The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Q&A, discussion, and information for the labels covered by The Guitar Gallery (Specifically and exclusively guitars made by Matsumoku up to 1987)
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PostPosted: Mon 31 Oct 2011 10:08 PM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Got this gem off ebay....

So, my Conrad ES335 copy came in today, and i started right in on the restoration.......

Unpacked and neck bolted on again:

Image

After throwing one string on temporarily for testing the electronics, it was time to get down and dirty..... Stripped off the bridge, neck, and tuners and bushing for the tuners...
I started off by fixing the broken head stock.

Image

Once that had plenty of glue and clamps galore, i moved on to my forté.... Polishing.... (i make jewelry as one of my hobbies)

Bridge close up before:

Image

After:

Image

Then i went to work on the extremely filthy tuners..... Before is on the right, after is on the left (didnt think of the sides when i snapped the pic)

Image
Once i was done with the tuners, i went at the body (which turned out to be filthy too) with some lemon pledge and Planet Waves Shine spray..... Hot dang does this thing shine!!!!!!!

Image

After the front was done, i did the same for the back and sides..... And you can see the rest of the collection on the wall above it too....

Image

So, next on the list will be getting a proper style bridge, as the fret wire one is definitely not right.... Looking at a few on ebay, and will hit some of the local guitar shops this week and see if i can find something local..... But at least i got a good start on the restoration all in the first 10hrs of ownership.....LOL


Last edited by Bogieboy on Tue 01 Nov 2011 03:21 PM, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov 2011 06:09 AM 
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Virtuoso
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Joined: Wed 05 Jul 2006 03:40 PM
Posts: 2608
Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
Looking good, man!!


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PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov 2011 07:50 AM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Pic of actual clamping of the neck:


Image


Last edited by Bogieboy on Tue 01 Nov 2011 03:24 PM, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov 2011 09:51 AM 
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Virtuoso
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Joined: Wed 29 Apr 2009 12:32 PM
Posts: 3938
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
Glad to see you're enjoying the resto! That headstock should seal up OK, looks like a very clean break along the grain.
The only thing that made me wince was the "Lemon Pledge"! :-?

Not what I'd be reaching for to use on a vintage finish. Sure, it's mostly water, but it also contains silicon oil, naptha, petroleum, and mineral oil, none of which I'd want on my wood.

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PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov 2011 03:00 PM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
The pledge was used more as a cleaner, then wiped off thoroughly, then the planet waves shine went on.....

I didnt have anything else that was wood/laquer safe for cleaning the gunk off..... I think this thing sat in a garage for a few years........

Also, ordered a roller bridge this morning...(seemed like last night but it was 0015 hrs, so it was today LOL)

Once that gets here, mount it up to the original plate, and string it up..... Hopefully the glue has set better on tht pickguard material... I unclamped it to check it this morning and it started peeling away from the head, because it was warped from being broke..........if it stays an issue, i may use a few small screws to hold it down......we shall see how that goes.... Gonna give the glue a few days to cure with the clamps on it.......


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PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov 2011 03:25 PM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Edited the thread for thumbnail code, click the thumbnails for full-size


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PostPosted: Wed 02 Nov 2011 09:07 AM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
I may be up and playing this guitar tonight...... Neck is finished, and i got all the tuners bolted in this morning.... Once i get back home from work, im gonna string it up and start playing!!!!!


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PostPosted: Wed 02 Nov 2011 09:10 AM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Oh, i also ordered a gibson style pickguard and bracket for it last night..... Thats coming from hong kong


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PostPosted: Wed 02 Nov 2011 11:13 PM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
IT PLAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And quite nicely...... The bridge needs replacing (that should be shipping out any day) as the string spacing puts the e strings about a mm past the edge of the pole pieces...not cool to send a bridge like that, but im not gonna complain about it any more since i got the guitar for cheap.....

Aside from the string space issue, this thing plays so awesome, i have about an hr's time playing it, and i already never wanna play my solid body......... The bottom end is thick, if you get on it hard you get a nice vintage crunch, (even with the gain at 3 out of 10)and the highs.......oh the dreamy mellow highs........... They make the tubes of the bugera v5 start singing...... I now see how "musical" a tube amp can be when interacting with a hollow body..... :love: :love

Side note, as i understand the construction of a real es335, they have a solid block of maple down the middle, almost like a neck thru right? If thats the case, i would classify this guitar, whilst copying the es335, a full hollow body..... From what i see, there is just a tone block similar to a violin under the bridge... Looks about 1"x1.5" and thats it..... The rest of the body is totally hollow.... Which make this thing a great quiet acoustic as well..........

The little i have already played this thing, the more it makes menwanna trade in my ibanez solidbody for another hollow body.........LOL anyone want a gently used 2007 ibanez gsa60?? LOL


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PostPosted: Wed 02 Nov 2011 11:15 PM 
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Virtuoso

Joined: Tue 18 Oct 2011 09:26 AM
Posts: 233
Location: Chicago, IL USA
All that typing and i forgot to put the pic in there.....

Image


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