Classic or Crap?

[CharlieRock]

I'm new to guitars and I was wondering if anyone out there could give me some info on this guitar. An old timer that lives down the street from me gave it to me. The name on the neck reads "Decca" and the sticker in the sound hole also reads "Decca" and under that it has the number "124". The label above the nut reads "STEEL REIN-FORCED NECK". I don't see any more labels or serial numbers or anything! The guitar measures 36". I Googled the company but I'm not finding much info. From the little info that I did find I believe the guitar was manufactured sometime in the sixties.

The soundboard is coming unglued at the bottom and it's missing the belt peg. It also has a couple of scratches and it's missing the E and G strings. The B string looks to be metal (steel, I'm guessing). It’s also missing a tuning knob. I tuned the strings that are left and I played with it for a few. Believe it or not the darn thing sounds pretty good. It's also lighter than my other guitar of the same size.

I would appreciate if any of you Guitar Gurus out there can give me some info. Is it a piece of crap or is it a classic that I should have repaired? Any thoughts or comments will be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pics:








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[Spud1950]

Decca musical instruments was a division of Decca Records.Imported from Japan,sold through catalogs in the 1960s.Yours is a typical, inexpensive entry level guitar.The cost of the repairs will far exceed the value of the guitar.If you really like,get it repaired,but there is no collector value in it at all.

[cheepaxes]

It could probably be made playable without a lot of work. If you're prepared to get enough of an education to do it yourself, and don't expect pro results, most of it would probably be relatively inexpensive. As Spud suggests, having a pro do it would cost more than it's worth.

I suspect it was not meant to have that steel B string. I would take that off.

How high is the action at the 12th fret?

-Scott

[VintAxe]

Hey CharlieRock.

My opinion is consistent with what you've heard from the other replies. This is a classical guitar and should have nylon strings. Also, I just got a classical back from my luthier on Thursday that needed a saddle and the tailpiece re-glued. It was a Yari owned by my bandmate. Regluing the tailpiece cost $60. I'm sure he'll have a heart attack when he sees the bill.

My opinion is that the guitar is not worth fixing unless you do it yourself. So, I guess my vote leans toward "crap".

[Spud1950]

"Classic or Crap?"

How's about classic crap? Sorry,couldn't reist that one!

[CharlieRock]

[johnnyb]

thats what happens when someone puts steel strings on a nylon string guitar. ive fixed a few of these in my day, if the split is semi clean and you have some wood glue and masking tape, go for it. take the strings off, squirt in some glue so it will cover wherever the break meets. its "classic crap" so precision is not a factor. take pieces of masking tape and pull the 2 halves together starting from the ends and work towards the middle. attatch the tape to the top, pull down and push in the sides if needed. leave like a couple of millimeters between the pieces of tape so you can see if the top and sides are coming together properly, you can always go back and re-do before the glue dries. looks like 20-25 tape pulls. wipe off glue ooze with a damp paper towel. let dry for a day or so, pull off tape, clean. i would let it set for a few days before putting strings back on. nylon that is.

[sneakypete]

I see those around the web here in Japan, they seem to be entry level guitars from what I can tell...it does have characteristics seen on Suzuki made nylons from that time...headstock shape, screws on the bridge which were probably covered at some point unless they were added by a former owner which would be a bad sign, and the steel winding posts...and here some players use steels on their Yamaha Dynamics with that feature and evidently Yamaha did make steels for that line which went out of production mid `60s...I tried them on one I have but didn`t care for the tone and intonation problems due to the saddle which is not intonated. I recently got a CBS piece of classic crap, and it appears to be very much like the Deccas I see on line though I gotta say, I`ve never seen a Decca up close and personal. My CBS experience has left me scarred...I`d been very lucky up to that point with my on line purchases of nylon strings but guess it had to run out sometime. Still, you got yourn for nothin` so I `spose ya can`t complain eh. But don`t worry too much if it turns out to be a wall hanger.