The wood is part of the tree near a branch. You can see the grain converging on the 'knot' on the back of the guitar, where the branch grew out. That is a strong piece of wood.
@Leonard I've heard legends about Stratocaster bodies made from "butt cut" ash trees from the swamps in Louisiana. Apparently the trees are harvested twice, the swamp water goes down a few feet every few years, and they take a second cut. These short trunks of Swamp ash have all the cellulose leached out of the cells, and when dried, have a special, high, resonant frequency, which, combined with the low resonance slab board neck gives it that huge sound. The very wide spacing is an indicator, and does look like a branch union cut, but it could also be the pattern near the base. Stradivarius used maple stored for years in the water in Venice , in his Cremona fiddles, so I guess there's something these guys know about wood. That is a special body, and with the 57 alnicos refitted, it will blow my mind with harmonics etc etc.
That thing is a road warrior. It tells a story exactly as it is. PLEASE do not change it. Put a single ply guard on it, pull the extra strap buttons off and play it.
This Guitar is uncannily like a 62 I once had. I've never been so glued to a piece of video, its actually an emotional experience watching it. Of course, I would buy it, as it is right now, if it was for sale, (I'm broke, but I'd find the cash) This instrument would make my life complete, literally, if you ever decide to sell it, I want to know. I also know You will do a first rate restoration, so carry on, I'll be watching. Thanks mate. Peace
I would say just wetsand the neck with 1500 grit and 2000 then buff it out with some meguires ultimate compound it should clean up nice soak the paper in soapy water and sand it, if you hear scratching resoak your paper the goal is to get it as flat as possible it will look dull until you buff it the result will be gorgeous!
Another amazing video Matt!!! You have the whole world drooling over your vintage finds. I don't know how you locate them but you're doing great. You must be single to afford all these. Ladies get jealous of a fine guitar in the house. Please show more as you restore this beauty and the next one too. Thank you so much man!!!
I just wanted to express gratitude for these videos you've been uploading. They are the very best things I've found on TH-cam recently. Plus, you play like a true master. I'm sure Jimmy and Stevie would totally appreciate. Regarding this guitar, what can I say? It's a beautiful piece of history. You deserve it.
Matthew, 2 things you can do with it. First, like Willie said send it to me. :-) Matthew, you cannot buy the age and the patina along with the story that you have. Leave it alone! Just play it and enjoy it! It has an amazing sound. Leave the neck alone, leave the pickups alone, especially leave the pickguard alone! You couldn't create that effect. You have somebody that put 60 years of age and then sold it to you. Leave it alone. Find out as much as you can about it don't change it. It sounds too good and it's such a cool guitar. I'm an old guy. I'll take it off your hands. Good luck Matthew
I actually like the way it looks right now, especially the pickguard. The only thing I would do is get the dead pickup rewound and put the originals back in. I would even leave the extra strap buttons. I'm not the type to like "reliced" guitars btw but this thing has character in a wacky sort of way.
All I can think of for removing the lacquer carefully is super fine steel wool. I had to do some repair work on my 62 and accidentally got super glue on the neck. Steel wool was the ticket. Only the glue was removed and the original finish looks perfect. After seeing what you did with the Mary Kay with sandpaper, I'm sure you can handle it. Any solvent will eat through to the original finish. Good luck
Nice recap video. I wish there was slightly better lighting at times, but it's not easy to do or necessary. I envy your knowledge. And yes, it is cool that in some places, under the pups and tuners that you can find the original color preserved.
This is a fascinating and educational video into guitar archaeology and culture. The mix-and-match body and neck reminds me of the legendary SRV number one. Then seeing you take this all apart like a dissection, mind blowing.
Just steel wool the obvious drips & runs on the neck using #0000 or #000 until it's really smooth, I would take the "furniture shine" off the body so it will match the neck.. A tip on testing pickups if you run into a situation where you just want to check the p'ups before you buy a guitar, just hook up a good guitar cable to the output jack, then, with an extra jack plugged into the other end of the cord, switch the pickup selector to which pickup you want to test, then ohm the ring & sleeve of the extra output jack plugged into the opposite end.. I learned that trick from Phillip Knight, he's got a good channel for guitar stuff
Wish I were a paint guy to help you out with her...hopefully someone sees this and can TRULY help you get that overspray off this gorgeous girl! Man, you are one lucky guy Matt!
it's cool to know everything that's in it and with the strap buttons all over it I would say it was played left and right handed once again I wouldn't change a thing it sounds great
This is a keeper! As for that lacquer, I would try wet sanding it. I find I have more control with wet sanding as I can judge by the color of the mud that comes off how far along I am. The dust that dry sanding produces is more difficult for me to read. Also, wet sanding is a gentler process. Just my .02. Good luck!
The original/previous owner must have used metal finger/thumb picks to wear the pick guard like that. It would be cool if you made a video about how you go about finding these guitars...unless you have one already.
Honestly that pickguard wear looks largely intentional. The clean, deep cuts into both the pickguard and the body do not represent even lap steel playing as some suggested this guitar was used for. There is no possible way those deep grooves are natural to the instrument, I think they are some kind of relic job done in the middle of its life. There is true wear on top of the fake wear, which is much more evenly distributed. Unless the previous owner was from that all robot band Compressorhead, the clawing wouldn't be so hard and so exact.
Awesome. Definitely looks like blonde in the neck pocket but the original finish in/around the cavities looks like sunburst. The spray on the face of the headstock looks pretty rough as well, I wouldn't remove it but maybe knock it down a little and rebuff while you are working on the back.
I think would need to be wet sanded and the back of the neck would need to be block sanded. I would put in the time on the top to remove the damages, and it would bring out the wood grain. New fender decal too. It is important to make these videos, the knowledge is huge. The amount of time and carey's do is amazing.
The small snake bite marks on the heel of neck lines up the truss rod hole at heel. Its a location mark the neck is hammered to the jig and the hole is drilled through the heel this also locates the truss slot under the rosewood board. Measure the width of the nut Its not a D shape neck. Its a B shape neck its going to be 1 11/16th or so at the nut... NOT 1 5/8THS Which is a D size neck. The stamp on the heel designates what size neck it is... B Stamp on heel makes that a B shape neck.. A shape 1 9/16ths B shape 1 11/16ths C Shape 1 11/16ths with less removed on back of neck D shape 1 5/8ths or 1 22/32ds with nothing shaved behind the nut U shape 1 5/8ths at nut nothing taken of back but more of a U shape V shape is a different shaper bit entirely.. Now what is your 57 with 62 neck ? Its a B shape neck it is stamped right on the heel.. Measure the nut width Its going to tell you 1 11/16ths If anything has been shaved off behind the nut its not a D shape neck. D SHAPE NECKS ARE CHUNKY AND WIDE When you run neck through a shaper and the shape on back is cut if the neck is 1 9/16 ths wide at the nut its going to be a small neck after its shaped and the wood is removed... Veneer is thin its not thick like a rosewood slab which is why they used a convex concaving machine to cut the underside of the rosewood to fit the 7.25 radius. Matthew How far are you from Sherman Tx ? I have an amp or two you need to play. ~~~~~~~ I worked on the Dumble and re tubed it and made changes to v1 and v4 as well put vintage tung sol 6l6s in it and now it sounds like the amp Matt Rae is playing on the Dumble Showman. Thinking you might enjoy playing that amp.... Im going to film and record it and post clips I see Bonamassa just bought another ODS for 100k from Carters.. He could have bought this one for 50. Sounds exactly like that amp now. Sustain for days at low volume and all it took was the right tubes in v1 - v4 and a fresh pair of NOS tung sol 6l6s You are more then welcome to play it Matthew same for Nik. Holla at me sometime if your semi close perhaps we can meet.
Everything I've ever read has said the B means a 1 5/8" nut width, Fender's standard width at the time. 1 11/16" is of course a common Gibson width, but I've never seen it on an early Strat or Tele. Other Fender nut width letter designations: A = 1 1/2" C = 1 3/4 D = 1 7/8"
@@MatthewScottmusic I got ya but I had a conversation with Bill Carson about how they were done in person in Dallas and I mentioned knowing Michael Stevens before Fender Hired him to open the custom shop. In Fact Michael used his templates for the first 2 years the custom shop was inside his 2 car garage in Corona.... Check this im sure you have seen Tadeo Gomez necks only tele shapes and if so some have a D stamped into the wood also on body. Now some claim that was a designation for celebrity but I dont think so.. I think in fact those early necks with nothing shaved off behind the nut there designated a D shape and they tried 1 9/16ths and realized its too narrow at nut so they had different widths. But so you know this When I spent an hour with Stevie alone in Antones kitchen late at night he told me he liked D Shaped necks and wanted those bigger 65 shape necks... What is he describing ? The biggest rosewood necks See what im saying wider at nut and thicker behind the nut actually not shaved down much if at all Cause I asked him to clarify and we were right on the same page. Stevie wanted them big and chunky and he had Gibson bass frets installed and crowned off flat like fretless wonder.....Thats how Stevens set his #1 up thats how scotch and red were and Lenny. Stevie loved Mickey Mantle and when he got to meet Mickey and befriended his Son, he took his necks to Mickey to sign the back of the heels of.. said that fret board to fretboard they felt like a baseball bat. Now I bet you did not know that...... :) Stevie said he did not like small necks meaning 1 9 /16th or 1 11/16th with a taper. He liked them a bit wider and bigger and he said D SHAPE. Now the only time ive ever seen a D stamped on any Fender neck was early broad caster or Tele and it was not inked on it was punched in with a hammer. This being said all of those necks ive held and seen in person that said Tadeo Gomez and had that D stamped into heel were all thick chunky necks. not shaved out behind the nut but left thick like the early Tele necks are...... What is my 1955-56 maple neck ? Its 1 5/8ths wide at nut and its chunky not much taken off back by nut If you cut that neck up on a band saw and did cross sections of it you would see the shape is more D shaped and nearly U shaped... Which leads me to surmise that any D stamped into the wood on back of neck that ive seen and held was D SHAPE and not shaved or tapered behind the nut.. a full inch thick. you start tapering and since its 2 different widths at nut and heel its going to pool cue effect the shape... Run a shaper down that each way and before long not much wood left on back. I wanted to know how they were made so the best way to do that is you make them..... The snake bite marks on back of neck are from a destaco clamp only it had a staple or something that was made to be exactly as wide as the truss rods were Matthew so dig if they knew exactly how big in diameter those rods were and needed to find center of that rod to lay into slot for adjusting it later then thats exactly how you find center. You use the hole between D & G tuner holes on back of neck and then you line up over the end of neck and find center of neck and hammer the teeth into back of neck so when you route the truss rod slot its straight down the center of the neck... How the hell would I know that ?? Because the devil Matthew is the Details... Bill Collings told me that.. I knew Bill when he was the martin expert at Mike Stevens shop he did all the setting or resetting of martins. Steve Crisp taught me everything about Fenders and how to intonate them cut bone nuts or set them up to stay in tune... He set up Stevie Rays and Eric Johnsons and that was all I needed to know in 1982. :) It took till 2003 to get rid of me from Austin but they can rob my knowledge or experience because I was there. You can get that old overspray off down to the sealer they were using in 63. Id match the original color first and avoid areas you dont want redone then come back and match your hue. I watched Michael do this right in front of me on my 58 strat. and I was hooked right there on the spot when I saw how beautiful it came out Same for Srvs #1 just like it never got broken good as new... They already had finished Erics 54 strat and I played that and said make mine play exactly like that.. The issue was mine was a smaller B neck so they could not do much for back of neck shape wise but they did compound radius and did jumbo frets so it played amazing.. The Jumbos Stevie was using was Jim Dunlop bass fret wire.
This video gives a real feel for your love of such beautiful instruments May many more find their way to you . As for me , I'm more than happy with my Beautiful Chevy Bel Air red Fernandes 57 replica strat and so is my bank account. 😊Peace .
As I like to say...Another Score ! I could see the flame on the neck in the 1st video .Nice . The ash body nice . You know what to do with that Strat, Matt . can't wait to see the end result .✌
Love the vids ,and love the old fenders ,,also saw JD simo and the allman betts band Friday man jd killed it stole the show for me over all great show in a small place and we had front row center seats
Nice guitar Matt, especially with the rosewood neck. Here's what I'd do with your neck. Using an A5 size piece of 600 grade sandpaper (folded lengthways) carefully go up and down the neck a few times using your hand to cup the paper. Take your time as it might not need much taking off; plus you can use the other side of your folded sheet if it does. As for the pickups, well seeing as you've got the two other originals, it would seem daft not to replace them really! I think you should feature that one again after sorting out it's minor issues.
Regarding the neck it depends on what you want. I sanded necks super smooth to like 2000 grit, but it can get sticky since you're almost recreating a gloss finish. I have done necks with 400 grit wet and then 600 and left them like that, they feel super soft to the touch and are not sticky ever. Last one is my fav feel. Be sure you make nice transisions to the headstock and butt, I taped them off to get a nice round shape.
Boggles the mind to think people just sanded the finish off a Mary Kay. They also couldn’t give bursts away in the late 50s. Man if I could only time travel...
This guitar is not a Mary Kay, Wtf is wrong with you people. The prior owner that sold the guitar State's in the sales description the guitar was a SUNBURST, I'm starting to think Matt is become delusional.
Hi Matt, Nice to see a new project. I scrape laquer of with a piece of single layer window glass. Break it with a tiny stone so the pieces becomes big and curved. Then you can scrape microns by microns off. My advice is also put an extra coat of laquer cellulose on top of the headstock, reason Why? You don't know the thickness at this point, and what we see is a terrible finish at this moment. So rinse with napta make it offshine with no pressure steelwool. Few coats lacquer and than make it flat and glossy like new en the final make it offshine again with a rough compound. Allways All the best Matt✌🏼🎸
that thing has such a cool figuring. As for painting it...do you like to keep these projects period correct with colors? I mean its a vintage guitar at heart, but I can't help but wonder what it would look like with a more modern burst. killer mojo either way man...love your work.
As to removing "TO "the original finish, I would most definitely talk to an expert but test first with weak solvents like paint thinner and alcohol after washing with detergent and water. A strong paint remover will attack the original lacquer and that is a last resort and only before applying a new nitrocellulose lacquer which I also would avoid although it will improve the sound from what you have now. Great little videos BTW
Any finish or painting questions, you should call Kip Elder of Starr Guitars in Orlando Florida. He is a master finisher and has refinished guitars for many famous people including Joe Bonamassa.
I assume the extra strap button indicates it was used as a steel guitar. That would also explain the type of wear found on the pickguard - steel fingerpicks. If so, I would hold on to the pickguard after you replace it in case the next owner plays steel! Likely explains the pickup choices as well. Volume pot may have been worn out from swells!
In my opinion I think the guitar would look great with a gold anodized guard, might not be what you're looking for, but i think it would be really neat.
Hey matt, recently picked up a 1967 super reverb and it sounds great and is ridiculously clean too... only problem is it’s not anywhere NEAR as loud as it should be. I promise i’m not deaf! I’ve heard that even putting it on 2 or 3 is ridiculously loud. Most of the time i’m playing it on 7 and my blues junior gives it a run for its money as far as decibels go!! Any suggestions? Would greatly appreciate some help. Thanks!!
Check the wiring that connects the speakers. If all the speakers are original and the solder connections look like they haven't been dicked with, it's probably correct. If there are changed speakers you might have an impedance mis-match with the new speakers and/or incorrect wiring connections regarding the whole series/parallel thing. Probably lots of other things to cause a low volume issue. I recall playing through someone else's Super for a C&W gig about the same age as yours and it was on about "4" for the right volume, maybe a 200-seat room. I loved it. It had LOTS of miles on it, it belonged to a band member that played in a house band 5 nights a week for years. Yours is 52 years old, save up a few hundred bucks, find the best tech in your area and get it serviced. A boutique amp made today that might be the same quality as yours would run you something approaching 4 or 5 grand.
I have a couple questions about this fretboard: 1. did the original Rosewood look that dark? 2. if it was kind of lighter and more striated, like the modern rosewood fretboards, that I see, do you think it was purposefully darkened some sort of true oil, or is it just finger gunk from years of play, or something else entirely? 3. did the original clay dots come that color or do they darken with age as well?
I like the pick guard actually. Not crazy about the black bridge pickup. I have a warmoth Strat with a one piece ash body. I wish it wasn’t under poly I have considered removing it and reapplying nitro but it looks and sounds great so it seems like a lot of work to change something that won’t make it sound better. ( some may argue it would change the sound but I don’t think my ears would know)
And do the rout on the neck for the locking nut. You only have to drill 2 small holes on the back of the neck to mount it. Nobody will notice when it's time to sell. A brass pickguard would be nice, too. Increases sustain.
If you keep the body and neck together then i think the triple ply guard should stay. If the body gets a same year neck[maple fret board]then a single ply guard.
Matthew, so do you think he wore a big ring when he was playing and that is from him hitting the volume and pickup switch? That's about the only thing I can think of to cause that like that. Otherwise he would have to be hitting the middle pickup with his pick. Yep, the flame is coming through. Wow, those gouges even went into the wood body of the guitar... That's just amazing. Another cool guitar. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
I thought you said it was Sunburst originally? I bet the overspray never dried properly and playing it made it dark from dirt. He played with some heavy weights, you may find pictures of him in the band playing that guitar.
@@MatthewScottmusic I'm a truly Gibson Guitar Fan, with a great Fender Amp.. But i'm looking forward to buy a 50's strat, the tone it makes it's unique, impossible to recreate with any other instrument, too bad in my country Argentina are so damn expensive.. i'll try anyway !!
Just have your friend do this again in blonde. I do total and partial restorations, refins, and wiring - the whole shebang as I've doing this for almost 30 years! Do it the justice that it deserves. Have the pickups rewound with the same wire - that's what I do when I can. I save the old wire from the pickup unless it's damaged then I use FORMVAR wire for restorations. Luckily you get still get it as it's still being made today. I clean all the dirt, junk and whatever from the pickup and remove the old wire from the coil and rewind and repot for around $45.00 shipped. If you can't find anyone local or online to do it for you or cheaper let me know.
Yea I really dig this guitar. Like i said on the other video, you should work on the neck overspray and leave the body. Build 2 or 3 pickgaurds but one as close to original. I have a 94 mim strat that has 4 different pickgaurds. Lol 1 stock and 3 hotrod setups. The guitar is an oddity...mim but in 94 the mexico plant had a fire. All guitars marked mim form mid 94 were made in usa. It is your project so at the end of the day do what makes you happy with the guitar. Glad to be along on the adventure
Never been for clear coat naked wood. A 6x1" unrouged cloth buffing wheel works well and fast to strip an old top coat of paint, but you've got to be careful not to burn into the original. Just go lengthwise starting in the middle and working your way down so you can see the shit fly off. Then flip and repeat. Not too much pressure, and you'll be fine.
To be truthful i wouldnt mess with the finish and would leave it as found. It part of its history. But if you do wish to gently remove the lacquer that could be rather difficult to do without disturbing the lovely sweat staining on ghe neck. It can be removed by wet sanding but you also have to be careful with that as it is a 60 year old piece of wood and very dry. If it soaked in water now it will warp or worse still crack open. Fine dry paper untill you see it starting to go through the lacquer. Then steel wool is the only option available. Ive saw guys use stripper with good results and very little sanding . However i feel it may be a little too harsh an approach.
Matthew Jmo, try some 0000 steel wool on The back of the neck. Away from the electronics. I'm not crazy about that guard, like others. Black guard Still in my thoughts. Maybe lightly Sand the body to match the neck. I would leave it natural in color. That neck pup sounds awesome I'm your video. Maybe get the other two original pups working. I envy you. Bob
Another awesome find! I always wonder how much one like this would cost...having been refinished and some non original parts? Is it within reach of a beginning collector or in the category where you need to seek financing? Thanks for any help!👍😎🎸🎶
@@MatthewScottmusic sure does! That's much better than the prices for the pristine condition guitars. I'd have to get a 2nd mortgage for some of those! Then all I would do is hang one of those on a wall and look at it. I'd like one that I can play and enjoy! Thanks a lot!👍😎🎸🎶
I think this one is toast. I would just ship it to me.
HAHAHA!!!!
FREE! JUST PAY SHIPPING AND HANDLING!
@@MatthewScottmusic lol yeah i bet lol!!!!!!!!!
It's a "bad" guitar huh
Bro, LEAVE THE PICKGUARD! That’s amazing wear on that! That’s history! Put the original pickups back in it, sand the neck and play it!
Naw... He's gonna make his own history with it.
The wood is part of the tree near a branch. You can see the grain converging on the 'knot' on the back of the guitar, where the branch grew out. That is a strong piece of wood.
Cool info man thx
It is solid for sure.
@Leonard
I've heard legends about Stratocaster bodies made from "butt cut" ash trees from the swamps in Louisiana. Apparently the trees are harvested twice, the swamp water goes down a few feet every few years, and they take a second cut.
These short trunks of Swamp ash have all the cellulose leached out of the cells, and when dried, have a special, high, resonant frequency, which, combined with the low resonance slab board neck gives it that huge sound.
The very wide spacing is an indicator, and does look like a branch union cut, but it could also be the pattern near the base.
Stradivarius used maple stored for years in the water in Venice , in his Cremona fiddles, so I guess there's something these guys know about wood.
That is a special body, and with the 57 alnicos refitted, it will blow my mind with harmonics etc etc.
That thing is a road warrior. It tells a story exactly as it is. PLEASE do not change it. Put a single ply guard on it, pull the extra strap buttons off and play it.
Dont even change the guard. It's unique.
But changing the PG and pulling the extra strap buttons IS changing it! Stop contradicting yourself....
This Guitar is uncannily like a 62 I once had.
I've never been so glued to a piece of video, its actually an emotional experience watching it.
Of course, I would buy it, as it is right now, if it was for sale, (I'm broke, but I'd find the cash)
This instrument would make my life complete, literally, if you ever decide to sell it, I want to know.
I also know You will do a first rate restoration, so carry on, I'll be watching.
Thanks mate.
Peace
Very cool David thank you for sharing
Excellent vid! Love seeing inside these old fenders
Get those old pickups working and back in it! What a find!
Working on it!!
Man, I LOVE these videos! I can't wait for the next Strat that you had mentioned!!
I would say just wetsand the neck with 1500 grit and 2000 then buff it out with some meguires ultimate compound it should clean up nice soak the paper in soapy water and sand it, if you hear scratching resoak your paper the goal is to get it as flat as possible it will look dull until you buff it the result will be gorgeous!
I thought that what the pickguard had was a sticker lol
It's actually the most over the top relic'ing you've ever seen
Ha-Ha me two. Through the guard and into the body as well.
dying for it! Love seeing it all deconstructed! Interested to see what you can do with it!
I keep watching your Reverb channel....liking it as it is....mercy
Find your vids so interesting man. Love how you break everything down
Another amazing video Matt!!! You have the whole world drooling over your vintage finds. I don't know how you locate them but you're doing great. You must be single to afford all these. Ladies get jealous of a fine guitar in the house. Please show more as you restore this beauty and the next one too. Thank you so much man!!!
The figure on the ash body is so beautiful. It hurts my soul that someone removed the blonde finish as it compliments ash figuring so well.
I just wanted to express gratitude for these videos you've been uploading. They are the very best things I've found on TH-cam recently. Plus, you play like a true master. I'm sure Jimmy and Stevie would totally appreciate. Regarding this guitar, what can I say? It's a beautiful piece of history. You deserve it.
Matthew, 2 things you can do with it. First, like Willie said send it to me. :-) Matthew, you cannot buy the age and the patina along with the story that you have. Leave it alone! Just play it and enjoy it! It has an amazing sound. Leave the neck alone, leave the pickups alone, especially leave the pickguard alone! You couldn't create that effect. You have somebody that put 60 years of age and then sold it to you. Leave it alone. Find out as much as you can about it don't change it. It sounds too good and it's such a cool guitar. I'm an old guy. I'll take it off your hands. Good luck Matthew
This is so cool thanks for sharing the continuing chapters of this guitar
SI-more Duncans? Lol. I think you mean SEE-more Duncans. Cool guitar nonetheless.
He said S-eye-more.....open your ears fruitcake.....
Who gives a shit?
Say more Duncans....
I actually like the way it looks right now, especially the pickguard. The only thing I would do is get the dead pickup rewound and put the originals back in. I would even leave the extra strap buttons. I'm not the type to like "reliced" guitars btw but this thing has character in a wacky sort of way.
All I can think of for removing the lacquer carefully is super fine steel wool. I had to do some repair work on my 62 and accidentally got super glue on the neck. Steel wool was the ticket. Only the glue was removed and the original finish looks perfect. After seeing what you did with the Mary Kay with sandpaper, I'm sure you can handle it. Any solvent will eat through to the original finish. Good luck
This kid is so knowledgeable about Strats. Cheers man!
Nice recap video. I wish there was slightly better lighting at times, but it's not easy to do or necessary. I envy your knowledge. And yes, it is cool that in some places, under the pups and tuners that you can find the original color preserved.
This is a fascinating and educational video into guitar archaeology and culture. The mix-and-match body and neck reminds me of the legendary SRV number one. Then seeing you take this all apart like a dissection, mind blowing.
Awesome man thanks 😎
Just steel wool the obvious drips & runs on the neck using #0000 or #000 until it's really smooth, I would take the "furniture shine" off the body so it will match the neck..
A tip on testing pickups if you run into a situation where you just want to check the p'ups before you buy a guitar, just hook up a good guitar cable to the output jack, then, with an extra jack plugged into the other end of the cord, switch the pickup selector to which pickup you want to test, then ohm the ring & sleeve of the extra output jack plugged into the opposite end.. I learned that trick from Phillip Knight, he's got a good channel for guitar stuff
Thank you for the tip.
@@MatthewScottmusic No problem... glad to help
Wish I were a paint guy to help you out with her...hopefully someone sees this and can TRULY help you get that overspray off this gorgeous girl! Man, you are one lucky guy Matt!
We shall see😎
Beautiful guitar, amazing find filled with vibe and character
it's cool to know everything that's in it and with the strap buttons all over it I would say it was played left and right handed once again I wouldn't change a thing it sounds great
man i was totally blown away by this superb sounding guitar.......even unplugged it's a monster...... rock it out
Great, Matthew! Your guitars and stuff is really cool!
This is a keeper! As for that lacquer, I would try wet sanding it. I find I have more control with wet sanding as I can judge by the color of the mud that comes off how far along I am. The dust that dry sanding produces is more difficult for me to read. Also, wet sanding is a gentler process. Just my .02. Good luck!
Really cool, man. Love these posts.
Keep it up.
Cheers
The original/previous owner must have used metal finger/thumb picks to wear the pick guard like that. It would be cool if you made a video about how you go about finding these guitars...unless you have one already.
maybe he was wearing rings and was really strumming hard but this is really crazy wear.
@@ayeapprove He had it set up as lap steel while standing up and the metal picks wore a hole in the guard
That's what everyone has said. I will certainly do a video like that.
@@MatthewScottmusic I was thinking he hit it with a grinder, would look exactly like that. Weird
Honestly that pickguard wear looks largely intentional. The clean, deep cuts into both the pickguard and the body do not represent even lap steel playing as some suggested this guitar was used for. There is no possible way those deep grooves are natural to the instrument, I think they are some kind of relic job done in the middle of its life. There is true wear on top of the fake wear, which is much more evenly distributed. Unless the previous owner was from that all robot band Compressorhead, the clawing wouldn't be so hard and so exact.
is there a part 3 of this guitar ... man this is pure passion ... congrats
wow great project ! Thanks
great vid...my eye went right to the neck shim........
Awesome. Definitely looks like blonde in the neck pocket but the original finish in/around the cavities looks like sunburst. The spray on the face of the headstock looks pretty rough as well, I wouldn't remove it but maybe knock it down a little and rebuff while you are working on the back.
Theres no burst outside. 100% it was blonde. The odds of a sunburst ash in 57 is more rare
My only problem with these videos is that I get really tempted to get one of those vintage beauties
Very cool as usual. Thank you.
I think would need to be wet sanded and the back of the neck would need to be block sanded. I would put in the time on the top to remove the damages, and it would bring out the wood grain. New fender decal too. It is important to make these videos, the knowledge is huge. The amount of time and carey's do is amazing.
Gentleman please!! Pass this gem along! Wow how do you find this stuff!?
It has some really cool features, messed with as it is. I would totally rock that.
Damn. You did it again. Wow good grab Matthew.
Thank you for another great video. I think this guitar will create another interesting video!
Man, If you've really fond another Marry Kay... That would leave me speechless...
The small snake bite marks on the heel of neck lines up the truss rod hole at heel.
Its a location mark the neck is hammered to the jig and the hole is drilled through the heel
this also locates the truss slot under the rosewood board.
Measure the width of the nut Its not a D shape neck. Its a B shape neck
its going to be 1 11/16th or so at the nut... NOT 1 5/8THS Which is a D size neck.
The stamp on the heel designates what size neck it is...
B Stamp on heel makes that a B shape neck..
A shape 1 9/16ths
B shape 1 11/16ths
C Shape 1 11/16ths with less removed on back of neck
D shape 1 5/8ths or 1 22/32ds with nothing shaved behind the nut
U shape 1 5/8ths at nut nothing taken of back but more of a U shape
V shape is a different shaper bit entirely..
Now what is your 57 with 62 neck ?
Its a B shape neck it is stamped right on the heel..
Measure the nut width Its going to tell you 1 11/16ths
If anything has been shaved off behind the nut its not a D shape neck.
D SHAPE NECKS ARE CHUNKY AND WIDE
When you run neck through a shaper and the shape on back is cut
if the neck is 1 9/16 ths wide at the nut its going to be a small neck
after its shaped and the wood is removed...
Veneer is thin its not thick like a rosewood slab which is why they used a convex concaving
machine to cut the underside of the rosewood to fit the 7.25 radius.
Matthew How far are you from Sherman Tx ? I have an amp or two you need to play.
~~~~~~~
I worked on the Dumble and re tubed it and made changes to v1 and v4 as well put vintage tung sol 6l6s in it and now it sounds like the amp Matt Rae is playing on the Dumble Showman.
Thinking you might enjoy playing that amp.... Im going to film and record it and post clips
I see Bonamassa just bought another ODS for 100k from Carters..
He could have bought this one for 50. Sounds exactly like that amp now.
Sustain for days at low volume and all it took was the right tubes in v1 - v4
and a fresh pair of NOS tung sol 6l6s
You are more then welcome to play it Matthew same for Nik.
Holla at me sometime if your semi close perhaps we can meet.
Thank you Ron I would love to play that amp. When I say D shape, I mean feeling of the back shape not the width. I mentioned in the video the B width.
Everything I've ever read has said the B means a 1 5/8" nut width, Fender's standard width at the time. 1 11/16" is of course a common Gibson width, but I've never seen it on an early Strat or Tele.
Other Fender nut width letter designations:
A = 1 1/2"
C = 1 3/4
D = 1 7/8"
@@MatthewScottmusic I got ya but I had a conversation with Bill Carson about how they were done
in person in Dallas and I mentioned knowing Michael Stevens before Fender Hired him to open the custom shop.
In Fact Michael used his templates for the first 2 years the custom shop was inside his 2 car garage in Corona....
Check this im sure you have seen Tadeo Gomez necks only tele shapes and if so some have a D stamped
into the wood also on body. Now some claim that was a designation for celebrity but I dont think so..
I think in fact those early necks with nothing shaved off behind the nut there designated a D shape and
they tried 1 9/16ths and realized its too narrow at nut so they had different widths.
But so you know this When I spent an hour with Stevie alone in Antones kitchen late at night
he told me he liked D Shaped necks and wanted those bigger 65 shape necks...
What is he describing ? The biggest rosewood necks See what im saying wider at nut and thicker behind the nut
actually not shaved down much if at all Cause I asked him to clarify and we were right on the same page.
Stevie wanted them big and chunky and he had Gibson bass frets installed and crowned off flat like
fretless wonder.....Thats how Stevens set his #1 up thats how scotch and red were and Lenny.
Stevie loved Mickey Mantle and when he got to meet Mickey and befriended his Son, he took his necks to Mickey
to sign the back of the heels of.. said that fret board to fretboard they felt like a baseball bat.
Now I bet you did not know that...... :)
Stevie said he did not like small necks meaning 1 9 /16th or 1 11/16th with a taper.
He liked them a bit wider and bigger and he said D SHAPE.
Now the only time ive ever seen a D stamped on any Fender neck was early broad caster or Tele
and it was not inked on it was punched in with a hammer.
This being said all of those necks ive held and seen in person that said Tadeo Gomez and had that D stamped
into heel were all thick chunky necks. not shaved out behind the nut but left thick like the early Tele necks are......
What is my 1955-56 maple neck ? Its 1 5/8ths wide at nut and its chunky not much taken off back by nut
If you cut that neck up on a band saw and did cross sections of it you would see the shape is more D shaped
and nearly U shaped...
Which leads me to surmise that any D stamped into the wood on back of neck that ive seen and held
was D SHAPE and not shaved or tapered behind the nut..
a full inch thick. you start tapering and since its 2 different widths at nut and heel its going to pool cue effect the shape...
Run a shaper down that each way and before long not much wood left on back.
I wanted to know how they were made so the best way to do that is you make them.....
The snake bite marks on back of neck are from a destaco clamp only it had a staple or something that was made to be exactly as wide as the truss rods were Matthew so dig if they knew exactly how big in diameter those rods were
and needed to find center of that rod to lay into slot for adjusting it later then thats exactly how you find center.
You use the hole between D & G tuner holes on back of neck and then you line up over the end of neck and find center of neck and hammer the teeth into back of neck so when you route the truss rod slot its straight down the center of the neck...
How the hell would I know that ??
Because the devil Matthew is the Details... Bill Collings told me that..
I knew Bill when he was the martin expert at Mike Stevens shop he did all the setting or resetting of martins.
Steve Crisp taught me everything about Fenders and how to intonate them cut bone nuts or set them up
to stay in tune... He set up Stevie Rays and Eric Johnsons and that was all I needed to know in 1982.
:)
It took till 2003 to get rid of me from Austin but they can rob my knowledge or experience because I was there.
You can get that old overspray off down to the sealer they were using in 63.
Id match the original color first and avoid areas you dont want redone
then come back and match your hue.
I watched Michael do this right in front of me on my 58 strat.
and I was hooked right there on the spot when I saw how beautiful it came out
Same for Srvs #1 just like it never got broken good as new...
They already had finished Erics 54 strat and I played that and said make mine play exactly like that..
The issue was mine was a smaller B neck so they could not do much for back of neck shape wise
but they did compound radius and did jumbo frets so it played amazing..
The Jumbos Stevie was using was Jim Dunlop bass fret wire.
Really fun videos!! Thanks
This video gives a real feel for your love of such beautiful instruments
May many more find their way to you .
As for me , I'm more than happy with my Beautiful Chevy Bel Air red Fernandes 57 replica strat and so is my bank account. 😊Peace .
As I like to say...Another Score ! I could see the flame on the neck in the 1st video .Nice . The ash body nice . You know what to do with that Strat, Matt . can't wait to see the end result .✌
I would do some light light sanding on the whole thing throw some fresh oil on it call it good. Definitely try and leave it natural looks awesome
Man....that action is soooooo high!
those wires are taped up cause the seymours in the guitar are coil splittable. since they are not being split thats how it is
Love the vids ,and love the old fenders ,,also saw JD simo and the allman betts band Friday man jd killed it stole the show for me over all great show in a small place and we had front row center seats
Dude hes amazing. Glad you saw him
That was interesting to see inside the cavity. Time travel!
I have this feeling this is gonna end up being one of your favorite guitars
it's pure mojo
Nice guitar Matt, especially with the rosewood neck. Here's what I'd do with your neck. Using an A5 size piece of 600 grade sandpaper (folded lengthways) carefully go up and down the neck a few times using your hand to cup the paper. Take your time as it might not need much taking off; plus you can use the other side of your folded sheet if it does. As for the pickups, well seeing as you've got the two other originals, it would seem daft not to replace them really! I think you should feature that one again after sorting out it's minor issues.
Do's: correct pickguard,Duncans out(too compressed),correct backplates Don't: refinish, replace any hardware
Regarding the neck it depends on what you want.
I sanded necks super smooth to like 2000 grit, but it can get sticky since you're almost recreating a gloss finish.
I have done necks with 400 grit wet and then 600 and left them like that, they feel super soft to the touch and are not sticky ever.
Last one is my fav feel.
Be sure you make nice transisions to the headstock and butt, I taped them off to get a nice round shape.
Boggles the mind to think people just sanded the finish off a Mary Kay. They also couldn’t give bursts away in the late 50s. Man if I could only time travel...
This guitar is not a Mary Kay, Wtf is wrong with you people. The prior owner that sold the guitar State's in the sales description the guitar was a SUNBURST, I'm starting to think Matt is become delusional.
Beautiful
thank you for using the tuning heads to remove the strings and not just cutting them off.
I Love that old Guitar! Maybe just restore it to your liking and playability! Thanks for sharing brother! Be Well Matthew!
I personally like the color and would play it the way it is
Hi Matt, Nice to see a new project. I scrape laquer of with a piece of single layer window glass. Break it with a tiny stone so the pieces becomes big and curved. Then you can scrape microns by microns off. My advice is also put an extra coat of laquer cellulose on top of the headstock, reason Why? You don't know the thickness at this point, and what we see is a terrible finish at this moment. So rinse with napta make it offshine with no pressure steelwool. Few coats lacquer and than make it flat and glossy like new en the final make it offshine again with a rough compound. Allways All the best Matt✌🏼🎸
Thanks for the tip. It does look bad on certain light
I like the way it is shows its age it travel through life show its scares tell its story kinda good find enjoyed this thanks
you should keep it natural it looks fantastic!
I like it too
that thing has such a cool figuring. As for painting it...do you like to keep these projects period correct with colors? I mean its a vintage guitar at heart, but I can't help but wonder what it would look like with a more modern burst. killer mojo either way man...love your work.
This dude didn't use to intonate his guitars. The seller. Those saddles shows crazy intonation.
That could be from lap steel tuning. The extra strap buttons suggest it was played Dobro style.
@@tiki_trash good info. Also the pic guard wear and tear looks like it could be signs of finger picks. Once again from dobro possibly
As to removing "TO "the original finish, I would most definitely talk to an expert but test first with weak solvents like paint thinner and alcohol after washing with detergent and water. A strong paint remover will attack the original lacquer and that is a last resort and only before applying a new nitrocellulose lacquer which I also would avoid although it will improve the sound from what you have now. Great little videos BTW
Any finish or painting questions, you should call Kip Elder of Starr Guitars in Orlando Florida. He is a master finisher and has refinished guitars for many famous people including Joe Bonamassa.
I assume the extra strap button indicates it was used as a steel guitar. That would also explain the type of wear found on the pickguard - steel fingerpicks. If so, I would hold on to the pickguard after you replace it in case the next owner plays steel! Likely explains the pickup choices as well. Volume pot may have been worn out from swells!
In my opinion I think the guitar would look great with a gold anodized guard, might not be what you're looking for, but i think it would be really neat.
That would look sick.
I wouldn't rewire it. i did that once to make it right and it never sounded the same. I wouldn't touch it unless you had an issue. i learned.
Awesome channel!!!
Hey matt, recently picked up a 1967 super reverb and it sounds great and is ridiculously clean too... only problem is it’s not anywhere NEAR as loud as it should be. I promise i’m not deaf! I’ve heard that even putting it on 2 or 3 is ridiculously loud. Most of the time i’m playing it on 7 and my blues junior gives it a run for its money as far as decibels go!! Any suggestions? Would greatly appreciate some help. Thanks!!
Check the wiring that connects the speakers. If all the speakers are original and the solder connections look like they haven't been dicked with, it's probably correct. If there are changed speakers you might have an impedance mis-match with the new speakers and/or incorrect wiring connections regarding the whole series/parallel thing. Probably lots of other things to cause a low volume issue. I recall playing through someone else's Super for a C&W gig about the same age as yours and it was on about "4" for the right volume, maybe a 200-seat room. I loved it. It had LOTS of miles on it, it belonged to a band member that played in a house band 5 nights a week for years. Yours is 52 years old, save up a few hundred bucks, find the best tech in your area and get it serviced. A boutique amp made today that might be the same quality as yours would run you something approaching 4 or 5 grand.
curbmassa Appreciate the help! Thank you
That was Awesome Matt, congrats on another great vintage guitar, one day please sell me one : ) Ok, so what is the game plan?
J... ( Toronto )
I have a couple questions about this fretboard:
1. did the original Rosewood look that dark?
2. if it was kind of lighter and more striated, like the modern rosewood fretboards, that I see, do you think it was purposefully darkened some sort of true oil, or is it just finger gunk from years of play, or something else entirely?
3. did the original clay dots come that color or do they darken with age as well?
You sure pick ‘em ! Nice vid 👍🙂
I like the pick guard actually. Not crazy about the black bridge pickup. I have a warmoth Strat with a one piece ash body. I wish it wasn’t under poly I have considered removing it and reapplying nitro but it looks and sounds great so it seems like a lot of work to change something that won’t make it sound better. ( some may argue it would change the sound but I don’t think my ears would know)
Yeah I need all the pups matching
Route it out put emgs and a floyd rose in it.
That joke never dies😵😵😵
Sorry couldnt resist but great find for another blondie in such a short time. Sounds great.
Thank you John
And do the rout on the neck for the locking nut. You only have to drill 2 small holes on the back of the neck to mount it. Nobody will notice when it's time to sell. A brass pickguard would be nice, too. Increases sustain.
If you keep the body and neck together then i think the triple ply guard should stay.
If the body gets a same year neck[maple fret board]then a single ply guard.
It's a keeper !
You could use a sponge to remove the overspray on the neck. Also, will you be selling the pickguard on this guitar?
Hell yeah brother 😎
Very interesting, nice guitar bro
The action (string height) looks very high! I love the body and neck so I would keep them as they are!
Matthew, so do you think he wore a big ring when he was playing and that is from him hitting the volume and pickup switch? That's about the only thing I can think of to cause that like that. Otherwise he would have to be hitting the middle pickup with his pick. Yep, the flame is coming through. Wow, those gouges even went into the wood body of the guitar... That's just amazing. Another cool guitar. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
I think he used finger pics
I thought you said it was Sunburst originally? I bet the overspray never dried properly and playing it made it dark from dirt. He played with some heavy weights, you may find pictures of him in the band playing that guitar.
He said it was sunburst but doesn't make sense
Another blond '57 taken away from its former glory...well, here's to another fun adventure!
I love so much that sunburst strat...
Me too🙌🏻🙌🏻
@@MatthewScottmusic I'm a truly Gibson Guitar Fan, with a great Fender Amp.. But i'm looking forward to buy a 50's strat, the tone it makes it's unique, impossible to recreate with any other instrument, too bad in my country Argentina are so damn expensive.. i'll try anyway !!
Just have your friend do this again in blonde. I do total and partial restorations, refins, and wiring - the whole shebang as I've doing this for almost 30 years! Do it the justice that it deserves. Have the pickups rewound with the same wire - that's what I do when I can. I save the old wire from the pickup unless it's damaged then I use FORMVAR wire for restorations. Luckily you get still get it as it's still being made today. I clean all the dirt, junk and whatever from the pickup and remove the old wire from the coil and rewind and repot for around $45.00 shipped. If you can't find anyone local or online to do it for you or cheaper let me know.
If you can save the pickup wire!
Yea I really dig this guitar. Like i said on the other video, you should work on the neck overspray and leave the body. Build 2 or 3 pickgaurds but one as close to original. I have a 94 mim strat that has 4 different pickgaurds. Lol 1 stock and 3 hotrod setups. The guitar is an oddity...mim but in 94 the mexico plant had a fire. All guitars marked mim form mid 94 were made in usa.
It is your project so at the end of the day do what makes you happy with the guitar. Glad to be along on the adventure
Never been for clear coat naked wood.
A 6x1" unrouged cloth buffing wheel works well and fast to strip an old top coat of paint, but you've got to be careful not to burn into the original. Just go lengthwise starting in the middle and working your way down so you can see the shit fly off. Then flip and repeat. Not too much pressure, and you'll be fine.
To be truthful i wouldnt mess with the finish and would leave it as found. It part of its history. But if you do wish to gently remove the lacquer that could be rather difficult to do without disturbing the lovely sweat staining on ghe neck. It can be removed by wet sanding but you also have to be careful with that as it is a 60 year old piece of wood and very dry. If it soaked in water now it will warp or worse still crack open. Fine dry paper untill you see it starting to go through the lacquer. Then steel wool is the only option available. Ive saw guys use stripper with good results and very little sanding . However i feel it may be a little too harsh an approach.
This
Matthew
Jmo, try some 0000 steel wool on
The back of the neck. Away from the electronics. I'm not crazy about that guard, like others. Black guard
Still in my thoughts. Maybe lightly
Sand the body to match the neck.
I would leave it natural in color.
That neck pup sounds awesome I'm your video. Maybe get the other two original pups working.
I envy you.
Bob
Thank you Bob that's the plan
Another awesome find! I always wonder how much one like this would cost...having been refinished and some non original parts? Is it within reach of a beginning collector or in the category where you need to seek financing? Thanks for any help!👍😎🎸🎶
Under 10000 if that helps😎
@@MatthewScottmusic sure does! That's much better than the prices for the pristine condition guitars. I'd have to get a 2nd mortgage for some of those! Then all I would do is hang one of those on a wall and look at it. I'd like one that I can play and enjoy! Thanks a lot!👍😎🎸🎶
What a jem! This thing is sweet!
its a keeper!!
Very nice.