Help me!!! Should i, or should i not buy this guitar? Zerb, please read!

[Erlend_G]

Well, a friend of mine is offering to trade his "no-name" Telecaster for my mint condition Ibanez RG270dx.

The guitar is made out of a very soft, ligth wood i believe to be Swamp ash, with a birdseye neck, and a thick, beautiful rosewood fingerboard. It has EMG pickups, and a very nice, handmade rosewood pickguard too. I LOVED the neck, felt very nice in the hand, just the way i like it. It sounded great too, very resonant, and had a thicker, more "broad" tone than teles normally have. If felt sturdy, has good quality hardware and tuners, and looks absolutely beautiful.

I know, everything sounds great, but here is the problem;

First of all, i don't know where the parts are from. They could be warmoth, or just about anything. This worries me, since i won't be able to know if it's real quality or not.

Second, it's FULL of dings and scratches, there are 1\2 inch deep "knocks" in it. It doesn't worry me, it's just "mojo", but there's just something about trading my TOTALLY mint guitar against a beat up player.

Third, there's something filled into the neck cavity, which looks like sawdust and glue. I believe the former owner added it, to make the neck joint tigther or something! it doesn't affect playabillity, but i'm really put off by it....

Fourth, It's intonation seems really off. I haven't been able to adjust the intonation\set it up yet, but since the body seems "handmade", maybe the scale length is wrong!?

Fifth, It is "Wolf Tones" on the notes, which could best be described by off-tune harmonics along with the "base note". And, the frets are really low, and i'm wondering if it really needs a fret leveling.

So, help me out here guys! I can't decide so i'm counting on your advice!

-Erlend

[Zerberus]

Well, a friend of mine is offering to trade his "no-name" Telecaster for my mint condition Ibanez RG270dx.

The guitar is made out of a very soft, ligth wood i believe to be Swamp ash,

Ash, swamp or otherwise, is FAR from soft... I don´t think a Baseball bat can qualify as soft (well, ok, compared to my skull maybe, but other than that)

with a birdseye neck, and a thick, beautiful rosewood fingerboard. It has EMG pickups, and a very nice, handmade rosewood pickguard too. I LOVED the neck, felt very nice in the hand, just the way i like it. It sounded great too, very resonant, and had a thicker, more "broad" tone than teles normally have. If felt sturdy, has good quality hardware and tuners, and looks absolutely beautiful.

I know, everything sounds great, but here is the problem;

First of all, i don't know where the parts are from. They could be warmoth, or just about anything. This worries me, since i won't be able to know if it's real quality or not.

Second, it's FULL of dings and scratches, there are 1\2 inch deep "knocks" in it. It doesn't worry me, it's just "mojo", but there's just something about trading my TOTALLY mint guitar against a beat up player.

Third, there's something filled into the neck cavity, which looks like sawdust and glue. I believe the former owner added it, to make the neck joint tigther or something! it doesn't affect playabillity, but i'm really put off by it....

Fourth, It's intonation seems really off. I could fix that, but it's "Wolf Tones" on the notes, which could best be described by off-tune harmonics along with the "base note". And, the frets are really low, and i'm wondering if it really needs a fret leveling.

So, help me out here guys! I can't decide so i'm counting on your advice!

-Erlend

I´d have to see it first hand... it seems like there are a few problems and inconsistencies, some may be curable with a setup... but Wolf tones are usually a major problem in ANY instrument..... For that reason alone I´d steer clear..

[Erlend_G]

Ok, thanks alot Dr. Timse!

[pac112]

how abt sell ur RG and build your own tele?

[Erlend_G]

how abt sell ur RG and build your own tele?

Err... i'd get about $300 for my RG, if i'm lucky... and for that price, i'd NEVER get a guitar i'm happy with

[pac112]

Err... i'd get about $300 for my RG, if i'm lucky... and for that price, i'd NEVER get a guitar i'm happy with

i was asking because i heard guitar prices are INSANE in norway

[Erlend_G]

i was asking because i heard guitar prices are INSANE in norway

Yeah, a new Fender MIA Tele, costs $2000, for an excample

ZERB: What "failure" in the guitar usually makes wolf notes? Could it be fixed? Tell me more, Sir!

[mnbaseball91]

Ash, swamp or otherwise, is FAR from soft... I don´t think a Baseball bat can qualify as soft (well, ok, compared to my skull maybe, but other than that)

I'm not disagreeing with you on how hard swamp ash is, but I'll point out that bats made of ash are almost exclusively northern ash. I prefer pine myself though - the ball seems to jump off better and they're cheap to replace.

Back on topic though, if it's an opaque finish, the wood could be basswood.

[Zerberus]

Wolf tones are "overbearing" notes (i.e. the exact opposite of a dead spot) and are caused by having a neck and body whose Inherent resonant frequency is too close to each other.... whie each instrument has it´s own resonant frequency and will resonate a bit stronger when near it or an octave of it, if the wolf tone is at this frequency by bad luck, the guitar will essentially be unplayable tonally

This is the reason that high end luthiers "tap tune" necks and bodies to each other, to avoid this problem... common intervals are 3rds and 4ths, but I´ve seen 5ths before...

I go so far as to actually tune my guitars so the lowest open note is an octave of said frequency if possible, meaning there´s a specific reason why some axes are in c and others are in D and yet others are in B ).

[Erlend_G]

Well.... it's butterscotch blonde, with a wood grain that looks like alder, or a narrow ash. Tonally, it sounds more like ash than basswood, though!

Anyway, it sounds great!

[Zerberus]

I'm not disagreeing with you on how hard swamp ash is, but I'll point out that bats made of ash are almost exclusively northern ash. ......

Which is the same species of wood grown in a different environment, and can often evenbe found just higher on the exact same tree..... But I understand what you´re saying.... I´m pretty sure swamp ash would make just as good a bat though if it weren´t generally so light

[Erlend_G]

Wolf tones are "overbearing" notes (i.e. the exact opposite of a dead spot) and are caused by having a neck and body whose Inherent resonant frequency is too close to each other.... whie each instrument has it´s own resonant frequency and will resonate a bit stronger when near it or an octave of it, if the wolf tone is at this frequency by bad luck, the guitar will essentially be unplayable tonally .....

Thanks alot, my german friend!

Yeah, i've noticed that alot of guitars, both high-end and cheap ones, have that problem. By the way, my Ibanez sounds clear and singing on all the notes... was i "lucky"?

Thanks for the help Timmy, i'm not getting the Tele now

-Erlend

[Forbes]

I'd keep the ibanez, the tele seems to have its fair share of problems, has no name, and you don't really know its quality, so it sounds like this is one to pass on. Besides, an RG with some sweet pickups can turn out to be a great axe.

[stevie_bees]

Seems to me you've got GAS in a bad way, and the danger is you'll jump at the 1st guitar that comes along. The "Tele" sounds a bit dodgy IMO. Keep the Ibanez for the time being, your ideal guitar is out there! Good luck Erland.