Fixing up a really good noise guitar without losing the mojo

[K2000]

Sorry for using the term mojo.

My friend has a beat up 60's Supro guitar which is great for noisy music (and straight noise). There are tons of great sounds available in this guitar just plugging it into a fuzz and a tube amp. The whole guitar is also really resonant and responds well to bumps and knocks (all over the guitar), it's very lively. Problems though: loose neck pocket, loose frets, some pickup switching options don't work, there may be more I'm forgetting. It's been beaten up over the years, and isn't structurally sound, to the point that he's worried it could break during a show. Last week, the input jack was busted when I accidentally leaned something heavy against the guitar while a cable was in the jack. So now, at least some repair is required to use the guitar again. I'm worried that a standard repair job will snuff out the wild character that makes the guitar so interesting in the first place.

I assume that the electronics are the critical parts here. Should the wiring definitely be left alone?

Is it possible to get this guitar structurally sound, while keeping the ability to squeal, shriek, clang, etc? Is it crazy to think that there are techs out there who would be good at fixing up a guitar like this?

[dubkitty]

i don't know where you're located, but most major metro areas will have someone or some shop that knows their onions regarding old and peculiar guitars, which have become something of a boutique consumer fetish item in the last decade or so. those problems should be correctable without altering the character of the guitar much. fretwork isn't going to affect the resonance at all. i would have someone qualified in vintage guitars go over the electronics, which are likely revivable with switch/pot cleaning/replacement or minimal rewiring. you might have a dead or defective pickup, though, especially if it has the weird little pickup embedded in the plastic bridge base. regular pickups can be rewound/remagnetized, but if that in-the-bridge PU is shot you're fucked for that option. the loose neck pocket can be dealt with by shimming the sides of the pocket, but with a Supro that 2-bolt neck mount will always be somewhat problematic. a luthier might fill and re-drill the holes for the neck bolts to tighten up the neck joint. working on the neck mount should make the guitar even more resonant.

[K2000]

Thanks for the comments... my friend lives in Chicago. I don't think there's a pickup embedded in the bridge base, I'll see if I can find a photo in my files.

I also busted up the pickguard (the bottom tail is detached completely, where the input jack is). So I will probably have to have that remade via Pickguardian, etc..

[dubkitty]

the embedded PU would be obvious, cos the bridge base would be made of clear plastic. you're in luck to be in Chicago, which has a really good musical infrastructure. i would inquire with local players or the cooler guitar shops as to recommendations for a repair guy; Rock and Roll Vintage might be a good place to start. since the Supro/Valco stuff was largely made in Chicago, your location might give you access to more expertise.

[mcatano]

I’d start with Chicago Fretworks.

[K2000]

Texted my friend about this. He's wary because he said refretting his Yamaha (Artist?) cost $450. That's about what he paid for the Yamaha. And the Supro needs more than fretwork. The Yamaha might have had all the frets pulled and replaced, yadda yadda yadda. For the Supro, I think he could probably just have the existing frets glued back in. He's never going to be able to restore the guitar all the way, without making it a whole new guitar.* It will never be a showpiece. So a shop might balk at doing a halfway job (looks unprofessional). This might be the kind of thing he should do himself, but he's not especially handy. Tough situation.

* "Abe Lincoln's hatchet! The blade was replaced in 1906, and the handle was replaced in 1934. Abe Lincoln's hatchet!"

[jirodreamsofdank]

If it's a good guitar, I'd try to talk him into accepting the cost of a refret and maybe shimming or something to tighten the neck pocket. I have nothing but regret for selling a Harmony Rocket that I should have had refretted - my reasoning was exactly "I paid $350 for this, I don't want to pay $300 for a refret."

The other stuff sounds like maybe it could go untouched - if it sounds good now even with the wonky electronics, might be livable?

[oscillofuzz]

I agree with Jirodreamsofdank; if you own a guitar that you've bonded with significantly, even a new guitar with like three times it's new value wouldn't be a fair comparison. You can't directly equate a monetary investment with an emotional investment. If you/your buddy really like this guitar, get a quote for the fretwork and the neck pocket restoration from several luthiers (e-mail them some photos from your phone) and do the jack yourselves. Other electronics could wait till more funds have been raised and suboptimal pickguards can be held in place with tape if need be for the time being.

[dubkitty]

this.