Guitars from Tesco

Subject: Guitars from Tesco
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 06:07 AM

A pile of guitars in Tesco yesterday - £12.50 each. They look better than the Rosetti I started out on costing £4.19sh.11d in 1960.

Has anyone had a go with one?

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 06:09 AM

I got to admit - I felt like getting one out of its box and playing it to the shoppers so they could see what delights were available for £12.50.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Musket
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 06:28 AM

Hi Al.

When Meadowhall shopping centre first opened, there was an allocation of small stands available for local arts and crafts. A bloke set up stall there turning cheap guitars into good ones. He got guitars similar to the ones you mention, changed the frets, steam pressed the necks true, changed the bridge top, nut and machine heads. That's it. Full stop. (Doing it yourself, other than a vice large enough to true the neck whilst pumping steam around it...) I reckon you added about £30.00. to the cost.

The results? He was selling a £30.00 guitar for £75.00. His "before and after" demonstrators gave food for thought and I bought a Laramie (the name on the head) dreadnaught with ply top. Sounded great, played great and I used it in clubs for a while till it got nicked.

I reckon if you buy it with a straight enough neck and / or may have truss rods, then just buy some fret wire, bridge insert & nut, an afternoon buggering about might give good results?

Cheap guitars are better now than before due to pressure seasoning of wood, CNC profiling of parts for better fit and tighter tolerances, better glues and tighter quality control, not to mention more automation meaning less human mistakes during manufacture. (He says, ducking whilst Luddites smash up the machinery.)

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Mavis Enderby
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 07:41 AM

I wonder if they are selling at a loss? Hard to see how you could make & distribute a guitar for £12.50 even with the wonders of modern technology.

Ian - sounds very cheap for a re-fret? Usually needs more than an afternoon's buggering about and not an easy job to do well without damage. Having said that a £12.50 guitar might make a good practice piece. A quick fret polish might do the job along with a little levelling/reprofiling, along with adjustments at the nut & bridge.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 07:45 AM

When you say refret do you mean fret dress?

How did he do the neck set without taking the neck right off? I have about 4 guitars that would benefit from that, one is a piece of shit but the others are good now and would be really good with a neck set. I'm expecting to have to pay about £200 for a neck set done the usual way - and another £150 if refret is needed.    Per guitar.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: melodeonboy
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 07:57 AM

Yes, Burton Coggles, I suspect they are selling at a loss. Knowing Tesco, they probably found there was a guitar shop in the vicinity and decided to put them out of business! Yeh, all right, I'm exaggerating on this occasion, but the gist of what I'm saying is true. That kind of thing is what Tesco do so well. Every little helps, my arse!

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 08:10 AM

Does it?

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 08:17 AM

However, comma!

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: fat B****rd
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 08:23 AM

On a slightly different note (HA HA) I saw a news item saying that several 'proper' violinists couldn't tell whether they were playing a Stradivarius or 'one made last week'.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 09:29 AM

"steam pressed the necks true"
There is a quick and dirty trick for straightening curvature in a guitar neck. This will not cure a defective heel joint or a deformed top or bridge.
Remove strings and loosen the truss rod. Heat the neck to soften the glue under the fingerboard. Using C clamps and a pivot bend the neck back and allow the glue to cool and re-harden. Snug up the truss rod and remove clamps. This will often improve a cheap guitar's action but you probably wouldn't do it to your Gibson or Martin.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 09:47 AM

Ah, right. Mine need heel joints done.

Subject: RE: Guitars from Tesco
From: Musket
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 11:08 AM

I once bought a length of fret wire for not much money, (this was the early '80s, I would have noticed...) and set about refretting an old cheap guitar belonging to a mate where the fret wire had lifted in places, was sharp on a couple of edges etc. Good practice, shit or bust for my mate Barrie and as I recall, took about an afternoon. Some came out easy, some didn't. I borrowed a few fine chiselling and honing tools as my brother was into wood turning and carving. This helped get the old out and make a clear smooth passage to push the new in. I also recall using a lubricant (can't remember what now!) that helped ease the new wire in whilst at the same time going hard eventually and preventing looser frets from moving out.

I never did it again, although fully accept that the odd awkward one will lengthen the time somewhat.. No wonder people charge a bit these days for doing it.