The Diagnosis

Where do I even start? Almost everything on this guitar needs help, replacement, or taken out back and shot. Hang on! 

Here's a list, pictures will follow as items are addressed:

Queensryche sticker.

Cracks (at least in finish) in body at either side of neck joint. 

Two frozen tuners.

Missing screws on bridge.

Truss rod nut dangling loose.

Missing nut. Oh lord.

A homemade pickguard in roughly (and I do mean roughly) the same shape as original.

Ground wire from bridge dangling unattached.

Pots soldered by blind man having epileptic fit.

Pickups (which do make noise) taped to keep them in their covers.

Queensryche sticker.


The cracks in the body:


Obviously this thing has taken a few hits. The upside is that when I gave it a little flex the crack wasn't expanding and contracting. I've seen plenty of small cracks, a few millimeters long, from necks being removed roughly, but never this long, on both sides! Here's why:


A plywood body! A splendid tonewood known worldwide for its warmth and sustain. Luckily, it was still holding together; The cracks weren't all the way through a layer. Worse case I might've had to put a few screws through the back of the body to hold it together, but I think it will be alright. The cracks actually help the sound resonate from the neck to the body better. That's what you should tell yourself.



The sticker was easy enough to remove with a heat gun and razorblade. Sorry Lance. 

The next biggest worry, the truss rod.


When I took this photo, the little nut you can turn with whatever fits in the holes was just rattling around, held on by a few threads. There is no adjustment down the neck at the (missing) nut. Notice the well-formed pickguard. Upon removing the strings and the neck (which was holding pretty straight despite the loose truss) I found that the threads were intact and I turned it just a hair past finger-tight until I get new string tension on it. If I ever reach that step. If spring comes first, so does the fly-fishing! 

With the question of the body and neck health answered as a solid "Maybe I CAN make this playable" I decided to celebrate by having a beer and banging on the drums. One more thing:



The serial number! Based on what I found on the interwebs, maybe it's #426 made in 1980?

My first wife was also white and made in 1980. 

We'll see which one gives more feedback!


Next up: Will It Be Wall Art?


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