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I often see these days that people claim a guitar to have 'mojo', especially if they are in bad shape. Can anyone tell me exactly what it means?
There are many choices of tailpieces and bridges available, likewise tuners if you need them, and a strip and refinish should not be too difficult. I would get it stripped and then a couple of coats of clear nitro should be enough. That patch on the back I can't see how it got there but if it is a repair over damage I guess you are stuck with it, so instead of worrying about hiding it, you could make it a feature of the guitar. As for the small hole above the soundhole, you could either:
1 - leave it as is,
2 - try to patch with a scrap of similar grain, or
3 - get creative with a floating pickguard similar to some used by Di Mauro to cover it.
Either way it can still be made into a decent guitar and for the price you paid....well I would have gone for it too if I was in USA.
Let us know how you get on.
Chris Martin. I know I said it looked like it had some 'mojo' but to be honest even I don't really know what I mean by that. I suppose it could refer to the way it looks obviously I haven't heard it so I can't be referring to that. Maybe I have a romantic notion of the life that guitars have had before they come to us.
When I first started out on my gypsy jazz journey I read a lot about the history and development of the genre. Things like the Dregni book and Charles book on the Selmer guitar had lots of pictures of old, odd guitars. I think that's given me the notion that these old guitars hold a certain mystique - the mojo.
I often see these days that people claim a guitar to have 'mojo', especially if they are in bad shape. Can anyone tell me exactly what it means?
Maybe that's the "Minnesota nice" way of saying that guitar is pretty well used?
Yeah, I was only joking with you. I looked up the meaning and various sources define mojo as: a magic charm, talisman, or spell, or influence, especially magic power, or even confidence or personal charisma; all of which is what I thought it meant anyway.
Ok, so far, so good, but I am aware there are many mysterious practices in the guitar world these days and the recent trend for deliberately damaging a guitar to imply some fake ageing process known apparently as 'relicing' is one. It seems the same practitioners of this 'art' have also adopted the word mojo whenever one of these abused instruments is advertised for sale. So I wondered if they mean to suggest the guitar in question has somehow acquired some magic power of its own or is there a new meaning exclusive to the world of guitar sales? Or, and most likely, it is pure BS and if pressed I suspect the advertiser of said guitar would probably not have a credible explanation anyway.
All of which is not to imply tim_dorn's acquisition has been deliberately 'reliced'; that looks to me just to have had a hard life and someone tried to effect some repairs and refinish not entirely successfully. It will be interesting to see if he chooses to restore it to some semblance of its original appearance or indeed keeps it just as it is and carries on playing it like that; either way gets my vote.
I know what you mean by 'relic' guitars. I think most of them don't look great and they seem to carry a heavy price tag. This is opposed to an instrument which has aged naturally. I think you're right when you say that the advertising implication is that a 'relic' guitar has some how acquired a magic when it's really just like it's non relic'ed counterpart.
Thank you for all the comments, everybody. This is a great community and I never expected so much positive reinforcement/ feedback. It is all much appreciated. I have already made a few repairs such as replacing the out-of-place tailpiece and bending the neck back a bit. I am not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but the action on the guitar was insane and made playing any single line melodies above the 8th fret quite difficult. The neck had a permanent upbow and no truss rod, so I had to resort to using a clothes iron on a flat steel bar on the fretboard to warm up the wood to about 55 or 60 degrees (warm to the touch, able to feel it on the back of the neck). From there I was able to apply a clamping force on the headstock and leave it to cool for a few days. The action is now no more than a few millimeters high around the 12th fret and is much more playable, and I am very relieved that nothing severe has stressed or warped as a result of this process. I would love to sand this mediocre staining job off the body, but I am afraid that it will become too thin and affect sound/ stability of the top in general. I have built acoustic guitars before and have considered taking the top off entirely and replacing it with a new one. Has anyone had experience removing wood stain from an acoustic guitar top? If it was an electric I would have no hesitation, but the thinness of the acoustic top worries me and I figure I may just leave it as it is. Thanks again everybody, this is an awesome forum. I've already read so many other posts about the history and genre on here. So cool.
The old hot iron trick to straighten the neck can be useful but don't be surprised if it gradually creeps back to where it was; the strength of the old glue has been compromised. If that happens the next step is to apply more heat and remove the fingerboard, route a suitable size slot and glue in a carbon fibre rod with epoxy and replace the fingerboard (use Titebond) while clamped to a straight bar. If you do that, one useful tip: drill a couple of small holes through each end of the fingerboard into the neck to use small nails or pins to locate it in the same place when replacing it, the holes can be filled invisibly after all is set. Easy enough but you will probably then need a fret job too. All worth it though if it saves another guitar.
As for the finish, yes, if it was just a spray job on the surface it might sand off but if the stain was applied to bare wood and soaked in you may well sand right through trying to chase it. Only alternative would be a solid black nitro top can look good as long as you have nicely a contrasting binding and rosette.
Just my opinion of what I might do.