Any information on a company called LA Guitar Works

[Pudentame]

I can't find any trace of them on the internet, other that a couple of
images of guitars that were apparently manufactured or imported by
them that I turned up with a Google Image search for "Johnny Reb
guitar".

The reason I'm trying to find out about them is because I have one of
those stupid guitars. It looks exactly like this one:

http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/hsvseller/media/Johnny%20Reb%20Telecaster/JR.jpg.html

... except I think this guy replaced his pickups.

I must have bought it sometime in the late 80s.

It's a plywood top on a thermo-plastic body like Ovation uses. If
anyone remembers the Stratacoustic and Telacoustic Fender offered
about 10 years ago, but without the round soundhole (not the new ones
that might actually be Ok with on-board Fishman electronics). It's got
a wooden block down the center for the pickups to mount on.

All of the hardware is pot-metal CRAP in NON-standard sizes.

The jack connector on mine fell apart & I ended up having to ream out
the hole to get a standard 1/4" jack to fit in there. The tuners
stripped out & I ended up replacing them with genuine Fender parts,
but I got the kind where you stick the end of the string down into the
post & it's a pain to re-string.

The fret board is super FLAT, feels almost concave and it's
uncomfortable to play. I can't get the action set on it worth a damn.
I"ve considered getting a replacement Tele neck from Warmouth, but I
dunno...

Do I want to put a $267 neck on a $250 guitar that's going to end up
worth about $100?

I already went through that with a JBPlayer "super" Strat that had a
fake Kahler tremolo on it. The fulcrum on the fake broke & I had to
replace it & the only thing I could get was a genuine Kahler made
specifically to replace the fakes and ended up with a $100 guitar with
a $250 tremolo and I can't even play the damn thing because I keep
forgetting it's a locking trem & reaching up to the headstock every
time I need to re-tune.

Anyway ...

Does anyone know anything about LA Guitar Works company of days of
yore?

[notbob]

On 2015-08-30, Pudentame <no....@no.where.invalid> wrote:

> Do I want to put a $267 neck on a $250 guitar that's going to end up
> worth about $100?

....which costs $100 more than my used, but excellent MIM Fender Tele.

> Does anyone know anything about LA Guitar Works company of days of
> yore?

I'd keep the case and toss the axe. ;)

nb

[Flasherly]

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 20:34:56 -0400, Pudentame
<no....@no.where.invalid> wrote:

>The fret board is super FLAT, feels almost concave and it's
>uncomfortable to play. I can't get the action set on it worth a damn.
>I"ve considered getting a replacement Tele neck from Warmouth, but I
>dunno...
>
>Do I want to put a $267 neck on a $250 guitar that's going to end up
>worth about $100?

Truss rod in it? Super flat as convex, bulging outwards?

A tele is going to be reasonably flat in the first place, a delicate
set between nut and bridge if especially low action over level frets.

If it isn't going to be worth a high-priced neck, then there's always
low-priced necks and lots of them to choose from.

Warped and twisted neck or no truss rod, not much choice, then, except
for a replacement neck.

I might check StewMac's for instructions and theory behind building
and setting up a neck if it's otherwise OK. Also, going radical on
it, something along reverse/frontal center-weighting the neck, for
building up form and resultant relief in stressing it over enough time
to let it set up, for a chance at getting a truer balance of
some/normal concave curvature at play between truss rod and string
torque.

I've also a neck that's so flat it's brutal, made and setup that way
to accommodate a fairly narrow range of hard string tensions, flopping
and flailing with buzz and fretboard slap with most lighter/softer
brand gauges (including other brand hard tensions, e.g.- not
specifically factory equipped and strung). But then it does play
nicely, reasonably fast when everything's just right.

[jtees4]

On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 20:34:56 -0400, Pudentame
<no....@no.where.invalid> wrote:

Could not find LA Guitar Works, but I knew the name sounded familiar.
This is what I was thinking of...."GuitarWorks in London, Ontario.
Crafted by master builder Rainer Wiechmann".
That's a pretty guitar on Photobucket, is that an LA Guitar Works
guitar....because it certainly doesn't say that on the headstock as
far as I can tell.

[Pudentame]

On Sun, 30 Aug 2015 04:23:10 -0400, Flasherly <Flas...@live.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 29 Aug 2015 20:34:56 -0400, Pudentame
><no....@no.where.invalid> wrote:
>
>>The fret board is super FLAT, feels almost concave and it's
>>uncomfortable to play. I can't get the action set on it worth a damn.
>>I"ve considered getting a replacement Tele neck from Warmouth, but I
>>dunno...
>>
>>Do I want to put a $267 neck on a $250 guitar that's going to end up
>>worth about $100?
>
>Truss rod in it? Super flat as convex, bulging outwards?
>

Sorry,

Super-Flat from side to side, like the fret board was carved with a
1000 ft radius ... like they put frets on one side of a 2x4 before
carving a neck out of the other side.

It does have a truss rod, but neck relief is not the problem.

The neck is straight from the nut to the heel. It has a reasonably low
action with very few places where I get any fret buzzing, but the
really flat radius makes the neck feel like it's A LOT WIDER than it
is.

[Pudentame]

I'm pretty sure that figured pattern in the "wood" is what I've heard
called a "photo flame".

The brand is "Johnny Reb".

The only information I was able to find about the "Johnny Reb"
guitars is that the manufacturer was called LA Guitar Works.

... and a very FEW photos; maybe a half dozen.

I don't know if LA Guitar Works sold any guitars under their own name.
I only know about the "Johnny Reb" because I have one.

[Flasherly]

On Tue, 01 Sep 2015 15:41:05 -0400, Pudentame
<no....@no.where.invalid> wrote:

>Sorry,
>
>Super-Flat from side to side, like the fret board was carved with a
>1000 ft radius ... like they put frets on one side of a 2x4 before
>carving a neck out of the other side.
>
>It does have a truss rod, but neck relief is not the problem.
>
>The neck is straight from the nut to the heel. It has a reasonably low
>action with very few places where I get any fret buzzing, but the
>really flat radius makes the neck feel like it's A LOT WIDER than it
>is.

No doubt. I've also got one precisely like that --

http://www.amazon.com/Godin-035397-Multiac-ACS-Nylon/dp/B008BSA82I/ref=sr_1_sc_
8?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1441138062&sr=1-8-spell&keywords=godin+mutliac

'Dems the breaks. Also have two perfectly unbroken guitars to show
for it, a classically "fast" Cordoba and another decent traditional
neck nylon (no truss rod);- neither is what the Godin is (easily does)
when it comes to neck action (practical compositions, reading and
training purposes I use it). If it's not fast enough, strings aren't
low enough, staring at and wondering at all those upper-positional
references for fluid movements won't help one bit if technicality is
the final limiting factor.

Expectations, usage can change. I'd go along with NotBob, consider
options for a possible trade if it's not worth the end net or level of
outlay for a better crafted neck. Another splurge, another keepsake
for potential reminders. It can happen: Inspiration sometimes's a
bite in the butt.

[jtees4]

You probably already have this, but just in case:
"Instruments currently produced in Asia. Distributed by Johnny Reb
Guitars (L.A. Guitar Works) of Reseda, California."
"The hollow Johnny Reb models are available with ash, figured maple,
or mahogany tops with an f-hole, molded fiberglass backs, bolt-on
maple necks with rosewood or maple fingerboards, 6-on-a-side chrome
tuners, 2 single coil pickups, volume and tone controls, and a 3 way
toggle selector. Retail list price was only $399."

[Pudentame]

Thank you. I did NOT have that information.

IF I remember, I paid $250 for mine & that included the case.

[Pt]

Some of the guitars made in China (Asia) are excellent, some are not.
How do you know?
I have a 2005 Gretsch hollow body electric made in Korea that is excellent.

Pt

[Pudentame]

On Fri, 4 Sep 2015 18:54:27 -0700 (PDT), Pt <peat...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>Some of the guitars made in China (Asia) are excellent, some are not.
>How do you know?
>I have a 2005 Gretsch hollow body electric made in Korea that is excellent.
>
>Pt

I wouldn't rate the specemin of Johnny Reb that I bought as excellent;
perhaps "fair".

It could have been excellent if the manufacturer hadn't used the
cheapest components they could find.

As I keep playing it, I'll eventually have to replace the pickups,
pots & wiring with quality items, as I've already had to do with the
tuners & the jack. That will probably raise it up to "good".

To achieve "excellent", I'm going to have to do something about that
neck, and I don't know if it's worth the expense of replacing it with
one that's comfortable for me to play.