I got this "The Gibson" Ukulele from a relatives house that passed away a few years ago I'd like to restore back to playable condition. Its about 100 years old. I'm not sure how to get the paint off the fretboard without ruining it, and I gotta fix the tear in the drum head, figured I do that with some crazy glue, also needs a nut and bridge.
Why would anyone share his tips to find the good stuff? It would decrease the chances to find it himself. Also, there's always the dilemma when finding a true gem, will you try to buy it for dirt cheap (can be simply the asking price) or are you honest on what you think it's worth?
try fretboard conditioner. might work depending on what type paint it is. also give naptha a try first.
I've been going to antique stores, flea markets and pawn shops looking for just about anything that's cool and useful. Outside of a few musical instruments that were in such disarray they weren't worth the time it took to examine them, I've found virtually nothing in 25 years. However, I have purchased a few old amps at guitar stores and had to pay full retail, but those don't count. In the 90's I did buy a mint Ampeg Jet II amp for $20 from a coworker whose uncle just wanted rid of it, but it wasn't something I'd actively searched for. I still get a few chuckles seeing these sellers at the aforementioned shops who have old beat-to-hell-and back junk that they think is worth a jackpot just because it's old and maybe still has the sticker and logo inside. For example, Harmony, Silvertone and off-name brands no one's heard of that, in all honesty, are so far beyond repair that they should be disposed of. A 1970's 10-watt Sears Silvertone solid state amp for $170 and the guy won't budge a buck on the price. LOL! 99% of the time I think these people know zero about what they're selling except that it's just "old". And in the rare case you do come across something that's actually playable, the retailer wants the moon & a pocket full of stars for it. Truth be told, let's be honest here, many of those old instruments were hardly playable out of the box in the first place. As for all the good "vintage" stuff - they've just about all been accounted for long ago. You can still find deals; there'll always be some mother trying to sell her son's 1998 Gibson for less than retail value after he went off to college, got drunk and wrapped his head around a tree. .
I don't understand. My secrets: 1st version of London City cabinets made in Amsterdam (NL) contain T1534 greenback speakers, and Philips reel-to-reel recorders from '57-'62 contain ECC83 typically in great shape besides a few 0.022µF mustard caps. Grundig contains Siemens tubes, Telefunken of course Telefunken smooth/ribbed plates. Geloso (Italian) PA amps originally contained Blackburn ECC83 and some models also EL34 (Xf2 early-mid 60s). Can be had for less than the tubes are worth.
In the last 10 years, things really went downhill with ubiquitous google-in-pocket smartphones and ebay and reverb everywhere Now it takes a terminally lazy seller, great luck and/or a LOT of bored browsing + instant readiness to drive off somewhere cash in hand (or press buy it now on something with bad blurry pictures) to get anywhere ...well either that or buying up mechanically/electrically/cosmetically "defective" items sold at junk prices.
25+ years ago, I was RV'ing in PA and I always go to music dealers looking for things that I'll rarely find. Well, I found a lot of D'Addario .060 guitar strings. The person that ordered these never picked them up. I bought every .060 string they had. You never know what you'll find.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I'm such a gear geek that I look forward to visiting those dusty dumps with the hope of finding a prize. I'll visit "Good Will" or "Habitat For Humanity" stores with the hope of finding some cheap toy.
I got this one at a flea in Oakland for $62 . After rebuliding,its been around the globe a couple times and even in a Hollywood movie
Nice man. I traded a Squier Strat for this one, its pretty whipped though, I'm pretty much gonna have to disassemble it and put it back together. I really just wanted to buy one already done but this one turned up, and i could afford it. Kinda hard coughing up 600 to 1200.00 for one.
I love antique stores and second hand/thrift stores. I've always had that fantasy of stumbling onto something incredible, vintage 60s gear or name brand guitars that someone has no idea what they are selling... but I'm sure all that stuff is pretty much accounted for. I have picked up an 80s Peavey Backstage+ for $20 at a thrift store and my greatest score was an early 90s MIJ Fender Stratocaster for $75? I think? Can't remember I was too excited.... But no holy grail
Good score, any pics? My '93 MIJ ST62 body and (supposedly broken beyond repair-I threw him 5 Ozbucks) neck formed the base of a great Strat, once I sorted the truss nut and got other parts together
