Organ Harvesting... Tragic ends to beautiful instruments
No, this isn't about pipe organs or Hammonds, although in spirit, this posting could apply. "Organ Harvesting" refers to stripping a perfectly good guitar for parts and selling pieces at a markup. Not sure that this is an official term, but it sure fits. It makes me sick to my stomach when I'm searching for NOS parts or legitimately removed parts and come across a beautiful guitar body, stripped of everything that the owner could manage to remove, and a description along the lines of "Played great before parts were removed." Then why the H-E-double hockey stick did you remove those parts??? As a person who owns a few beat-up, vintage beauties and has acquired them in various states of disrepair, I have to look very carefully to not find a guitar that has been harvested. I also have worked closely with a luthier that has shown me time and again the damage that has been done by people removing or replacing parts on vintage guitars.
Why don't I like this practice? It's great for the person making money off of it right? There's no law against it is there? Hey, I understand the first sale doctrine, and you are well within your rights to do this. I'm going to try to convince you and others that this is barbaric at worst and ill-advised at best.
I am respectful of, if not sentimental for, vintage... I would not buy a pristine, beautiful 1950's gown to deconstruct in order to sell the buttons and pieces of fabric. In the same spirit, I struggle to condone stripping a playable, vintage instrument for parts, because many of these instruments, in tact, are already quite rare. Time isn't kind to many of these guitars. Water damage, accidents, fire damage, extreme weathering, Townsending, etc... So why would we create further scarcity in something we can't truly replace? Some of the body and fretboard materials are no longer available in today's markets. Tone changes with age. And there's something about natural patina, vintage pickups, and the craftsmanship that is difficult to find in modern guitars. Not to mention that wood grain is unique from guitar-to-guitar. We lose a chance to hold, play, and enjoy history when we allow and support the act of parting out rare and/or vintage guitars.
While you may believe that it makes the repair of other instruments more difficult by not sacrificing a few in the meantime, I should remind you that NOS vintage as well as true-to-spec parts are available for repair. Not to mention that some vintage pieces are legitimately parted out when the instruments are ruined by other circumstances. A parted out guitar that had fallen off the truck and destroyed the body? Sure! Salvaging what's left of a guitar that has been severely warped sitting in a damp basement. Of course! Provided that these guitars are, indeed, beyond repair.
So what do you do with that old Harmony Rocket slowly decaying in the basement or attic? Sell it as is and for what it is worth in its state of disrepair. Period. Don't forget to disclose the state of the guitar in your description or in the terms of the sale. Beyond the reasons above, there are a couple other reasons why I do not suggest to the average player to disassemble your guitar before selling:
1. Knowledgeable buyers understand that many vintage guitars need some degree of repair, and many repairs are easy to make. Someone that is in the market for a specific vintage piece may only be able to buy one that needs a little work, and truly "mint" pieces are rare. Cleaning out the electronics, replacing a cracked or missing pickup ring, replacing lost knobs... these are repairs that can be made easily. Guitars can be refretted (although that gets pricey), but that's not an excuse to ruin the rest of the guitar. Let someone that is capable of repairing or can afford fixing these things buy the guitar. Let someone enjoy the guitar with as many original parts as possible. A franken-guitar is not near as desirable to me as a guitar that is mostly original except for maybe a single pickup ring and a switch tip.
2. Patina, a little wear, and some checking are accepted or even desired by those that want a guitar with a bit of "mojo" in them. If I wanted a pristine, scratchless guitar, I'd buy brand new. I like a guitar with a bit of history, provided the history is that the guitar was played, not ripped apart for a few bucks.
3. That brings me to the damage that is done by tearing it apart. Let's face it, there is a good chance that you don't know what you're doing. (Now some luthier or well-seasoned tinkerer is gonna read this and tell me that he does indeed know what he's doing. Calm down... I'm not talking to you.) Some pieces are not really meant to be removed except by a luthier. You may not have the right tools or experience to do this in a way that won't destroy the body or finish of the guitar. I've seen pieces where this has happened, and the finish was ruined by the tools and ignorance of the person parting out the guitar.
4. There are also some things in your guitar that may not have a "standard" size, and the holes and bushings you leave behind might be problematic for the buyer down the road. You've now unnecessarily removed and sold away a vital piece to that guitar and left a guitar body that will be even more difficult to be properly brought to player grade. I've seen this as well. It led to further damage of the guitar and drove us mad in trying to remove the odd-sized bushings.
Even if you think that your guitar is "unfixable" and that parting it out is the only answer, let a pro make the decision as to what to remove and how to remove them so the pieces can be properly salvaged. That luthier may also be able to fix what you cannot. When in doubt, at least get a consultation. When my luthier acquired a rather rough-looking Harmony Rocket, it was with the understanding that the previous owner thought it may be a lost cause. The neck was bent and it was unplayable, but my luthier had the knowledge and means to make that guitar sing again. It's a lovely piece full of history and years and is now being enjoyed by a guitarist that loves and plays and preserves it.
Does all this mean that if you own a guitar that you should never "make it your own?" Not necessarily. That is your guitar. If you think a different pair of pickups would sound better, okay. I would suggest you keep the original pickups somewhere handy in case you do decide to sell your guitar however. Pickups are some of the first things that many players want to swap out. Some people want custom knobs and pickguards. Okay. Again, save the originals. The tuners aren't holding? Change them but set them aside for the next buyer. Anytime you have a vintage instrument and a part isn't holding or is damaged, it is perfectly reasonable to replace that part so you can keep on playing. Custom paint job? Dude, you'd better do a frickin awesome job because unless you're a professional or an amazing artist, you just decreased the value of that body significantly. As I stated at the beginning, it is your guitar and ultimately you get to decide what do with it. Just please consider what you are doing to the value of your vintage guitar as an instrument and a piece of history.
Love to you all!
Sarah
Why don't I like this practice? It's great for the person making money off of it right? There's no law against it is there? Hey, I understand the first sale doctrine, and you are well within your rights to do this. I'm going to try to convince you and others that this is barbaric at worst and ill-advised at best.
I am respectful of, if not sentimental for, vintage... I would not buy a pristine, beautiful 1950's gown to deconstruct in order to sell the buttons and pieces of fabric. In the same spirit, I struggle to condone stripping a playable, vintage instrument for parts, because many of these instruments, in tact, are already quite rare. Time isn't kind to many of these guitars. Water damage, accidents, fire damage, extreme weathering, Townsending, etc... So why would we create further scarcity in something we can't truly replace? Some of the body and fretboard materials are no longer available in today's markets. Tone changes with age. And there's something about natural patina, vintage pickups, and the craftsmanship that is difficult to find in modern guitars. Not to mention that wood grain is unique from guitar-to-guitar. We lose a chance to hold, play, and enjoy history when we allow and support the act of parting out rare and/or vintage guitars.
While you may believe that it makes the repair of other instruments more difficult by not sacrificing a few in the meantime, I should remind you that NOS vintage as well as true-to-spec parts are available for repair. Not to mention that some vintage pieces are legitimately parted out when the instruments are ruined by other circumstances. A parted out guitar that had fallen off the truck and destroyed the body? Sure! Salvaging what's left of a guitar that has been severely warped sitting in a damp basement. Of course! Provided that these guitars are, indeed, beyond repair.
So what do you do with that old Harmony Rocket slowly decaying in the basement or attic? Sell it as is and for what it is worth in its state of disrepair. Period. Don't forget to disclose the state of the guitar in your description or in the terms of the sale. Beyond the reasons above, there are a couple other reasons why I do not suggest to the average player to disassemble your guitar before selling:
1. Knowledgeable buyers understand that many vintage guitars need some degree of repair, and many repairs are easy to make. Someone that is in the market for a specific vintage piece may only be able to buy one that needs a little work, and truly "mint" pieces are rare. Cleaning out the electronics, replacing a cracked or missing pickup ring, replacing lost knobs... these are repairs that can be made easily. Guitars can be refretted (although that gets pricey), but that's not an excuse to ruin the rest of the guitar. Let someone that is capable of repairing or can afford fixing these things buy the guitar. Let someone enjoy the guitar with as many original parts as possible. A franken-guitar is not near as desirable to me as a guitar that is mostly original except for maybe a single pickup ring and a switch tip.
2. Patina, a little wear, and some checking are accepted or even desired by those that want a guitar with a bit of "mojo" in them. If I wanted a pristine, scratchless guitar, I'd buy brand new. I like a guitar with a bit of history, provided the history is that the guitar was played, not ripped apart for a few bucks.
3. That brings me to the damage that is done by tearing it apart. Let's face it, there is a good chance that you don't know what you're doing. (Now some luthier or well-seasoned tinkerer is gonna read this and tell me that he does indeed know what he's doing. Calm down... I'm not talking to you.) Some pieces are not really meant to be removed except by a luthier. You may not have the right tools or experience to do this in a way that won't destroy the body or finish of the guitar. I've seen pieces where this has happened, and the finish was ruined by the tools and ignorance of the person parting out the guitar.
4. There are also some things in your guitar that may not have a "standard" size, and the holes and bushings you leave behind might be problematic for the buyer down the road. You've now unnecessarily removed and sold away a vital piece to that guitar and left a guitar body that will be even more difficult to be properly brought to player grade. I've seen this as well. It led to further damage of the guitar and drove us mad in trying to remove the odd-sized bushings.
Even if you think that your guitar is "unfixable" and that parting it out is the only answer, let a pro make the decision as to what to remove and how to remove them so the pieces can be properly salvaged. That luthier may also be able to fix what you cannot. When in doubt, at least get a consultation. When my luthier acquired a rather rough-looking Harmony Rocket, it was with the understanding that the previous owner thought it may be a lost cause. The neck was bent and it was unplayable, but my luthier had the knowledge and means to make that guitar sing again. It's a lovely piece full of history and years and is now being enjoyed by a guitarist that loves and plays and preserves it.
Does all this mean that if you own a guitar that you should never "make it your own?" Not necessarily. That is your guitar. If you think a different pair of pickups would sound better, okay. I would suggest you keep the original pickups somewhere handy in case you do decide to sell your guitar however. Pickups are some of the first things that many players want to swap out. Some people want custom knobs and pickguards. Okay. Again, save the originals. The tuners aren't holding? Change them but set them aside for the next buyer. Anytime you have a vintage instrument and a part isn't holding or is damaged, it is perfectly reasonable to replace that part so you can keep on playing. Custom paint job? Dude, you'd better do a frickin awesome job because unless you're a professional or an amazing artist, you just decreased the value of that body significantly. As I stated at the beginning, it is your guitar and ultimately you get to decide what do with it. Just please consider what you are doing to the value of your vintage guitar as an instrument and a piece of history.
Love to you all!
Sarah
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