Members FUBTAG Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 I have this.... I want to make it 'playable' again... but I don't want to screw with the vintageness of it. How does re-fretting and re-nutting the guitar affect a guitar's value? This guitar is going nowhere, it is the guitar I played my first chords on and is a family 'heirloom' as it where... Was my uncle's, then my father's and now mine.... I was just wondering what you guys thought I should and SHOULDN'T do to it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 Well as a rule of "thumb" changing ANYTHING from original on a vintage guitar is going to effect the re-sale value. This even includes minor things such as solder joints. From the pictures it looks like the guitar does need a new nut as the old one is broken on the high E side. Does the E pop out? Or is it playable like that? Are the frets that bad? Could they be dressed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flying_Milkman Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 Wow! That's one cool guitar! Changing anything will affect the value however... But if you want to play it then you'll have to cntact a dealer to ask what the value would drop because of modifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FUBTAG Posted March 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 From the pictures it looks like the guitar does need a new nut as the old one is broken on the high E side. Does the E pop out? Or is it playable like that? Are the frets that bad? Could they be dressed? The E doesn't pop out surprisingly. It's kinda playable but could be much better. The frets need something, whether re-dressing or re-fretting I am not sure at this point. I am not looking to upgrade the components, so is there a vintage style nut, or should I just have one cut? The paint will stay as it it... I guess a good cleaning to get the neck feeling better will be in order too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 The E doesn't pop out surprisingly. It's kinda playable but could be much better. The frets need something, whether re-dressing or re-fretting I am not sure at this point. I am not looking to upgrade the components, so is there a vintage style nut, or should I just have one cut? The paint will stay as it it... I guess a good cleaning to get the neck feeling better will be in order too... Got a close up pic of the worst frets? In the end it either can be a guitar for collecting (re-sale value type) or a guitar for playing. If you want it to be a collectable just leave it the way it is. If it were mine and given the history, I would make it playable while keeping the guitar as original as possible. The best case scenario as I see it is that you bring it to a reputable shop and have them make/ install a bone nut (save old nut) and give it a fret dress and set-up. Mabye a partial re-fret at most would take care of anything. Unless of course the frets are all totaled. In most cases though a partial re-fret, fret dress and level will take care of most fret problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzztone Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 Thats a beauty.Well,if you are going to play it you have to take it to a good guitar tech/luthier who can tell you what needs to be done to make it playable. I don't think that changing the nut or a refret will hurt the value much if it really needs those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr JinX Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 if you are going to keep it you should fix it up, value be damned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftystratman Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 if you intend to keep it for the value, then don't change anything, you'll kick yourself in the butt later. if you want to keep it to play, then do the mods and forget about the resale value. another option is sell it now for good $$$ and buy something playable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 if you intend to keep it for the value, then don't change anything, you'll kick yourself in the butt later. if you want to keep it to play, then do the mods and forget about the resale value. another option is sell it now for good $$$ and buy something playable. Part it out on Flea-bay:thu: No..no just joking.. I always shake my head when I see Musicmasters and the like parted out on the Bay. Such a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FUBTAG Posted March 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 if you intend to keep it for the value, then don't change anything, you'll kick yourself in the butt later. if you want to keep it to play, then do the mods and forget about the resale value. another option is sell it now for good $$$ and buy something playable. oh I already have playable...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Trevisol Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 Well to be honest, i think you should do it. I would LOVE to have a 1959 Fender ANYTHING . . . I wouldn't be concerned with the resale as much as I would be about making that my #1. I would have a full fret dress done, replace the nut with tusq, and have the action adjusted by a pro. If the electronics didn't work, I would carefully remove the whole harness, pickup and all, and save it somewhere. Then I'd put in a GFS Alnico II in and new electronics, and play it. Especially considering you don't intend on selling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tulk1 Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 I don't think that changing the nut or a refret will hurt the value much if it really needs those things. Thats what I've always been told. No one expects a guitar to be ALL original. Hell, you change the strings don't you? Nuts wear, frets wear. Just make sure the "repairs" are in line with the vintage age of the guitar. Meaning, you wouldn't put a Graphite nut in it, but if it was bone you'd use bone, etc. Talk to your repair person (pc!!!) about it first. Then repost pics when it's playable again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members woodsmandan Posted March 21, 2007 Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 A luthier friend of mine once told me that he did a job on a vintage Les Paul, instead of refretting it, he took out the worst frets (from the first few positions) and exchanged them with the almost undamaged frets from the upper end of the neck. Of course it would make playing in the first positions better but bending strings in the upper register worst. It's an option anyhow, and the guitar stays kinda stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FUBTAG Posted March 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2007 Well to be honest, i think you should do it. I would LOVE to have a 1959 Fender ANYTHING . . . I wouldn't be concerned with the resale as much as I would be about making that my #1. I would have a full fret dress done, replace the nut with tusq, and have the action adjusted by a pro. If the electronics didn't work, I would carefully remove the whole harness, pickup and all, and save it somewhere. Then I'd put in a GFS Alnico II in and new electronics, and play it. Especially considering you don't intend on selling it. I am hoping that the original electronics are still in good condition. I haven't done much with it at all .. life (school, family, NEW guitars) just kept getting in the way. But who knows..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FUBTAG Posted March 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2007 Just seein' what the night crew might think..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaulSter Posted March 22, 2007 Members Share Posted March 22, 2007 There are "steps" of value changes as you repair or mod it. On the one extreme-- if it were routed, cut, painted, different neck, etc, you would obviously take the biggest hit on value. OTOH, if you do nothing whatsoever to it, then you preserve as much value as it's worth to someone to have a bone stock original vintage piece. I would choose the middle ground and find reputable luthier who knows about vintage guitars and see what the minimum is that you can do while making it a real robust and totally playable guitar. With those fixes, you will still have a valuable guitar, but one with MUCH more enjoyment because it's getting played-- just like antique cars are meant to be driven! Beyond all that-- I don't get the impression that you would ever sell it. For that reason I strongly vote for taking the middle ground. PaulS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 23, 2007 Members Share Posted March 23, 2007 There are "steps" of value changes as you repair or mod it. On the one extreme-- if it were routed, cut, painted, different neck, etc, you would obviously take the biggest hit on value. OTOH, if you do nothing whatsoever to it, then you preserve as much value as it's worth to someone to have a bone stock original vintage piece. I would choose the middle ground and find reputable luthier who knows about vintage guitars and see what the minimum is that you can do while making it a real robust and totally playable guitar. With those fixes, you will still have a valuable guitar, but one with MUCH more enjoyment because it's getting played-- just like antique cars are meant to be driven! Beyond all that-- I don't get the impression that you would ever sell it. For that reason I strongly vote for taking the middle ground. PaulS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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