QUESTION

What do they mean when they say does it black lite ?? I just bought a vintage guitar and want to check my parts out to see if they are real.

REPLY

Thank you for the e mail. Great question not a simple answer. Vintage guitar plastic should glow a certain color when exposed to a black lite in the dark. This is very obviously if you have new and old parts side by side to see the difference it is like night and day. But if you have only the vintage parts to test basically here is what it will  look like.

Again color is subjective to each person so i think it looks like a fluorescent yellowish color with a bit of green to it. But i have seen parts black lite more whitish and more unique tones than i can describe . basically they should jump out!! at you under a black light and really stand out. The newer parts change color but do not jump out at you. If you are still not sure borrow a knob from your friends new guitar and put the new and vintage parts side by side you will see right away.

Now another note ! all parts do not black lite the same color or at the same intensity. knobs and such black lite strong as do guitar tuner tips. pickguards are not as strong but they will react under black light. Do not panic if you see your knobs black light different from you knobs this is normal!! the same goes for finish but that is a real complicated story we will touch on at a later time.

There are fakes out there and people as we speak are trying to develop new parts that are aged that black lite so this is for now a fairly safe test but it will not be long until some idiot will figure it out and ruin it for everyone.

If you are still unsure you can send us parts and we Will evaluate them for free no charge you just pay shipping both ways.

Thank you again for your question

Jim pasch

The Parts Drawer

In the vintage guitar and vintage guitar parts world much was the same as the rest of the world gloom and doom with brief glimpses of hope. The vintage guitar market took the real hit and the good news was vintage guitar parts although down significantly still sold on a regular basis and pulled us through. It showed me that even in bad times one needs relief and if you cant buy a vintage guitar restore the one you had seems to be the message i got.Basically with limited funds people put their guitar back to stock rather than buying other more original ones. This solved their vintage guitar jones at a fraction of the price. The result is that parts sold people were happy and now their guitars are worth more a win win situation.

From a business stand point I would be lying to say we rocked and had a great year. The truth is we got by and thank God parts are selling but business was off. around November we got signs of a stronger recovery and it appears to be continuing and as of today sales are still good and we are also still able to buy great parts. I hope this year will be better for everyone.

The other good news for both is prices have come down on parts . This is great news  for the consumer and us as a buyer. We can sell for less because we are buying parts for less. Unlike the frenzy two years ago now seems to be a good time for everyone to buy vintage parts because the prices have settledand there is a good supply around. The fact that great parts are flowing out onto the market again is because people need money and they realized all those parts sitting in drawers are found money. I know from experience that people have been sending us literally photos of piles of parts they have and this has not happened in ages . People were holding on to them like stocks in the frenzy seeing crazy prices but realize now that now is as goodas anytime to sell. So I expect a great year for parts because of this fact.

Thanks again for all you support and help any questions please send me an e mail at THE PARTS DRAWER and i will answer all e mails within 48 hours

JIm Pasch

First a 50 years old guitar is obviously going to have wear not only on the body but the tuners also. the last thing to do is change tuners but it may be the case with many. when you do just get the retro style tuners and put the real ones in the case and when you sell guitar put them back on. The good thing about repro tuners is you do not have to drill out the guitar headstock and they retro fot in the original holes.

Ok but first do the following. 80% of the problem usually lies in the nut area. after years the nut slots wear down and the string binds on the nut . have your tech file out the slots cleanly and out graphite in the slots and this alone will improve the tuning 100% . if need to replace the nut.  This has to be done by a tech do not do it yourself you need the expertise of a good tech and a jewelers file.

Next problem is nobody winds string correctly anymore. the correct way can be seen on line after you twist back string to lock it ALWAYS WIND STRING DOWNWARDS IN A DOWNWARDS  PATH TO TEH FACE OF HEADSTOCK .This puts a good break angle on the string and helps keep it in tune. So just by stringing  guitar correctly and checking the nut issues I swear 90% of the problems are gone .

As stated the last and final way is to get a new set of tuners but again new tuners without the other two prior steps is futal . so if you get new tuners check the nut issues and wind strings correctly. then you can enjoy that vintage guitar and play it out every night with no issues. Remember these are old instruments and like cars and any collectible they have to be maintained.

If you have any questions please feel free to e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER  or if you need video tech tips try 300GUITARS.COM

JIM PASCH

 People ask why would you write a non glowing post  about the show it would only hurt you and the business. Most told me pump it up lie tell them it was great . But people who know me and respect me know that is not my style if it sucks i will sure not sugar coat it and that is why people actually listen to what i have to say. It was disappointing but not unexpected.

The normal frenzy of the dealer to dealer buying on the post day show was terrible. Usually it is like a shark feed and for 8 hours the dealers buy sell and trade form each other before te public comes in. I know from a personal stand point this is were we usually do 60% of our business at this show. But this year it was like the plague very little movement and very little motivation on the parts of the dealers. Most were not willing to budge on their prices and secondly what little cash was there was saved for buying from the public.

I was a few big deals go down and yes guitar changed hands but it was more than 50% off the normal amount i usually see. Sure things were sold and things were bought but i saw more real cool vintage guitars than ever and none of the high end stuff was moving. the price range i saw that was moving was the $800-$3000 guitar . most clean and original examples either sold or traded hands so there was some action. All the bursts , black guards and other high end stuff just sat . My buddy did sell a burst for $290,000.00 so this is not to say the show did not have its moments.

I was hoping to see a bit more excitement also from the public which was down and which I knew would be down since we are in near depression like economy but it was slow and the shark feed this year was toned down. The whole mood from the economy just brought everyone down and of course with less money at hand it  does not take a genius to figure out that less guitars will be sold. in the end I walked away not surprised but disappointed . I had hoped I would have seen some kind of sign of recovery but I am afraid it will be another long hard year ahead for this business

I have not lost faith I love vintage guitars and Vintage parts but the government, wall street and the greedy bank institutions  really screwed us this time this economy has even taken the wind out of my sails and I am always an optimist !!! I have not given up nor will I just like in the past we Will survive and so will this market we are just going to have to tighten our belts more and take a deep breath . I Will return to Texas as always if for nothing more than a great weekend of camaraderie and for the meeting of great friends but next time I would like to make a few bucks while I ma there

If  you have any comments please e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER

JIM PASCH

Here you will find vintage guitars, vintage guitar parts, new guitars, vintage amplifiers, new amplifiers, accessories, guitar memorabilia and a stampede of dealers and a pumped up public all thrown into this one building. There will also be teh sightings of many celebrity’s and rock stars as well as musicians. It is a high energy mix that last for 3 days and on Sunday afternoon if you have survived you Will find it will tale you another 3 days to recover.

The importance of this show is that depending on how sales go it will set the mood for the market for the next 6months or so if it is a great show sales Will boost and the frenzy will be reignited. if the show is average or a abut the market will immediately feel that and could easily offset any growth we have seen in the past 8 months in this business. This show basically is a barometer for our business. This is why this show is so important and the world will be watching for the results come Sunday night.

I have been to the show many times and I always find stuff i have never seen and find the most obscure parts and vintage ite,s i never see anywhere else. If you have the time this is the one show to go to. You can buy a guitar from $100 to $600,000.00 that is how diverse this show is . One bit of advice start at one point and just go up and down isles do not jump around because YOU WILL MISS  many booths it is that packed so get a game plan and enjoy.

I Will report next week on the results of the show so keep an eye out for this blog . I will have a better idea of the market by Monday so stay tuned, Again if you have any questions feel free to e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER .  you can also subscribe to this blog by going to the bottom of the latest news page and click on the RSS button and you Will automatically get all articles

Jim  Pasch