repair or not? (guitar content)

dougjwray · #1 10-29-2008, 08:38 AM

I've got a '71 Strat, which my parents bought new for me that year. It got a lot of use and abuse, but has been sitting in a closet for about 20 years. To be playable again, it needs a fret job, a major cleanup and maybe some de-rusting of the bridge. One of the tuning keys is bent, but still functional. I don't even know what condition the neck is in (warped, etc.). Lots of "buckle rash" on the back, and the plastic plate covering the vibrato springs is long gone.
My question is: will the value come WAY down if I have any work done on it? I've seen some people suggest selling vintage instruments "as is", to reap the greatest value. I can understand not replacing parts, but a fret job, neck adjustment and clean up??

I might want to make this axe playable so that my son can have it to play when he's ready to start fooling around (he's 6 now), but if I stand to lose, like, thousands of dollars by having it restored, I'd like to know.
Thanks!

Pilgrim · #2 10-29-2008, 09:10 AM

Depends on what you mean by "restored". Don't dare mess with the original finish (no matter how battered - the worse it looks, the better for some people), and don't lose any original parts (even if they don't work, remove them and save them).

There's no problem with a fret job and adjusting the neck. Same goes for cleaning the pots - but keep the original wiring and parts intact. I'd go lightly on cleanup - probably just use a good guitar cleaner and polish like Virtuoso. A purist would try to find an original trem cover, but that's your call. If the neck is actually unusable, then I'd follow Ebay and find an age-appropriate replacement - and save the original. Alternative: go to a luthier and pay what it costs to have the neck corrected.

If you go beyond those maintenance items, IMO you will be costing yourself a lot of money at resale time.

dougjwray · #3 10-29-2008, 09:31 AM

Pilgrim,
Thanks for the advice. I should have said that I would bring it to a superb luthier/repair guy who's worked on my basses for about 25 years now.
What you said goes along with my instincts about it: clean it, make it work, but don't change any parts or refinish it.

Pilgrim · #4 10-29-2008, 09:48 AM

I think you're right on target!

Hope you can get it playing nicely for your boy.

gfried84 · #5 10-29-2008, 09:53 AM

I always warn my customers about doing fretwork on a vintage instrument. This will devalue the instrument if you are looking to sell it in the future. If you are confident that it you will keep it to play and are not concerned about monetary value than it will make the instrument play and sound better which will make it more valuable from a players perspective. By the way there is a special way to remove the frets on a vintage fender that will minimize tear out on the fingerboard. Make sure that if the work gets done that the luthier/tech uses this method.

dougjwray · #6 10-29-2008, 09:56 AM

If the frets can be simply dressed, not replaced, will that make it a non-issue?

AlembicPlayer · #7 10-29-2008, 09:57 AM

PLEK??

agreatheight · #8 10-29-2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougjwray

Pilgrim,
Thanks for the advice. I should have said that I would bring it to a superb luthier/repair guy who's worked on my basses for about 25 years now.
What you said goes along with my instincts about it: clean it, make it work, but don't change any parts or refinish it.

If you do change any parts, just keep the old ones so they can be put back on for sale.

Eilif · #9 10-29-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Depends on what you mean by "restored". Don't dare mess with the original finish (no matter how battered - the worse it looks, the better for some people), and don't lose any original parts (even if they don't work, remove them and save them).

There's no problem with a fret job and adjusting the neck. Same goes for cleaning the pots - but keep the original wiring and parts intact. I'd go lightly on cleanup - probably just use a good guitar cleaner and polish like Virtuoso. A purist would try to find an original trem cover, but that's your call. If the neck is actually unusable, then I'd follow Ebay and find an age-appropriate replacement - and save the original. Alternative: go to a luthier and pay what it costs to have the neck corrected.

If you go beyond those maintenance items, IMO you will be costing yourself a lot of money at resale time.

Great advice. I would echo the suggestion to dress the frets rather than refret if possible. If your luthier is as good as you say, he's probably going to know all this already, but it's always good to do your homework first. As for the rusty bridge, if it's functional I would leave it, otherwise, replace and save is probably ok.

Sounds like you might have a nice little strat there.

Oh yeah. Get a case for that thing!

gfried84 · #10 10-29-2008, 10:16 AM

If there is enough fret left to dress them that may solve the problem. Unless there is rise in the heel of the neck that would require too material to be removed. In that case the fingerboard would have to be planed in order to get a true surface to install the frets in. Is the fingerboard maple or rosewood?

T-MOST · #11 10-29-2008, 10:20 AM

I inherited a '79 25th Anniv Fender Strat 5 years ago. It was in roughly the same condition as yours. It sounds like all you need is a set up and neck adjustment. You are looking at lest than $100.00 worth of work. A '71 fender Strat is definately worth the money.

dougjwray · #12 10-29-2008, 10:28 AM

To answer a couple of questions:
It has a case. (2 out of 3 latches are broken and the logo is mostly broken off... but it's a case!)
The fingerboard is rosewood.
I think the bridge might be functional, as far as the rust goes. It might just need the dust and grime blasted out of there. Of course, all the screws are rusty, too. I lent to a bandmember for a few years when we were on the road, back in the '80s, and he's one of those guys who sweats like crazy. Hence all the rust. Also, he didn't bother to keep his belt buckle out of range. Who cared then-- it was a lousy, CBS workhorse!

gfried84 · #13 10-29-2008, 10:37 AM

Since the fingerboard is rosewood no finish would have to be removed from the fingerboard if the neck needs to be planed. I would have your tech tell you what is best for the instrument. In my eyes an unplayable instrument is worthless. But if it does need serious work it would be up to you to decide whether or not to do it.

Pilgrim · #14 10-29-2008, 11:03 AM

Dressing frets would be preferable to doing a re-fret - but one thing that DOES wear out on guitars and basses is frets, so they're going to have been replaced on a lot of older instruments. If you actually needed a re-fret, I'd make sure the luthier who did it is familiar with old Fenders and uses a similar style fret. In that case, I don't think a well done re-fret would make a major difference in resale value.