The Electra Forums

It's a 1982 X135GR! Call this one the Burn Victim Phoenix.



It's a sad story. Some idjit had a perfectly nice X135 and decided to strip the paint off, thinking he'd discover, I don't know, gold or diamonds or pretty wood grain. But... a painted Phoenix has a Maple body, which is not much for grain but great for resonance!

And it's not easy getting urethane paint off a guitar. If you use the right nasty solvents you've got a lot of work. If you use a heat gun, you get the bonus of chips of hot paint flying off, and if you are a meatball about it you'll scorch the wood. So guess what happened here?

That said, this is a nice guitar, with an intact original bridge and really high quality tuners. The original knobs are gone, filled in with some modern gold tele knobs. I don't believe I've actually tested the electronics, but they should be OK (I'll help ya fix em if not)

And here you see the only remaining patch (well, and also under he pickguard in the pickup and control cavities) of original paint. Yep, it's metallic green! A rare color, I wish I had one! Grr, there's no accounting for what some people do.







This guitar needs someone to play the hell out of it, it's full of street cred and tone!

Remember, you can still enter to win one of these guitars and projects even if you can't attend ElectraFest. Just send a PM to ProEndorser to register.

Done!

RCSBlues

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RCSBlues

Justl ike my T-25.
It was already rare, but it was made much rarer by the silver finsih.
But the previous owner stripped it.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

I threw a new set of strings on this one, did a quick setup and this one plays like a monster!! (in a good way) LOUD pickups and the neck is baby bum smooth, interesting contrast from the distressed body, she may have to stay in michigan... anyone got a single in-line Electra tuner lying about?

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

Redeye was the lucky man with the good taste to choose this guitar.



Sometimes the best look humble and this one is a hell of a guitar. BTW, you know why I give a guitar like this away? Because I've got a better one, actually. And so I don't play this one. And that's just wrong. You know?

So... I challenge you all with this... look at your Electras, and between now and next year, think about each one, and think about whether you feel bonded with it, whether you actually play it, whether it's significant and interesting... or whether it was just really cool at first when you were first learning about Electra, like me.

So... think about it. If not, maybe you want to offer it up for next year's drawings. I know I have a couple more in mind, but what about you?

Don't get me wrong. I own more guitars than most people and I'm proud. So it ain't a call to let go of your baby... NEVER do that, you'll always regret it. But if you don't love me, let me go, as they say...

Anyhow, Redeye, tell us about why you wanted to take this one home. I can guess, but let us know what you think.

Let me tell you my brush with this instrument. Remember that all of this stuff shows up on my doorstep literally 21 hours before the kick off of ElectraFest 2009. I'm rushing around trying to orchestrate food, microphones, well all kinds of stuff and my son and I start unboxing the motherload. I recognize this of course from your description and place it in a stand for the time being as we ooo and ahh over everything, oh, and take inventory!

Later that night, I pick it up and see that she's missing a string and frankly the other ones on there felt like barbed wire there is so much rust (sorry man, just telling it how it was!). I liked the feel, and obviously wanted all the guitars to get a fair shake, so I put on a new set of .009's on her just out of politeness. In hind sight, I probably should have left the barbed wire on there!! Anyway, this guitar felt great, the body while nicked, gouged and gored was just too cool. Oh I should back up, while the strings were off, I pop off the pickguard and they're they are, a rusty old set of MMK45's (I know you stated that right up front, but seeing is believing).

So after I stretch the bajezus out of the strings I take her down to the studio and plugged her into the Mark IIb boogie... and couldn't get enough of the fatness from the bridge pickup, and I (everyone) liked the tele brass knobs, they felt solid and natural on this. So even at this stage with images of sugar plum Futuras dancing through my head this guy had made an impression on me. Even later I plugged all of the 'complete' guitars into that amp, same settings and all, doing minor pickup adjustments, trying to get a blend and all. I picked up the Burn Victim one more time even though I knew I should just go to bed and rest up for the weekend ahead of me, and BAM there it is again, a fatness that my amp really loved. I filed that away as I stumbled up to bed.

The next day when the guys arrived, they too couldn't help but give it a (pity) test drive and I observed what I had experienced the day before, everyone loved that guitar and couldn't put it down. We loved checking out every little gash in the wood, the patches of paint still there, the slipperyness of the neck, and it sings when plugged into a tube amp. Robot_Dr we find out does some 'relicing' on the side, and he commented that you just can't forge this kind of wear... it was in a word Perfect.

I thought the guys were just being polite and making conversation, but it was becoming apparent by the end of Saturday, especially if you read my post from then, that this would not be part of any 2nd chance drawing.

This guitar is full of character, and Redeye has this 'Parachute' material strap that was a perfect match, I have a feeling even with his two really nice MPC's, that this one will not be neglected back home in Iowa! Take care of it man, and think about bringing it to future ElectraFests, I think everyone should spend at least ten minutes drinking in the mojo on this one and playing the heck out of it. darn, what an axe!

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

Well, I gotta say, I was really very torn between the x130NA and this one. I really love those natural finishes, so the 130 caught my eye right after X189 posted it. When I got to the 'fest, however, the 135 was sitting right next to the 130, and I could not help but be captivated by the mojo that was just screaming out of the 135. I mean, just looking at the thing, it said to me - "Yeah, I may look rough, but pick me up - you know you wanna - I am gonna rock your world..." so I did, and the rest is history. Besides, the 135 does technically have a 'natural' finish to it now - even if it is in a horrific accident sort of way.....

I played the x130 for quite awhile too on Sat, and to be honest, there wasn't a ton of difference between the two, but the 135 just seemed to snarl a little better, and the neck just felt more natural in my hand, and ....and.....and........you ever have one of those 'tingly' moments where you can hear the angelic "ahhhhh" voices in the background, the beam of light bouncing off the headstock logo, and you just know that this was meant to be? Well, there ya go - the love affair had started and there was no going back!

Proendorser mentioned that sometimes the guitar chooses the player, not the other way around, and I think that's what happened here. It just felt right!

I just can't thank X189 enough for his huge show of generosity for the Electrafest. I will be giving this X135 all the love she deserves, and will make sure that she makes the rounds for any future 'fests so you all have a chance to drink in her amazing mojo.