Rehabbing an old 335 I monstered up

Dave Merrill said:
Half of me thinks i should just do the wiring myself, with flush black plastic plugs for the holes.

Other half thinks it'd be great to a) just get it done sans time and angst on my part, and b) have it checked out by a good tech at the same time, since it hasn't been played in a couple decades, and lived a pretty rough life on the road before that.

Leaning towards that second option at the moment. Over the weekend i was all about option 1, but life happened, and i didn't get it done, or even make any further progress. AGAIN. Grrr.
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I had a 79 Strat that needed a big rehab. I brought it to my luthier (yes, Chris) and he spent time bringing it back to as close to stock, as possible.
I'm happy I did it. It wasn't doing any good sitting in a closet....and I am now happy to gig with it (as it belonged to a friend who passed away).
 
BBN said:
I had a 79 Strat that needed a big rehab. I brought it to my luthier (yes, Chris) and he spent time bringing it back to as close to stock, as possible.
I'm happy I did it. It wasn't doing any good sitting in a closet....and I am now happy to gig with it (as it belonged to a friend who passed away).
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Those are the best guitars - the ones with memories.
 
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Dave Merrill said:
What i don't get is why remove the third pickup, and lose those tonal possibilities. If they're only useful occasionally, only use them occasionally!

If it's because it's in the way of your picking, maybe your picking isn't very well controlled.
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It's a mystery! Maybe there was something special about the middle pickup and they wanted to use it in another guitar?
 
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BBN said:
Email Black Cat guitar and see if he would want the project. info@blackcatguitar.com
I've seen him work miracles. I mean, you're gonna see those holes to some degree, but he can make it look as good as is possible.
He's in Georgetown, MA (I think you're in New England).

(and man that is A LOT of knobs!)
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@BBN So I'm trying to light this project back up again. Chris and i talked about it a while ago, back when i was thinking I'd maybe want to do it myself, but at this point i just want to get it done, so I've reached out to him again. Haven't heard back, but it hasn't been very long.

If i remember right though, he was going through some health issues. Do you know if he's ok, and still doing guitar work? His site looks the same as before i think.
 
Dave Merrill said:
@BBN So I'm trying to light this project back up again. Chris and i talked about it a while ago, back when i was thinking I'd maybe want to do it myself, but at this point i just want to get it done, so I've reached out to him again. Haven't heard back, but it hasn't been very long.

If i remember right though, he was going through some health issues. Do you know if he's ok, and still doing guitar work? His site looks the same as before i think.
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Chris is doing great now, and yes absolutely still working on guitars.
He surfs a lot, and since it's about to get REALLY cold here, he may be trying to squeeze in a few last days of fun.
He always gets back to people, so I'm sure you'll hear from him soon.
 
BBN said:
Chris is doing great now, and yes absolutely still working on guitars.
He surfs a lot, and since it's about to get REALLY cold here, he may be trying to squeeze in a few last days of fun.
He always gets back to people, so I'm sure you'll hear from him soon.
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I have thanks, I'm dropping the guitar off to him next Sunday. Glad he's doing well.
 
Dave Merrill said:
I have thanks, I'm dropping the guitar off to him next Sunday. Glad he's doing well.
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Dropped it off today.
Chris is the berries, 100%.

First thing was to check out the guitar itself, make sure it'd actually be worth playing. Needs various work, for sure, including some backbow in one section of the neck, warping of the bridge (didn't know that was a thing), and some nut work, but Chris thinks it's all doable, without the expense of a full fret job. There's not a lot of fret to work with because it's 60s, but hopefully there's enough leeway.

Think we're on the same page about the wiring and the control layout. He's a resourceful guy, and a good sport, dealing all the particulars of this pretty oddball project. Nice feel for what the guitar was, and still largely is, with that aged wood, yellowed binding, vintage hardware and all, and what it hopefully will be, fixed up and with the new pickups and wiring.

Chris is a keeper :)
info@blackcatguitar.com
 
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