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Old 01-18-2020, 05:04 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Default NGD... can you help identify it?

I just founds this leaning up against a bin on my way home from the cinema!

It had to come home with me - couldn't let it be crushed and thrown in a landfill. It can come camping with me and sing songs around the campfire. And I won't mind the kids wanting a go.

Can anyone help identify it? Here's what I can share:
  • There is no headstock logo or makers sticker
  • The tuners look like cheap chinese ones
  • It has a zero fret
  • And adjustable saddle. This and the zero fret strike me as odd on a cheapo guitar
  • It's all laminate
  • It's ladder braced
  • It's spruce and hog
  • 25.5" scale
  • Feels like a poly finish
  • I guess it's what you'd call an OM? (never owned one, sorry, so don't have an exact idea of OM size) It's about the same thickness as my GS Mini, but a little wider and taller.
  • Someone cared enough to bother with multi-ply binding and a b/w laminate truss rod cover.

I know it's not worth anything, don't worry

It'll need quite a bit of fixing, but there seems to be no cracks, except in the bridge. I'm happy to have it as a little project. It is freezing cold and soaking wet. It's in my guitar room warming and drying now.












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Last edited by RalphH; 01-18-2020 at 05:14 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-18-2020, 05:33 PM
FoxHound4690 FoxHound4690 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphH View Post
I just founds this leaning up against a bin on my way home from the cinema!

It had to come home with me - couldn't let it be crushed and thrown in a landfill. It can come camping with me and sing songs around the campfire. And I won't mind the kids wanting a go.

Can anyone help identify it? Here's what I can share:
  • There is no headstock logo or makers sticker
  • The tuners look like cheap chinese ones
  • It has a zero fret
  • And adjustable saddle. This and the zero fret strike me as odd on a cheapo guitar
  • It's all laminate
  • It's ladder braced
  • It's spruce and hog
  • 25.5" scale
  • Feels like a poly finish
  • I guess it's what you'd call an OM? (never owned one, sorry, so don't have an exact idea of OM size) It's about the same thickness as my GS Mini, but a little wider and taller.
  • Someone cared enough to bother with multi-ply binding and a b/w laminate truss rod cover.

I know it's not worth anything, don't worry

It'll need quite a bit of fixing, but there seems to be no cracks, except in the bridge. I'm happy to have it as a little project. It is freezing cold and soaking wet. It's in my guitar room warming and drying now.












upload image
My guess is it is indeed a cheap chinese or korean guitar... There's no makers mark or authenticity sticker inside the sound hole and it's very odd that a guitar would have a "zero" fret.... It's pretty safe to say it's not american made.... It could possibly be an SX brand guitar. they're one of the largest, if not THE largest asian guitar factory. then again SX usually have their logo in the headstock so no real way to know for sure...

But if you're interested in a DIY project, get some parts and try and restore it and get it up and running..... might make a good guitar for your kids to learn on.
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Old 01-18-2020, 05:43 PM
frankmcr frankmcr is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphH View Post
I just founds this leaning up against a bin on my way home from the cinema!
Used to be a zero fret was the mark of a cheapo guitar.

If it's just come in from the wet do not leave it there leaning against the radiator!
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Old 01-18-2020, 05:44 PM
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sevenpalms sevenpalms is offline
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Looks like a 3 string Sebastian...
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Old 01-18-2020, 05:49 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Originally Posted by sevenpalms View Post
Looks like a 3 string Sebastian...
Lol, thx!

Dont worry, I moved it to the other side of the room from the radiator as soon as I'd taken the pick. I need it to acclimatise, not bake

Any ideas on age? The adjustable saddle make think its fairly old.

The frets have been filed down a lot and there is quite a bit of wear on the zero fret. The fretboard is also pretty scalloped between frets. It's clearly seen a lot of play. And some abuse.
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Old 01-18-2020, 05:59 PM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Not Korean or Chinese. It's 1970's Japanese. MIJ, to the collectors. My first guess would be Aspen, but these guitars were marketed under many names. 000 size (OM if long scale) has a lower bout about 15" wide. Certainly worth saving.
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:03 PM
sstaylor58 sstaylor58 is offline
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No idea what it is but I have and older Harmony electric that I saved that has a zero fret, maybe it’s a Harmony? Or could one of many cheaper brands...looks like its bones are decent though, good for you for saving it. It might surprise you after you give it some attention! My old Harmony sounds pretty good, and most people would not even have given it a second glance when I got it. Good luck!
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:04 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Yeah, its about 15"

Wow, didn't expect it to be MIJ. Even more glad I saved it. Its definitely been someone's beater, and though I treat all guitars with respect, this one will live in the living room, not hanging out of reach in my humidity controlled office, so it'll be my beater too I guess.

I'll replace the nut, replace the tuners. Saddle I'll need to look at whether I try to replace the bone part of the adjustable one or just put in a fixed saddle. It probably needs a refret but I'm too lazy to do it myself and too tight to pay someone else to do it so it'll just have to stay like it is.

I have some rosewood bridge pins around somewhere it can have.

Speaking of rosewood, the fretboard looks pretty decent.

The neck is nice and flat with no humps or bends.

The bridge looks slightly high, but only 1 or 2mm and it is pretty damp. It may come back. Then again, theres only two strings on it at the moment, so it might end up with a really high bridge once it's under tension.
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:14 PM
pagedr pagedr is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphH View Post
Yeah, its about 15"

Wow, didn't expect it to be MIJ. Even more glad I saved it. Its definitely been someone's beater, and though I treat all guitars with respect, this one will live in the living room, not hanging out of reach in my humidity controlled office, so it'll be my beater too I guess.

I'll replace the nut, replace the tuners. Saddle I'll need to look at whether I try to replace the bone part of the adjustable one or just put in a fixed saddle. It probably needs a refret but I'm too lazy to do it myself and too tight to pay someone else to do it so it'll just have to stay like it is.

I have some rosewood bridge pins around somewhere it can have.

Speaking of rosewood, the fretboard looks pretty decent.

The neck is nice and flat with no humps or bends.

The top looks very slightly bellied, but only 1 or 2mm and it is pretty damp. It may sole back.
I bought one of these saddles for an old Gibson I used to own, worked like a charm and was much easier than reconfiguring the bridge/saddle.

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools...ustic-guitars/
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:18 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Oh cool, thanks, that looks useful.

Regarding the top, the grain lines dont seem to quite match on the edge of the sound hole, but there is spruce looking grain right across, so if it is laminate, it's all spruce, not spruce on junk mystery wood core. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow.
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:25 PM
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Organic Sounds Select Guitars Organic Sounds Select Guitars is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
Not Korean or Chinese. It's 1970's Japanese. MIJ, to the collectors. My first guess would be Aspen, but these guitars were marketed under many names. 000 size (OM if long scale) has a lower bout about 15" wide. Certainly worth saving.
It has a lot of similarities to my early 1970’s Sigma (made in Japan). Mine doesn’t have a zero fret, but I understand that some from that era did. The rosette is very similar. Mine used to have tuners that looked like yours. I replaced them, and the guitar is surprisingly good for all laminate. I believe that guitars from different brands were made in the same factories, using the same parts with only slight design differences.

This is my Sigma:
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:27 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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It certainly looks like a close cousin! I'm guessing it once had a maker's label and a headstock decal over the poly, both of which have fallen off
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:47 PM
Dreadfulnaught Dreadfulnaught is offline
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Sure looks a lot like a Morris F302, but Morris did not use a zero fret. Japanese, 1970s. The sound may surprise you when you get the guitar right.
I’ve been playing for 55 years now. I like a zero fret. Gretsch, Harptone, Steinberger, and Mosrite use or have used it. A good friend of mine went to Roberto-Venn luthiers school and was taught to build using a zero fret. He now installs zero-glide nuts on his builds.
The sound of an open string is more consistent with that of a fretted string if you have a zero fret. It is also true that many el cheapo Harmonys used a zero fret.
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Old 01-18-2020, 06:50 PM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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I once put a zero glide on a Les Paul. Took me ages to discover what back buzz was! I probably needed to use the next size up fret wire. This wont have that problem though as the zero fret is definitely higher than the worn down frets ahead of it.

Pretty cool that it is older than me, but from the same decade! (I was born in 79!)
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Old 01-18-2020, 07:02 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LWSog View Post
It has a lot of similarities to my early 1970’s Sigma (made in Japan). Mine doesn’t have a zero fret, but I understand that some from that era did. The rosette is very similar. Mine used to have tuners that looked like yours. I replaced them, and the guitar is surprisingly good for all laminate. I believe that guitars from different brands were made in the same factories, using the same parts with only slight design differences.

This is my Sigma:
Yes, I think this might be close.
This picture is a 1970's Sigma GCS-7/CGR-7 made in Japan.



Same shape headstock, zero fret, truss rod cover and adjustable saddle.

I can't see the tuners but the Japan made 1970 Sigma dreadnought DR-7 has similar style (but not identical) tuners as yours.

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