What's In Zach's Attic Today?
As of March 20th, 2019 we have the following used and vintage instruments in Zach's Attic:
- 1964 Guild Mark II Classical more >>>
- Fender Flea Jazz Bass more >>>
- Carvin LB-70 Bass more >>>
- Peavey Foundation Fretless Bass more >>>
- Vintage Hagstrom 'Viking I' Hollowbody more >>>
- Vintage Sunn 1X15 Bass Cabinet more >>>
- Gibson 1959 ES-125 Special price $999 more >>>
Click on one of these instruments or just scroll down for photos and more information.
Zach's Archives
Want to peek at the extraordinary range of cool and interesting instruments that have passed through Zach's Attic? Just click HERE!
Contributing to Zach's Attic
We're always looking for interesting used and vintage guitars, basses and other fretted instruments that need new homes. (Sorry, we don't accept used band instruments.)
If you have a used or vintage instrument that you think Zach might be interested in, bring it in and show it to him. (Call ahead to make sure he'll be in the store when you come.) If he likes your instrument we can work out a trade or buy it outright.
You can contact Zach by phone at the number above or via our Ask Us! page.
Our Guarantee
Buying a used or vintage instrument can be a scary process. If you don't know what you're looking for, you can easily overpay or end up with an inferior (or even unplayable) instrument.
When you buy a used or vintage instrument from The Minor Chord we guarantee it to be as described. If there are flaws in the instrument that we know about, we'll tell you. If there are significant flaws we didn't notice and disclose, tell us within 30 days and we'll cheerfully give you your money back.
The Minor Chord is a music store you can trust!
Our Used and Vintage Instruments
Zach is our store manager and head instrument buyer. He hunts down the top quality used and vintage instruments that we feature here in "Zach's Attic".
Fender Flea Jazz BassHere's a very cool bass just traded in, the Fender Flea Jazz Bass in the roadworn shell pink finish. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the most recognizable bass players in the world. This model is based off of his personal 1961 Jazz Bass heard on several of their albums. Shell pink is a color that just isn't that common so it's nice to see from time to time. The stacked controls are a nice feature, and the Vintage '64 pickups are a bit more unique sounding than a stock setup. It certainly has a nice vintage-style vibe to it for sure. We're stocked up on nice used basses in the Attic right now, however with how unique and cool this one is, we expect it to sell fast. Offered at $799.00 with gig bag included. |
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Carvin LB-70Just traded in is this Carvin LB-70 bass in Koa wood. Reminiscent of an Ibanez SR series bass with its long dual cutaway horns, sleek body, etc. Easy to play with its slim neck, smooth satin finish, and ebony fretboard. The active electronics are punchy with nice EQ settings. These are custom instruments and the used price does not reflect how nice the instruments are. Very good condition, with the original hardshell case for $649.00 |
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Peavey Foundation Fretless BassAttention bass players: Have you thought about going fretless? Here is your chance with this Peavey Foundation fretless bass dating to 1991. Made in the U.S.A. it is a solidly built instrument with plenty of life left. More like a jazz bass, the neck is slim and easy to wrap around. Ultra smooth playability with the fretless fingerboard. The line fret markers are a nice visual aid. This is a great deal on a U.S.-made instrument at $350.00. Gig bag included. |
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Vintage Hagstrom 'Viking I' HollowbodyWe are excited to offer this rare 1960's Hagstrom Viking I hollowbody. Brought in by one of our local customers, it has that worn-in vintage vibe that so many players are looking for. The top of the guitar near the neck pocket was damaged long ago, but it was fixed expertly by the late luthier Jim Mouradian. This guitar is fun to just sit around and plunk on unplugged. Plugged in, although it's light and thin, it has a good depth of warmth to the tone as well. Any decent electric from the 1960's typically commands a decent price. Because of the repaired top, we have priced this guitar to move fast at $499.00. Gig bag included. |
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Vintage Sunn 1X15 Bass CabinetJust arrived in the Attic - this early 70's 1X15 inch Sunn bass cabinet. Back in the 60's and 70's, Sunn was one of the top bass amp and cabinet manufacturers. Sturdy pine cabinet, very good condition with minimal wear, and it's not a huge cabinet compared to other 15-inchers. The speaker is located on the left side of the cabinet so when you tilt it onto its side feet, the speaker is right off the floor to dispense the sound. Very nice full and clear tone. We have our G/K MB200 head set up to power the cab and it sounds great! The speaker only has an 80 watt rating, but it's mounted in an efficient open-vented cabinet so it still makes lots of noise. You won't need (or want) to put tons of power through it. Bassists out there...if you're lacking a 15 inch speaker in your rig and appreciate things vintage, this is a great deal at $349.00. |
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Gibson 1959 ES-125 Special clearance price $999Freshly traded in, we're excited to offer this vintage 1959 Gibson ES-125. A full hollowbody with f holes, this guitar can be enjoyed acoustically while just sitting around. These 50's dog ear P-90 pickups have an excellent full/meaty tone. Roll back the tone knob and get those jazzy sounds, make it brighter and the sound can yield much more treble and snap. The neck is a nice chunky profile without being baseball bat sized. Nicely worn in, plays great. We have it setup for regular electric .011-.049's. Putting on bronze or flatwound strings will immediately beef up the tone and we will accommodate a setup of the customer's choosing. The input jack was relocated from the side of the guitar to the top. There is an older (well done) neck heel repair. The trapeze tailpiece appears to be non-original and the pickguard is missing. Because of this we have priced the guitar accordingly at $1,099.00. A non-original Gibson deluxe hardshell case is included. |
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Common problems with used instruments
We see a lot of used instruments at The Minor Chord and a few common issues seem to show up in many of them. If you are thinking of buying an instrument on the private market, make sure you can spot these common flaws.
Lifting bridges
Most bridges on acoustic guitars are simply glued to the guitar top. If the glue joint starts to separate you are looking at a dangerous guitar. Six steel strings exert a huge tension on the bridge, and if it suddenly comes loose it can seriously injure anyone nearby. The staff at The Minor Chord has seen this happen - so we always inspect the bridge of an acoustic guitar before restringing it.
Piece of paper under a lifting bridge
If you can slip a sheet of paper under the bridge of your guitar (see picture) you should relax the string tension immediately and bring the instrument to us for inspection.
An experienced luthier can remove a bridge and reglue it, but the time and labor involved makes the process too expensive for beginner and intermediate guitars.
High action
The distance between the strings and the fingerboard is called the action height. If the action is too high the guitar becomes hard (or even impossible) to play because it takes too much effort to press a string against the fingerboard. In addition, the guitar will probably not play in tune because each string has to be stretched so much (which raises its pitch) as it is pressed down.
Proper action height depends on two factors: The alignment of the neck and the height of the saddle (the point at which the strings rest on the bridge).
Electric and steel-string acoustic guitars usually have a truss rod running down the neck that can be used to adjust neck alignment. Classical-style guitars with nylon strings typically do not have a truss rod, and the only way to realign the neck is for a luthier to remove, shim and reinstall the neck - a major operation. The same operation is required on electrics or steel-string acoustics if the truss rod doesn't have enough available play to achieve the needed adjustment.
Saddle height is easily adjusted on electric guitars using a very small allen-head wrench. The saddles on acoustics and classical nylon strings may simply lift out of the bridge and can be shaved or shimmed to achieve the correct height. If these adjustments cannot bring the action height to a playable level, an expensive neck reset is required.
A low action height is desirable for easy playing but the action cannot be lowered so much that the strings start buzzing against the frets. Inexpensive guitars tend to have uneven frets, which means that the action height cannot be brought very low at all. Resetting or dressing the frets can even them up but it is a time consuming and expensive process, worthwhile only for valuable guitars.
All of these adjustments related to action height are fussy and interrelated. It's best to leave them to an experienced luthier, which means it is usually not economical to rescue an inexpensive guitar having these problems.