can’t find anything on this one. Any idea of what this is trying to be from the model number? Or just a general guitar?

Every alternating fret from 4 and up is raised, and there is a bit of a bulge below the bridge. So In other words not too playable past the cowboy chords.

Pictures and dimensions







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[charles]

I've always been of the opinion that the later MIK MT- models are more of just general "Martin-esque" copies. As in, not a copy of a particular model, just a general Martin shape with different finishes and occasionally with a piezo pickup system.

[Barry]

Hi Conan,
I'm a little in late picking up this thread but welcome.

These MIK models are usually nicely made guitars and should perform fairly well.
But IMHO they cannot touch the Japanese made ones, and using a solid colour finish on these makes me suspicious that the wood used is less than first quality (or laminate construction).

A painted finish on an acoustic soundboard can also be a tone sucker unless it's done meticulously well with the right products. So it's not my personal preference.

As to the playability, all is not lost. A certain amount of bellying up behind the bridge is normal, and is caused by string tension over time. Normally it is not a cause for concern unless it is extremely high.

What really concerns me is that crack in the fret board. That looks to be evidence of severe drying (and likely low grade wood too). If it had been a physical blow that caused it I think the sound board would have been split but I don't see that.

Dryness is likely the cause of the un-eveness in the frets too. As the wood has shrunk the wires have popped out of their slots. This can be corrected very easily by wicking in a small amount of thin "crazy glue" in the slots then clamping the frets down for a few minutes until dry.

Then you can level the frets and re-crown, buff with #0000 steel wool, and oil the wood. Adjust the truss rod to correct neck position. Done

Easy peasy