Bridge for Charvette?

[Andrewkov]

Hi guys, this is my first post here. I have an old Charvette model 250. It was on loan to a friend for many years, and I finally just got it back. When I restrung it with 9's and tuned it to standard pitch, the bridge block crumbled into pieces. Very weird. Anyway, I'd like to pop in a fixed bridge, what kind of bridge would fit? I'm worried if I put int he wrong bridge it will screw up the intonation. Also is it worth spending any money on this guitar? I'm sure at the minimum it will need new pickups and a bridge to be gig-ready.

Anyway, here are some pics:


Thanks!
Andrew

[lerxstcat]

A pic of the old bridge would probably be more helpful than anything else, and I wouldn't put any money into it other than finding the same bridge as a replacement on Ebay. Or you might just see if another block will screw onto the baseplate. The only thing of value on that guitar is the neck, the body is likely plywood. If you can get the bridge back together it's probably a $75-$100 guitar max.

[zeegler]

A pic of the old bridge would probably be more helpful than anything else, and I wouldn't put any money into it other than finding the same bridge as a replacement on Ebay. Or you might just see if another block will screw onto the baseplate. The only thing of value on that guitar is the neck, the body is likely plywood. If you can get the bridge back together it's probably a $75-$100 guitar max.

Lerx is right. The necks are great, but I certainly wouldn't go spending a pile of money on that guitar. As for the bridge, you can't get a fixed bridge to replace that trem, not without filling the body first anyway. I can tell what kind of bridge that was by the shape of the route. They were horrible pieces of junk. You might consider buying a new body, and using that neck though.

[Budman68]

It was this one, correct?





If I were you, I'd find a replacement for it on ebay and block it. The words above are correct as these are complete junk. I can't even believe they made those blocks from that material...

[Andrewkov]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Yep, it does appear to be a plywood body, and Budman68, that is the correct bridge. Here is a pic of mine, you can see where the block has crumbled:



I didn't even think to take pics of that when I was taking pics of the guitar itself. I've never seen such a crappy bridge before, lol!

I do remember the neck being pretty nice on this guitar, it's hard to tell now, though, since there are no strings on it. So now I have a delima .. wether to buy pickups and a bridge for it and hope I'm not throwing money away..or just scrap it. Although I can always re-use the pickups in another guitar, so it's not too much of a risk.

[RobRR]

Wow, I cant believe how that crumbled like that... thats gotta be one of the worst castings Ive ever seen.

Anyway, I was about to ask you if the body was ply or solid... but I see you already answered that. Unfortunatley, I wouldnt put any money into it at all. Youll probably never get a good sound out of it because of the body. Granted if you can get another bridge for $10-20, go for it. But I wouldnt go upgrading the pickups.

[Zerberus]

Get a fusion body with bridge and keep the neck is what I´d do

[zeegler]

Get a fusion body with bridge and keep the neck is what I´d do

I don't think a Fusion body would do him any good. That is a 25-1/2" scale 22 fret neck.

[lerxstcat]

I'd look for a Model series body to put it on, those necks are pretty comparable to Model series necks. Plus if you get a Model 2 body you only need 1 pickup and a used Schaller Floyd, might be up and running for cheap.

Or, part out the neck, pickups and that crappy body on Ebay. You might get $40-$50 for the neck, maybe $20 for the pickups and $10-$20 for the body. More than it'd go for as a completed guitar. Maybe you're lucky the bridge broke after all, the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

[slash]

Need a body? I can help out with that