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My little rescue guitar

brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,065
in Musicians and Gearheads
Last week, I was in one of my favorite thrift stores and a guy I sort of know there brought out this little Squire Mini Strat and asked if I was interested in it.  I asked him how much they wanted for it and he said $20.  It looked like HELL, but I felt sorry for the poor thing and said, OK, I'll take it.
I wish I had taken before and after photos, but I just wanted to start in on getting all the crude and gunk off of this thing.  The bridge and string slots were completely gunked up with some kind of filthy sludge.  The back and sides had streaks of white paint or something on it.  The selector switch was bent at a sharp angle.  All surfaces were greasy filthy.  There were only four strings and they looked like mini cables off an oil derrick.  The cable slot was full of gunk and somewhat rusty and still shows minor corrosion. The whole thing was a mess.  I spent a good part of the morning cleaning and cleaning and cleaning!
I'll be taking in to a shop at the end of the month and have the electronics gone over and get it set up.  I'll probably end up paying more than the guitar is worth- Sweetwater sells these for $189- but I love the idea of a rescue guitar!

    
"It's a sad and beautiful world"
-Roberto Benigni











Comments

  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 28,862
    I love this!!!!!  
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,134
    Good for you, man! That sounds like a fun and worthwhile project. 
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,065
    ^^^ thanks guys!  :smile:
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni











  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 43,049
    headstock looks out of proportion on these...
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  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,065
    mickeyrat said:
    headstock looks out of proportion on these...

    It does indeed!  It's the same size as the head on a standard full sized Strat.   Just a guess, but I'm thinking it might have something to do with using standard tuning machines and not having them too crowed (especially if you look at the photo of the back side.)
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni











  • mace1229mace1229 Posts: 9,649
    I've done a couple rescues, nothing that big though.
    One time I went to a Goodwill and they had a guitar for sale. I don't even remember what it was anymore, but one I would have been interested in. I think they were asking $100. But it had no input jack. I asked an employee if they  were aware of that and if they'd reduce the price since it is obviously not in working order. He said they would, but would have to be approved by the manager.  The manager was busy and was told  to come back in an hour.
    I came back an hour later, asked about the guitar, and they said they threw it away because it was against policy to sell non-working electronics!
    I was so mad, I would have paid almost the $100 for it and been good practice on repairing a guitar.
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,065
    mace1229 said:
    I've done a couple rescues, nothing that big though.
    One time I went to a Goodwill and they had a guitar for sale. I don't even remember what it was anymore, but one I would have been interested in. I think they were asking $100. But it had no input jack. I asked an employee if they  were aware of that and if they'd reduce the price since it is obviously not in working order. He said they would, but would have to be approved by the manager.  The manager was busy and was told  to come back in an hour.
    I came back an hour later, asked about the guitar, and they said they threw it away because it was against policy to sell non-working electronics!
    I was so mad, I would have paid almost the $100 for it and been good practice on repairing a guitar.

    How frustrating! 
    I can't confirm this, but I'm told Goodwill often throws away "old books" simply because they assume them to be outdated.  Not that old book necessarily have a great deal of value (I've had bookstore customers want me to assess old books that turn out to have little to no value and they sometimes will say, "But it's really old!").  On the other hand, many of course can be quite valuable.
    Sorry to hear about your lost opportunity!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni











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