NgD

[jaybones]

I guess its a tele..

Got a free Johnson acoustic guitar a couple years ago. Was at a meeting getting change in the lady's office when I saw a guitar case near the door. Asked whose it was and she said "Its your if you want it. Somebody left it here a couple weeks ago and I've been leaving messages and talking to his room mate, and I said if he didn't get it out of my office by yesterday I'm putting it in the dumpster."

So I opened it up and saw a pretty handsome Johnson cutaway. Root beer transparent burst with cream binding. Strings were badly corroded (!), RW FB was very dry and the guitar was dirty and dusty. Strings were tight to the neck (truss rod was tightened all the way, but the neck otherwise looked straight and salvageable) and the tuners were decent quality sealed tuners.

I figured at worst I'd have a set of 3+3 tuners so I decided I'd take the guitar. Also I'd hate to see a decent instrument end up in the trash. Took it home, took the strings off and loosened the truss rod all the way. Used some FB oil (Stew-Mac restoration oil) and SM preservation polish to clean it up. While I was doing that I heard something moving around inside the body. Turned the guitar over and shook it, finding a dust bunny the size of a fist, with two guitar picks (cheap plastic kind that music stores used to give away in a dish on the counter and a crumpled up dollar bill! Score, a buck ahead on that one! Hadn't cost me anything yet- had all the chemicals and the set of strings I wasn't ever going to use and didn't even know I had.

Before I took it to trade the guy, I polished it up and made sure the neck was as good as I could get it. Heard something inside and there was another dollar bill! Can't for the life of me think that I would have found a dollar and put it back in there. Debated keeping it since it seemed to be printing money.



Let it sit over night and acclimate to the warmer conditions of my house (office was a little chilly and the winter ride in my car was still not as toasty as I thought the guitar deserved).

Tried to adjust the truss rod and give the neck some back bow but the rod was bound up in the neck channel. So rather than force something and possibly break it I let it sit.

Next morning I tried again to adjust the rod, and again it was stuck. So again I left it alone. That evening I tried again, and the rod seemed to move a little bit. I was working the neck with my hands a little at a time (adjust, work, adjust, work) when suddenly and loudly it broke free!! Thought I had broken something but turned out I hadn't.

Put a NOS set of acoustic strings I had in the bottom of my guitar gear (bought them a few years ago when the local music store didn't carry my regular brand) and tuned it up. Gradually brought it up to standard and made minor adjustments to the neck as I went.

Eventually got it to standard and it had pretty good action. Not great, but decent for what I was going to use as a campfire guitar.

Anyway after 2 years I realized it hadn't been out of its case more than a few times. I thought maybe I'd see if I could trade it for some pedals or something or sell it outright. Put an ad on CL stating such and got a response from a guy who sent me picture of a Tokai tele style guitar. Purple Hannah Montana guitar, I asked if it was full size. He said it was just a little smaller body but the neck was full size. Turned out to be 3/4 if that. Neck is nearly full sized but the body is noticeably smaller. That's why I used a lower case g in NgD.

Here it is.







Lipstick neck and single coil, tele like bridge. Doesn't sound too bad, might want to throw another single coil I have laying around in the bridge. And if it turns out that I can't play it, I've got an on again off again girlfriend who expressed some interest in learning to play. Didn't cost me anything except a half hour drive.

Told me it was a Tokai, but it says Disney by Washburn. So I don't know if Tokai made it for Washburn or if Tokai is somehow associated with Washburn.

She has long but thin fingers and is on the smaller side. Her mother is from Guam and her father was an airman. She has a little Polynesian look to her, and has perfect pitch (never had any formal training), never played an instrument (has an innate sense of rhythm).

She asked about learning bass, thought she might play bass in a punk band. Could totally see her playing a short scale bass doing Joan Jett.

Could also see her playing a J Bass in green sparkle (I happen to have a spare GF body that I sorta buggered drilling holes). Its black and I'd need to strip it and refinish it.

Or, there's a local carver whose wife gets some instruction from me. Thought about having him carve a Hello Kitty on a body blank. Spray it white and add the color with brushes.