The Electra Forums

Well, I purchased an x950 off of Ebay and it was a gamble. The neck was suspect looking in the auction pictures but turned out okay. I've put some pics below to show the guitar in its current state and will be updating the thread as I go. Sorry about the quality of the pics, I can't find the cable to my good camera so had to use an older one.


Here's the guitar as received. The wood looks much nicer in person and in this pic than it did in the auction. Below are the issues found here:
1 - One of the MPC knobs is completely non-functional and will not turn
2 - The volume and tone pots are scratchy
3 - Tailpiece is missing - Notice the tape holding the bridge on
4 - Neck trim ring was broken at the corner and repaired with what looks like super glue




No issues with the front of headstock or nut:




Back of the body has many dings and the hinges were loose. The hinges were the first thing I tackled. We'll get to the neck in a moment.




Neck - Here are two pics of the neck. This is what I was worried about after seeing the auction pics, the stability of the neck. It turns out that all of the damage is to the finish only. The neck joint is good, the wood is smooth with the exception of one small ding and a couple of scratches.





cont....

Back of the headstock - We have a chip in the top right of the headstock.




MPC cavity - All looks good here with the exception of the battery lead needing to be re-soldered and the loose hinges mentioned before.




Side View - Many signs of wear consisting of small dings in the finish.

Yesterday I purchased a tailpiece (thanks for the info Jead) and strung up the guitar. I immediately noticed a lot of buzzing due to a backbow in the neck. I adjusted the truss rod and straightened the neck out. The buzz is very slight now and the action low. I'll need to adjust again in a couple of days once the neck has fully settled.

I noticed the scratchy volume and tone pots and have a stash of the old electronic cleaner to tackle this. This stuff isn't made anymore, but is much better than the current solution sold today.

I need to determine a strategy for the neck finish issues. I've been researching this and I'm open to suggestions. I'm planning on tackling all of the dings with a burn in knife and lacquer sticks. I also need to get some better pictures as I go along, so a priority is finding my proprietary cable for my camera.

Thank you for the photos. It looks to be in pretty good shape with just a little character wear. Will make a great player grade guitar. Good score indeed. These models are super players and are built like a tank. Will be waiting and watching the evolution process.

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

Go to Radio Shack and get some CAIG De-Oxit - or search the 'net for it - for those scratchy pots.

Somewhat expensive $8 - $15? but woth every penny.

BTW - nice axe!

RCSBlues

Thanks for the comments RCS. What I was saying was that I have a stash of old contact cleaner that is much better than the De-Oxit sold today. I'll get some better pictures up as I go along. I do notice that this is well built and hope to get it in a little better playing condition here soon.

The finish on these guitars are really tough and resist stripper. Heat gun always works but I would be very careful around the neck joint as the heat could also soften that glue. Aircraft stripper would probably do the job - keep it away from any binding cause it will eat it up instantly. I'd probably sand away asmuch of the stuff around the repair area as possible and feather it out. The neck is probably paint. Color matching is always a challenge but always doable too. A few small containers of enamel from a craft store would set you back about a buck apiece and then you could mix to get the right color. You probably need a dark brown, red, and maybe black. Once you find the color, I'd top it with clear spray lacquer. That should blend right in to the rest of the neck finish. Keep in mind the finishes on these guitars are some kind of poly so lacquer repair for spot repairs has never worked well for me. Super glue drop fills work OK but take your time and do only a little at a time.

Thanks for the information on the neck being paint Jead. I've got a friend that is an artist if we're talking about mixing paint to match that I'm going to involve.

Looks like you got a good deal there Sand, it's clear that the neck joint scared a lot of bidders off, and your gamble paid off, congrats! You know I'm giving away an Octave MPC box at ElectraFest right? Mike.


P.S. How did that 40's Radio Cab work out for you?

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

Thanks for the words Pro. You do win some and lose some others. I've done an equal amount of both. This project should be fun. On the one hand it's easier than the big archtop I brought back but on the other, this involves finish restoration which I haven't tried my hand at.

The old '36 Philco worked out well with one exception. I had mean to use all of the original knobs and all except one was a success. The dial knob didn't work out how I expected because of the way that the mechanism attached to the original chassis. The amp is all there and great, but I had to put a black jack in place of the knob. The old piece that indicated the station frequency I had to mount in place and non-movable. I have a couple of details that I haven't finished up and afterwards I need to take some pics.

I've already started working on another amp project, I'm building a 5e3. I want a little nicer radio to raid this time so I've been taking my time looking for one at the right price. The old Philco I paid $75 for.