The Electra Forums

Well, my recent obsession with old-school, vintage MIJ guitars has led me to this:



It's a broken, beat-up and damaged Electra 2254 Super Rock. I have no idea when it was made so maybe some knowledgeable folks can help me out. So my goal is to make her playable again using original parts, if possible.

The good:
I love goldtops!! This one has mojo oozing out everywhere. No "manufactured" relic here. It was all done through use and abuse. Even the thingy that holds up the pickguard is wrong, but still adds to the mojo.

The neck broke but has been repaired. The neck is straight, but I do feel the repair when playing it. I will have to sand that down so it's not too noticeable. I also hope it doesn't break again. Both pickups work and they have a nice overdrive sound. A little too trebly so I have to use some effects to bump up the bass or lower the treble.

The bad:
It is dirty as hell! There was so much gunk on the fretboard and the body. I have to do a lot of cleaning to make her shiny and smooth again. Tuners are junk. They work, I guess, but that's it. I'd like to keep it original though, so they will stay.

The ugly:
I may have to replace all the pots. They're all scratchy. Volume is either 0 or 10, no in-between. I'd like to use all the original parts if possible so maybe I'll clean them out first. The nylon saddles will definitely be replaced. 2 of them split apart after I took off the strings. They were just being held there by the tension.

Here are more pr0n:



Ouch!!
Ewwww!!


Plywood top?


Solid bottom?



More pics coming soon!! Witch hat knobs are already on the way. Also can anyone suggest replacement saddles?

Thanks in advance!!

I can't help with the saddles, but more than likely some Caig 'DeOxit' will clean the potentiometers up, can be purchased at most Radio Shacks, pricey, but worth every penny. With that headstock, the closest anyone can pin down the build date is 1972 to 1975. Nice inlay on the headstock!

The top is what most historians would call 'curved' as opposed to carved, and maybe someone can chime in as to the factory, I'm leaning towards Fujigen. That pickguard bracket may be original, I have a very similar one on a couple of my semihollows.

The pickups look like your basic 40 year old Maxons. Some people really like them, I find them a bit noisy but have a tone than can cut through the mix. Probably get some squealing at anything approaching band practice or live volumes, depending on how much gain you use. Not sure what you paid, but it looks like a cool project for sure, congrats, Mike.

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

This one looks like it's all original to include the pots etc. A good cleaning with the deoxit should take care of that as all the solder joints still look good. The pups do look like the original maxon pups so they will give some trouble at higer volume levels but work great when they are wax potted. The neck repair looks solid but was a nasty break for certain. With a good cleaning and setup this thing will impress for certain. As for the nylon I would remove them and replace with brass or metal ones or maybe just find and entire stock bridge assembly. I would also tend to say a Fuji build on this one from the way it looks inside the pickup cutouts. The gold top should clean up very nice and the mojo gives it character. Great score and will be nice to see another Electra put back in use.

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Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

what's the underside of the bridge look like. I have a few and I'm not sure which ones are SLM or just regular aftermarket...

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My Electra Pages
I have too many projects!

The pups are most certainly Maxons as they are nearly identical to the pair I picked up from Joe late last summer. Can you get a closeup of any markings on them?

If they are DOA I can hook you up with my set as I have no immediate plans for them.

Genuine mojo indeed!

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...throw me a frickin' bone here, people...

Here's some tusq and nylon abr-1 saddles - they may or may not fit. My guess is they'd work.
http://www.guitar-parts.com/catalog/gib ... ville-tusk
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NYLON-SADDLES-G ... vi-content
http://www.themusiczoo.com/cgi-bin/comm ... =992058339

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

I am thinking of replacing the saddles with metal. Is there any advantages of using nylon? It that sort of like the "string saver" saddles that are more common now?

Jead, where are you in NJ? I'm in Union County.



Thanks for the offer! I plugged her in before I started removing the parts and both pickups are working. I'll take a look again, but I did not see any markings anywhere.



Sorry, what does SLM mean? Here's a pic.

SLM = Saint Louis Music the company that imported and sold the Electra line for the most part.

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"This is the way that pop ends, Not with a BANG but with a box set whose fourth disc you never get around to playing” - Simon Reynolds

"My guitar wants to kill your Mama" - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

H.T.F. hmmm, I wonder if that stands for Hard To Find!!! The problem with bridges is finding ones with the correct stud spacing as well as string spacing. Japanese guitars are notorious for having skinny necks, and you don't want both your E strings almost hanging off the fretboard. Never been a huge fan of plastic saddles, and finding a set that will just drop in may be challenging, good luck.

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

I'm in Morris County. I personally would replace at least the saddles with something NOT nylon. Tusq maybe. I've never seen a bridge with the HTF marking before.

HTF - could the F stand for Fujigen?

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"This is the way that pop ends, Not with a BANG but with a box set whose fourth disc you never get around to playing” - Simon Reynolds

"My guitar wants to kill your Mama" - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

Who was it that posted an ebay auction back 6 months or so about an ABR style bridge in Electra branded packaging?? At the time we were assuming it might fit a hollowbody model if my memory serves.

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...throw me a frickin' bone here, people...

I was wondering if these Guitarfetish bridge will fit right in:

USA Gibson fit Gold Tuneomatic Bridge- BRASS Saddles- OUR BEST!

or

Wilkinson Brass Roller Bridge- Locking studs- GOLD

Does any one have any experience with either? Or if it won't fit, does anyone have a replacement set bridge/saddle/screws lying around that I can buy?

Thanks again!!