StratoIbanez Clone Restoration/Modding (56k=HAHA)

[leandroab]

So, after a successful poker night at my friend's house I went to take a leak before leaving but before reaching the bathroom I saw this guitar laying on his bedroom floor... So after I pissed almost 1:30 minutes worth of beer I asked him about it and if I could take it with me, since he didn't want it and would never use it (he doesn't play guitar).

So, for the price of $0 I got a "new" guitar, a Golden. Apparently it's a Brazilian instrument company that makes guitars, basses, and more. Check it out on google. Here are the specs:

-Brand: Golden(shower lol)
-Model: GSTS-1000
-Origin: China
-Body: "Cedro" (Cedar)
-Shape: RG shape kinda
-Fingerboard: "Jacarandá" (no translation?)
-Neck: Maple
-Frets: 22
-Bridge: "Vintage" (???)

My plans for it:

-Baritone scale conversion (new neck and fretboard)
-Two humbuckers instead of 3 single coils
-Regular restauration (new parts, fix damages)
-New finish
-Full scallop old neck (bonus)
-Soften that major neck heel?

I don't know what scale to choose yet. Probably 27" scale. Same goes to body finish, I have no idea yet. This will be my frankenstein guitar. I'll test a bunch of theories and crap BEFORE actually modding my Ibbys and making my custom 7 from scratch. So finally, here are some pictures:


























I have no idea from where that screw and that other thingy came from




Neck heel


Anoher unidentified object. This time pulled from the bridge cavity


So yeah, that's it. What do you guys think? Is it worth it? Any advice on Cedar bodies? Tagima makes guitars with the same specs (some with mahogany too) and they sound awesome... Any advice on the wood and pickups to go with it?

PEESH OuT!

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UPDATE: 08/10/09
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1614250-post16.html
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UPDATE: 08/16/09
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1622335-post19.html
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UPDATE: 08/17/09
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1622335-post22.html
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UPDATE: 09/23/09
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1671233-post32.html
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[orb451]

Sweet man, looks pretty good! Although that's one helluva swimming pool they did with the pickup routing.

No advice on pickups, what sound are you going for with twin buckers????

orb.......

 

[s_k_mullins]

Can't beat a free guitar!
Congrats

 

[Andrew_B]

lol do you really want to know what the screw and unidentified object is for?

i believe they are actually meant to be holding the switch mechanism in place

have a look at your switch (side on) and tell me if theres a screw in the centre....

cedar is ussually associated with acoustics as its ussually extremely light... and prone to denting/damage due to that....
then again, im sure theres probably differt verieties around other than the ones iv used...

as for jacaranda, if im not mistaken jacaranda is actually an australian native plant.....

that cavity rout is bloody aweful hahahaha

but the body looks pretty nice..... sun burst actually looks well done lol
back of the neck has some nice grain in it....
same with the fretboard....

heel can be fixed if your refinishing
example:

gotta love my paint skillz

 

[Apophis]

that hole under the pickguard is HUGE

 

[leandroab]

that cavity rout is bloody aweful hahahaha

Although that's one helluva swimming pool they did with the pickup routing.

that hole under the pickguard is HUGE

Yeah, don't tell me about it! aahhaa
When I removed the pickguard I was like
Not to mention the two screws coming out of the wood, and the excessive amounts of leftover lacquer or something. Good news is that there is DEFINITELY no routing to be done for the humbuckers, except for a new pickguard

lol do you really want to know what the screw and unidentified object is for?

i believe they are actually meant to be holding the switch mechanism in place

Holy crap! I think I saw it But all the electronics are going away anyways. I'm keeping the pups though... Spare parts are never enough!

as for jacaranda, if im not mistaken jacaranda is actually an australian native plant.....

Nah, it's antive to the south america too.. We got shitloads of them

But hey, nice idea on the neck heel cutaway too... I will keep something along those lines in my mind...

I'm definitely sanding that finish off, although it was nicely done... Too many dings and scratches on the wood...

Keep 'em coming guys!

 

[CrushingAnvil]

Cool man. I think it'd be worth it!

 

[Andrew_B]

Good news is that there is DEFINITELY no routing to be done for the humbuckers, except for a new pickguard

bahahaha

Holy crap! I think I saw it But all the electronics are going away anyways. I'm keeping the pups though... Spare parts are never enough!

yea spares are always good... or sell them to fund the new stuff lol

Nah, it's antive to the south america too.. We got shitloads of them

lol straight from wiki:

"Brisbane, Australia adopted the Jacaranda over 150 years ago as there are very few flowering trees and plants which could survive the typical long dry winter. Many locals believe it is native to the region."

i guess im just another aussie local who thinks these pain in the ass trees are natives lol
(they smell bad after it rains )

But hey, nice idea on the neck heel cutaway too... I will keep something along those lines in my mind...

your lucky man... it has ferrules already! instead of a shitty neck plate lol...

so you can easily recut it and re drill it....
(if your smart you can even cut the bit off and take it to the hardware store with you to make sure the drill bit you buy fits )

and you can even sand the heel so it slopes towards the neck a bit....
then just deepen the holes a lil so the ferrules go back in a little deeper....

I'm definitely sanding that finish off, although it was nicely done... Too many dings and scratches on the wood...

yea its pretty dinged and scratched....

what colour?

what control layout?

custom pickgaurd?

 

[Mattmc74]

Looks like its going to be a fun project. It's in pretty good shape too. Congrats.

 

[awesomeaustin]

fill that route with water and have ss.org pool party!

 

[Pingu]

fill that route with water and have ss.org pool party!

Yay!!!

Toss in some EMG's they'll make any 'beater' guitar sound decent.

 

[leandroab]

Toss in some EMG's they'll make any 'beater' guitar sound decent.

Hmm, I never used actives before. And with all the people talking crud about EMGs, If I ever went active, I would probably go with Blackouts. The lack of music stores nearby sucks ass...

fill that route with water and have ss.org pool party!

You bring the beer and I'll bring the Brazilian bootay!

what colour?

what control layout?

custom pickgaurd?

I don't know about what I'm going to do concerning the body finish...

Here in my home town, and with my dad, I have access to a shitload of kinds of paint, including crazy color car paints. But I'm leaving town in one week for college

I was thinking about doing a Type O Negative style finish: black satin with green ductape as fret markers. Simple and awesome. But idk, there are a lot of option for me to consider...

Idk about the pickguard either... The thing is that I never actually liked pickguards. I never really liked the strat shapes either. But with that freaking "Grand Canyon" routing over there, I'm left with no options.

As of now, the first mission is to remove the sun burst finish. I'm going to my dad's workplace this tuesday as he has a shitload of tools and I don't have to worry about dust and shit... I'm really excited!

Expect pics to all those interested!

 

[leandroab]

Paint-stripping procedures have been initiated. As I type, the paint remover is doing its business. I'm taking pictures of the process and I'll upload some of them soon.

Oh yeah!

 

[M3RC1L3SS]

Sounds like a fun project, good score dude. Keep us updated!

 

[willybman]

YES DO THE TYPE O FINISH!!!!

DO IT!!!!!

 

[leandroab]

Alright. I'm done for today.
I've stripped almost all the paint on the guitar, except from the sides, cuz its a bitch to get the paint out from the corners...

I'll probably be done with it by tomorrow.

Procedure was simple. Apply, wait (about 30 to 40 minutes), scrape/sand, repeat.
no mistery

Now. I have the option of a free custom pickguard. It can be made out of stainless steel or brass. What do you guys think? yay or nay?

Second, I can't figure out what type of finish to choose. The grain on the wood is not that interesting (it's confirmed. It's cedar) so no stain (and the body apparently is a 3pc cedar one). Options are automotive paint or some other kind. What color? Idk... I was thinking about some green (Type O negative still haha) since this would be my third black guitar (no) if I did the satin black finish... But again, green with silver or whatever color (brass) pickguard??? Not sure on that.

I NEED OPINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, to the pics:





Paint-stripper applied

Product used (industrial scale ftw)

Paint and clear coat (varnish) starting to come out

Ahhh... Some quality office time to wait the paint-stripped to take effect

Result after 3 rounds of paint-stripper plus scraping/sanding the leftover goo



More to come !

 

[Empryrean]

This is gonna be awesome

 

[MFB]

In regards to the pickguard, NO. Don't do a brass/aluminum pickguard on this beauty. If anything, I'd do the opposite and get something somewhat vintage like a white-pearl pickguard over a Placid Blue body finish

 

[leandroab]

Time for a little story
So. It was sunday, I was bored, so I said to myself: "Hey, lets get rid of that ugly ass neck heel!"

So I planned everything, started drawing the limits on the body with a pencil, picked up the dremel tool and as I turned the dremel on my dad appeared outta nowhere and asked what I was doing. I explained and he said: "Oh no, the dremel won't do it. Here, use this sander"

So he hands me this big ass orbital sander. I say: "Dad, I don't have too much of experience with this tool. I'll probably fuck this shit up." And he said: "Noo it's ok, just don't do this and that *hand signals*"

So I was like "Ok, fuck it. I got this for free anyways"... Aaaaand the results came up just as I expected. Total fuck. Hahaha

Here we go!:

Body stripped from paint



Tool to be used


Sanding process has begun (oh shit)



He will be inspecting my work today


Me failing sanding the neck heel






After I couldn't feel my thumb anymore, I knew it was time to improvise a sanding block. All hail my ghetto s.b.


Aftermath




"I can even see it from up here! You fucked up really bad!!"



So it did NOT come even close as I expected. But it turned out as another thing that actually looks good! So I'm still excited about it.

Next stop? Paint shop!

 

[Thin_Ice_77]

Looking good dude