The Electra Forums

I got it form my buddy, who got it from his neighbor, who forcloses homes.
He finds a lot of guitars and sells them off (In this case gave it away).
Well, my friend took it to our local guy, Dave, and he said there was no hope for it.
(The bridge collapsed, and was badly removed and filled.)
The bridge the old owner had made was...sub-par, at best.
See below diagram for the timeline, and the fix I'm giving it.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

Great concept, I love it! That'll show the old wood some new life.

Pinned bridges are a relic of a bygone day, marginally functional with steel strings and it takes the artisanship of a Martin to dodge the dampening effect of all that tension pulling laterally on the guitar front- and with 12 strings it's doubly so.

A trapeze bridge is a great idea, the physics are used to best advantage so the reinforced edges bear the tension and the bridge is free to sing. You can use 12 strings on a 6-string trapeze by doubling up the strings in the slots and using a 12-string bridge to maintain proper spacing.

Cool project, show us more!

Electra never made acoustic guitars, but if they had they'd be pretty much exactly like Vantage guitars, made by Matsumoku with the same superb quality.

BTW, Ventura is another brand like Vantage to watch for, made by Matsumoku and close cousins to Electras. For Electra lovers who want to strum, these are great brands and virtually unknown for their quality. Another is Lyle.

I'll be sure to get real photos soon, along with the other 2 projects (The "Gibson Wes Pawl", and the bass I'm making).

And while you're on it, there is a slight warp on the soundboard thanks to the bridge that was previoulsy installed. I know it should be flat, but this is ap layer, not an art piece.
Also, theres a hole in the body (under the bumper sticker...hehe..) where I poked through the filler....turns out most of the filled over section is a hole. The sticker is the cover for that more, over the ugly filler.

As for a bridge, would a floating bridge be best? I know those are more for archtops, but I can't imagine another (safe) option as of now.
The trapeze will probably be half custom, because I want to have it like the first Les Pauls (shocker!) and be height adjustable. I may go for 12 string holes (altohugh i liek your idea), but we'll see, when I get to the shop and see what Dave has.

As for the guitar, it's made of the best stuff. Solid, bookmatched spruce top, mahogony sides, and a bookmatched mahogony back. and the grain is suberbly straight. The neck looks like mahogony, and of course it's a rosewood fretboard.
For free, who's gonna say I lost?
Rack another one up.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

yeah, i'd use a floating bridge of some kind, or since you don't want it very high, jsut carve a flat wooden one. think of how high the stock bridge is- maybe 1/4" at most. So you don't want a big archtop bridge, but something low.

In the best possible turn of events, dave had a 12 string trapeze.
And, he gave me what it was attached to as well......
another Ventura!

I was able to fix the V-17 and the other one (V-1950), and my buddy has the V-1950.
I still need a good bridge, when I get the tine I'll make it.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.