Salty Music Man

[Beth]

Interesting story indeed! Welcome M900!

Let's all pontificate about what happened that would yield this guitar being washed up ashore in Florida...

-Dexter???

-I imagine a guy trying to play that really difficult guitar solo, trying it again and again before finally just giving up, pulling the strap over his head and tossing it into the Pacific Edit: Gulf.

Sorry, originally posted "Pacific" due to my California-centered geography. You mean there is life east of the Colorado river????

 

[Luc]

The guitar is only one of 9 official Axis (before there was ever a SuperSport) guitars made with these specs:

Trans Gold
Standard bridge (non-FR)
Rosewood fretboard

We offered the Axis this way for a very limited window of time in 1997- early 98. This particular one was sold to Drum City GuitarLand near Denver, CO - 1 of 2 that passed through their store like this.

Dan

Looking at the pics, it's got a maple board, not a rosewood.

 

[Beth]

where are these pics you speak of, Luc?

 

[5Stringer]

That's what I was gonna ask ....

 

[5Stringer]

The neck is fine, the action is a little high to avoid some buzz on a couple of frets.

The neck is birdseye maple I think which is a fairly dense hardwood with a low

porosity. I should put a strait edge on the neck and see what has happened to the

frets. Are they solid nickel or plated brass ? Even if the guitar needs news frets or a new

neck, is this a big problem ?

All the best, S.

S,

The frets are a nickel blend. It is not a problem to refret. we can do that here if you like (for a fee )..

Dan

 

[jamminjim]

tossing it into the Pacific

And after a time a direct descendent of the ancient Mayans, who was surfing one day at Cabo spotted something shiny in the water and reached down and pulled the guitar from the juncture of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific ocean. Not knowing what exactly it was, the Mayan took the Axis and journeyed back to the lower Yucatan penninsula; wherupon his arrival the Mayan Chief saw it and was mortified in fear that it was a mighty weapon and promptly had it thrown into the Gulf of Mexico. For years it was adrift and finally, one day, came to rest near the shore in western Florida, where M900 found it.

Yea, I can buy into this kind of story... LOL

 

[jamminjim]

from Warmoth -
frets (fretwire) is a nickel and brass alloy - typically 18% nickel, which gives them a silver appearance.

 

[marantz1300]

Its mine I tell you.

I was on my boat playing and the guitar slipped over board. Can I have it back?Please.

 

[Luc]

Hey Beth and Dan, there are two pics of a hardtail Axis in his gallery on the forum index page, the album is called salty axis or something like that.

 

[paranoid70]

It sure looks great after being rescued from a salt water bath. Doesn't look like there is any rust or decoloration at all. I believed the story until I saw the pics... now I think it's a bit fishy.

Regardless, it's a nice looking guitar.

 

[marantz1300]

It fell in the river Thames and floated across the Atlantic I tell you.

 

[MPM]

Great story.. Pics Please! Hey Spud.. too funny!

 

[M900]

An interesting collection of wit & repartee, I thank you. I am sorry but my word, which I value
is good. I believe the neck is birds-eye maple, unless their is some new wood being felled in Outer Mongolia that no one ever herd of and just happens to resemble the afore said. Might I be able to offer you some more pictorial evidence. Lightly rusty nuts & fasteners here and there. She is not working just now, but was before I loaned her to a friend for a week or two but has played on and off for the last couple of years. Soldering has been redone awhile back. I have a good amp and lead but no sound, no crackle, not a whisper. The things that were broken were plastic funnily enough. The nut and volume knob were both split, the black ones were all I could get around here.
The one's she was wearing when I fished her out were a cream colour, is that correct for the guitar ?

 

[NickDuBaldo]

We offered the Axis this way for a very limited window of time in 1997- early 98.

You offered them salted or unsalted?






two peanuts were walking across the street; one was a salted.

 

[grandmacpubah]

That thing looks really good for having been fished outta the water.

 

[Headstock]

The pics are here... awesome story. Some folks have all the luck. For example I am lucky, for I have yet to lose any ebmm's at sea
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/members/m900/albums/salty-music-man-216/

 

[Axilla]

This story is just too cool to believe

 

[Tone?]

i read this whole thread about 3 times so far...............is this real????


how cant the guitar be messed up????????/


WTF????

that is almost as crazy if the guitar fell outta the sky and knocked you on the head.

 

[M900]

Better Salted Man

I guess I am one of those guys who believes anything is possible, well anything is, this planet is more fabulous than most of us believe. We all have stories to tell that most would not believe, don't we ?
I worked most of the night on the guitar, took the whole thing apart, cleaned and oiled the tuning keys, there was only surface rust on the end of the posts, they worked well enough though now they are a little better thanks to some corrosion X a marine lube I use on the boat. Those parts are made in Germany, they are well made and there was real grease on the bevel gear so it did not fail. I am not a tech, but if you think a
little about something and are determined enough you can do anything. I thought I can
take this guitar apart one more time, re-string her and see what happens. There was nothing coming through the amp so you test the lead, then the jack plug, which I took out of the body, there is nothing to it this jack plug, two pieces of metal separated by
some circuit board material, so I put it in some phosphoric acid for a couple of minutes
this acid is used to eat rust and corrosion before painting, it's good for cleaning stainless steel too. Anyway I re-soldered the jack plug wiring cos I didn't like the way it looked. Best of all I put a level on the neck (a useful tool on a boat) and did not like what I saw, the truss rod was way to tight, backed it off and the action is fabulous now. It maybe that the previous owner tossed her because of that buzz on the seventh fret, he just could not stand it any longer. If only he had taken it apart and looked at it, cleaned it, cared for it. How is it in this world of ours ? If you give you time and energy to something does it not shine, your playing skills, your car, bike, boat, even your relationships, give it your time and energy and it to will shine.
These guitars are beautiful as you know, because they are made with care, they
are made from materials that have been carefully selected and are of a quality that is far above the average. So it can be found it salt water and survive as we can see.
Thank you all for your generous welcomes.
All The Best, M900

 

[jamminjim]

M900, how are ya doin? I forgot to say "welcome" to our forum.

A few questions if I may - I know you said you took the whole thing apart, but did you take the neck off of the body? What was it like under the neckplate and what was the condition of the neck mounting screws? How long do you think the guitar was in the water? Was there corrosion on the neck mounting screws.
Is it possible it wasn't immersed for very long. Had you visually scanned the water where you found it at any prior time? Are you going to run an ad in any local paper to announce you found it and maybe the rightful owner would be able to respond? Have you done this already? It's possible it was stolen and then ditched. Was the serial number in our serial number thread?

Very interesting story.

~Jim