Framus hollowbody

[ashgray]

I found this in my grandmother's house earlier this year, and finding
information on it has been tricky. Can anyone tell me anything about this? Also, where could i find a replacement bridge?













I think the serial number is 53014-750 (The last digit might be a 9; I'm not sure)

[Spud1950]

The model you have is a Capri.



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

[ashgray]

Thanks!

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?

[sneakypete]

that looks like the joint where the two pieces for the neck come together, like on a classical...no idea on cost for repair but a pro should be able to reglue that joint.

[ashgray]

Would it be a good idea to try and put a pickup in it (I was thinking a P-90 in the neck and maybe something else the bridge)?

[cheepaxes]

Rather than cut into it to install a P-90 you might want to consider something like this:

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

[VintAxe]

Hey ashgray,

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.

[opotable]

50cents to a dollar return on a bolt on goodies car sounds pretty optimistic to me.

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 .

[VintAxe]

I agree opotable. I guess my point is don't pour time and money into a plywood archtop, be dissatisfied with the result, and then hope to get your money back out.

You are right that no one will weep over the loss of a Framus plywood archtop.

[opotable]

but it's still worth doing something with, fit some better machine heads and a suitably vintage style pickup it could end up looking and sounding quite funky.

[johnnyb]

i think im with vintaxe. after tailpiece, bridge, pu and tuners your up to $120 plus shipping. then a re-glue by a repair shop, add another $50-$75. now your pushing close to $200. i myself would rather invest it elsewhere. unless its sentimental, like your grandfather used to play it. then id probably fix it and buy the good parts.