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Statistics: Posted by opotable — Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:03 pm
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You are right that no one will weep over the loss of a Framus plywood archtop.
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Tue Dec 23, 2008 3:03 pm
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i like old framus guitars fine myself but what we're seeing here is really nothing spectacular, just another plywood archtop. i say if the owner wants to customize it to suit himself then go for it .
Statistics: Posted by opotable — Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:18 pm
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I see 2 perspectives when it comes to adding pickups to an acoustic hollowbody. First, there is the collectors perspective that says as soon as you cut holes in the top of this guitar, it's firewood. Any value the guitar currently has will be lost.
The second perspective is that of the modder. This is the fella that likes to buy cheaper vintage instruments and tinker with them. The modder is not particularly concerned with what the long run value of their modified instruments might be, they are paid back by enjoying the modification process and having a customized instrument that suits their needs.
So, before cutting holes, decide whether you are a collector or a modder. If you think you might be a collector, I would suggest putting this guitar in stock, playable condition and then selling it. You can then take the money from the sale, combine it with whatever you would have spent on parts, and buy a guitar that is closer to what you want.
If you are a modder, then break out the saw or do as Scott suggests which is a less radical approach to electrifying the guitar.
The main issue I see with modding a cheap guitar is that you seldom recover your investment in time and parts. I learned this lesson in high school when a friend of mine wanted a porsche but owned a volkswagon. His solution was to buy a fiberglass mod kit for the volkswagon and pour a bunch of hours and money into making his VW as close to a porsche as he could. Of course, a VW will never be a porsche so he ultimately became dissatisfied and decided to sell his project. Well, it ultimately sold for about 50 cents on the dollar for what he had invested not counting all the time he put into it.
The moral of my story is don't try to make your volkswagon a porsche unless you are not particularly concerned with what it's resale value might be.
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:58 pm
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http://store.guitarfetish.com/nemojapi.html
...which would require screwing into the sides of the neck. I've also known people to install piezo pickups under the bridges of acoustic archtops. That maybe be more of an acoustic-sounding solution than you're looking for.
There are some surface mount pickups here:
http://store.guitarfetish.com/vintagestyle.html
...but you would still need to drill holes in the top to mount them, and possible to run the pickup leads into the guitar.
-Scott
Statistics: Posted by cheepaxes — Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:18 pm
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There's also a horrible crack at the heel of the neck:
The crack goes all the way around the heel. You can easily bend the neck.
How much do you think it would cost to get this fixed at a local shop? And how much would it cost to get the bridge and tailpiece put on?
Statistics: Posted by ashgray — Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:10 pm
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Beside the bridge,you're also missing the tailpiece. Both pieces are available from various vendors. Although they may not look exactly like the originals, there are plenty available that should work. Here's a couple of examples.
Tailpiece
Archtop Bridge
Statistics: Posted by Spud1950 — Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:47 am
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I think the serial number is 53014-750 (The last digit might be a 9; I'm not sure)
Statistics: Posted by ashgray — Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:10 pm
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