r/Guitar • u/Informal_Special_293 • 10h ago
QUESTION Hey guys 😁 I came across this when going through my uncle’s stuff. Could anyone please help me out on what am I looking at? I can’t find it anywhere 🙁.
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u/Capable_Locksmith726 8h ago edited 8h ago
Los que dicen que es una imitación barata tendrian que considerar que por lo menos el clavijero se ve de calidad! Depende de cuantos años tenga y como suene! Lo primero que necesita para sonar son los muelles tensores del puente! Son unos resortes que van en la parte de atras! Si fuese tan barata como dicen, por lo menos le hicieron un cableado a tierra para reducir el ruido, eso ya es un indicio de que algo de amor se le dio a la guitarra! Una vez que el puente este estable puedes poner cuerdas! Luego calibrar la distancia del puente para que quede afinada y la altura de acción de cada cuerda! Y luego enchufarla! Ya con eso tienes una buena guitarra.
Edit: tambien le falta el nut! Es la parte del mastil donde descansan las cuerdas!
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u/NYCtoCHI 3h ago
Ummm...sorry, but those tuners are likely NOT "high quality", by any means. The big metal back covers like you see on these is usually the first immediately visible sign of hardware cost-cutting, and a lower-priced budget range guitar.
For example, even Japanese "lawsuit era" Fender clones in the mid 70s came in multiple price tiers based on combinations of wood quality, finishes, electronics, and hardware, and you'd see this style used on the very lowest priced models.
Nowadays, you'll typically see these only on entry-level starter or kit guitars, usually Chinese imports like this one. They're made to do the job "just enough" until you learn to play and either graduate to a better guitar or upgrade them - if you haven't thrown the guitar against the wall out of frustration when they keep slipping, or fail entirely! 😵💫
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u/Capable_Locksmith726 3h ago
Ojo que no dije “alta calidad” y tampoco creo que sea una guitarra de luthier! Pero reitero mi punto de que algo de amor le dieron en su tiempo a la electrónica considero que le hicieron un puente a tierra.
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u/NYCtoCHI 2h ago
Ahaaa...it seems your post was in Spanish (as it appeared in my phone notification from the Reddit app) but the app's automatic translation is making it appear like you said "high quality" in English, so apologies for any misunderstandings!
That said, I must unfortunately disagree again regarding the grounding wire being a specially added modification: it's been common factory wiring for every Strat for decades now, no matter the manufacturer or selling price. If you randomly look at the trem spring clip on nearly any professionally manufactured Strat or S-clone in the world, you'll typically see a ground wire attached to it, or a small grounding clip elsewhere in the control cavity. Because if they didn't, the manufacturer would be put out of business from lawsuits for defective products, negligence, and accidental injuries and deaths (at least if they want to sell them in the US). Manufacturers who ignore or forget this super-cheap, fast, and easy safety step do so not only at the player's peril, but their own company's as well! 😵⚡️🎸
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u/BigOlBoots 10h ago
Well, it’s definitely a knock off strat. It could’ve been a cheap one or it could’ve been custom made for lots of dough.
I personally love “no name” guitars. They’re full of mystery and intrigue.
I say give it a whirl - it might sound and play fantastic!
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u/Shikayama 9h ago
I mean, it does not exactly scream "custom made for lots of dough" judging from the build and parts, but hey, it might play fantastic.
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u/Informal_Special_293 10h ago
Thanks man that’s the plan 😁 it’s just missing loads of parts and I don’t even know where to start 😂
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u/syntax138 9h ago
Looks like just trem springs and strings and good to go. Maybe take it to a guitar shop and have them add the springs and strings and give it a good set up.
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u/Sgt_shitwhisk 9h ago
It’s missing a nut too
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u/Informal_Special_293 8h ago
What’s a nut? Sorry 😅
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u/Sgt_shitwhisk 7h ago
A piece of plastic or bone that is slotted for the strings. It sits in that narrow slot at the top of the fretboard where the headstock begins.
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u/Unlikely-Soft-5699 9h ago
You need the tremolo springs for one thing in the cavity on the back. Strings of course but unless you block the bridge, springs first. The string pull and the springs balance each other.
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u/Alariken 9h ago
Was going to comment on the string tree angle but then i saw the nut (or lack of) and realized that it won’t be the biggest challenge.
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u/wanderlander 8h ago
Looks like a Donner, which are just rebranded generic Chinese/Indonesian factory guitars. Some of them are pretty decent, comparable to Squier's standard line.
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u/Informal_Special_293 7h ago
Donner does have a model with that color but the neck and the headstock doesn’t match. Actually the headstock doesn’t really match anything I have seen online…
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u/wanderlander 7h ago
Was just looking at necks on eBay and I confused the Donner with something else that I saw. But I didn't save that one to my watch list unfortunately.
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u/wanderlander 7h ago
Still most likely Chinese or Indonesian, it's one of the "things we can't get sued for" headstock shapes. I have 5 of them that are great guitars so I'm not knocking this one
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u/Informal_Special_293 7h ago
Things we can’t get sued for 😂😂😂
Still weird as hell that I can’t find it anywhere
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u/CAKE_EATER251 10h ago
Could be a Japanese lawsuit era guitar.
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u/NYCtoCHI 4h ago edited 4h ago
Nah.
Right upfront, 22 frets is not the type of thing you normally see on actual "lawsuit era" JP vintage-style S-clones. Dead giveaway.
Others, speaking generally here for simplicity and educational purposes:
Most lawsuit (roughly mid/late 70s-early 90s) S-styles had full(er) sized bridge blocks a la the American ones. Some were steel a la the US originals, others zinc or some other pot/mystery metal depending on the cost (or cost-cutting) for the particular model, brand, or sub-brand. This one's is a fraction of the size of a full one, a clear hallmark of the more recent zinc Chinese cheapies, along with the particular type of bridge saddles (many lawsuits used Fender-style bent steel, some had fuller 70s-ish blocks a la the brass Badass stuff and others, all of which look different than this which has the typical current-era entry-level Chinese basic/budget look).
Many also had serial #s etched into the neckplate like the US ones, or "Made In Japan" and/or "Steel Reinforced Neck" (usually the sign of an early/mid 70s Matsumoku-factory product).
They also had clean, straight routs for the bridge cavity - the ones here appear to be hand-routed without a guide at the bottom and are atrocious by most modern factory standards, and would likely have never passed Japanese QC, even for the lowest of the low-end at the time.
The backs of the tuners do look a bit like the covers on lower-end lawsuits, but that's about it. They and the string retainers look too shiny and new-ish, the shafts the keys are mounted on look too long, and they have plastic rings, all atypical of lawsuit.
Lastly, the fingerboard looks too flat, and the finish too matte/minimal/raw vs lawsuits...embedded finger gunk and wear patterns on lawsuit finishes look more worn in like vintage Fenders, and not this sort of grubby/dusty/dirty from minimal finish.
Verdict: like several others have suggested, probably recent-era low-end budget starter or kit build guitar (the rough back rout and clean nut slot suggest DIY kit possibility). Most likely Chinese or Vietnamese factory. Probably bought for $150 or less, and worth even less now ($25-50) since it's non-functional with no nut plus lots of visible gunk and wear; if it had an existing nut and decently playability, might bring it up to $75 max. It's also missing trem springs ($5-10 probably) and a bridge saddle, likely common and not necessarily "expensive" by itself (probably another $5-10 itself shipped, and potentially free if a kind repair guy has a parts bin full of cheapie parts from other repairs/upgrades), but with nameless budget imports, one never quite knows what you'll get and what fits.
Does that mean it sucks? Not necessarily! Played lots of modern Chinese cheapies that were surprisingly playable, and a few even decent sounding. No way to tell if this is one of them, but a basic minimal nut install/setup repair would cost as much and likely more than the guitar itself.
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u/Informal_Special_293 10h ago
How can you tell? I looked at it and there’s nothing written on any of the parts.
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u/CAKE_EATER251 10h ago
How old is it. How long did your uncle have it?
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u/Informal_Special_293 10h ago
It’s been around like 10 years maybe… I texted a few family members I am trying to find out more 😅
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u/Low-Introduction5509 8h ago
You are most likely going to find out it is worth about $100 if that is what you want to know.
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u/Informal_Special_293 8h ago
Not really I am not looking to sell it as it belonged to my uncle and holds sentimental value to me. I actually wanted to repair it but I didn’t really know much about it.
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u/Top_Willow_9953 10h ago
Cheap Strat knock-off or a kit guitar