A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

It's that time of year again...everyone around here already knows of my love for partscasters and my propensity for finding great custom strats on the cheap at GC so it probably won't surprise many to hear I've struck again .

Haven't taken this one apart yet but from what I can glean we've got an alder body in a gorgeous royal blue finish (kinda looks more dark blue or more purple depending on the lighting), a stunning birdseye maple neck and fretboard (one piece, not a separate board), EMG pickups (haven't pulled the guard but it's either a Steve Lukather set or an SA/SA/81 combo), and Sperzel locking tuners which are my favorites.

I've been looking to grab a strat with some EMGs to get my Gilmour on, and I'm a huge fan of all things birdseye maple so this was a perfect find. Total cost was under $500 with case. Plays and sounds great, won't need any mods or anything (aside from the knobs...not sure what the previous owner was thinkin' there!).

First thing I did was plug into my 1976 Hiwatt Custom 100 and hit those 4 Shine On You Crazy Diamond magic notes...never gets old.

You have the used guitar mojo, that's for sure! And that neck/fretboard is beautiful. I need to stop being lazy, and start surfing the GC used section again, as I'd like a Strat or Tele style guitar...

bleys21 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:08 pm You have the used guitar mojo, that's for sure! And that neck/fretboard is beautiful. I need to stop being lazy, and start surfing the GC used section again, as I'd like a Strat or Tele style guitar...

Sometimes I think they find me . The neck is definitely the star of the show, it probably cost about what I paid for the whole guitar all on its own.

If you're after a nice one there's what appears to be a really nice tele now...I don't really like teles so I'm leaving it be but seems to have some high end parts:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/In-St ... X2&irgwc=1

I see people on TGP asking $1-2K for their partscaster and it seems like once every six to eight weeks you find deals like this. I'm always impressed.
I think sometimes I'm like "how the f*ck does he do it" forgetting momentarily that I've had a pretty damn good run of used gear the last few years.

That looks really nice, love the grain on that neck. I am also a fan of Guitar Center used, I think i've probably scored more good deals there over the years than just about anywhere. One thing I'd love to see again is when they used to run 10-15% off coupons that would apply to used gear, I found some screaming deals that way. There is a used Alvarez acoustic that has been sitting at the Beaumont TX store for quiet a while now that I'd snatch up if I could get a slight deal on it.

golem wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:56 am I see people on TGP asking $1-2K for their partscaster and it seems like once every six to eight weeks you find deals like this. I'm always impressed.
I think sometimes I'm like "how the f*ck does he do it" forgetting momentarily that I've had a pretty damn good run of used gear the last few years.

Yeah to be fair those people in the TGP emporium are dreaming. It is VERY tough to get $1000+ for a used partscaster. Not impossible, but close to it. Lots of people are hung up on brand names and won't pay any kind of "big" price for a strat without a Fender logo, even if that strat holds its own against a Fender CS 3X it's build price.

But yeah, there's really no magic formula to what I do with GC Used. It's just a matter of taking the time to browse frequently, I usually spend 20 mins doing it maybe 2-3 times a week and I frequently find incredible deals. For these partscasters I recommend searching the term "miscellaneous", as that's what GC often lists 'em under. Sometimes junk comes up, sometimes a $1500-$2000 build with high end everything for $300-$400 comes up .

uwmcscott wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:51 am That looks really nice, love the grain on that neck. I am also a fan of Guitar Center used, I think i've probably scored more good deals there over the years than just about anywhere. One thing I'd love to see again is when they used to run 10-15% off coupons that would apply to used gear, I found some screaming deals that way. There is a used Alvarez acoustic that has been sitting at the Beaumont TX store for quiet a while now that I'd snatch up if I could get a slight deal on it.

Thanks! The neck is definitely the reason I bought it, though the rest of the guitar is just as nice. I do remember a time when the discount coupons worked but they did tend to exclude pretty much every known brand...still good for the custom stuff I often seek out. Also re: that Alvarez, give them a call and ask. If something's been sitting for a while they sometimes will forget to do the price drop but will do it if someone calls and asks.

GC Used is pretty much the only place I've purchased guitars from in the last 10+ years. The deals to be found are unmatched by any other marketplace out there and the 45 day no questions asked return policy makes every purchase risk free so I have no issues taking a chance on something and seeing how it works out.

In fact, I just grabbed another seemingly nice partscaster...$199 with a real Charvel vibe that'll arrive next week:

@slowhand84 do they refund shipping as well?

Gorgeous Nick!

thepezident wrote: ↑Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:01 pm @slowhand84 do they refund shipping as well?

They do if the return is due to a problem with the guitar...so for example if you get the guitar and something is not functioning as it should then you can get a full refund including the shipping cost. You may need to have the salesperson ask a manager to "approve" it in the system, but they'll do it. It won't usually be offered up to you but if you ask they'll push it through.

If you're returning the guitar just because you didn't like it and there isn't actually anything wrong with it, then you'll be out the $20-ish shipping charge which is only fair and a small price to pay for such a generous return policy.

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:50 pm If you're returning the guitar just because you didn't like it and there isn't actually anything wrong with it, then you'll be out the $20-ish shipping charge which is only fair and a small price to pay for such a generous return policy.

Exactly - it's like a cheap rental.

BatUtilityBelt wrote: ↑Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:08 pm

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:50 pm If you're returning the guitar just because you didn't like it and there isn't actually anything wrong with it, then you'll be out the $20-ish shipping charge which is only fair and a small price to pay for such a generous return policy.

Exactly - it's like a cheap rental.

Pretty much. I don't abuse the policy though, I only buy stuff if I intend to keep it (or move it to a new home) once I verify it's all good. They've actually put the banhammer on people before for blatantly abusing the policy (aka buying and returning a dozen guitars). But it sure does make purchases risk and stress free...I pretty much never step foot in guitar stores anymore.

Razzle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:24 pmGorgeous Nick!

Thanks! At first I was like wait my name's not Nick...but then I realized you meant nick as in grab

Finally got proper knobs (took forever for delivery) for this thing...now it looks as it should. Lighting doesn't really show it but the pearl blue tops are a PERFECT match. Super happy with these.

Also if any of our mods like @mickey or @tobijohn happen to know why pics post sideways when I use the attachments option here (but open perfectly upright when clicked), please let me know

If you find out, please let us know! It does the same for me on some pics but not on others?

mickey wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2022 4:19 pm If you find out, please let us know! It does the same for me on some pics but not on others?

Yep, very strange! The ones I posted when I first got this guitar are fine. I also noticed this only started happening recently, and like you said only to certain photos...but they're all taken the same way with the same device.