The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Hi Guys,

I found a early Aria ES copy with the camel headstock over the weekend for a reasonable price since some idiot in the past cut 2 holes in the body.... The Pots needed to be changed and instead of taking the pickups out of the guitar to have limited access to them, they decided to cut out a diamond shape access panel on the back... The diamond shape piece is still there but holds on with the aid of tape....

I did not take pictures as of yet but will later on tonight... This was from a garage sale... The guitar is complete and nice looking apart from the cut out...

Is there a smart way to fix this... please share....

My idea was to reatach the diamond cut out with either plumbing epoxy or wood putty... I do not think wood putty would be strong enough... I know that I will not be able to hide or make it blend like new but to make it a playable guitar would be my goal.

Its a very nice looking 60s guitar...

Pictures to follow..

Please share any wild ideas you might have to fix this....

P.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Pics would help. If the cut out is flat, why not get some thin stock and make a lip on the back side of the cut out. If you could then get it in place glue it in and fill the crack with thick super glue.

Pics will follow shortly today....

RSB...

Thank you for that Idea..... You just gave me a better option to my problem....

Since the cut out was made most likely in the 70s... the size of the saw is wide. they also drilled a hole to have acces for the saw.... will need to fill all 4 sides with some material for it to blend.... Pics will explain better....

Any one know what type of wood they use for the crossbars in acoustic guitars.

P.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Here are the pics:











Any other suggestions?

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

DAYUM Pierre!
You sure know how to pick em...

Agree with RS tho as far as how to mend that.

But frankly...is it worth it?
It´s ALL to easy all of a sudden having a ton of projects standing around ....

Hi Racing,

Thanks for the reply. I will be going with the Lip repair, after thinking about it overnight, makes sense and would be the easiest to do. As for filling in the cracks and drill holes, the drill hole I will use hard wood dowels and still very hesitant about using wood putty since some seem to think it is to soft and crubbles with time. Any suggestions in regards to the filling material?



Well, I basically bought it for parts..... When I found it, it was covered in dust. All the hardware is there and in pristine condition. I have a soft spot for these old 60's Jazz box. I have several others that are missing one item or another for me to complete. I just found the original bridge for my Aria RB330 bass and the bridge cost me more than this guitar.... I still need to order a floating bridge for another Jazz box that I have and that bridge will cost more also. So, I will not lose any money that is for certain.

But, after a fast cleaning. This baby is in great condition apart from the cut out... not even a scratch on the bloody thing. Just seems cruel to just strip her down for parts.... I'm a softy....

Basically, my cost is time. I will glue some strips this week and let fully dry. I am hoping someone might suggest something better to fill the cracks... Would plumbing epoxy be to drastic? It gets hard as a rock and will last a few lifetimes....

Also, I was thinking (without hurting myself to much) I could always go at the back with 1200 paper and repaint the back black after the repairs and apply 4 or 5 finish coats to the back...... What do you think?

Anyways, looking for any comments, suggestions, raves, rants and opinions out there.....

P.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Racing may have meant, just play it as is. She certainly is a looker.

opps... Sorry, I misunderstood....

I was under the wrong impression.... I myself thought the guitar was ruined because of the cut out... Would it not affect the sound?



She certainly is... I love these old jazz box.... Cant get enought of them... She plays great also, thin neck...

Racing,

Would you leave it the way it is right now or would you try to repair the back?

Sorry for not understanding your post, English is a 2nd language and I actually had to Google "Dayum" since did not know what that meant.....


Still looking for suggestions for the material to use to fill the cracks.... Anyone?!?

P.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Sometimes we forget how many different languages are spoken here. I correspond with a member that lives in the UK (though he's not been here in awhile) and we even have to explain ourselves at times.

"Again, we are separated by a common language. . ."
Chas

True; Chas hasn't been around for quite some time... and Jorg, being from Texas, speaks a completely different language to the rest of the English-speaking world anyway... (ducks for cover)...