First Guitar & Split Pedal

While I wait on the last few supplies I ordered to build my reverb tanks, I tackled a project I've been wanting to work on for years: Fixing my first guitar to get it playing again.

This guitar is a Tokai TST-'62 that I got in 2005 while on a family vacation in Spring Hill, Tennessee. It was $50, and I was so happy to have it, I didn't care about any of its problems. About 10 years ago, it started to have problems that made it unplayable with an amp. So, around that time, it got put in its case and sat in wait for me to bring it back to life. I had no idea what I was doing back then. Now though, after the last few years of working on noise boxes and fixing up and modding cheap guitars, I felt like I was ready to give it a try.

I wasn't expecting to find the main fix was so easy, though. When I took off the pick guard, I immediately noticed the input jack was broken. The sleeve had broken loose and was now directly connected to the tip. So, I changed out the jack for a new one and that was enough to get sound coming from the pickups, at least the middle and neck. The bridge humbucker was still very quiet compared to the single coils. At first, I considered changing out the pickup, but I really want to keep this guitar as close as I can to when I got it. I decided to rewire the humbucker and now it sounds great!

The bridge will need to be replaced at some point. At least the bridge saddles. They were very rusty, so I soaked them is white vinegar for a few hours. They are still very corroded and the saddle on my high E is missing a pin. The neck also needs some work. The truss rod feels like it may be seized up, and the frets are very worn down. Those are both problems I don't feel confident trying to repair myself.

In all, I am very happy to have this guitar playing again and can't wait to do more work like this in the future.