Second hand (no, really?) westone dimension guitar. Terrible condition, worth it?

Hello all!

Being new to this forum, let me shortly introduce myself. I live somewhere in Europe, am 23 (for the moment) and have been playing the guitar for about 8 years I guess.

Now, the subject of this topic. I hope I posted it in the right place.

I have noticed a westone dimension IV guitar in a nearby store. The white with red stripe one. It is way overpriced for its condition, but I believe I could massively lower the price. It has the following defects and I would be interested to know if the guitar could, in your opinion, be "saved" and if so, to what extent.

- Missing screw on the locking nut;

- no whammy bar for the trem (I read somewhere on here that floyd rose bars sometimes fit in);

- "string dents" on a few frets, as if someone had put something really heavy on the neck, causing the strings to be "burried" into the frets.

The guitar generally seemed old, rusty and dusty and I don't have any idea what the electronics are in. (And it is impossible to try the guitar since it's not being sold in a guitar store but a second-hand generalist).

There! Thanks for reading and again, I hoped this is posted in the right section. If I do get this guitar, I would like the trem to be fully functionnal (that includes the locking nut).

Have a nice day!

Run to the shop and grab it. Now. IF you can get it for a good price....

The problems you mention re. the stringlock and wang bar are minor; unsure about the frets but there are some pretty clued-up people in here who will, I'm sure, be only too happy to help!

Ok, I'll go see how much I can lower the price. It's been in the store for a loooong time now, which shows they're aksing too much for it.

However, can simple things be done to replace the missing parts? They don't seem all that common (and I don't want to spend too much money since I'm already fixing up another guitar at the moment).

Thanks for your quick reply Corsair

Depends what's missing from the stringlock but the wang bar is a stock item at Stewmac - 6mm imported!

One of the three screw-down plates is missing from the stringlock. The one that locks the two lower strings. I also noticed that one of the fine tuners on the tremolo itself is missing (more exactly its head broke off and the rest of the screw is still in place).

The store is selling it for 230 $. I offered 50-60 bucks ( ) and the salesman offered it at 120 $. I'm thinking it over but even given the low price am somewhat reticent. The thing is, I have just received a guitar that I am fixing up and have other things to do now. I am also skeptical as to what can be done about the frets.

If the sales guy knocked half off immediately, then I'll bet he'll go a little more, if you're really interested!! There's nothing major there - hopefully, you won't know until you plug it in! - to be done, really....

Whereabouts in the world are you??

I live in Switzerland, country of mountains, bad weather, good cheese and banks And 1 $ = 1 Swiss franc, ATM.

I figured the same thing as you. I'm going to give him some time to accept the idea that he might have to lower his offer more than expected and will try again.

But it's a sweet looking instrument and seems actually pretty versatile thanks to its wiring.

In that case i´d say anything short of a 100 is ok-even with the flaws taken into account.

Ok. Sounds good to me. I'll keep my eye on it.

Good cheese :?:

Yes Grogg, good cheese

Ok, during a very amusing spending spree, I went out and got the beast!

If the uploading worked, here are a few pics:












As you can see, the following parts are missing:

1. Locking "nut-which-isn't-one" screw-down plate for the two lower strings;
2. One fine tuner, another of them being damaged and not working right;
3. String "claw" in the bridge for the e string which seems to hold the string ball but is missing one half.

(All advice as to how to repair/replace these parts will be most appreciated. However, I have gathered that this is going to be the hard part)

The frets have "valleys" but apart from that seem nearly unused, which is impressive. I hope I won't have to refret as the frets are very comfortable (and so is the neck).
The electronics don't seem to be working right as the guitar has a thin sound (all pots pushed down). The feedback/hum with the volume pot pulled is unpleasantly noisy.
To get the bridge pickup to work, I have to push and pull the bridge tone knob several times before getting sound.

Otherwise, I am happy with the instrument, the build quality is visibly excellent and if I ever manage to get the thing fixed up, I am sure it will be a great instrument.

And it came with a hard case? Good score then !

The problems you have can all be sorted over time. The trem claw is a bummer and only available second hand. Corsair was blessed with a find at his local guitar shop when he was given a similar claw ... not the same but usable. ( over to you John)

The trem arms are available but not OE. The fine adjusters, again second hand, or use large head socket bolts as a temporary measure.

The lock nut is missing the clamp plates on the E/A side. This fairly common and you will need to check whether a previous gorilla has stripped the thread inside the locknut. The OE bolts on the A/E side were too short and only picked up a couple of the threads at the top of the hole, thus they are prone to stripping if over tightened. Uncle Matt didnt take into account the thickness of the strings when designing the locknut, unfortunately. You might find that the remaining thread is fine and a longer bolt does the job. If not, I might have another solution for you.

The clamps can be made and you can take a pattern from the remaining ones.

The electrics can be refurbed using the wiring diagrams on the Westone website or some of us DIM 4 owners can jump in. I have a red version of yours.

Should be a fine guitar when up and running.

Hmmm... yeah that claw is a real bummer but help may be at hand; one of our regulars (Westbone??) has found this

http://www.wammiworld.com/p9407.php

which may do the business and I'm having one or two sent to me just to see if they will indeed work. If they don't, well, a visit to a gunsmith with one of the complete ones may be in order...

Oh, Steve.. the claw I found at the shop was in fact the real deal; I also found a Hohner bridge that had the same saddles as an FT!!

You don't say how much you paid for it?? I reckon it's OK; knobs are there, pickups look OEM and the graphics haven't got any damage; and what Steve is saying about the stringlock is dead on!!

Thanks for all the info!

I paid 120 chf. I was getting impatient and it really did not look like the salesman was going to go below that (and hey, this is Switzerland). The case was a very good surprise indeed!

I havent seen anything wrong apart from the missing parts with the locking nut. I'll keep my eyes open for a second hand part or try to think of some other solution. I've checked the electronics and all the soldering seems to be holding, which makes me guess that one (or several) of the pots must be dead. I don't know why the output is so low though, kind of bothers me...

The fine tuner does look like it's the easiest thing to replace.

£80.00!! Well bloody done, you!! That's a terrific deal, especially with the case - that's a win!!!

Yep; the fine tuners will just be 4mm(?) Allen head bolts of about the same length as the originals. I had a friend make me some caps for the bolts which Steve alludes to above!!





Making another clamp should be easy enough - you have a pattern already!! Failing that, just wait for a week or two and Spares will be open again!! YAY!!

http://www.westone.info/spares/index.html

It should be noted that is a 1mm shim underneath the strings as well, and as Steve says, because the E/A strings are thicker than the rest, the threaded hole may be stripped for the first couple of threads - the OEM bolts weren't quite long enough. Get a bolt about 2mm longer and you may find undamaged thread at the bottom of the hole. Do not over-tighten those bolts, my friend - you'll strip the threads as easy as.....

Sorry John, don't mean to contradict, but the shim on Deluxe is 1mm, on the FT it is the same thickness as the top clamp, 3mm. Different string locks for each trem type. The FT string lock is overall thicker than the deluxe

Did you ever identify which model of Hohner the claws came off?

Well thanks Corsair!

If the spares reopen within the next few weeks, all my troubles shall vanish !

Are those Corsair's initials on the tuners?

I've got the message about the locking system.

My main concern is understanding what is messing up my sound. I am thinking the 3 way switch and the bridge tone pot are not unfamiliar with this problem... :idea:

Am I right in understanding the UBC pickups have a pretty screechy sound with lots of highs? (I use the same pedal settings and eq as with a hot rails- and lace sensor gold-equipped strat us).

Try switch cleaner(not wd 40) Flood it in and turn pot or flick switch rapidly.
Effects suit these guitars.

I need one of those FT claws that holds the string ball, as well, for that '85 Dynasty I picked up a few weeks back, She's begging to be played. What is it with those rascals. Is it from overtensioning? That would be a lot of pressure and it seems like the string would break first. I would think they would be tempered steel. Gunsmith, if all else fails...great idea guys!

cnev

Steve777 wrote:Sorry John, don't mean to contradict,

Contradict all you want, Steve; I was banging on about the wrong bloody trem!! What a dill!!

Did you ever identify which model of Hohner the claws came off?

Nope; some sort of 80's superstrat is about all the bloke could tell me!

Are those Corsair's initials on the tuners?

Why, yes!! Yes they are!! What an egotistical prat I turned out to be!! (Did I mention that I have 2 Westone straps.... with my name embroidered into them?!)

What is it with those rascals. Is it from overtensioning?

Probably from rushing during re-stringing and getting the ball end of the string in the wrong place and then overtensioning it. One of the Swedes in here had a gunsmith file up a new one for him, so it ain't my idea. And this sort of work won't be cheap - I was quoted about £50 to have one made here on Jersey....

corsair wrote:...Did I mention that I have 2 Westone straps.... with my name embroidered into them?!...

Very kewl.

Is switch cleaner compressed air? Or does it contain other cool stuff?

Which way do the balls have to be mounted (the string balls)?

I've got myself some allen-head 4m screws for the fine tuning and filed down some frets (I might have to refret but most frets look like new). The neck seems straight so I just have to adjust the action and sort out this electronics business; Oh and replace some missing parts. I'm just getting started really

And is there anything special about the pots or do any 500k dpdt pots work? (I'm thinking of these for instance: http://www.guitarfetish.com/Push-Pull-DPDT-Pot-500K-Audio-Genuine-Alpha-Quality_p_647.html )

Sorry do dig this one out of the grave but could anyone tell me what's the simplest way of finding out if the bridge pickup is down, or if it's the tone pot? Whithout having to change the tone pot ideally.

My bridge pup is lacking power, the soldering's all good and I still can't see what's wrong....

Thanks a lot!

uuuuuh, hey beavis, uh huh huh. i got one of those trems on hand. it too is missing a fine tuner.

Huhhuh...huh

The Guitar --> you might want to check with the owner of westone.info and the spares for those fine tuners

No, he doesn't have them.... yet!!