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I was reading through the SD Qamp;A section the other day, when I came across an anecdote in which Seymour tells of a guy who decided to rout his vintage strat for humbuckers(with a screw driver no less.) This story has inspired me to create a thread of guitar monstrosities. Feel free to post pics or info on guitars that have been subjected to tasteless evil.(Home made “customisations ” and factory ogres.) Originally Posted by Several years ago a young player was given a 58 Stratocaster from his father. He came to me and wanted to put humbuckers in it. I told him it was a bad mistake and try to get another inexpensive guitar to modify. He said he would look into it. Several months went by and I saw him at a local club. To my amazement he had chisled the body out with a screwdriver and hammer (beyond the pickguard) and put in three humbuckers! I couldn't believe it and he said quot;nobody wanted to do itquot;, so he did it himself!

My first is this sumptuous ‘59 Burst that fell into the wrong hands…
Hacked and somewhat Samp;M, this LP deserves to be laid to rest.My second is an LP Deluxe with additional features…If anybody has a pic of the Burst that was fitted with a Floyd, be sure to post!

Samuel

heh... that last one is townshends Gibson makes a sig now.

The first one... god. The pickguard don't make no sense.

A competent luthier could get it back to... kind of normal

slade

I guess it does if you're a lefty, which would explain the extra cutaway and the positioning of the trem bar.

For gods sake man, why not just get a left-handed model?!??!?!?



Originally Posted by krankguitaristI guess it does if you're a lefty, which would explain the extra cutaway and the positioning of the trem bar.

For gods sake man, why not just get a left-handed model?!??!?!?
well...there were very few 58, 59 and 60 model LP's done lefty...Im not sure about the 58 and 59 but I know for sure that there were only 2 lefty 60 LP's...

Also, I don't have any pics but I answered an ad for a 1983 Gibson Moderne once (I wanted another one) and found out that it had a floyd rose on it.

John Mayall butchered several Strats and made them into teardrop shapes

My Kramer 350G was quot;routedquot; for buckers with a screwdriver (the screwdriver was still in the pickbox when I bought it)

but I must say,..that quot;leftyquot; LP takes the cake!


Originally Posted by the guy who invented firewell...there were very few 58, 59 and 60 model LP's done lefty...Im not sure about the 58 and 59 but I know for sure that there were only 2 lefty 60 LP's...

There are a total of 3 known LP 'Bursts. The chopped up one has a name- quot;Bad Coconuts.quot; It's been quot;restoredquot; as much as it can be. I guess a lot of the LPs that went to Germany/Finland/Sweden had Hagstrom vibratos put on which left a 2.5quot; circular hole behind the bridge. Joey Molland from Badfinger had a Goldtop with a Strat bridge somehow affixed to it.

I don't like guitar butchers.

I seriously shed a tear at that first Les Paul. I'm not kidding. I saw it, my mouth dropped open and I had to be careful to not scream or my little sister next door would have been scared. This is horrible. Someone should die. Strangled by a .008 string. Or a barbed wire. Whichever is slower and hurts more.


i thought this was funny-ish


Originally Posted by the guy who invented firewell...there were very few 58, 59 and 60 model LP's done lefty...Im not sure about the 58 and 59 but I know for sure that there were only 2 lefty 60 LP's...

Also, I don't have any pics but I answered an ad for a 1983 Gibson Moderne once (I wanted another one) and found out that it had a floyd rose on it.

John Mayall butchered several Strats and made them into teardrop shapes

My Kramer 350G was quot;routedquot; for buckers with a screwdriver (the screwdriver was still in the pickbox when I bought it)

but I must say,..that quot;leftyquot; LP takes the cake!i just got to play a '82 moderne with a factory lp neck that was made for the guitar player in heart. its a very cool playing and sounding guitar


Originally Posted by jeremyi just got to play a '82 moderne with a factory lp neck that was made for the guitar player in heart. its a very cool playing and sounding guitar

Howard Leese's?

Is he all right? It seems he's sold off some really great guitars in the past few years.

It's not new monstrosities that anger me, it's the hacked up old ones... sad... I'll probably never lay eyes on an actual original 'Burst, but someone chopped the hell out of one. I guess one way to look at it is that they were so unpopular until Clapton/Green/Page, etc. that they were discontinued after a short run. Back in the 70's they were just guitars that played and sounded good, better than anything in production a the time. Look at Dave Murray's '57 Strat, with a Floyd, two creme SDs, that thing is not the prettiest thing, but he found a guitar that felt good and modded it to sound they way he wanted.


Originally Posted by PFDarksideIt's not new monstrosities that anger me, it's the hacked up old ones... sad... I'll probably never lay eyes on an actual original 'Burst, but someone chopped the hell out of one. I guess one way to look at it is that they were so unpopular until Clapton/Green/Page, etc. that they were discontinued after a short run. Back in the 70's they were just guitars that played and sounded good, better than anything in production a the time. Look at Dave Murray's '57 Strat, with a Floyd, two creme SDs, that thing is not the prettiest thing, but he found a guitar that felt good and modded it to sound they way he wanted.

Just came across a '60 burst at a guitar show a few Saturdays back. Got $235,000?

I like modded old guitars-- But they ain't cheap anymore, hence little modding these days. All these old guitar players bought those Strats and Les Pauls in pawn shops years back and made history with them-- and they were usually modified-- these guys were looking for their own voice. I'm glad I bought my old 70s Strats when they were dirt cheap; I really enjoying tinkering with different setups and modifications .

But I ask this question: Where was all this reverence for these old guitars (including 70s axes) before they were worth so much money?

You're right, PFDarkside, these 30 to 50 year old guitars were just good players some years back that got the job done. Original or modified, I have alway found them quite beautiful-- it's the prices-- and the desperation-- that have made them a little ugly.


Originally Posted by More-Gear-Than-Skill
i thought this was funny-ish

I like the palm tree in Maine.


Originally Posted by Boston JoeBut I ask this question: Where was all this reverence for these old guitars (including 70s axes) before they were worth so much money?

If you take into account how difficult it's been to get a hold of a burst, there's been that reverence since right after Bloomfield bought Dan Erlewine's burst. Up until the past 5-10 years you could get a great LP Jr or Special for under a grand. Heck, you could get Melody Makers for $100 if you looked. Suddenly, somewhere, someone decided something was really worth having. And with Ebay, a high price paid means that becomes the standard.

While there are some great 70's guitars, generally speaking, the 70's guitars exhibit characteristics that aren't necessarily desirable. Volutes, heavy, large headstocks, multi piece bodies, thick finishes, garishly painted, 3 piece tops, poly finishes on Fenders, 3 bolt, short tenon...

I'm tempted to believe the high prices and quot;desirabilityquot; of most 70's guitars is because of age, not because of the qualities or characteristiscs of the guitars themselves. It's also not as much of a quot;star associationquot; as not as many quot;guitar heroesquot; use 70's guitars, as opposed to 50's and 60's guitars, it's that the 70's guitars are in a time proximity to those guitars, and they're available.


Originally Posted by krankguitaristI guess it does if you're a lefty, which would explain the extra cutaway and the positioning of the trem bar.

For gods sake man, why not just get a left-handed model?!??!?!?


you would have seen 100% it was a lefty who butchered it up cos of the strings

and yes it needs to be put out of its misery and burned

That first one is really messed up... I wonder how it plays


Originally Posted by jeremyi just got to play a '82 moderne with a factory lp neck that was made for the guitar player in heart. its a very cool playing and sounding guitarHoward had 3 of those I think...I know there was a korina finished one and a dark red one...mine is Korina and is an 83...I love it! Limba body and neck, fat 58 profile and a set of Pearly Gates set it off! And I have to admit...I love the headstock!


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireJohn Mayall butchered several Strats and made them into teardrop shapes.

Eep, brings a new definition of neck heavy. Least this one was a Squire…


Originally Posted by bárattaEep, brings a new definition of neck heavy.

that one is a Squier...the first time I ever saw John with one of those the pic was form the wearly 70's so you could only imagine that the guitar was from the late 60!!!

Maybe he switched to mutilating Squires for his own safety… I saw a 60's strat, where the owner didn't like the vintage radius and frets, so he installed a birdhead neck. It's wider than a Fender, so he also had to route the pocket wider. DOHHHH!!!! Looked stupid as hell too!

Or how about Amp abuse......like an old Plexi with a punk band name stenciled across the tolex.......or a fan installed into the side of it.