I wasn't going to buy another guitar this weekend...

I'd really been working a lot lately with my 2 jobs and my friend decided I needed to get out of the house.  So he came by and we did one of our favorite things - pawn shop hopping.

I found this guitar that really looked beat up.  An Ibanez AW73 semi-hollow body electric.  Everything was rusty and filthy and it had these stickers glued to the finish.  I offered $80, they said $150 etc., and I finally got it for $100.

Before:



I spent about 3 hours on it and was able to get all the stickers off with mineral spirits.  The finish is in much better shape than I thought it would be after cleaning.  I replaced one volume pot and replaced the talepiece with a les paul one.  It plays and sounds great now.

After:

 
Wow, nice job Mark - she looks really sweet
 
 
 

i had my eye on those a few times when they first issued them..for the buck,there a nice piece.
i wanna say they retailed at about 4 bills.

I've looked at that same one a few times.  Good thing you saw beyond the initial impression!  Three hours and a couple new parts is a small price to add to a $100 guitar to get what you have now.

 Looks great Mark..........makes me want to go pawn shopping!!

 Looks really cool, couldn't pass up that deal. One day I'll have one.

Well, it's been over a decade since I bought my last guitar. I've been looking for a decent acoustic guitar for recording. I've was looking at the Martin's and Taylors but really wasn't happy with anything below a grand. I started looking at other guitars hoping I could find a nice diamond in the rough, but what I really found was that all the Epiphone's were really sad... many had intonation problems and some were even buzzing on the frets and these were like the hummingbird and J200 style. I played some of the Yamaha's but they seemed mostly life-less. I wasn't all that impressed with the Ovation's either. I finally found a brand I wasn't familiar with, Norman, but they were very nice sounding guitars. These guitars are handmade right here in Canada ( Quebec ) and are associated with Godin. I bought one of these: The more I play it the happier I am with it! That Ibanez is sweet. I've been looking for a good jazz box, but everything I've liked is way more than I can afford.
 

Nice find Mark. Cleaned up nicely too. I snagged a lefty Telecaster copy of some unknown brand this week off of Craigslist for $100. The neck and body are great, but the pickups are crap. A little money and some soldering and I hope to have a gem. There are no markings anywhere so I don't know if its a Warmoth or what. I'll get some pictures up soon also.

Randy