What shall I do with this cheap Airline guitar copy? (Given up, move along)

thecolourbox

So, as this guitar does not seem to be able to sell (well, apart from some lovely offers on Facebook for <£50 saying the usual “I’d be doing you a favour” type thing) I thought I’d consider keeping it and doing it up, to see if I can learn some skills and make it into a decent playing guitar. Currently it’s a fairly fun instrument albeit not without issues, the pickups are a bit hummy and the switch is the wrong way around, the neck doesn’t quite feel right but I’d need to study that a bit more to work out quite what isn’t comfortable. But it’s certainly unique as a “not quite accurate” copy of the old plastic guitars (of which I have a fiberglass version already) so could be quite cool to do it up as a back up or alternate tuning guitar. It has an imitation bigbsy, and a tone and volume control for each pup, so has the basis for a useful thing.

I’ve got some ideas but thought I’d open it out to you crazy cats to suggest what else I could do, on a practical level or even some fun stuff that might make it more interesting and one off. What do you reckon?

 

My ideas are as follows, so any guidance and tips on these would be great:

Definites:

Change of pickups – for some reason I bid on some apparently “Gretsch like” pickups that were going cheap on ebay and accidentally won them, so I am now the proud owner of two “VANSON Alnico II 12 screwpole Gretsch style Humbucker pickups” which I think should do the job. Hopefully they fit in the same size hole as the current ones

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8AUAAOSwhQhY5A5R/s-l1600.jpg

Change of colour – I quite fancy stripping off the red so I look a bit less like the Jack White fanboy I undoubtedly am, and refinishing it in maybe a Yellow or a Blue colour scheme instead. I have some (I think this is the right name) cellulose thinners (???) from my previous disaster story on a DIY kit guitar, so would that do the job to strip it? Or should I use hairdryer heat or something and chip it off?

In terms of repainting it, I failed miserably with spray painting last time for various reason (it rained, I had no technique, it wouldn’t dry for over two weeks etc), so I was thinking of a previously suggested idea of brake caliper or machinery enamel paint and either rolling or sponging it on. Would love to do a different colour front and back (so either yellow or blue on the front, white on the back) separated by stick on binding to make it look like the old ones

Binding – when @wezv did my resoglas Airline, he used the provided EZ Binding” which I don’t think is available here, but there were stick on bindings available in the UK which would seem to do the trick. Was hoping to essentially just stick it around the centre of edges, that’d work right?

 New knobs – ooh err. Just think I could get some cool retro ones cheap ish to whack on .

 Maybes (these are quite whimsical):

New Neck – Eastwood do a scale correct Airline branded neck but it’s something like £150, which is what the whole guitar cost. I do however quite like their longer scale neck so it’d be a good one if it fits. Alternatively at the cheaper end, there seem to be some on Amazon and Ebay with paddle headstocks but I’d have to learn to cut/plain/rasp the shape. Haven’t looked much yet inbetween, but I don’t imagine anywhere makes one with a similar headstock shape.

Could I build in FX if there’s room? Something like that Octopus passive octave thing would be immense

Any thoughts, suggestions, warnings etc gratefully received. My last DIY guitar attempt did not go well but that was only partially my fault, so a bit wary but keen to learn.

 

Thanks

WezV

The stock on edge strip should work well on this.  Get your colour sorted first, I would just overspray, not strip

thecolourbox

WezV said:

The stock on edge strip should work well on this.  Get your colour sorted first, I would just overspray, not strip

What like right on top of the existing colour? Will it work over lacquer?

Re the binding, yes I was going to frog tape it to paint the two different colours, then if the edge is a bit iffy it's ok because the binding would cover it  

Rocker

Fit an Earvana nut. Helps your guitar to play more in tune. Not as good as Buzz Feiten but better than the normal nut.

thecolourbox

Rocker said:

Fit an Earvana nut. Helps your guitar to play more in tune. Not as good as Buzz Feiten but better than the normal nut.

Excellent, thanks, that might help

WezV

thecolourbox said:

WezV said:

The stock on edge strip should work well on this.  Get your colour sorted first, I would just overspray, not strip

What like right on top of the existing colour? Will it work over lacquer?

Re the binding, yes I was going to frog tape it to paint the two different colours, then if the edge is a bit iffy it's ok because the binding would cover it  

It would need keying (a light sanding with 240g + wet and dry abrasive) first, but the biggest challenge when finishing is getting a level surface before you paint. You already have one here.

although you should test under a plate first.  Nothing we suggest is going to be without challenges and variables


i wouldn't bother trying to change the whole neck.  It can be a minefield with unusual designs.  Just work out what is bothering you.  A fret dress and setup may solve it.

onboard effects are certainly possible here, loads of room in the normal control locations.  Whether it's a good idea is a whole different question.  Personally I find it limiting.  If I have an effect I like I want to use it with all my guitars


It's definitely worth doing some work on this guitar to get it up to scratch though

WezV

Rocker said:

Fit an Earvana nut. Helps your guitar to play more in tune. Not as good as Buzz Feiten but better than the normal nut.

I think there is plenty to do before he gets to that stage.  

Funkfingers

Q: What shall I do with this cheap Airline guitar copy?

A: Refrain from spending money on it unnecessarily. No matter what you throw at the project, the end result would still be worth the "< £50" figure that you mentioned in the opening post.

thecolourbox

Funkfingers said:

Q: What shall I do with this cheap Airline guitar copy?

A: Refrain from spending money on it unnecessarily. No matter what you throw at the project, the end result would still be worth the "< £50" figure that you mentioned in the opening post.

Understand that But my thinking is, say I sell it for £50 (would get less on ebay due to fees) I've lost £100+ on it and I'd have no guitar. Whereas if I can spend that £100 on it and get a playable guitar out of it, and learn some skills out of it, that's a more positive way to lose £100 than selling to JunkGuitarMan83 and have the hassle of sharing my address and standing pickups with complete strangers

Corvus

If that's the original paint, as said treat it as a filler/primer and flat it off. I'd go 800 before paint, maybe coarser to start if it's rough, but don't go through layers. Clean & degrease it first.

Imho don't do the roller enamel thing, it's OK on cheap/fun cars or Landys but roller finish isn't great, and enamel takes ages to set. More time for local insects to come and swim in it. It's pretty soft for ages, it's cheap, it fades very fast. There's no need for anything other than 'car' paint cans or ones from Steve Robinson, Rothko & Frost etc. That metallic enamel you used before is nothing like normal celly/nitro or acrylic paint cans, they're much nicer to spray with.

If you're not confident in spraying it, try out on some test things first.

If doing yellow, put a thin even coat of white on first. Don't need lots, just enough to cover the red. Otherwise it'd need tons of yellow.

olafgarten

I saw this on Facebook and considered buying it for slide, but I'm saving up for a Blues Cube. 

thecolourbox

olafgarten said:

I saw this on Facebook and considered buying it for slide, but I'm saving up for a Blues Cube. 

The Blues Cube is probably a wiser purchase

Alegree

Ignore anyone who says a cheap guitar can't be modded to rival expensive ones... Common misconception.

Those pickups are likely just double screw coil humbuckers under those covers. Won't be tonally any different to your standard bucker (except the subtle difference of having no slug coil)

wackojacko

Alegree said:

Ignore anyone who says a cheap guitar can't be modded to rival expensive ones... Common misconception.

Those pickups are likely just double screw coil humbuckers under those covers. Won't be tonally any different to your standard bucker (except the subtle difference of having no slug coil)

Definitely depends on the "base" guitar though.

youre right - but some guitars will always be dogs.

if you took an encore Strat and put the best pickups and hardware in, setup to perfection, it still would no way rival an expensive guitar.

i do enjoy buying Mexican Fender's and doing them up so to speak but that's only because I can't afford a US made one. Think current Mexican fenders are beautiful anyway. 

WezV

wackojacko said

if you took an encore Strat and put the best pickups and hardware in, setup to perfection, it still would no way rival an expensive guitar.

No, but it would piss over all the other Encores, and probably most other low end guitars.  You might get it beating squiers if your good.  

They can be made a lot more reliable though

thecolourbox

Alegree said:

Ignore anyone who says a cheap guitar can't be modded to rival expensive ones... Common misconception.

Those pickups are likely just double screw coil humbuckers under those covers. Won't be tonally any different to your standard bucker (except the subtle difference of having no slug coil)

It doesn't need to rival much as I'm not used to good guitars apart from my WezV Airline! It's already fine just not great, hopefully it'll be a fun learning project unlike my last diy effort

Re the pickups, is there any way I could find that out? I suppose it's not the end of the world as long as they sound OK but was hoping for something in the Gretschy direction. But for less than £20 for a set of two... Maybe not

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Refrain from spending money on it unnecessarily.

This. Or unnecessary effort.

I would definitely not refinish it. It's a lot of work and will never really look as good as you expect or as good as a factory polyester job. (Sounds like you already have experience of this!)

You can do a huge amount to improve it with better hardware and electronics, without spending a fortune. You already have the pickups. Fixing the switch is easy, or better still replace it with a better quality one. Depending on the size of the rear cavity, it should be possible to re-wire it for a master volume and tone and use the other two knobs to control an effect circuit if that's what you want!

impmann

A couple of things...

Firstly - don't paint it. Screw the JW association thing and live with it, as its the best colour on that shape by a country mile. I've seen them in blues, greens, blacks and whites and they all look the same... trying a bit too hard to not look like Jack White's guitar but managing to look exactly like it with a different paint job.

Secondly - modding. I *don't* buy this crap about it not being worth installing better pickups and hardware on a cheaper guitar. If you like it and it feels good to play, you can turn it into something that suits you, sounds good and stays in tune. If you keep all the original bits you remove, you can always revert it back to original should you decide to sell it on. A lot of cheap guitars can be massively improved by a good set up, a well cut nut, some fingerboard edge rolling and some hardware changes - its only snobbery from some that say it won't sound or play as well as a more expensive instrument. I've played and owned some giant killers - and some guitars that have shut the snobs up when they disengage their prejudice and enjoy the moment...

Thirdly - pickups. Hmmm, a guitar like that really should have low output jobs - the original units were single coils that look like humbuckers (its rumoured that JW's guitar has a dummy coil gaffer taped inside to try to stop some of the hum). If I was speccing it, I'd be putting Gold Foil type pickups in there (there are cheaper options on these but you know who I'd suggest talking to ;-) ). This will give it a unique voice.

Final thought - a set of good pickups and electronics will set you back around £200. A set of boutique pickups in this will sound better than 99% of complete guitars for the same sum and you get to own something unique that may make you sound different to all the other clones that are out there.

Go for it.

thecolourbox

ICBM said:

Funkfingers said:

Refrain from spending money on it unnecessarily.

This. Or unnecessary effort.

I would definitely not refinish it. It's a lot of work and will never really look as good as you expect or as good as a factory polyester job. (Sounds like you already have experience of this!)

You can do a huge amount to improve it with better hardware and electronics, without spending a fortune. You already have the pickups. Fixing the switch is easy, or better still replace it with a better quality one. Depending on the size of the rear cavity, it should be possible to re-wire it for a master volume and tone and use the other two knobs to control an effect circuit if that's what you want!

I know what you guys mean but with the refinishing, it already looks a bit crap so thought if it looks crap after I've painted it, I've still not really lost anything from it and I might learn from it (either how to then strip two colours of paint off or that I should never try anything ever again!)

With the switch to be honest I was just going to rotate it 180 degrees so it was the right way up...

thecolourbox

impmann said:

A couple of things...

Firstly - don't paint it. Screw the JW association thing and live with it, as its the best colour on that shape by a country mile. I've seen them in blues, greens, blacks and whites and they all look the same... trying a bit too hard to not look like Jack White's guitar but managing to look exactly like it with a different paint job.

Secondly - modding. I *don't* buy this crap about it not being worth installing better pickups and hardware on a cheaper guitar. If you like it and it feels good to play, you can turn it into something that suits you, sounds good and stays in tune. If you keep all the original bits you remove, you can always revert it back to original should you decide to sell it on. A lot of cheap guitars can be massively improved by a good set up, a well cut nut, some fingerboard edge rolling and some hardware changes - its only snobbery from some that say it won't sound or play as well as a more expensive instrument. I've played and owned some giant killers - and some guitars that have shut the snobs up when they disengage their prejudice and enjoy the moment...

Thirdly - pickups. Hmmm, a guitar like that really should have low output jobs - the original units were single coils that look like humbuckers (its rumoured that JW's guitar has a dummy coil gaffer taped inside to try to stop some of the hum). If I was speccing it, I'd be putting Gold Foil type pickups in there (there are cheaper options on these but you know who I'd suggest talking to ;-) ). This will give it a unique voice.

Final thought - a set of good pickups and electronics will set you back around £200. A set of boutique pickups in this will sound better than 99% of complete guitars for the same sum and you get to own something unique that may make you sound different to all the other clones that are out there.

Go for it.

I did also accidentally buy a supposedly Gold Foil pickup for about £10 a few weeks ago on ebay with the intention of putting it in a lap steel that is living in my garage at present, I did think about putting it in this one but it's smaller than the space available so I kind of gave up on that.

I think you're right that normally the old pickups were single coil, albeit quite punchy ones. The Eastwood ones are pretty good (the bridge pup in particular) but are £120 for a set, whereas the aforementioned ones I seem to have acquired were <£20 I don't need it to sound amazing, and the humbucking bit might be useful for less humming (I live close to an electric line).

Re the colour, yes red is usually the best colour, but I think this colour looks equally awesome:

which is what I'd be going for. I don't expect to get anywhere near a pro result as long as I can play it without being covered in smudgy paint.

As an aside I originally fancied doing it in shabby chic chalk paint and deliberately wearing it off a bit but I've been told a few times it's not a durable paint and having used it on a chest of drawers recently (which did look lovely) it was a bit of a troublesome medium

Sarge

Those vanson pickups should be a reasonably low output paf type, at least definitely on the softer side with the alnico II, I had a pair of their 57s alnico II buckers and they were superb, go for it and take your time, plan your steps and make sure you have everything you need BEFORE you start, good luck