The Electra Forums

Hi, first post here. I recently inherited what I think is an Electra 2242 and I'd like to get it into playable condition.

Knowing next to nothing about setting up or restoring guitars, I have a couple of questions/concerns. I tried to document the guitar's quirks

Here are some pics:


Non-original tuners, and the old ones' screw holes:


Loose bolt on neck screws:


The neck pickup mounting ring is bent out of shape:


Bridge with one non-original intonation screw:


Another view of the warped neck pickup ring:


Non-original strap peg drill holes (why would anybody do this?):


A view of the gaping void between the neck and neck pocket (due to the loosened screws):


So, what would you recommend I do?

In testing this guitar, when the switch and knobs cooperated, the pickups sounded fantastic, and I can see great potential in this guitar - the neck is outstanding. I want to focus on the guitar's physical setup first before I take on its electronics.

I think the loosened neck screws are somebody's attempt at raising the guitar's action...

While I understand how guitar setups work in principle, I've never actually done one myself, but would like to try my hand at it with this guitar.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Electra's!!!

I'd start with these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GuitarTechs-ALL ... 3cc640b7f1
It appears that the neck screw you have are way big amd you will probably have trouble without the inserts. On the bright side, the inserts work great - best connection there is for a bolt on IMO.

The pickup rings I believe are sort of a wacko size - a standard lp ring may or may not fit - maybe take the axe to alocal music store and see if you can test a ring.

Tuners can be difficult to find with the Electra symbol - even though you have a wave headstock it looks like the older style non-Electra engraved covered tuners were used. Something like these would do a reasonably good job:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3x3-Vintage-Met ... 2ebfff4910

They would be nore suited to a 2244 but I suspect at some point you'll be switching out the bridge and tailpiece for new ones - Get chrome and you're all set.

Fill that hole for the strap lock just about to the top with epoxy - put on some black enamel nail polish and finish it off with superglue - then redrill and put in a strap-lok.

Definitely a guitar worth resurrecting and you can do it pretty inexpensively. Good Luck!

Very good suggestions indeed. This guitar can be brought back very easy with a little TLC and work. The pickups may not be original and that may be why the rings are that way or vise versa. You can tell more when you look under the pickups and check the wires and harness connections etc. Looks like someone did use oversized screws in the neck as I would assume the older holes were loose or gouged out at some time so the insers should work perfect for that. Give the neck a good cleaning with water and a damp soft rag and then you may want to tape the wood and buff the frets with 00 steel wool to polish them up. Lemon oil on the cleaned fretboard will bring out that rosewood nicely. Use a small amount and rub in in as it will soak it up if the rosewood is dry from time.As for the bridge assembly and tailpiece I would also use the 00 steel wool to gently buff them out and remove the green junk etc and then use a good brass polish to bring them back to life. If that fails then replace them but the brass ones are usually pretty tough so long as the adjusting screws are not worn down tto the point of not working or not holding the strings in place. While it is apart also clean the body with a damp rag and some good cleaner of your choice.I prefer the dunlop cleaner and polish or maybe the Martin but most will do. It will be a learning experience but lots of fun to do and the stop tail piece LP style are far easier to setup than say a strat or locking trem style. She will look great and good luck. Welcome to the forums mortarman120gang11c

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

+1 to all above, your neck pickup is flipped around-screws should face closest to neck. Good luck and be warned that this can be habit forming!

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

Wow, thanks so much for the help everybody!

Regarding the neck screws, do any of you know of a tutorial for how to go about installing them with the inserts? I feel this is something I need to learn more about before I attempt anything.

As it is now, the loose screws can be tightened. I tried this once and it seemed to leave the neck firmly attached as normal to the body of the guitar, but perhaps not surprisingly then the action became way too low, with strings almost flush against the frets.

I guess raising the bridge would be the proper way of adjusting the action (with the neck snug in its pocket, screws tightened)? (I apologize for the newbiotness of this question)

Would there be any reason I should not try to tighten the screws as they are?

If the neck screws will hold I guess you could be ok. They are clearly not right though and if it were me... well, I'd lose them and use the inserts. Usually the inserts get put in the neck flush or just below the wood with an allen wrench (sometimes I've seen them slotted on top to take a flat head screwdriver - avoid those). So twist in the inserts and snug up the neck. You are 100% correct about raising the bridge to get the strings off the neck. You might even possibly need a neck shim although I've never come across an Electra that did need one. My guess is that those giant screws are not helping and the bridge needs adjusting.

There is a ton of setup information here. Just do things slowly and remember that a guitar has to settle in for a while after major adjustments. We are here is you have questions. Welcome to the world of DIY guitar setup. After you learn how you will never pay for it again

Yes if the neck screws hold the neck in place then you can slowly raise the bridge to the desired action height but with those oversized screws you may still want to try the inserts. Good Luck

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