Flea Market Guitar God

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5) 07/31/2017 at 15:58 • Filed to: guitarlopnik

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I apparently have a talent for getting good deals on guitars at flea markets...the Seekonk Speedway Flea Market, specifically.

A few months ago I picked up a Jay Turser strat copy for $20, flipped it for $50 later that week, which was okay. But yesterday I went there to try and find a cheap guitar for a costume (more on that after) and left with something legitimately cool.

A 1986 Charvel Model 3A that is actually better than I thought it was when I picked it up, complete with a decent SKB hard case for $140. I’m going to toss the case on Craigslist and see if I can get $30 back for it, but I digress. It’s made in Japan with some American parts, and it was a $600 guitar new in 1986

I’m not an expert on Charvel guitars, though I was aware of them and knew it was a well known/liked maker of guitars that aren’t usually the sort I go for. I liked this one though, and it was almost perfect for what I was trying to do:

Greg Universe’s ‘Mr Universe’ guitar from Steven Universe is what I was looking for and I basically nailed it. I was going to paint the body, but given what I’ve found out the guitar is worth I’ll actually use vinyl when I get around to doing that.

Anyway, the last ‘86 3A to sell on eBay, albeit a little nicer than mine, sold for $450 plus shipping...so I did well. I think mine would bring $350 right now, but I dig it and I’m going to mess with it. I already picked up the parts I need to make it whole, plus a period correct Charvel hard case because it was cheap and I wanted it.

McMike > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 07/31/2017 at 16:19

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Wow, I can’t even tell you the last time I even saw a photo of a Kahler.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > McMike 07/31/2017 at 20:33

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I had literally never seen one in my life. I saw the fine tuners and locking nut and thought it must be a double locker like a Floyd, but this one is just basically a really weird 2 post Fender bridge. It’s a pretty cool bridge, just a pain in the ass to string and setup compared to a regular Fender...I guess it’s supposed to hold tune really well though. We’ll see.

McMike > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 07/31/2017 at 20:52

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After a second look, that appears to be the fulcrum model.

Kahler was Floyd Rose’s biggest competition in the 80s.

Here’s one of the roller models I was thinking about.

Anything with a locking nut will hold their tune forever.... until you break a string (on a floating system) then the whole thing goes flat, and all the strings go out of tune with each other.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > McMike 08/01/2017 at 10:45

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Yup, it’s a 2520 Fulcrum apparently. Uses a standard Strat trem rout and it looks like I could put a 2 post Strat trem right on it...spacing looks the same and everything.

I actually found a chrome one (minus all the saddles) on eBay for $15, so I’m going to experiement with running it without the fine tuners on it and see how it goes, it’ll pretty much just be a weird looking Strat but I dig it.

McMike > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 08/01/2017 at 11:20

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If I recall, Kahler had three types of bridges.

A fulcrum mount you could slip in a Strat

Stud mount you could put on a Les Paul-type bridge - some routing was still nesissary, but not from the back like the fulcrum mount.

Flat mount you could put on anything - some routing still required.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > McMike 08/01/2017 at 11:37

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Sounds accurate. It’s a really nicely made bridge, I just hate that it’s black, haha. The guitar is getting a purple pearl guard and a pair of zebra humbuckers...going to be the metalest looking blues guitar ever.