Welcome to my channel on which I will be sharing my twin passions of photography and motorcycles.
I have been involved with photography all of my working life. I have worked commercially, as a landscape photographer and taught photography up to post-grad level for 34 years.
Motorbikes are both my main form of transport and counter passion to photography. The precise nature of the darkroom is often replaced by the grimy, physical practice of rebuilding bikes. The two work hand in hand to keep me sane. Then throw in some less than perfect guitar playing and I think i have found the perfect balance.
Hi John, I think you bought a treasure on eBay... and it's good that you're in contact with the luthier who owned or even built all these items. Lots of the items' purposes (and their usefullness) are easy to understand, if you're watching guitar build videos on RU-vid regularly. Congrats!
Hi, thank you I did find a treasure. I have seen him a few times since and have been given even more, from specialist items, such as a baritone ukulele mould through to plywood for making jigs.
@@engine-room That's nice to hear! I guess he must be happy, too. Knowing that his tools, jigs and parts don't get "down the trash bin". It's a legacy, and he must be happy to know everything in good hands. I think, I'm going to subscribe to your channel, so I can watch what finally evolves from both "the treasure" and your new contact (friend?). Happy building and Greetings from Germany!
@volkerfriedritz8149 Thank you and welcome to my channel. He seems very keen to pass his skills on. I will be starting my building journey in the autumn once I have finished my current stock of repairs, and have bought the materials.
Hi, the braces on this guitar are quarter sawn, any vertical lines are saw marks, as these were budget guitars the braces were not fully sanded. Maybe as it is shot on my phone it doesn’t show very well.
Besides high action, does a belly affect tone? Will it keep getting worse until braces fall off and the top breaks? I'm thinking of just doing a neck reset and hopefully all the wood has met its maximum flexure
I haven’t noticed a change in tone, in theory as the belly bulges there is more pressure on the bridge, so more transference of vibration. I will have to give the next one I work on a listen. The wood only seems to bulge to certain degree, it is warping more than expanding so I haven’t seen one that’s split -yet. Normally the glue on the bridge would give out before things got too extreme. The guitars that I use steam on are normally the ones that don’t justify a neck reset, either because of value or I simply am not sure of the joint/ glue used on them. The Japanese had a nasty habit of using epoxy. A neck reset is the more permanent repair as wood has a memory and the bulge will eventually return. Hope that helps.
I do usually on Fenders, but I think it would make very little difference to these. Most people seem to like these because of all the things that would be regarded as faults in more expensive guitars.
@@engine-room I've recently bought one in a junk shop and was thinking of modding it. Perhaps putting better tuners and/or maybe see if a p90 or some other singlecoil might work instead. Haven't got round to testing the stock pickups yet
@chriseyett1256 the original pickups are the most microphonic I have come across, they take some getting used to. P90s would work well, I would use shielding paint if fitting them.
I've wondered about how fret ends were filed. I wouldn't have thought this method would be used from nut to tongue thinking that the strength of the motion could unseat the fret wire during a pass.
The action of the file is gentler than it sounds, it is rare for it to pose a problem. If a fret does come loose it is usually a symptom of other problems, such as wrong fret wire or worn slot.
The ET-200 was my first electric guitar way back in the mid 70s, though mine wasn't a Kay and had a slightly different body shape. I'm sure it must been horrible to play but I didn't know any better!🤣
I sold this one to someone who used to have one as well, funny how memories soften over the years. My first was an Eko with mile high action. My young hands weren’t strong enough to play it, but I occasionally find myself looking at them on eBay.
What's the action at the 12th and how's the break angle over the saddle? It'd be interesting to check-in on this guitar a month or 2 or 10 down the line.
Hi, sorry for the delay in replying. The low e at the 12th is currently 2.75 mum and the break angle is about 20º. The bridge does seem to be leaning forwards slightly, so maybe will need a bridge doctor, shame because it’s quite a pretty bridge, shame to add a pearloid dot. Maybe I will try to cut a rosewood plug for it.
Nice work. Wish I could find someone in the Seattle area to do a similar job on my mystery Tulip, the bridge may be missing some parts and the pickups look hard to find replacements for if they need replacing? ru-vid.comqmu7_K81tLI
I hear that. I have other repair jobs that will soon go away too. Instead, i'm acquiring guitars too. This looks like a great opportunity to learn a lot about guitar repair, and you may wind up with some $ and a couple of good guitars that you won't part with.
You are up to the task. You will learn yet more about restoration. You will save the lives of these relics. Some aficionado will benefit from your work. You may teach some of us along the way during your venture right here on your channel.
I spent a week exploring Northumberland, this was one of the few days that it didn’t rain. I still loved it and will probably go back again this year. Unfortunately I don’t have many videos as everything go so wet!
Good Morning Ivor, Yes I still have it, it has done about 5,000 trouble free miles. It is not my main bike, I take it in my motorhome to Portugal where I explore the mountains on it. It has climbed some seriously steep roads. I also use it in the winter in te UK. Like most Chinese bikes it gets through a few head light bulbs, so i always carry spares. The rust isn't as bad as I was expecting, probably not as bad as my Motor Guzzi. I would highly recommend it to anyone, it always turns heads and people constantly come and ask me about it. John
Thanks for the prompt reply.i think I will get one.i just need to find a dealer near southampton.or if there are no dealer's down south,I will phone the main dealer to see if they will deliver, for sensible money.
Hi,I really like the look of this bike, and would like to own one myself, but could you please tell me what the build quality is like,and is it easy to get spare parts for when they are needed,this bike would be ideal for my 12 mile commute,to and from work, and rides out,at the weekend.
I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, the mudguards are a little flimsy, but they are stainless steel so shouldn't be a problem. I asked about the parts availability and was told that all parts are interchangeable with Honda CG125 parts, intact they recommended using Honda brake shoes. Before I bought mine I looked over one that has been used for computing for nearly two years with very little maintenance, it still looked pretty good.