~ found another one... and guess what? its black (argh)

So tomorrow I'm off at 7AM to look at a black Westone Spectrum LX. Seller wants $50 for it. Crappy cell phone photos tell me nothing. Its black... and I think I've expressed here and on the Electra forum site how much I hate black guitars (I have a few, including an original '78 Ibanez Iceman IC200). Our buddy Iceman posted some amazing shots of his collection of dark lords to make me eat my words, so maybe I can change.

Calling black axes dust magnets?!?!! Darn tootin' I set 'em straight...

$50 for a Spectrum? If you do not like it do me a favor and pick it up for me then, NO MATTER THE CONDITION!!!

Capicsh??

OK, Ice. I'll probably fall in love with it... but we'll see. Maybe if I like it a little someone will offer me a trade on the same or similar model for a red one or something pointy! Just putting it out there...

You'd better bloody well buy it for $50 else I'll come and haunt you!!

I have a black LX and it's fine; a lovely example of the Spectrum range. Just make sure that the stringlock is complete and that the locking base isn't stripped at the E/A bolt...

.... oh, and that the stringclaws are all OK! Otherwise, it's a Spectrum: bulletproof!

corsair wrote:...it's a Spectrum: bulletproof!

+1
And probably the most "rescuable" of the Mats line for that reason. A great playing guitar to boot!

OK... this may be a duplicate message. I hit send after typing this out... and, well, ya know...

Got the Spectrum this morning. Below are the photos prior to the cleaning efforts I am knee-deep in now. Despite missing the original tone knobs, switch and string locks, I'm not complaining. Seller wanted $50 - I pointed out what was missing and he took $30. I probably could have traded him a carton of smokes for it... he is a packrat (love) and nicotine user (no love) and did not play (forgivable). Checked the pickups and they are the original MMK45s and MATTS.

If anyone has extra knobs or string locks (ha... fat chance, right?), I would pay a fair or even unfair price for them.

I am aided by this kind forums shared experiences... especially Corsair's post from last year dealing with a more complete (and cleaner) black Spectrum.

That post was here: https://westone.forumotion.com/t1292-spectrum-lx?highlight=spectrum+LX

Now for the dirty...

Awesome find, excellent price! The pickups are worth more than that alone. She should clean up real nice and hopefully knobs will be available from TVill25 soon. The other stuff may be hard to find, but you made an excellent decision. Score!

Great score. this one is giong to clean up nicely and will look like new when done I think. Will be awaiting the clean pics. Congrats on the score.

Thanks, hobster. As I've stated on this and the Electra forum... I'm a bit of a beginner. Had started buying guitars before I got the guilt and determined that I either needed to learn to play or sell them before I trip over one and hurt myself.

I guess I need to finish reading the six pages of Corsair's experience with these. I realized as I was beginning to take off the bridge, that I likely have no idea how to do it right. So, I stopped myself from unscrewing the two posts, but not before doing so made a clicking sound. So... Did I screw up royally, friends and neighbors?

Great score! This will clean up aces! Mostly dust and finger jam (ugh!).
I got a DX which was in much worse shape and she restored beautifully:


Take your time and don't be timid. Good luck!

wow! what a score! gotta love a packrat that doesn't know what he's got.

and yessir that is some first class grime on that thing, but it cleans off easily enough due to the nearly indestructible finish on these guitars.

i love the way the 'A' string is tied on to the bridge! .

congrats on a great find!

Jeez Louise, you actually asked a got the guy to knock an extra 20$ off the price? Good job!

No expert either, but one good piece of advice is never to fiddle around with the bridge posts with the strings on (if they're slackened, that'll do), you will damage the bridge and will have trouble replacing it. I am guessing you had already taken the strings off before fiddling around with the bridge so then you're good. If not, the clicking sound may be due to string tension. I found that setting up floating trems is quite easy once you you understand that the trem has to be parallel to the body, It all clicks into place from there.

Sweet guitar!

Fo as long as I live I'll never understand how anybody can let an instrument get into this state. Makes me wonder what else they've been neglecting. At least now it sounds like it's going to be given a bit of care.

westcoaster wrote:Fo as long as I live I'll never understand how anybody can let an instrument get into this state. Makes me wonder what else they've been neglecting. At least now it sounds like it's going to be given a bit of care.

Tragic ain't it? Guys (and gals) come into the shop all the time with crud like this on their guitars, and I have to wonder the same thing.

gittarasaurus wrote:...i love the way the 'A' string is tied on to the bridge!

Totally missed that!

My $50 offer still stands, DR. Just pm me for my shipping info and I will be more than happy to rescue you from that clean up situation.

I could not comment on the clicking sound without getting a firsthand look at the patient. For shipping information please see above...

Hi all - thanks for the kind words of advice and encouragement. Truly this is a case of once I buy a guitar and start cleaning it up, what intended on being a "foster" situation becomes an "adoption" (sorry Ice!). I've only played for a few years, but never had a Strat-style guitar with the springs in the back, and damn'd if the sound was only that... one of the strings popped off. Thankfully, when I mistakenly started (emphasis on that word) to remove the two bridge posts, the pop happened right away, so all I did was repeat the two turns I had made with my screwdriver and put it back into place - completely out of fear. Went and showed it to my handy tech/luthier and he laughed when he took the back plate off and saw the loose spring. Then told me, as someone else did, DON'T SCREW WITH THOSE POSTS ON THE FRONT So, in my ignorance, I didn't break the damn thing (much to my surprise). Best of all, I got a 20-minute free session of expert advice on cleaning up the parts and what tools to buy... diamond file, type of silver polish for the frets, advice on lubricating the parts, etc... all the crap I should know but didn't.

So... I feel sure, despite the fact that its black, it ain't going nowhere unless someone offers me a white or red one.

BTW - the A string hook on the bridge is broken, so some hoodlum found a way to tie it down through other means... I didn't notice the break at the time of purchase (who could see through all that nicotine, anyway?), but a kind member of our forum has offered to set me up with what I need to get this thing back into rockin shape (THanks Mike!)

Oh, dear..... Broken string claw.... now, not so long ago that would have spelt terminal depression but these days I think there is a cure.....

http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t1736-kahler-standard-cam-string-hook-ftw#13719

... And Mike sorted you out for knobs and lock washers, so all good there!!

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!!

corsair wrote:Oh, dear..... Broken string claw.... now, not so long ago that would have spelt terminal depression but these days I think there is a cure...http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t1736-kahler-standard-cam-string-hook-ftw#13719...

And if you forget this link check out our web site:LINK

Just like me, Barry, I swear I'm a complete idiot: I looked at that page but didn't scroll down enough to see the claw entry!!

I remember thinking that it was odd that you hadn't included it..... what a pillock!

Tut tut Johnny. We've all been there. (Some of us are still there... )
'Been a little slow meself getting stuff up on the site of late. Just happened to have had this one at the ready, eh?

Thanks, Barry. I guess those Thunder knobs wouldn't fit a Spectrum, eh?

Don't see why not.
Don't think they'd look "right" though.

Thanks, Barry, for posting the web link... great stuff there!

Attached are a few "in-progress" shots. A few hours of cleaning & polishing... all ruined in these shots by the reflections of leaves on the ground that I have yet to clean up. I haven't polished the frets yet, but that's coming. More to come... it will never look as good as Corsair's effort on the same model last year, but it is cleaning up well.

that's funny it's the same model, and looked almost identical to the one that just popped up on my local CL...

EvilVOG wrote:that's funny it's the same model, and looked almost identical to the one that just popped up on my local CL...

Yeah, EvilVog... that's why I posted "offer them $30" for it on your post here on the forum (b/c that's what I got this one for).

About 75% (or more) of the imperfections on the body in these photos are reflections or fingerprints (despite my efforts with a cloth before photographing... Damn these black guitars!) That big white spot is one of those orbs from Ghost Hunters that flew by... it is not there.

wow $30??? closest i've seen to that was at a pawn shop and the only brand in that pile i recognized was Rogue... congrats on your find.

drsyn67 wrote:Thanks, Barry, for posting the web link... great stuff there!....it is cleaning up well.

Yup! She's a Spectrum! Search the forums for information on refinishing /restoration tips. I always recommend Meguiars Ultimate Compound if available, to remove the scuff marks and light scratches, but there are other equally good products out there too.
To do it right of course you need to strip the body of hardware. Don't try cleaning around all the bits and pieces. You'll go crazy and the results are never great.

For the fretboard crud, scrub it lightly using a toothbrush and warm water to which just a small drop of dishwashing detergent has been added. Rinse thoroughly and dry. Buff everything with #0000 steel wool then apply a good quality oil (lemon, almond, walnut etc). Let soak, then buff to a nice lustre.

~ thanks for the tips, Barry. The Meguires stuff is the best for cars... so it makes sense that it would work on guitars.

I just happen to have 2 sets of knobs for that guitar of yours dr, one in chrome and the other in black chrome.

The chrome ones I could probably let go for a T or 2. The black ones we would have to talk about...

Sent the Ice a private message. I'm gonna fall in love with this black geetar if I keep giving it so much TLC.

@ Barry... so you buff the fretboard with the 0000 steelwool? RIght now I've got frets taped and have used the steelwool on a few of them, then buffed them with a silver polish that a luthier recommended. Looking at them using a 30x magnification and I can almost see my eyeball... serious mirror finish! Looking at the fretboard with that magnification and I almost threw up seeing the gunk still there after my cleaning efforts sans-toothbrush.

drsyn67 wrote:...@ Barry... so you buff the fretboard with the 0000 steelwool?

Yup. On everything but a clear maple fretboard; frets and wood, with the grain, after cleaning the crud of by either scraping and/or scrubbing.

RIght now I've got frets taped and have used the steelwool on a few of them, then buffed them with a silver polish that a luthier recommended...

Geez, fancy shmancy! That's probably the height of cosmetic resto, and maybe overkill for this ol' gal. For really tarnished or stubborn dented frets I get excellent results simply by using a metal fret shield with some fine grit paper followed by the #0000 steel wool. But it's up to you. Whatever extra you put into it will show no doubt.