NGD: 1987 SC-3!!

Walked into the shop looking for a cheap Fender as a backup to my ASAT Special Semi-Hollow. Almost missed this guy, but noticed it on the wall as I was about to leave empty-handed. It was so cheap I couldn't believe it was still on the wall, but they had just finished the setup and put it out this morning. This has some of the classic G&L features which I tend to prefer over Fenders anyway, so it wasn't much of a question about whether or not I was going to walk out with it. Plus, the finish has aged in a pretty interesting way - definitely a great player! The only thing that's missing is the original wiggle stick.

Pretty nice score! Congrats

- Jos

That's nice. Must play great to have that much wear. Has the neck been refinished or partially stripped?

I am not exactly sure what's up with the neck - on the areas where it is still yellow, you can actually scratch off the finish with your fingernail, which seems pretty strange. All that white is just where the left hand would seem to have worn it down. But it seems pretty drastic, right?

Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Cheers,

Will

If you look closely in one of the pictures, there appears to be a chip in the finish near the E-tuner that reveals the same whitish color underneath. Could this be a sanding sealer that has been exposed down the neck due to playing wear?

Is that an ebony fingerboard, or just very dark rosewood?

Ken

Ken,

That's what I'm thinking, too. Some sort of sealer or primer - the same thing is happening in certain spots on the body, but it's super easy to scratch off the yellow tint that's left on the neck. It wears so easily that I'm pretty sure this is all a natural relic process (or at least I hope so).

And yes, it's an ebony fingerboard - first time I've ever owned a guitar with one. Plays really nice.

I love ebony boards. I can't hear any difference from RW or maple, at least at my level of playing, but the appearance is wonderful. I've recently started applying walnut oil to my ebony boards whenever I change strings, and they look even better than before.

Ken

I've come close to picking up one in this sort of condition. It makes me nervous to buy a player with patina over the internet. Nice find!

~JagInTheBag

Ken,

That's what I'm thinking, too. Some sort of sealer or primer - the same thing is happening in certain spots on the body, but it's super easy to scratch off the yellow tint that's left on the neck. It wears so easily that I'm pretty sure this is all a natural relic process (or at least I hope so).

And yes, it's an ebony fingerboard - first time I've ever owned a guitar with one. Plays really nice.

It's clear coat, which has yellowed; where it's worn off, you see the white paint coat. It might just not have adhered super well to the paint coat under it and has started to lift a bit over the years.

Neat guitar!

Gotta love the April Fools' Day birthday, too!

Ken

Ken,

That's what I'm thinking, too. Some sort of sealer or primer - the same thing is happening in certain spots on the body, but it's super easy to scratch off the yellow tint that's left on the neck. It wears so easily that I'm pretty sure this is all a natural relic process (or at least I hope so).

And yes, it's an ebony fingerboard - first time I've ever owned a guitar with one. Plays really nice.

It's clear coat, which has yellowed; where it's worn off, you see the white paint coat. It might just not have adhered super well to the paint coat under it and has started to lift a bit over the years.

Neat guitar!

Does this mean the guitar was originally white and the coating has yellowed? Would the neck have been painted instead of being finished with something transparent? I wondered whether the owner deliberately took that area of finish off because it played better that way. It does not look like it wore down from playing judging by the ends where the wear meets less used sections. It has an abrupt rather than gradual transition. I would have thought we would be seeing some of whatever that white is worn down to wood as well. Is paint that much stronger against wear than clear coat? Is it possible that only the tarnish is what has worn off rather than the clear coat being worn down to paint? Is tarnish from age something that is on the surface or is it all the way through the paint layer?

i think that is just play wear of the clearcoat on the neck. when done deliberately, it is usually done to the nut, this starts at the first fret. my necks have a very even wear, use it equally at all section pretty much over time. that is possible here as well. i don't know if the clear is all the way worn, or just discolored outer layer wore off. of course it could be deliberate, or a combination, some of it wore naturally and the owner evened it out.

An '87 ASAT would have begun life with the same finish on the back of the neck as on the body and headstock. Judging from the photos, I'm thinking this guitar has a very nicely yellowed original white finish. The yellow finishes on late-80s SC-3s were extremely bright (hence the nickname "Bright Screaming Yellow"). Here are a couple of shots of my mid-80s Skyhawk, which is also "white":







The finish is a pretty uniform butter yellow at this point - in reality much closer to how it looks in the headstock photo than the body photos. I noticed the same differences in your pictures, so I assume our guitars would look very similar side-by-side.

My Skyhawk has a couple of small body dings that show wood. I couldn't get clear photos to post, but there is definitely a white sealer beneath the finish coat. The sealer remains white, while the finish coat is now a buttery yellow. It's very much like the chip on the side of your headstock near the bass E tuner.

My guess is that the finish coat on the neck has worn through, revealing the sanding sealer. I've never seen an SC-3 from this period in person, so I'm not sure whether this wear pattern is typical.

I hope this helps.

Ken

It's clear coat, which has yellowed; where it's worn off, you see the white paint coat. It might just not have adhered super well to the paint coat under it and has started to lift a bit over the years.

Neat guitar!

The gradual nature of the wear (and the fact that there are some "whiter" spots on the body (like from the pick and where the forearm rests) makes me think that it's exactly this - it would also explain why it's so easy to scratch off with my fingernail. VERY COOL.

Thanks a lot for your insight, everyone. I just ordered a replacement tremolo arm for it. Had to go for a vintage mustang white-tipped one. The black tip repros were a bit too costly to justify.

I've come close to picking up one in this sort of condition. It makes me nervous to buy a player with patina over the internet. Nice find!

~JagInTheBag

I'd be nervous, too. Hell, I was nervous buying this from the shop until I got it home and really put it through its paces. Depending on whether or not you're offered a good price, though, it might be worth the risk These things are so solid it would almost take someone intentionally doing something bad to screw it up too much.