Garage Sale Rescue

went to a garage sale this past weekend and spotted this forlorn little thing:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1825.jpg

marked $25 w/ stand. ok, why not? the stand is worth $10

let's see what i can do with her. first, get these rusty strings off (there's one missing anyway)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1826.jpg

now we'll open her up and take a look under the hood:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1827.jpg

and get the neck off

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1828.jpg

hmmmm, curious. glad there's not a bunch of routing under the pickguard

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1829.jpg

kinda like it without the Florida shaped pickguard...i'll just tighten down the knobs straight to the body:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1831.jpg

been itchin' to try a "neck pickup under the pickguard" arrangement. now lessee, what would go good with this blue body and fit between the bridge pup and the neck? hey, i've got this set of Beatles waterproof coasters...i wonder:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1830.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1832.jpg

sweet.

now about that headstock logo...time for a little home-made decal.

from this:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1833.jpg

to this:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1834.jpg

the original tuners are crap. one of the keys spins around like a weathervane

i'll check craigslist. maybe somebody's got a set for sale.
whadya know, a set of keystone style for $20. same day service:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1835.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1837.jpg

ruh-roh reorge! the shafts on the new ones are slightly larger than the originals and won't fit through the holes:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1836.jpg

no worries. a power drill solves that problem. voila:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1838.jpg

a pack of Ernies and she's all set:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1840.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1839.jpg

surprisingly, the action ain't too bad. a couple of tweaks to the saddles and the action and intonation are close enough for rock and roll

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1841.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1842.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/hekawi/IMG_1844.jpg

plugged her in and she sounds real good. no scratchy pots, same with the switch. the bridge pickup rocks. the neck pickup doesn't seem to know that it is underneath anything. i've heard much worse from a much more expensive guitar. and she makes a nice cousin to my Beatlecaster.

Nice find for the price!

I always see those firstact guitars at yard sales and flea markets and ive even been tempted to buy them but never have. But now you may have inspired me, nice little makeover.

I have two M935s (sort of a LP doublecut style). They were $50 each. Never found a better $50 guitar and I doubt it's possible. Love mine.

I'll take one of those in lefty ,please

I have a First Act guitar now that I paid 25 for. Great guitar for the money. You could do a lot with it as show above.

Is the body plywood? Just curious. Hard to be sure from the neck pocket picture.

Is the body plywood? Just curious. Hard to be sure from the neck pocket picture.

it isn't plywood, but it is a lot of pieces. you can see the the seams if you hold the top just right to the light.

Power drill!?!

I think you meant to write "repairman's reamer".

Don't try this at home kids. Never, ever use a power drill to enlarge tuner holes, you're much too likely to crack the peghead or worse.

Cool budget guitar, BTW. Some of those 1st Acts are pretty good-looking.

Nice score!

I wanna hear that thang play DAY TRIPPER!

Gear!

I like that guitar.....if it was my only one I could make plenty of good music and be perfectly happy. Just goes to show if it intonates and plays OK that's really about all you need. I've actually got a similar guitar stashed at mom's house in Alaska, I play it when I'm up there.

Power drill!?!

Don't try this at home kids. Never, ever use a power drill to enlarge tuner holes, you're much too likely to crack the peghead or worse.

Cool budget guitar, BTW. Some of those 1st Acts are pretty good-looking.

thanks for the warning. fortune must've smiled on me. it worked perfectly in this case. but duly noted, if that problem arises again i'll be gentler!

I wanna hear that thang play DAY TRIPPER!

Gear!

that was, of course, the first thing i played when i plugged it in.

followed by "I Feel Fine" and "Ticket To Ride"