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| View Poll Results: Is a free guitar too expensive? | |||
| Lug it home on the train and get it fixed |
   
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4 | 100.00% |
| Buy a 2nd hand one locally cheaper than getting it fixed |
  
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0 | 0% |
| Even a new Encore (or similar) will be cheaper |
  
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0 | 0% |
I'm a guitar snob, I can't bear the idea of playing on an Encore 
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0 | 0% |
| Voters: 4. You may not vote on this poll | |||
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#1
07-12-2014, 07:56 AM
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Cheap electric bass - worth restoring?
I'm visiting my mother who has an Encore bass guitar. It works but the knobs crackle badly and it only seems to work with volume turned up to full.
I know Encore is a starter guitar - is getting a free 2nd hand one fixed worth it, or would buying a working 2nd hand one be cheaper than this? I've never played bass so I just want a working one to muck about on and see if I enjoy it enough to branch out from regular guitars!
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Yamaha APX-500 - Crafter MD-80 12 Eq (12-string) - and a 20 year old crappy Jose masy mas classical!
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#2
07-12-2014, 10:53 AM
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take it home, repair it best you can and either keep it or sell it if you can't repair it. you'll learn a lot in the process.
play music!
__________________
2014 Martin 00015M 2009 Martin 0015M 2008 Martin HD28 2007 Martin 000-18GE 2006 Taylor 712 2006 Fender Parlor GDP100 1978 Fender F65 1968 Gibson B25-12N Various Electrics
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#3
07-12-2014, 11:30 AM
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Could be as simple as a shot or two of contact cleaner into the pots and exercise them a few times, or maybe a couple of new pots and a few minutes of soldering.
__________________
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird
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#4
07-12-2014, 11:58 AM
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As Clint says the pots probably just need a good cleaning - if not, replacement is easy enough; FWIW there's a minor resurgence of interest in these first-wave Japanese guitars, so if it's in any kind of playable shape do the work to get the electronics up to snuff and put on some new strings (I'd recommend light-gauge flatwounds - that's how they came from the factory back in the early/mid-60's) - could be worth a few quid in trade when you're ready to step up to something better...
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#5
07-12-2014, 12:19 PM
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Even if you have to replace the pots it's no big deal. They're cheap and easy to obtain. If you have basic soldering skills you can easily install them yourself.
Musicians Friend has bass strings for as low as 9 bucks if you're looking to keep costs down.
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#6
07-13-2014, 05:15 AM
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Quote:
Realistically not into soldering myself as I have neither the equipment or skill, but that sounds like something that would be very cheap to have done?
__________________
Yamaha APX-500 - Crafter MD-80 12 Eq (12-string) - and a 20 year old crappy Jose masy mas classical!
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#7
07-13-2014, 07:06 AM
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Yup. Electronic repair stores like Radio Shack carry the stuff in aerosol cans. Just spray a quick shot of the stuff into the body of the potentiometer and give it a few twists to spread it around and remove grime from the contacts inside. As far as replacing the pots, I don't know what the going rate is for your area but it shouldn't be super expensive - maybe $20-30 in parts plus labor. It's a very straightforward job unless you're dealing with a semi-hollow or hollow body electric.
__________________
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird
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#8
07-13-2014, 08:25 AM
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Quote:
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