Cheap guitar what to do

sellisnba

Just looking to see what others would do, I've a cheap strat (SX vintage) which I have tried to sell on but can't. I'm just wondering what to do with it, I've already got a MIM strat so don't really need another and I can't see it getting played. 
What would you guys do with a guitar that's not likely to get used?

Bridgehouse

Big tall nut and use for slide?

Funkfingers

Open or dropped tunings, perhaps?

ICBM

If it's so cheap that you can't get any money at all for it, donate it to a charity shop or your local school.

Veganic

I know the feeling.  I can't get another until I get rid. I play it now and again as it makes me appreciate the other one.

I also have a cheap acoustic. The action just keeps getting higher no matter how much I shave off the bridge.

Should just bin them but it feels like disposing of a dead body.

prowla

You could try parting it out.

timhulio

Give it to charity or stick it on eBay at 99p start price and it'll find its value.

usedtobe

Practice you making and modding skills on it..?

Funkfingers

Veganic said:

I also have a cheap acoustic. The action just keeps getting higher no matter how much I shave off the bridge.

The string tension is more than the neck and truss rod can bear. Either tune slack or change to a lighter gauge.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Veganic said:

I also have a cheap acoustic. The action just keeps getting higher no matter how much I shave off the bridge.

The string tension is more than the neck and truss rod can bear. Either tune slack or change to a lighter gauge.

Or the top is bellying up - there may be a loose or broken brace, or it may just not be a very strong top. Either way, if it's not worth fixing properly then lighter strings would probably help.

Veganic

Thanks for the advice.  It already has 11s. I think it is beyond economical repair.

skunkwerx

I have three like this. A stagg strat which was my first ever guitar, bit its truss rod nut broke clean off, so its stuck with an unreasonable action... thus it sits stringless on the wall as a relic of old times. Could never part with it even though its absolutely useless! 

One day I'll have a neck made for it and upgrade the shit out of it. 

The other is an Ibanez gio superstrat, which, I can't get set up right for love nor money, but it gets dropped into ludicrous tunings for the odd playalong when I care not for sunstain and dead notes. 

The other is a £30 when new stagg acoustic... literally never gets played, ever.. 

Though I feel too bad letting the acoustic go... because I've seen it everyday for the past 10 years.. 

The gio is worth less than nothing, but maybe, just maybe one day i'll smash it in an epic finale and replace it with a better guitar for drop tunings... maybe.. 

GoldenEraGuitars

I have a friend who owns a music shop, he sells SX guitars. You get a 1 in 2 chance of a turkey with the brand unfortunately. I did some work on one a few months back. Fret level, roles Fretboard, bevelled fret ends, sprayed over the burst (had a poor paint job) with nitro and made it look a bit cooler. Played well and looked the part. Pity about the pickups but even spending some time on it yourself may change the way it feels dramatically 

robgilmo

Strip off naked, put on a nappy, war paint your face, get hanging on whiskey and acid, smash the guitar up while screaming angrily, film it, put it on you tube, post a link.

ICBM

Veganic said:

Thanks for the advice.  It already has 11s. I think it is beyond economical repair.

Try 10s as a last shot... it may not sound any good but I would guess it doesn't anyway!

There's a big tension difference between 11s and 10s, more so than between 12s and 11s.

57Deluxe

if it is really worth nothing to you, then post it on Freecycle.org and let some youngster have the use. Do be careful not to let it go to the first respondee as you get 'chancers' scouring the new posts for anything resalable...

Chalky

57Deluxe said: 

if it is really worth nothing to you, then post it on Freecycle.org and let some youngster have the use. Do be careful not to let it go to the first respondee as you get 'chancers' scouring the new posts for anything resalable...

Friends were telling me that the attitudes like yours are killing Freecycle.  Folks can't give stuff away (to be recycled, which was the original intention, hence the name) because the 'givers' want to judge you when you knock on their door, and give you the third degree about whether you deserve their free stuff, and then expect you be gushing with your praise for their saintly bestowing upon you of their tat that they would otherwise have had to take to the tip!

impmann

robgilmo said:

Strip off naked, put on a nappy, war paint your face, get hanging on whiskey and acid, smash the guitar up while screaming angrily, film it, put it on you tube, post a link.

If you do this, make sure you're signed up for the payment scheme - you may make more money than the value of the guitar very quickly...

Funkfingers

Veganic said:

I think it is beyond economical repair.

This is probably a realistic assessment. 

The only monetary value left in the guitar is the tuners, strap button(s), the bridge saddle and the fingerboard's potential for somebody to learn about fret levelling.

The cost of shipping the complete guitar outweighs its worth. Local disposal is the sensible option. "Spares or repair, £5."

Veganic

Funkfingers said:

Veganic said:

I think it is beyond economical repair.

This is probably a realistic assessment. 

The only monetary value left in the guitar is the tuners, strap button(s), the bridge saddle and the fingerboard's potential for somebody to learn about fret levelling.

The cost of shipping the complete guitar outweighs its worth. Local disposal is the sensible option. "Spares or repair, £5."

Great!  Now I can show this to Mrs.V and get a new one.

(Can you also advise that anything less than a GS mini is a waste of time)

musicman100

timhulio said:

Give it to charity or stick it on eBay at 99p start price and it'll find its value.

Agreed