The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

As painful as it may be, I urge you to look upon these pictures and have pity on those that would carry out such a deed. I'm certain this CS350 did nothing to deserve a fate such as this but you'll hear nary a complaint from her. She knows time is short before she will sing again.

[img]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll91/jorg_np/CS350/IMG_4595.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll91/jorg_np/CS350/IMG_4576.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll91/jorg_np/CS350/IMG_4592.jpg[/img]

Stripped of her dignity, gutted and left to die. She knows that, what does not kill her only makes her stronger.

And she's coming back with a vengeance. . .

ok i have to ask. What color you gonna paint it?
Jorg have you happened to acquire any tuners for this beauty yet?

The color is not set in stone just yet. Once I get down to bare wood and see what I'm working with, I have a feeling where it's going but I ain't telling.

I have no tuners yet. I'm toying with the idea of gold hardware but that will mean replacing the bridge. It would be more work and the existing bridge is in pretty good shape so, not sure yet. If I went that route, someone could get a pretty nice bridge.

I just got pickups last night and hope to wire it up pretty soon.

Cool Jorg.
There used to be a post of cardinal wiring diagrams around here somwhere and i searched the site and can't find them. Deronkel (ULF)
I think was the one that posted them but there may have been many other contributors.
So did you get some protomatics to put in there or something else?

Nice project you've taken on.
I will be watching the progress.
I have the identical blue CS 350.
She is a great player, with her share of bumps and bruises for her 27 years.
I always reach for her, no worry about handling her rough, she can take it, and always sounds sweet.
Sadly, just put on ebay (laid off & need $$$). Going to miss her, if she sells.
Enuf sob story!
Anyway, I have a CS 450 with a set neck, in the same torn down sanded condition as your 350. I would love to resurrect her, but I need a good original bridge (oddball hard to find), and refinish. A loocal guy wants $350 for the refinish + msc. parts and labor it seems like it is not woth it.
Whay do you think it is going to cost you to bring your 350 back to life? Any Ideas on finding a dual load bridge?

I always thought that funky sanded down look was cool.

Someone else on here showed some pics of a similar guitar that had some
of the black primer showing, fixed up to the nines.

I held that neck in my hands and could feel it was the real stuff.

The frets looked untouched.

I have a feeling this is going to come out killer.

Good luck bro.

You are correct. I've not seen a weak Mat. One of my other Mats has seen a fair amount of rough treatment and is still one of my "go to" guitars.

It's hard to put a price on it. I don't forsee having more than $200 total invested but I'm not charging myself labor (although I thought about it ). $350 might not be too bad depending on the quality of work done. Especially if you need a bridge. I found one that I like (nowhere near original) if I decide to go that route BUT it will take a fair amount of labor to make it operational. I don't mind except it will take longer. Patience is not one of my strong points, ask my wife.
This isn't a full on "restore". I want to keep it as much a Mat as possible but I also want it to be functional for a long time. I understand the saddles are probably the weakest point here. Also, if all goes as planned, gold hardware will look good with the color I have in mind. Normally, I'm not a big fan of gold hardware but this guitar is a bit special.

Hopefully, I'll know a little more about the direction it's going soon. Not that I'll tell but I'll post pics.


Thanks JB. This is an opportunity I would not have had if not for you and Crusty.

Jorg.
Whoever did that...
We should bring them outside and KILL THEM!

INDEED!!

You know, the more I look at this, it was probably someone's 1st guitar as a kid and they just got bored with it. None of the guitar heroes of the day played one so it must not be worth anything, right? I know I started playing at 11 and have seen styles change a few times. My RS600 was my 1st real guitar. Thankfully, I bought a $120 fender musicmaster specifically for R&D and left my Mat intact. That fender has been at least 4 different colors, had several different pickup configurations and sported a kahler at one time. (Have you seen what original musicmasters are going for now? )
Anyway, this 350 isn't in too bad shape for 27 years and I can understand how it got here. Removing the controls either made it simpler to operate or possibly was an attempt at the VH setup. I didn't see the paint job but JB said it was of the splatter variety. Possibly another attempt at a VH style rig?
Thankfully, the wood is all there and there's enough meat on the frets to feed us all for awhile.

I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Hey Jorg,

Congrats on the new project. Something to do during the winter months.
My advice on the bridge would be to go ahead and spring for the "f@#d%r"
hardtail type. I put one on the banana CS-350 and it's a big improvement over the Ray bridge, I must say.

If you need pics or wiring diagrams for it, just say the word.

Good luck and keep us posted !