This wonderful instrument was rescued from an abandoned house. It sounded good acoustically, so the new owner asked if the Unbrokenstring Crew could repair the electronics and get it playable again? Let’s get to work!
This instrument is only a few years old, purchased and then cast aside.
An online source for specialty guitar parts had a 2018 model of the electronics. Can we make it work?
The mounting scheme uses four screws in the corners. Cleats will be added to the guitar so that the screws hold.
But the REAL advantage of the 2018 electronics is that the enclosure matches the curve of the body.
Common wood items such as yard sticks, tongue depressors, popsicle sticks, and paint stirrers are made from birch, the straight-grained ‘poor relation’ to maple. So the paint department lady at Home Depot gave me this stirrer.
Cleats to tightly hold the electronics in the body are fabricated by hand.
Next, the cleats are sanded to fit the curve of the body on the inside of the bout.
These are ready to trial-fit. The bevel on the corner, lower-left side, clears an internal brace in the guitar.
One shim goes here. Note the angled pieces, which will catch the screws in the electronics.
To protect the finish, low tack painter’s tape is used all around.
These clamps will hold the cleats in place as the hide glue sets up.
Both cleats are installed and the hide glue is curing.
Additional reinforcement is added in the corners to give the screws more material to grip. These bits will be in compression, so they don’t need to be super-strong, only tough.
Before we get too far, we need to do another trial fit.
I think we’re going to be good here!
I will pre-drill the holes where the screws will be installed. This should minimize splitting of the small cleats.
The actual drilling will be finger-powered, using this pin vise.
All four holes are pre-drilled.
Yes, I know. This isn’t terribly interesting.
The screws are installed. Not bad!
The jack plate holds the battery and has both 1/4th inch phone plug and balanced XLR connections. It was temporarily removed to give more access to the interior of the instrument. The new electronics hook right up to the jack plate.
This is a new one on me. This battery was in the guitar when it came in. The Golden Thumbs-Up Emoji Award!
And, while we’re here, we’ll clean the instrument, string it, and do a setup.
The electronics come alive!
This is a cool tuner. The LCD screen has a pointer that swings across its face.
Beauty is skin-deep, but what really counts is just below the surface. This rescued guitar is ready to make music!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end!
CONTACT – David Latchaw EE
281-636-8626