Wanna see my 20$ guitar restoration project??

[redir]

A lot of the old blues greats played slide on such guitars. A ladder braced parlor makes a fantastic sounding blues slide style guitar.

[Wuchak]

Originally Posted by capnjim

LOL.......Thanks for the passive aggressive negative reply.

I don't play slide and never have and will never even attempt to learn.

I just made the saddle, and after my initial attempt, with two strings installed, I have the low E at 2.5mm at the 12th fret and the high E at 2.0mm. I'll put on the other strings and play it a bit...but I am pretty sure I can get the action even lower.

Nothing passive aggressive or negative about it. i think it's a cool project and a great way to have some fun. That type of smaller bodied guitar from that era typically has a pronounced dry midrange that give them a perfect voice for slide so its the first thing I think of trying when I see one. I am not much of a slide player, just open-IV-V-I (at 12th fret) but with the right guitar that's all that is required for hours of fun.

Looking forward to seeing the finished guitar!

[capnjim]

Sorry about that...I guess I'm a bit sensitive. Plus, there is a good chance it might not be playable and will only be suitable for slide.
I hope not.
I'm going to string it up tonight.
I have lots of saddle height to work with so I am hopeful.
I just hope it doesn't disintegrate and burst into flames at the first strum.

[johna2u]

Originally Posted by capnjim

Sorry about that...I guess I'm a bit sensitive. Plus, there is a good chance it might not be playable and will only be suitable for slide.
I hope not.
I'm going to string it up tonight.
I have lots of saddle height to work with so I am hopeful.
I just hope it doesn't disintegrate and burst into flames at the first strum.

In the off chance it does burst into flames you should have some one ready to catch it on video. That would be cool.

[capnjim]

Originally Posted by johna2u

In the off chance it does burst into flames you should have some one ready to catch it on video. That would be cool.

It might almost be worth all of the work. I'll have one of my kids stand by with a fire extinguisher.

[CoolerKing]

let's be nice guys...

[johna2u]

No meaness entended. Just trying to make a lighthearted comment .

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

[capnjim]

Yeah, we were just kidding around, no offense meant or taken.

[tdq]

I actually like the missing frets. Like a Santa Cruz Otis Taylor model.

[capnjim]

It lives!!
Got her all strung up..sounds pretty decent. Not too much low end. If i had known what I was doing, I probably could have done a better job with the bracing. But she plays really nice.
The intonation is not great, I will eventually make a new compensated saddle.
But, the action is great and it plays really nice.
Sounds a bit like an F-hole archtop.
But, for 20$ with 0$ invested, I am pretty happy and proud as its the first time I have ever really worked on an acoustic.

http://i.imgur.com/0RHDfCQ.jpg

[johna2u]

Nice! (And no FLAMES)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[HikariGuitars]

Originally Posted by capnjim

It lives!!
Got her all strung up..sounds pretty decent. Not too much low end. If i had known what I was doing, I probably could have done a better job with the bracing. But she plays really nice.
The intonation is not great, I will eventually make a new compensated saddle.
But, the action is great and it plays really nice.
Sounds a bit like an F-hole archtop.
But, for 20$ with 0$ invested, I am pretty happy and proud as its the first time I have ever really worked on an acoustic.

http://i.imgur.com/0RHDfCQ.jpg

Congrats man! That feeling when you first string up something you built or fully restored is kind of scary/thrilling haha, if you can, post a video so we can see more or less how it sounds.

Regards, Hikari.

[redir]

An old guitar like that which has not been strung up in unknown number of years and has been restored will need to go through a similar process of a new guitar. You will probably start to notice it break in within the first few hours strung up and then even more in the next few days to follow. So what you hear right now will probably improve.

[capnjim]

Funny you mention that, I have been playing it for a couple hours and I thought it was my imagination, but the sound does seem to be filling out a bit.
I'm also in Canada and its very dry with the furnace running.
I don't have a humidifier, but I poked a bunch of holes in a baggie with a bunch of wet paper towels in it and hung it in the sound hole.