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Post subject: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 5:54 pm
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people re-fin guitars all the time... the point of a CS is you get the guitar YOU want. well, when I bought my HLE roadshow guitar I didn't know what I wanted... so I bought it. Now I am realizing that the heavy relic thing isnt for me. I love the tone of the guitar... I'm going to get the frets dressed down to vintage size so I will love playing it... I even love the HLE gold. I just wish it had the anodized pick-guard (looks more classic and true to the gold '50s guitars I have seen in pic's), but the relic'ing is over the top for me.

so, if I could get a local luthier to re-fin it in HLE gold, would that be wrong? Wish I could send it back to Mike and have him (Custom Shop - not him in particular) re-fin it... I'd even be great with a light relic... but I know they don't do that...

I know this is a limited edition guitar but looking at the used market on ebay, I don't really see it having any value - outside of the pickups (HW Abbys) so it would be pointless to try and sell it and get the one I want - so why not make the best with what I have? Its a great guitar, like I said, just overdone for my tastes...

I'm really torn on this one...


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 11:31 pm
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It's your guitar, you do what you want...

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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:00 am
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The economics of it are straightforward. Used, you can probably sell it now for about 40% off the price new as a Roadshow guitar.

Once you alter it, you will probably not be able to sell it for that price; something lower is likely.

So, the question is: do you want to take the risk that after altering it, you decide to sell it?

If it has the underlying qualities of a good guitar, as you seem to indicate, then it may be worth it to take that risk and get the specs to what you want.

Good luck in your decision.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:13 am
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I know someonw who actually refinished (or at least retouched) a Custom Shop guitar because he thought the relic job was too much.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:00 am
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Sounds like you love the tone of guitar, which by altering finish will more than likely alter tone. Also, by time you get a pro tech to refret and paint, you might be 1/3 of the way to buying another Strat. Remember, most changes can't be corrected back......you're setting yourself up for a bigger disappointment. Keep it as is and save to get another or sell it. Wildwood Guitars has a lot of CS Strats on their website well below $3K that might meet your spec.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:11 am
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thanks for the suggestions guys. With the current resale value of custom shops, the only way I would maximize the amount I get back would be to sell the pickups seperately. As far as I can tell, Abbys bring a premium by themselves but don't necessarily add value to the guitar in resale.

I am thinking of selling it and using that money towards a masterbuilt. I may pull the pickguard and abby's out of it to put in another guitar in the future. I hate to do it, but like I said, with or without, it doesn't bring much more to the resale value so I might as well keep the Abbys since you can't buy them seperately and she is about to retire.

I haven't decided what to do with this guitar yet. When I bought it I didn't know if I liked vintage or 6105 so I took a stab. Unfortunately, I dont have anyone local that I could try before I buy. I just hate to keep a guitar that I dont know if I will play that much...


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 3:15 pm
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I did want to add that the LAST thing I want to do is seperate the parts in this guitar. My first step is to get a fret dressing and live with it for a while.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:59 am
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sikoniko wrote:
I did want to add that the LAST thing I want to do is seperate the parts in this guitar. My first step is to get a fret dressing and live with it for a while.


I think that's the best idea yet! :)


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:19 pm
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I live in the same town as Ron Kirn. I don't know if you guys have heard of him, but you can find him easily by googling him. after a few emails I took the HLE to him for a setup and fret dressing. I don't feel like reading the rules to see if I am allowed to post a link, but today he posted on another forum his findings on my guitar. I will quote what he has said thus far:

Quote:
Now.... the owner was having difficulty, because it was becoming more and more difficult to play.. he asked me to give 'er a look - see....

I immediately determined that the bow in the neck was very severe, so into the shop I went..

A fret leveling, or at least a good check was in order..... I marked the frets so you could see the problems in the photos.... but to make a long story short.... Immediately it became apparent it needed attention.. after a few passes with the leveling tool the high frets around 17 up and 1- 7 were revealed with the low frets showing from 7 thru 17. Since the truss rod typically only impacts frets ranging from around 3 through 12... the frets could not be made level with a simple truss rod adjustment... and even if it could you can see the frets from 10 - 17 have a high spot in the vicinity of the B and G string, which needed attention.... a complete fret leveling performed.

Now... again... this is NOT the fault of shoddy workmanship... It is the fault of WOOD... it is NOT stable, it moves with the environment in which it is stored and played...

The reason I have used a superb example as this guitar is to drive home the point to those of y'all that are playing entry level and second tier guitars, that are NOT delivered with a properly leveled set opt frets are in for a surprise when you finally DO get around to accepting the reality... the only to ever achieve optimum performance from your guitar is to get it setup properly.

Even the best can need attention in a relatively short period of time..


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:51 pm
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How does the guitar feel and play now?


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:09 am
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Butterscotch wrote:
How does the guitar feel and play now?


He hasn't let me know its ready yet.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:10 am
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I say sell immediately after you get it back. Find a guitar you are in love with. Modifying guitars is a tricky buisiness. I have invested in this only to become more disappointed. My way out of this was to research. I observed this one guitar at Wilwood, kept an eye on it for months as I debated and compared. When I realized this batch of 5 or 7 guitars was on it´s way out, I went ahead and purchased just in time to see them disappear from the dealer´s page. It is the most informed purchase I have ever made. It was hard to wait such a long time as I made up my mind. I payed a little under 3000 dollars, and already have been offered 4500. Yet my CS is not for sale!

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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 4:33 pm
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mike07502 wrote:
I say sell immediately after you get it back. Find a guitar you are in love with. Modifying guitars is a tricky buisiness. I have invested in this only to become more disappointed. My way out of this was to research. I observed this one guitar at Wilwood, kept an eye on it for months as I debated and compared. When I realized this batch of 5 or 7 guitars was on it´s way out, I went ahead and purchased just in time to see them disappear from the dealer´s page. It is the most informed purchase I have ever made. It was hard to wait such a long time as I made up my mind. I payed a little under 3000 dollars, and already have been offered 4500. Yet my CS is not for sale!


got the guitar back today. It definately plays better and I'm not as anti-6105 / 9.5 as I was. But I am now of the opinion that those specs require a fret-dressing to get where I like them; whereas, the vintage stuff does not. I'll need more time with it to make a decision on whether to keep it or not.

I have decided that if I do sell the guitar I will keep the hand-wound Abbys for a future guitar and put other CS pickups in the guitar before letting it go. I really like the HLE color... just not the heavy relic'ing.


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:19 pm
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Let's see pics!!!

ME


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Post subject: Re: Is it sac-religious to refin a roadshow guitar?
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 6:30 am
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My wife has a nice DSLR but I didnt feel like getting it out so these come courtesy of my phone. It automatically uploads pic's to photobucket and I haven't figured out how to re-position them once they are uploaded so the first one is upside down.

Image

I'm not sure how well this came out, but here is a couple shots of the fretwork.

Image

Image


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