Bringing a Combo back to life

[ElBrewski]

So, I guess sometimes you just don't know what's underneath something till peel off a layer.

First, I pulled out almost 2 pounds of towels and rags that were packed/crammed inside of this guitar; so THAT'S what was keeping the cardboard behind the f-hole in place. Obviously the accepted method of hollow-body feedback control back in the day?... huh?




And then: CRAP! I see something quite unpleasant: NAILS in the neck heel attach!!



My guess is that one or more of the neck screws are stripped and this was the repair method used - haven't checked this theory.

I had already decided to put it back together after brightening the metal parts and cleaning up the electronics (and enjoy playing it for a bit) but as soon as the budget allows I wanted to have it refinished (looks like I found a pro to do the job - Aaron ). So the big concern I have now is how this (botched repair) issue affects the future of this instrument.

[khai123]

Don't you just hate it when your guitar's filled with rags and cardboard! Still, these people were really last-minute thinkers. Rags?

-Eyan

[oipunkguy]

it's pretty common at least by the 70's, mosrites had more then 4 neck screws. they just had them on the underside of the neck pickup going the other way. usually one or two more screws. maybe someone lost the original screws that went inside the neck pocket and used nails instead???? not sure, but i would be careful removing the nails.

[oipunkguy]

its a common thing to do on a hollow body. i've even heard of people putting balloons in a guitar lol. I can take a look at that neck pocket and the nail situation for ya.

[oipunkguy]

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=812

here's where I took apart my mark V II model. notice the screws on the inside of the neck pocket.

[ElBrewski]

Does something appear to be wrong with this bridge? Seems to me that it was assembled (or more likely re-assembled) with the saddles out of order - the width of the high E saddle looks like it should be in the D position and the others to the right shifted to the right. Or am I misunderstanding the bridge design?

[LoveyX]

It makes sense to have them so the string height is rite according to the neck radius, D and G highest, both E's lowest.

[JimPage]

Hey--

I agree 100% with what LoveyX just posted about the bridge saddle/saddles following the radius of the guitar's neck. It was absolutely essential on the Telecaster-clone I built earlier this year (7-1/4" neck radius) and it took me a few days to get it right.

On the photo shown of the bridge, it looks to me as though the grooves where the strings pass over the saddles are all mixed up, thickness wise, unless that's an effect of the photo. The thickest groove should be on the low-E string, getting smaller as they get nearer the high-E.

Does that make sense?

--Jim

[ElBrewski]

Jim, that's my point as well; I thought the saddle thickness would correspond to the string size since the bridge base plate is not flat & has a radius of it's own - which I had assumed will match the fretboard radius (I'll post a pic of the bridge to show the radius when I get a chance).

[ElBrewski]

A view of the bridge showing the radius and saddle widths