Dean Z project

[CJ]

The trem looks weird on that, doesn't look like the traditional Kahler route, and I think the trem arm slots in between the e and B strings on all Kahlers.
Close up pics of that would be cool

i'm going to have it filled in and restored back to a string through.

[WezV]

the bridge is a weird one, not a kahler i recognise, although it does look kahler like in constuction... but i am not really the expert on obscure models

i am not sure i would ever be happy with that converted back to tune-o-matic bridge unless i could refinish it a solid colour- and thats obviously what you are trying to avoid.  It involves getting out all that big block of filler  and ruting a nice clean recess and making a solid wood block to fit... a very good structural repair but it would always show.

However the same thing could be done, then it could be properly routed for a new kahler with adpater plate that covered the repair
http://www.wammiworld.com/PL-4%20and%205.html

thats what i would probably try as to me it seems a little more fitting with the state of the guitar

i guess another option would be to do the fill and drill for a TOM before repainting the filled section to match the rest of the old paint in the area

[Spitfire]

the bridge is a weird one, not a kahler i recognise, although it does look kahler like in constuction... but i am not really the expert on obscure models

i am not sure i would ever be happy with that converted back to tune-o-matic bridge unless i could refinish it a solid colour- and thats obviously what you are trying to avoid.  It involves getting out all that big block of filler  and ruting a nice clean recess and making a solid wood block to fit... a very good structural repair but it would always show.

However the same thing could be done, then it could be properly routed for a new kahler with adpater plate that covered the repair
http://www.wammiworld.com/PL-4%20and%205.html

thats what i would probably try as to me it seems a little more fitting with the state of the guitar

i guess another option would be to do the fill and drill for a TOM before repainting the filled section to match the rest of the old paint in the area

so would that plate allow a kahler to be fitted in the place of a floyd rose??

[WezV]

you would still need to add the kahler route but the plate means you dont have to worry about filling in the floyd route.  tbh i dont think its the best solution for that - keeping the floyd would make more sense, but for this guitar the idea of a plate covering the plug makes sense, and looks ok around kahlers...  but would look like it was hiding something around a TOm

[CJ]

well i kind of think i'm leaning toward having it refinished. i was actually leaning toward leaving as is. but the problem is this trem was routed out wrong and the front screw posts don't have any wood to screw in to. so i'm going to have to have work done to it anyway, so i might as well restore to original, especially since the holes from the original tailpiece are still on the back.

and if i'm going to do this, wez brought up a good point that it would look terrible if there wasn't a solid paint covering it.

[FernandoDuarte]

and if i'm going to do this, wez brought up a good point that it would look terrible if there wasn't a solid paint covering it.

Perhaps you could copy the sign and make it above the paint, but it would be like "sex-hindering" (AKA children with fear in the middle of night running to parent's bed :lol: )

[CJ]

and if i'm going to do this, wez brought up a good point that it would look terrible if there wasn't a solid paint covering it.

Perhaps you could copy the sign and make it above the paint, but it would be like "sex-hindering" (AKA children with fear in the middle of night running to parent's bed :lol: )

not sure if this is what you were thinking, but no i'm not covering the signature. i meant there had to be paint covering where the bridge route used to be.

[FernandoDuarte]

I know, was mainly a joke, because you're undecided to what to do... I don't have idea :lol:

[CJ]

ha, ok. thanks for the effort.  :lol:

would any of you have some type of estimation as to how much a luthier would charge to fix this up?
i would need:
-kahler route filled in for the original tailpiece and bridge
-complete refinish
-re-fret
-possibly fixing up any other little cracks, chips
-is there anything else they could do?

again, as always i know the price on all of that could vary a lot based on different factors, but i need to get some type of estimation of what it could possibly be. $200? $500? more?

[FernandoDuarte]

I'm not on England, but I don't think it would be less than £500, think more like £1000 but I can be ütterly wrong :lol:

I said it because it's big work, not 10 minutes and solved :)

[CJ]

I'm not on England, but I don't think it would be less than £500, think more like £1000 but I can be ütterly wrong :lol:

I said it because it's big work, not 10 minutes and solved :)

sure hope you're wrong!  :lol:

if that's the case then this project will probably be about 10 years in the making.

how much for just the body work, i guess everything but the refinish? because i guess the bodywork would be the first step of course.

and by the way, i'm not in england either. US.

[gwEm]

you could fill the rout, and top the guitar with a nice maple veneer and do the burst thing...

really good find anyway. i like the extreme relic look. too bad that the rout is badly done. but even if you get it filled, and its been done obviously, it will just add to the vibe.

[CJ]

you could fill the rout, and top the guitar with a nice maple veneer and do the burst thing...

really good find anyway. i like the extreme relic look. too bad that the rout is badly done. but even if you get it filled, and its been done obviously, it will just add to the vibe.

yeah i thought of the maple cap too, then i realized it would cover the signature, right? or is it possible to have it somehow not covered? oh wait, did you mean like a fake maple print? that might be a really good idea, then it could be cut out around the signature i guess.

[_tom_]

Refinish would ruin the look imo, leave it as is, so much cooler.

[CJ]

Refinish would ruin the look imo, leave it as is, so much cooler.

i'm kind of leaning toward a refinish, but i haven't decided yet. plus, with how expensive it all appears to be, it'll be some time before i get the body work done, and then a while later before the refinish if i do it... so plenty of time to think.