The Electra Forums

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gorgeous-1982-E ... 258509b193

What is going on on the back of this one? Modification or possible unit that was played around with at SLM?

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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

Appears someone tried some at home weight relief What a shame,was a beautiful example at one time-also appears to have had some wiring mods....

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"If it ain't been in the pawnshop,it can't play the blues" R.L.Burnside

Real weird - foam filled? Whatever it is - it's pretty well totalled and there's not a chance I'd even try to restore it. Too bad..........

Morning folks...still a beauty, till you pull her skirt up.

I was gonna say that the tooling was just too good for a home job....until I noticed that cardboard divider there. It would be interesting to be able to see the type and manner of cuts at the base of those HUGE excavations.

And....with the size of those cuts, it's gotta be lighter. Make a great wall hanger or donor for a clock kit.

Might as well go ahead now with the old router and a B-bender.

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JD's Electras

WOW. And a washburn pickup. Sad, those are really high end guitars. I love mine.

Still make a great player, just take some extra attention.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

There's no way that would sounb like it should. I guess a dedicated Electra saver could try and shape a wood block to refill the GIANT holes, veneer,stain and poly. But still.....I dunno - that one is just sad.

The guitar doesnt matter its the pickups.

????

Don't agree with that statement. You always start with the guitar. If the sound from the guitar itself is shrill, or dead, it will be quite difficult to get a good sounding guitar out of it no matter what pickups you use. Or the very least, it will strongly influence the pickups you should use. I have heard some particularly dead sounding Les Pauls for instance, that even with a lot of custom work can't be made to sound terrific. I have an exceptionally bright sounding guitar, and it required a special set of Alnico II pickups to sound great. The alnico II and overwound bridge pickup moved it into a warmer territory. It is always the combination of both. But pickups do make a big difference, but they can only work with what is there.

I'd surely like to know what it sounds like. If it has survived its disemboweling intact (doubtful), you could fill it with fitted mahogany blocks, re-veneer the back, and refinish. You'd have to be a full blown luthier to cost justify it. That is one the new electra team should buy and redo - they could use an endorser in their stable.

Man, that one has a beautiful top. Wow, people do some crazy things.

Positives:
It still is mostly an endorser
It has a beautiful top
Says it has a case
Some of the hardware looks original

Negatives:
All modified/replaced electronics
cheap replacement pickups
Totally routed out

Unknowns:
How does it sound? I know the person says it is great, but unless i really know the person, I don't trust much of what I read.
How does it play?

If you were ever looking to make it original again, absolutely no chance of that. It will never be original again.

I'd surely like to see someone on the forum pick it up. But WOW, I don't know that it would ever be worth the investment unless you could "do it yourself". I know a guy that could fix it so you'd never know. But I bet you'd have more into the repair than finding one unaltered and applying that money toward it. When he does that kind or work, it always is with EXPENSIVE vintage instruments that someone has routed out and put in a Kahler or humbucking pickups in and he fills and veneers over it and you can't even tell when completed. But the guitars are worth many thousands of dollars, not several hundred when completed. You WILL BE upside down on this guitar if you bought it for an investment. No way to come out. Almost NO WAY to get it all back to stock again, and stock value with a repair would be less than the investment. You are going to find it darned near impossible to get a set of cream MMK pickups again, unless you are very very patient and lucky.

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Thorny

+1 to the above

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"If it ain't been in the pawnshop,it can't play the blues" R.L.Burnside

I have only had two Electras and i am impressed with both for the workmanship, even though my 940 needed about 40% of the top reglued, it and the 310 are well built. The thing I am not impressed with on both guitars are the pickups, even with changing the volume pot to 500k vs 50k, (someone should have noticed a zero missing), the pickups sound like a stock or worse epi, like there is a blanket over the pickup. Maybe I got two with bad pickups. I also am not at all happy with the Ducan antiquities either. I have played on a few vintage les pauls with pat sticker pickups and early stamped pat pickups so I know tone. Also use two actual 1965 fender princeton non reverbs for main amps hooked to cabs with g12h heritage celestions.

Pickups are a very subjective thing, some pickups that are junk to me sound "great" to others! Amps are the same way. That "classic" dark, muffled, distant, canned Marshal sound from the early 80's is the holy grail for some whereas as I enjoy a very clear, full, in your face sound.

Guitar construction really makes a big difference. After pickups, proper set up, strings and pick (or lack of), that is. This is why you can have two of the "same" guitar, with the same pickups, set up, strings, and using the same pick, yet have them sound very different!

But this Endorser's gonna need some loving. I'd buy it if it were cheap enough. Will make a good player and project.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Whats cheap enough?

I don't know, maybe $150 including shipping.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Agreed.

I sent the guy a link to this post. He agreed the values not there since it's been heavenly heavely modded.