re:"The one piece bolt on neck (with no backplate) had a steel reinforcement bar, not a truss rod.."
It doesn't have a bolt on neck... I'm pretty sure you can adjust that rod...
re: "Tuners were junk 3 on a strip open gears, with no bushings, the pickup was some kind of no-name off the shelf…the only obvious common parts are the floating compensated bridge found on period 400 series guitars and the control knobs."
they had bushings (the pic above is a guitar I own, the bushings just fell out), the pickup is RIC pickup, like a 430. Common parts are also strap pegs, frets, same finish as a RIC of the era, same neck carve, etc.
re: "...suggesting that at least some of them came prefinished from the factory."
I've only every seen one photo of a kit (meaning one that was sold, not in the factory), and all other photos are of finished instruments, so prob most came finished, and a at least some didn't...
Note that most also seem to have had a sticker/logo on the headstock... and the black ones had finished headstocks.
I have a bunch of these - and some pics on my insta if you want to use them....
I'll confirm that the neck was not bolt-on, just a modified dovetail. Unfortunately, it was awfully easy to oversand this joint which often made it loose, with a lot of play. As a result, I think many people did, at that point, put a screw unto the neck from the rear to stop the motion. I made this mistake on the first one I built and learned from that.
The only ones that I know of that were prefinished were those that were produced for the in-store displays.
The pickup could probably be described as something "less than a toaster". The cover was vacuum-formed plastic in which the coil, bobbin, and poles were jammed, along with some epoxy. As I recall, these were ceramic magnets.
I personally made about 5 or 6 of these, spraying them from an aerosol can, hanging them on the edge of my parents garage door. At least one had a Kauffman Vibrola on it, which was a tough fit, as I had to fabricate a block to hold it, which was screwed in to the curve below the tailpiece.
Lastly, I'll point out that these came from a suggestion I made to my dad to make these during the summer of 1963 and I was completely surprised when I came back from boarding school at Christmas to learn he'd acted on my suggestion.
So couple follow-ups…none of the examples I can find (most of which seem to have made their way to you lol) seem to have tuner bushings? The neck isn’t bolt on? Explain please! And you’re saying the pickup is effectively a toaster with some kind of plastic case? I should probably just show you my drafts on these first lol…
No disrespect, but all the examples I can find—including yours—have 3 bolts on the back. And the Higain was still several years in the future when this guitar was built…
Lookswise, I love the Jetsonian style of it!
re: "Approximately 300 were produced."
hard to believe there were that many....
re:"The one piece bolt on neck (with no backplate) had a steel reinforcement bar, not a truss rod.."
It doesn't have a bolt on neck... I'm pretty sure you can adjust that rod...
re: "Tuners were junk 3 on a strip open gears, with no bushings, the pickup was some kind of no-name off the shelf…the only obvious common parts are the floating compensated bridge found on period 400 series guitars and the control knobs."
they had bushings (the pic above is a guitar I own, the bushings just fell out), the pickup is RIC pickup, like a 430. Common parts are also strap pegs, frets, same finish as a RIC of the era, same neck carve, etc.
re: "...suggesting that at least some of them came prefinished from the factory."
I've only every seen one photo of a kit (meaning one that was sold, not in the factory), and all other photos are of finished instruments, so prob most came finished, and a at least some didn't...
Note that most also seem to have had a sticker/logo on the headstock... and the black ones had finished headstocks.
I have a bunch of these - and some pics on my insta if you want to use them....
I'll confirm that the neck was not bolt-on, just a modified dovetail. Unfortunately, it was awfully easy to oversand this joint which often made it loose, with a lot of play. As a result, I think many people did, at that point, put a screw unto the neck from the rear to stop the motion. I made this mistake on the first one I built and learned from that.
The only ones that I know of that were prefinished were those that were produced for the in-store displays.
The pickup could probably be described as something "less than a toaster". The cover was vacuum-formed plastic in which the coil, bobbin, and poles were jammed, along with some epoxy. As I recall, these were ceramic magnets.
I personally made about 5 or 6 of these, spraying them from an aerosol can, hanging them on the edge of my parents garage door. At least one had a Kauffman Vibrola on it, which was a tough fit, as I had to fabricate a block to hold it, which was screwed in to the curve below the tailpiece.
Lastly, I'll point out that these came from a suggestion I made to my dad to make these during the summer of 1963 and I was completely surprised when I came back from boarding school at Christmas to learn he'd acted on my suggestion.
So couple follow-ups…none of the examples I can find (most of which seem to have made their way to you lol) seem to have tuner bushings? The neck isn’t bolt on? Explain please! And you’re saying the pickup is effectively a toaster with some kind of plastic case? I should probably just show you my drafts on these first lol…
I'll check again on the bushings I may be wrong.
The 'not a bolt on neck' -> it doesn't have a bolt. It just sits in a pocket and is held on w/ the string tension.
The pick up is a hi-gain w/ a plastic case...
No disrespect, but all the examples I can find—including yours—have 3 bolts on the back. And the Higain was still several years in the future when this guitar was built…
One has aftermarket bolts, the others don't. That one had aftermarket inlays also.
hi-gain meaning it has poles.
Tell me what pictures you want and I'll take them for you...