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Post subject: dg-5 help
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:33 pm
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Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:49 pm
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Location: south carolina
hey there. i'm a bit new here so bear with me. i recently rescued a dg-5 from a local goodwill store for 9 bucks and need a little help bringing her back to life.

it seems someone broke the headstock off and tried to repair it themselves. the glue job was decent but they totally screwed up the fretboard. it was all cock-eyed and seemed to have half a bottle of glue oozing out of the seams. and it also had a home-made wooden nut that looked like it was whittled from a tree limb. i give 'em A for effort, F------- for results. needless to say, it took some elbow grease, a few nsfw phrases and an aggravated spouse complaining about the mess in the kitchen before it was clean enough to make a good start.

anyway, my question has more to do with the actual guitar itself than the repair work. in all of my searches, queries and lurking i have yet to figure out just exactly what the top wood is made of. all the pictures and descriptions show either a light colored wood (spruce maybe?) or a black finish. this guitar has a darker wood for the top and the even darker mahogany (?) sides, back and neck. someone told me it might be cedar while i read something somewhere about nato. there was even talk of a laminate top with some "experts", but they couldn't be sure due to the effects of a couple of jager-bombs... so if anyone can help me clear this up, i would be most grateful.

the reason i ask is that it will help me decide how to set up the guitar once it's repaired. whether fingerstyle (cedar), strumming and picking (mahogany) or slap a fishman in it and rock out (nato). thanks in advance and happy holidays to all.


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Post subject: Re: dg-5 help
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:44 am
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Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
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The web does seem to give you every possible option :lol:

Here's what the horse's mouth says:
Quote:
DG5: 1995-1998; $175.99; Nato top, mahogany back and sides
(from: http://www.fender.com/support/articles/ ... ct-dating/


You might try Fender Customer Relations; email the serial number and they may be able to provide the original specs.


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Post subject: Re: dg-5 help
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 10:20 am
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Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:49 pm
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thank you, my good sir, for that face-palm moment. i had truly thought that i had searched the fender site well enough. indeed "the web does seem to give you every possible option" though maybe it was my haste or just plain ignorance that made me miss this. your information is very helpful and i will be using the customer relations to further narrow it down.

i had my suspicions that it might be nato and the link you gave makes it official. i will await a reply from customer relations, but it seems that i'll be in the market for a fishman isys+ or something similar. i already have one on my washburn and it's sweet.

now for that dreaded fretboard repair. i'm even considering an entire new neck if i can find a reasonable donor guitar. i will of course ask, but i'm assuming that most dg necks from that time frame would be similar and easy to swap. but if anyone knows of a trashed dg-5 with a good neck, i'd be interested in relieving them of it.

thanks again for the info and i'll probably post something later to update my progress on revitalizing this $9 scrap-yard queen. happy holidays.


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Post subject: Re: dg-5 help
Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 6:33 pm
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Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:49 pm
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UPDATE: well it looks like i'll get that wall ornament after all. though the body looks great and all, the neck replacement is a no-go. it seems that fender opted for the easy way out in constructing these guitars. instead of a dove-tail joint or even a bolt-on neck, this neck is held on by three 3/8" wooden dowel pins... disappointment doesn't begin to describe it. i'd expect something like that on a first act instrument but not something branded by fender. so it makes me wonder if all the dg series guitars are constructed the same. really, though, i guess i should've expected some kind of cost cutting for entry level guitars. well, for nine bucks, i sure learned to not trust any acoustic costing less than $300-400 to be of real quality. at least my washburn is decently made. or maybe i'll just stick to fender electrics overall.

hope everyone has a great holiday. here's to hope that santa will bring the tele custom i keep sending him letters for.


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