I saw this on ebay yesterday and would love to hear some opinions on estimated worth of this guitar. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0309335582

sure it has tons of hop ups, but do those improvements justify paying $700+ for a MIM?

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Personaly i'd avoid a nitro neck like the plague. Its going to be sticky untill the finish wears off and more prone to damage than urethane or polyester. The low E string is running off the top end of the board too. Its a easy adjustment not something i'd pay over £300 ($424 at current exchange rates)for. The big trem block is nice as are the pickups but in my view they've ruined the best part of a 95 mim, the neck.

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No no and no

Thanks Jay,for cutting thru the politics of the age old cliches of "its all about feel" and "worth is relative" etc... And getting straight to the numbers, which is the purpose of this thread.

The only thing I noticed missing in jays summary was labor that I would have paid someone for some of the up grades. so lets say another $100. Bringing the estimated value to around $560.

Given the information in front of me it seems that it is more cost effective ( or at least comparable ) to purchase a platform guitar and do the mods local. Some one please correct me if I am mistaken on this point.

Thanks again for your candor Jay.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

This is useful also, as I am not at all familiar with the nitro finish. As jay pointed out. changes like the block are easy enough to do on my own, and hardly justify the expense.

Thanks for your input niki

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

I think this guitar compares favorably to the new Road Worn MIM Strats. It seems to be well put together, with some very nice features(pickups, gold hardware, fretwork). A new stock MIM Strat will run about $450. A Road Worn, about $950, so this guitar is right in the middle. Fair enough.
If you have the money, and you like the guitar, it seems like a good deal. A better deal than the Road Worn models that only have Tex-Mex pickups and bigger frets, and nitro finish as upgrades.

Trust me if fenders nitro bodies are anything to go by (their my only experience of that finish profesionaly done) avoid it. poly and urethane are both a lot more durable and like glass to touch. You'd be much better off to do it yourself. You'll save money, enjoy yourself, maybe learn a thing or two and get a sense of acomplishment. You'll also get to choose your parts. Whilst theres a big tremblock on that bridge, it means little. The quality of the metal in the block is the prime factor to such upgrades. Massive blocks have been around for donkeys years but only started coming popular, mainly because of some manufacturers use of quality materials. I'm not saying the trem on the guitar is bad but it does look a bit plastic'y when viewed from above. The string run off too is so easy to put right i cant understand why they havent done it.

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No no and no

Find a $200 MIM on your local CL and take pride in modding it yourself to your liking. Not that hard to do.

Sound advice from all. Thanks for all the input. I'm about to get a healthy dose of do it yourself when the last 2 parts arrive for the Forum project (ya'll didnt think I forgot about that did you?) although cost wise I'll have roughly $700 tied up in that project between the starting guitar, parts and labor for the pup swap (I will be doing everything else myself). So we'll see how that pans out upon completion.

I did contact the guy who built this guitar about the possibility of building a "black strat" replica, and will share the details of that conversation when they become available.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Just for the sake of typing it, I believe I've spent around $40 - 50 on lacquer, finishing my current project body throughout with nitrocellulose. That's just materials: I won't tell you how many "chargeable" hours I've spent on it - too ashamed to let that high number be known...

BTW: I suspect the idea that a "professional" is getting parts at a discount is unlikely. Only big makers churning out guitars by the thousands can negotiate prices with parts manufacturers. Everyone else has to buy at street prices. So I'm told by people who do it for a living, anyhow.

Cheers - C

Haha - yes, I think that's about the size of it.

Though in this case I think the teenager's choice of spoiler, muffler, etc is quite nice. Don't much care for gold hardware, but it looks reasonably good on this Strat. Or is that just the lighting...?

Cheers - C

DJ Jazzy Trevor hahaha. You could just see him on the fresh prince of belair. Tartan thermos flask and spiderman lunchbox.

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No no and no

I am ALL about doing modifications/repairs myself. I have owned and worked on close to 100 guitars in my 30 years of playing and tinkering. But that is ME. Not everybody has the ability or desire to take apart, modify and reassemble their guitar. Some folks just want something different, without all the extra work. Some folks are willing to pay a premium to let someone else do the work for them. That is up to them.