What should I do with this guitar

midiglitch

I bought an old steel string parlour guitar off eBay for twenty quid, basically because it looked quite interesting and for giggles but also with half an idea in the back of my mind to keep it at work if it was any good.

Turns out it's crap! Action very high, the bridge can't go any lower, no truss rod (well no adjustment anyway) and it sounds like a banjo.

Now it's possible that once in a blue moon I might use it for recording for some sufjan Stevens esq uber melodic parts, but I'm not keeping it just in case.

So what shall I do with it?

I was thinking slide maybe. Or, fit a pickup and use it for 'there there', or Jack white style feedbacking. Or make it into a lap steel - could that work?

axisus

Show us a pic or two.

octatonic

Stick it on a wall.

musicegbdf

Lighter fluid give it a hendrix cremation so it can join the band in the sky

Bucket

Don't smash it or set fire to it. Not cool.

Slide could be good.

monquixote

Stick it in open G and use it for slide.

Phil_aka_Pip

slide may well be what it was intended for

midiglitch

Here's a pic. I'm going to (as non destructively as possible) try putting a humbucker in it and use it for slide.

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/midiglitch/20130826_102256_zpse7017fb9.jpg

monquixote

Just use a magnetic soundhole. They sound fine through an amp. 

Might want to stick an old t shirt in it or something as it will squeal.

OilCityPickups

Take that action right up ... and get a really unsophisticated pickup in there. A cheap dog ear P90 mounted fairly far back ... Artec  do a fairly nasty one for £15 on the flea bay ... run straight out ... so no tone or volume sapping the 'gurrrrrrrr'. You can tape the bugger on if necessary. Play it on your lap and you are in dirt-blues heaven.

ICBM

I'd go with the non-destructive - or as little as possible, and at least in keeping with the age of the guitar if you can - approach. It may be a piece of junk but it's a fairly nice-looking one and has survived the last forty years or so fairly undamaged, it would be a shame to wreck it now. A cheap soundhole pickup and a hole in the side for a jack, and if it really needs a volume control, I'd put it through the lower corner of the pickguard since that could be replaced.

Looks to me like a Japanese-made or possibly very early Korean-made 1970s 'folk' steel-string, if it matters.

Aidanspaghetti

Pull the frets and freak everyone (including yourself ) out...

equalsql

Definitely a candidate for lap slide. Get yourself a metal slide-guitar nut and a heavy tone-bar, tune it to open  E and  get into some down and dirty blues..like 'Vigilante Man'    B-)

midiglitch

I go, and it is done!
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/midiglitch/20130826_171659_zps4f6628e3.jpg

I tried a magnetic sound hole pickup but the sound hole is too small hence the humbucker idea. To fit the humbucker I screwed blocks of wood to each end of it and then I glued these inside the guitar. The glue will break of easily enough if I want to remove it-tried a test piece this morning.

I then made a little wooden box and put a volume pot and a Jack in it and wired the whole thing outside the guitar. I stuck the humbucker wire down to the scratch plate with some tape to stop it hitting the high e and i stuck the wooden box with the controls to the guitar with some tape too.

midiglitch

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/midiglitch/20130826_171721_zpsd8505b9e.jpg

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/midiglitch/20130826_171712_zpsfc1e053c.jpg

midiglitch

Sorry I'm doing this from my phone and not doing it very well.

So. .. plugged it in-bit of hum (forgot to wire the ground to the bridge) turned up and great! Bit of a feedback beast with the gain up but had loads of fun playing slide on it.

Success!

Ps-thought about going without a volume pot at all as suggested but decided it'd be good to have some control of volume/tone/feedback!

Also the more astute readers will notice I'm missing a string. It broke when I loosened the strings and I wasn't going to replace it until I knew it works! (Just in case you wondered if there was some magical tuning I am using! )

bertie

if you paid £20 for that ? 

I suggest you seek therapy,  soon

Lew

I was gonna suggest you sold it on ebay for £20 but then I saw the mods. Gotta be worth atleast £25 now ;-p