Oh boy, new toys!!

Yes, it's true, not all guitars are acoustics; some have single coils and some have buckers, and all of those have some serious electrons. Build 'em, work on 'em, mods, questions, Put 'em here!
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Eben
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Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Eben » Sun May 17, 2009 3:27 pm

Monica found these at an estate sale, $10 a pop - The necks are pretty nice, and there's all kindsa stuff on 'em I might steal, or maybe I'll re do 'em, or....

who knows! Lotsa new things to play with!

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Urb
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Joe Sustaire
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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Joe Sustaire » Sun May 17, 2009 6:13 pm

Dam E, you can't beat that!
I'd say Monica did pretty darn good!

Joe
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BaldEagle55
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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by BaldEagle55 » Sun May 17, 2009 10:33 pm

Hey Eben,

Monica is a keeper if she finds deals like that.

I like the Hondo.....cool design.

Do either of them play?

Tom
:D :D :D

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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by westex93 » Mon May 18, 2009 10:54 am

Nice find! What's the name on the Strat? Cool antigua-like finish on it.
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Eben
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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Eben » Mon May 18, 2009 11:52 am

Thanks, boys, yeah, she's way too good for me, I know!

Wes, the Strat Wanna Be is a Mako Traditional.

Tom, neither play well, but the necks are straight and the bodies are fine, so lot's of potential!

The Mako is an interesting guitar - They are Japanese, and apparently they stopped making axes in the mid 80s. The Traditional series was made in the mid 70's for about 5 years and were relatively high end for their stuff - It's a Maple on Maple neck with the skunk stripe, body is mahogany plywood. A lot of players have these and swear by 'em a la Golden Era Japanese Squires. Here's the best info I found on 'em so far. These things are sought after somewhat, and in decent shape go in the $100 to $300 range from what I found.

It seems quite possible that the Hondo and Mako were both made by the same outfit, though the best I could come up with on the Hondo is mid-80's, which is when these Formula 1 Series apparently came out, obviously aimed at being a hair band axe, but pretty decently put together - Floyd Rose trem and locking nut, no-name buckers, but tightly done and insulated. Body looks like the same Mahogany plywood as the other to me, with a nice Rosewood on maple neck. There is a loyal bunch of players who seek them out apparently, they got great player reviews in several places, and people speak of picking them up for between $25 and $100.

This one's essentially sound thought the electronics are pretty thoroughly shot - They are both dirty and corroded and have paint dings. The Mako got abused some way or another; the guts of the neck pickup are missing and the knobs and switch have been squashed by something, but no other appreciable damagebut show almost no fretbard or fret wear at all...

At this point, I plan to restore this one as best as possible, (Keeping all the original parts of course) and replacing all the electronics; I just happen to have a matched set of Texas Specials that would go real nice in there, and come to think of it, I have 2 or 3 trem bridges here somewhere too. Hmmmm...

Urb
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John Prine

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Eben
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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Eben » Mon May 18, 2009 5:54 pm

Some more pics of what I described...

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Urb
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John Prine

UrbanMonique Food Blog

Ed G
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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Ed G » Mon May 18, 2009 8:00 pm

Hi Eben,

Nice find! Here in Japan you see many of these at the used guitar shops and flea markets, so I think your idea to restore them is worthwhile. If you can clean them up and use the original parts as much as possible you'll be able to make a few bucks. Let me know if you need me to dig for some old parts - I come across them occasionally, but like everything here they tend to be pricey. The problem with most of these is rust, as is seen in your photos - same thing happened to the 70's Japanese cars!

Cheers,
Ed

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Re: Oh boy, new toys!!

Post by Eben » Mon May 18, 2009 8:16 pm

Hey Ed, right on Buddy!

Yeah, you got it, but I think I can upgrade and keep the essence of what floats the boat - I'm pretty jazzed about 'em actually!

Urb
‘I love America - I just dont know how to get there anymore.’

John Prine

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