Nova guitar - thrift store find

Everything guitar, bass, acoustic, banjo, etc
Post Reply
User avatar
laurie
Posts: 1633
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:07 am
Location: Canada
SBZ: Multi Platinum
Bossarea: Multi Platinum

Nova guitar - thrift store find

Post by laurie » Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:00 pm

Picked this up for USD$25 at the local thrift store. It is about 20 years old and came from the "Sears" department store - likely part of a guitar/amp starter package.

It is actually nicely made. The neck is straight and feels good.

I am doing a full service on it... will be interested to feel/hear how it plays once it is done.

Stuff to fix:
  • Thorough clean - the fretboard and frets were filthy.
  • Sharp fret ends. ALL guitars that have been in Calgary for 20+ years have this. The fret-board wood shrinks because of the low humidity.
  • Clean the pots and check the wiring.
  • New trem arm.
  • Full setup - string height, pickup height, intonation, etc.
It has a few very small dings in the back of the neck. I considered filling them but it isn't worth the time and effort. Won't affect the playability.
.
20220130_085057sml.jpg
20220130_085057sml.jpg (304.18 KiB) Viewed 4572 times
.
20220130_085034sml.jpg
20220130_085034sml.jpg (169.32 KiB) Viewed 4572 times

User avatar
Pepe
Posts: 1672
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:19 pm
Location: Germany
SBZ: Multi Platinum
Bossarea: Double Platinum
Contact:

Re: Nova guitar - thrift store find

Post by Pepe » Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:24 pm

Laurie is in full working mode. Any chance to see a new pedal design from you in the next months? :mrgreen:
Pepe at YouTube and Instagram

User avatar
laurie
Posts: 1633
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:07 am
Location: Canada
SBZ: Multi Platinum
Bossarea: Multi Platinum

Re: Nova guitar - thrift store find

Post by laurie » Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:05 am

Not a USA Strat, that's for sure. But quite playable and looks the part.

I think the problem that landed it in the thrift store was one of the tone pots was broken - the "stops" didn't work anymore so you could turn it through 360 degrees. Plus the action was so high you could drive a truck under the strings. The neck is straight (with a little relief) and it is sitting in the pocket properly. I lowered bridge saddle height about 2mm...

I used the new Turbo Tuner to do the intonation... excellent. Thanks to all who suggested it.

Sorry - no new pedals on the drawing board. We are getting ready to move so will be breaking down the workshop in a couple of months - that's why I'm busy finishing all the projects I have laying around :)
.
20220130_174121sml.jpg
20220130_174121sml.jpg (264.96 KiB) Viewed 4553 times

Post Reply