If you were ever wondering what the inside of a guitar looks like after a cat has peed on it and the owner of the guitar didn't promptly clean it up, here it is...
Backstory: I was at the antique mall yesterday when I ran across a nice looking 2005 Squier Standard Strat in walnut satin for a very low price, even lower since the 'house' fee usually gets waved for dealer-to-dealer transactions. The seller did say it had "electronics problems". I also noticed a lot of the hardware was rusted, not uncommon with garage sale finds of neglected and abused guitars. I didn't really notice the smell until later, perhaps it had been Febreezed good before it went on sale.
When I pulled off the pickguard, which involved drilling out 2 screws where tops had rusted off, the smell hit me and I noticed the extensive electronics damage. I also noticed that the bridge was probably ruined too because of rust. Fortunately, I have the parts to fix it up except for a new trem assembly that I ordered off eBay.
Morale of the story: When buying guitars at storage unit sales, estate sales/auctions, antique malls and such it's always buyer beware. Often the sellers aren't guitar players at all or, at best, casual guitarists and may not know about problems or realize the extent of them. They want to move merchandise since flipping it quickly is the name of the game.
Here's a shot of the guitar before I started working on it...
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I like Strats, but mine have Humbuckers in them except for the Dulcitar. Want a Strat with 3 P90's(middle RWRP) and a 5-way switch..yeehaw.
I had a dog that chewed on a couple albums and a cat that peed on a lot of my albums,was not a happy camper.
It's the ammonia in the pee that does the damage. Nasty little critters can do a lot of damage.
You bought a guitar with cat scratch fever. : )
that was awesome!
It's a strat. They deserve it.
I have played very very fine strat copies that cost less than £40. I couldn't tell the difference. That tells me that strats are just well set up £40 guitars with a name on them. - that's just a matter of opinion, but so is my assumption on a strat bridge pin setup.. So messy. Strats make great presents for 40 year old air guitar players to worship in the corner. Even Hendrix knew they should be burned.
Now, do I think it's riddikulus that an American Standard costs over $1700? Yep. And can I buy a $100 Squier, add really good pups, and get almost the same thing tone-wise? Yep. Look, I play a mid-90's MIJ Fotoflame Cherry burst Strat. It has real, not fake, "Road Wear." I have modded it some. Thing is, just as much tonal DNA is in the fingers, and the amp speaker. I sound like me no matter what git I play.
The pickups were one of the attractive things about this guitar. They're Alnico with 6 round magnets, not the typical cheap Chinese ceramic bar magnet with pot metal slugs.
At any rate, I'll have a nice test platform for pickups and electronics experiments now.
Cat flicks his tail twice, runs outside, doesn't come back for three days. Owner starts calling around, puts up Lost Kitty posters everywhere.
Cat returns, but keeps a wary distance, as owner tries to apologize. Cat licks his own balls, and just looks at owner, then goes to sleep. Owner goes to bed, shaking his head over cat's behavior. Next afternoon, owner has to get ready for gig, loads truck in the hot June sun.
Owner goes onstage, first number is Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Texas Flood." Cranks the volume knob for a solo, guitar shorts out dramatically, while evil smell fills the bar. Owner lies prostrate on the floor,shaking uncontrollably.
Friends take owner to emergency room; after several hours observation, he is sent home. 3 AM, owner is in bed when cat snuggles up under his chin. Owner mumbles sleepily, "Good kitty. You always loved me."
Cat purrs. Then stretches, kneads owner's stomach through the comforter, and tiptoes downstairs to sleep in owner's open back tube amp.
In the morning, owner scrapes nasty night flavor off his tongue on the rim of his chipped AC/DC coffee mug. He glances blearily over at the amp leaning against the wall, then tries to focus on what his unbelieving eyes find scratched in the basket weave speaker cover:
"U. R. A." Next to a ragged circular hole.
Cat licks his balls, coughs up a hair ball, then lays prone in the bar of sunlight that crosses the living room. His tail twitches sporadically. He purrs.
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