The Electra Forums

anyone have one?

I have this pic on my headstocks page, and wondered it it was just a home-made jobber, but I've found another on a maple fretboarded x-130

http://www.indysworld.com/guitars/Elect ... ec-trc.jpg

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My Electra Pages
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The picture above with the blue background is of my X150, which has the rosewood fingerboard. I have seen other examples of that truss rod cover though, so I think it's legit, and was not used for very long.

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Whats the build date on yours? The x130 i just got is april 81.

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My Electra Pages
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May of 1981... not a Phoenix historian, but that TRC is pretty rare. By December of 1981, they would have a triangle shaped one, as shown in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6232

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

Just messed around with a few Truss Covers over time. I think that we were really searching to be a little different!

I don't recall the production timeline or lot numbers but these were almost all done adhoc. Once the NCR machines got turning, it was a simple matter to enter a design via autocad.

Tom

I have at least two Phoenix with that TRC.

Its pretty neat how it follows the contour of the end of the head stock. I like it.

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SlmGuy

I prefer that style.

You must have a slew from 1981 Vid... nice group!

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

yea my dad gave me his phoenix (i think its a x130) as a first guitar about 8 years ago, and ive decided to do some restoration on it today. i started looking and i couldn't find a model with a TRC either. my serial is 103086 so thats march of 81 i believe... but one thing i havent resolved and maybe you guys can help, is that on my phoenix my bridge is different from most others, and the strings dont go through the body,so naturally im just having a hard time placing a model on it. any help would be appreciated, and if needed i can upload more pictures. thanks.

Your bridge is not unusual, if you look at Vid's photo above you will see that all three of his 1981 guitars have the same bridge (and same TRC). Later in 1981 they would start using the heavier brass bridge that threads the strings through the body. Here is my X150 from May of 1981, same bridge:



If you were to remove the bridge, you would find a shallow route for the string to hook underneath:



So I think you've correctly ID'd it, a dual humbucker with stoptail ==> X130. Everything else looks stock to me, a bit of wear, but that's character, right? Good luck and welcome aboard.

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

hey man appreciate such a quick response. like i said ive had this thing for 8 years, and idk what i wanna do with this restoration... my first idea was to just take all the red off and leave it natural, but the painting options always there. the worst part is you're right, the guitar has character and looks cool haha.
idk which dirrection would be appropriate. input and feedback welcome thanks

Removing the paint will not be easy, and the wood underneath will probably look fairly unremarkable. Here is the (now) famous Electra X135 that the Forum has affectionately named 'The Burn Victim':



A former owner apparently used a heat gun to remove the paint, leaving the body burnt and abused. I've played this guitar a number of times and its a great playing/sounding guitar. At first look most people cringe, but it's a real one of a kind guitar finish-wise, and the current owner (redeye) loves the look.

Bottom line, even mint Phoenix's rarely sell for more than 3 bills, unless they are a Laminated or Active model. Refinishing it wouldn't make it more valuable, but it wouldn't hurt the sale price much either way, and it may be quite an undertaking as far as effort and materials. Since your Dad gave it to you, I'm assuming you're not looking at selling it anyway.

If you plan on keeping the guitar and you hate the paint, go ahead and refinish it, but it could be pricey and a lot of work. Also, getting that perfect non-drippy finish isn't as easy as some people assume. Look in the 'Restoration' area here if you want to see some before and after projects, some finishes don't fully cure for months, which is a real test of an owners willpower.

If it was me, I'd play it as is. Survivors are always cool. Cheers and good luck, Mike.

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

Well man, i think you have persuaded me against it solely because youre right... the survivor look has really grown on me these past few years. If i ever decide to sell it (which is unlikely), then ill porbably do it. My idea was to strip the paint off and staining the wood, and possibly adding a clearcoat to it. Yea i know its hard for most people to get a good finish, but i paint cars and such professionally haha i know the dos and donts. But yea, thanks and such. ill stay posted.

--D.J.

Quote:

Your bridge is not unusual, if you look at Vid's photo above you will see that all three of his 1981 guitars have the same bridge (and same TRC). Later in 1981 they would start using the heavier brass bridge that threads the strings through the body. Here is my X150 from May of 1981, same bridge:

The purple one is also an 1981 and had the same bridge. It got changed to the silver one since the FL humidity had rusted the springs off the original. I was not a fan of the string catch design, but I have grown to accept it forevermore. haha!