# 50 dollar guitar...



## Hcash (Jan 29, 2008)

I just bought a guitar from my friend for $50.00. It's an Aria Pro 2. I bought it to fuck around with. I've already taken it completely apart and started sanding the neck and body. I'm about to apply a coat of tung oil to the neck. I'm going to need some help figuring out what kind of bridge to put on it. Because there is no way that the original bridge is going back on there. That was the biggest peice of crap ever. Anyway, here are a bunch of pics: 


*I laugh at your slow computers!!!


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## eleven59 (Jan 29, 2008)

Delightfully hideous, and a worthy project  I hope to pick up a hideous beater from a pawn shop or something and fix it up some day.

I look forward to seeing progress


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## Stitch (Jan 29, 2008)

APII's aren't so bad. I've sold several, and if you get round the awful visuals (and in this case, AWFUL bridge ) they really aren't bad little players. And no one will begrudge you that $50 pricetag (besides the seller, perhaps! )

Lemon oil that sumbitch, though.


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## Jason (Jan 29, 2008)

Ya that wins the dirtiest fretboard I have ever seen  Sweet score what ya going do with it? Just refinish it?


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## Groff (Jan 29, 2008)

*cringe*

That fretboard is dreadful...

I like the holes in the plywood, my Rogue is like that


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## bostjan (Jan 29, 2008)

Sweet! Looks like quite the project.


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## Hcash (Jan 29, 2008)

I'm not to sure what I'm going to do with it. It needs a new humbucker, and definately a new bridge. I'm going to put the old single coils back in it but not hook them up. (Never needed anything except the bridge.) I'm thinking about trying out those Steinberger gearless tuners. But it says that 60 is the max guage you can put in it... Metal humbucker ring, brass nut, killswitch, and maybe one of those EMG PA-2's eventually. But I'm thinking I might just half-ass sand the paint off and then clear coat it... It's going to be my beater. But that isn't very original. Give me ideas!!! Stitch, do you know what kind of bridge I could throw in this bastard??? It definately was the dirtiest fretboard ever. Shall I mention the glue they didn't sand off around the inlays. Yeah, it's plywood...


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## bostjan (Jan 29, 2008)

How about something late 80's/early 90's looking? Like bright colored patterns or something?

It might be a bit of work, but that guitar would kick ass with a Kahler.


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## Hcash (Jan 29, 2008)

Good call... My brother and me were thinking about a a purple burst with gold flake. lol.


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## Hellraizer (Jan 29, 2008)

That fretboard is disgusting. $50 bucks to mess around with isn't bad though.


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## D-EJ915 (Jan 29, 2008)

omg that thing was so gross, nice score though


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## Naren (Jan 29, 2008)

That is the dirtiest fretboard I have ever seen.


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## SHREDTOKILL (Jan 29, 2008)

emg that bitch and put a wilkinson on it!


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## Desecrated (Jan 29, 2008)

You got some work ahead of you


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## TripleFan (Jan 30, 2008)

Whoah, I won´t get the pics of that fretboard out of my head for several days!


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## Apophis (Jan 30, 2008)

Needs lot of work, good luck


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## Hcash (Jan 30, 2008)

I was wanting to get a wilkinson VS-100 bridge for it... That may fit, but I really don't want to struggle with routing out the body any. I will if that's the only other option aside from the old bridge, though...


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## SHREDTOKILL (Jan 30, 2008)

ahh im sure there wont be too much routing involved, maybe shaving one side of the cavity or something might need to happen but it wont be like routing somethin for a floyd or anything.
yeah it could be a nice little beater!
p.s i think thats the most dirty FB ive ever seen!


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## Holy Katana (Jan 30, 2008)

Not only is the fretboard dirty as hell, the inlay job is utter shit. Still, I think you could make something cool out of it.


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## Hcash (Jan 30, 2008)

Started sanding the body...





My crazy brother... 










A little sock action...










Sanding the neck... 




















Taped up the neck for tung oil...















Finished first coat. Hangin' up to dry... 





Sexy shine.










There was a weird spot on the head stock:













It looks more like a glare in the second to last pic but you can see it better in the last one. I sanded the fuck out of it and it was smooth as glass when I was done. Owell...


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2008)

i almost did that to a $160 guitar, but i didn't think it was worth the investment


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## MF_Kitten (Jan 30, 2008)

polishing a turd... but a nice turd! 

if you look away from the intense dirt and grime, that is...

really though, i´m excited to see what you do with it, and i can´t wait to see it paint-less 

also, you should go over the parts that you´re keeping with a toothbrush and some pure alcohol or something, so you get it all clean. i´d suggest wiring up the single coils anyways, what damage could it possibly do?


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## Shawn (Jan 30, 2008)

Nice score for 50 bucks. I owned an Aria Pro back in the day, it was pretty neat.


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## Hcash (Jan 30, 2008)

The original pickups are terrible and I don't have the bank to buy two single coils... I'm hoping for a used dimarzio pickup to show up somewhere. *Hint Hint*


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## ledzep4eva (Jan 31, 2008)

Not even worth $10 if you ask me.


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## Hcash (Jan 31, 2008)

And that wasn't worth two cents...  

But seriously... Opinions???















































This is the Tung oil and cleaner I used... Incase anyone was interested...Together they were probably $18.00 at Lowes. Way more than I needed.






Enjoy...


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## Randy (Jan 31, 2008)

Hcash said:


> And that wasn't worth two cents...



 

I've refinished my fair share of budget guitars, and I think this looks to be going in the right direction.


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## Hcash (Jan 31, 2008)

I'm having fun with it. And that's what I was aiming for... I still can't get on the computer without visiting Mike Shermon's website though. I want a Nine string SO BAD!!! Maybe Mike would trade one for this guitar when I'm done...  But anyway, I'm thinking I might just leave the body all brutalized like it is depicted in the last few pics of the body.


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## ibznorange (Jan 31, 2008)

the only real concern id have about it is the fretwork.
how is it?


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## skinhead (Feb 1, 2008)

Your bed clothes are nice. You need to paint it with that camo pattern.

BTW, you'r fucking organized. All the screws and parts in each ziploc bag


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## Hcash (Feb 1, 2008)

Yeah, the frets suck. There are some bad divits in the first three frets. I'll take some pics of it after I get the tape off. Those aren't my bed clothes... that's a guitar workbench I made. I took some plywood and stapled some carpet pading over it and then wraped it with some Camo fabric I had laying around. Cost all of nothing to make and it's handy for hot scratching the fuck out over your guitar. And yes, I labeled all the ziplock bags too... It will make it easier to find shit... Ummm.... how hard is it to refret a guitar with binding???


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## ibznorange (Feb 1, 2008)

i've never refretted a guitar, but the shop here charges 180 for an unbound neck, and 375 for a bound neck. I dont think it matters if you dont mind the frets showing through the binding, but if you want the binding to hide the tang, then its probably alot harder


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## Hcash (Feb 1, 2008)

Well there is no way I'd pay that much for someone to do that to this guitar... Coundn't you just dremel a little off the the end of the part that goes in the fretboard??? And hammering the frets in should be as easy as swinging a hammer right???


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## Randy (Feb 1, 2008)

Hcash said:


> Well there is no way I'd pay that much for someone to do that to this guitar... Coundn't you just dremel a little off the the end of the part that goes in the fretboard??? *And hammering the frets in should be as easy as swinging a hammer right???*





Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com


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## Hcash (Feb 1, 2008)

Buffing on a drill press because I don't have a bench grinder...

























My guitar workbench...















Look!!! A router table.. Lol.


































































































































Enjoy!


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## ledzep4eva (Feb 2, 2008)

Awesome job on the fretboard, man.


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## Desecrated (Feb 2, 2008)

So there was a fretboard under all that smudge, Pefect!


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## Hcash (Feb 2, 2008)

So how bad would you say that fret ware is???


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## Sebastian (Feb 3, 2008)

comes out really nice


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## Hcash (Feb 3, 2008)

I need to come up with something to call this baby. What you guys think???


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## ibznorange (Feb 5, 2008)

Name it nate?
you could probably just get the frets recrowned, or even do it yourself
Most shops charge around 90 bucks for a recrown, including a full setup


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## All_¥our_Bass (Feb 5, 2008)

Geez, my fretboard isn't exactly clean, but mine is nowhere as bad as this.


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## ibznorange (Feb 5, 2008)

All_¥our_Bass;860066 said:


> Geez, my fretboard isn't exactly clean, but mine is nowhere as bad as this.



Im guilty, before i restrung it sunday, my acoustic fretboard was as bad, quite possibly worse, than this one


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## Hcash (Feb 7, 2008)

I got some sandpaper!!! 







And these are some things I cut out at school yesterday...


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## heffergm (Feb 8, 2008)

You may have overpaid... by about $49  

Just kidding, looks like a fun project.


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## SHREDTOKILL (Feb 9, 2008)

Hcash said:


> I got some sandpaper!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



please dont trell me your gonna put these on the guitar.


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## Michael (Feb 9, 2008)

That fretboard made me erk-face. 

 Cool guitar though. Can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## Hcash (Feb 9, 2008)

SHREDTOKILL said:


> please dont trell me your gonna put these on the guitar.



No... I just cut them out in my cutting process class WEdnesday and thought I'd share. Maybe on my cab though...


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## the.godfather (Feb 9, 2008)

Looking good so far. Nice job!  

Definitely a worthy project for that sorta money.


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## SHREDTOKILL (Feb 9, 2008)

Hcash said:


> No... I just cut them out in my cutting process class WEdnesday and thought I'd share. Maybe on my cab though...



oh that would be cool.


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## Apophis (Feb 9, 2008)

Looks good so far, congrats


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## Hcash (Feb 15, 2008)

Fretwear...






























Yeah, it's plywood...


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## jrf8 (Feb 16, 2008)

hell yeah! making cheap ass guitars play well is fucking rad, just as long as the body isnt made out of agathis


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## TripleFan (Feb 16, 2008)

Holy shit! This looks really sweet!


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## Demeyes (Feb 16, 2008)

Looks like your doing a good job. I see no reason why you can't make a half decent player out of it. For the money it looks like a great learning experiment anyways.
If your that worried about the frets you could pull them and make it into a fretless with a bit more work!


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## ibznorange (Feb 17, 2008)

Demeyes said:


> Looks like your doing a good job. I see no reason why you can't make a half decent player out of it. For the money it looks like a great learning experiment anyways.
> If your that worried about the frets you could pull them and make it into a fretless with a bit more work!



HEY STOP PROMOTING MY IDEAS
even if i never told you about them


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## Hcash (Feb 18, 2008)

I don't know about the fretless idea... But I painted my initials on the headstock (thought it nedded something on it...). Although the color was a bit dark, I'll post more pics tomorrow after school. And next I will go buy a killswitch and hopefully have an EMG afterburner for it soon... Thanks to ibznorange!!! So I'll need some *HELP* with a wiring schematic soon. Bridge Pickup, Killswitch, and the Afterburner... And after that is said and done, I''l just have the bridge left to take care of to make this thing playable... Although I'm thinking about a brass bridge. Not necessary though. End rambling...


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## ibznorange (Feb 18, 2008)

only a bridge pickup? no neck pickup? cause that changes things
ill draw one up if you want, and send it along with the AB for you man


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## Hcash (Feb 18, 2008)

Sweet deal. New best friend...


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## GunneR (Feb 18, 2008)

Just clear the body without paint. A nice worn out look. Good job!


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## Hcash (Feb 18, 2008)

That's what I'm planning on doing... But the oil paint I bought for the headstock was a kind that inconveniently takes a few days to dry....


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## Hcash (Feb 21, 2008)

This is the wiring diagram Emg sent me... And this is all Rick said: "Put the switch on the negative side of the battery clip. The extra black wire on the AB is a ground." How do I get around the volume??? Or should I wire it and just leave it in the controls cavity??? Please excuse my idiosity... (Is that a word???)


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## Groff (Feb 21, 2008)

It looks like you gota completely different fretboard!

Throw some satin clear on it! That looks badass!


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## Hcash (Feb 21, 2008)

TheMissing said:


> It looks like you gota completely different fretboard!




That what a polish wheel on a dremel will do...


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## ibznorange (Feb 21, 2008)

what a useless dope
hes got that wired for an emg pickup too
you need to email him back, tell them there is no volume knob (tell them there wasnt a need for one before and there isnt one now), and its a passive pickup, try again


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## Stitch (Feb 21, 2008)

I can't be the only person taht thinks that worn-to-fuck look is totally badass.

Very nice work man, and for someone so uncertain with what they were doing you've gone about it in a very professional manner. Its a totally new beast! 

First few frets don't look so bad and the rest of the frets look perfect so I wouldn't worry about it tbh. Especially for such a beater. If it was mine I'd stone/crown it but thats because I'm a picky bastard, and it really doesn't look bad enough to NEED that yet. 

Fretwire on the APII's isn't exactly Stainless Steel so if you use it a lot with heavy strings and a heavy hand you may have to one day, but hey! Another project!


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## Drew (Feb 21, 2008)

Hcash said:


> I need to come up with something to call this baby. What you guys think???



An abortion?  


I say try to refret it yourself, and do a proper spray finish. Not that the frets look like they need it (they don't, really), or it looks bad (I actualyl dig the sanded look), but it'd be a cool learning experience.


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## Hcash (Feb 21, 2008)

I'm think I'm just going to clearcoat it... I've had enough practice with a paint gun. I worked a summer restoring Studebakers, where I painted allot of car parts... But I did happen to get a bit of guitar painting experience last night on my friends guitar. Pics of that to come...


P.S. Holy Hell. I impressed Stitch!!! 

Here are two pics of the paint I put on the headstock: 













And here is some paint me and the vocalist of my band did to his guitar:


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## Drew (Feb 24, 2008)

Nice!


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## eleven59 (Feb 24, 2008)

Cool, can't wait to see it fully finished


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## Sebastian (Feb 24, 2008)

It starts to look very Cool 
I can't wait to see the finished guitar !


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## Hcash (Feb 26, 2008)

The guy at EMG e-mailed me back... 

Quote: 
"No diagram needed:

1) Connect hot from pup to white wire of AB.
2) Connect ground of pup to black wire of AB.
3) Connect other black wire from AB to middle terminal of EMG jack.
4) Connect green wire of AB to white wire of EMG jack.
5) Connect red wire of AB to red wire of battery clip.
6) Install kill switch on black wire of battery clip.
"

I will assume the "EMG jack" is the output...

And is this the proper way to hook up the Afterburner???:






With arrow on top???


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## Jason (May 1, 2008)

Whatever happened to this?


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## ibznorange (May 1, 2008)

WOOPS
yeah you were plugging it in the right way 
What DID happen to this?
this is why i got that kramer


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