Lotus Electric Guitar Repairs

In 2006, during my quest for the ultimate guitar tone, I saw a Lotus Les Paul copy guitar listed on Austin Craigslist for $95. I thought, "Ninety-five bucks for a VINTAGE electric guitar with a case, now there's a deal!" 

So, I made arrangements to take a look at it, and made my way over to Nancy and Doug's house. I had never seen a Lotus anything before, so I didn't really know what to expect ... again! I just knew that it was a red Gibson Les Paul Style dual humbucker electric guitar in OK but non-working shape. Upon arrival, the guitar looked like an old, poorly treated, kinda beat up guitar. I inspected the guitar in detail, and determined the requirements to bring it [at least] back to playable condition. It had the makings of an ultimate tone monster! Well, maybe not the ultimate, but more like just what you'd expect for a hundred bucks. It even came with a case. I figured I could get my money back at the very least. 8^)

I literally stripped this amazingly solid built guitar to bare bones. I took some pictures of the components and started the process of listing the actual parts that needed to be replaced, as well as those needing some form of repair. After assessing the total project, I could see the ultimate tome monster was bigger than me, and its huge mouth and sharp teeth were ready to bite me with a satisfying grin on its evil face... Then I woke up and wiped away the drool... Good thing the soldering iron was still unplugged...

The Lotus body is made from ply, and is double bound with a cream colored binding. The binding on the body and the neck has some checking which makes it look like one of two things: 1. It looks vintage and has that old timey look and feel, or 2. It looks old and worn out. I guess beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder!

I like the way it looks!

 

    The neck pocket on this electric guitar was filled with glue which caused the overall resonance of the instrument to be dull and non-responsive. During the repair and retrofit of this instrument, the neck was removed and the glue scraped from the neck pocket. The neck fit perfectly snug in the neck pocket with the screws and neck plate and the resonance came to life. You can now tap on the body and feel it throughout the entire electric guitar! It sings again...

FREE Lotus Electric Guitar video coming soon!

    

     Ultimate Guitar Tone!