EVH 5150 Memphis brand guitar

[Setzer]

saw this in a local pawn shop and decided to go back and check it out yesterday. I think it has a bad/weak pickup as I could barely get any output out of it. I removed the rear covers and inpected everything and all looks OK but there was a lot of dust and dirt on the pickup and around inside the covers. Could be a cold solder joint but I let the shop know that it was not worth the 99.00 price tag and the day before I got them down to 80 but yesterday the price was $50.
Some notes, looks all original. Has the plywood body and cheap trem "block". Has a previous owner sticker on the back that will need to come off. All the decals from the factory are there with the serial number and made in Korea. I've not see another like this but I'm sure they are out there. It kind of played alright but was in dire need of strings and a setup. I think I could clean it up and replace the pickup if that's the case I have some laying around and I have new sets of light gauge strings...but if I plan on flipping it do you think I'd make a profit? I forgot to measure the scale but I'm wondering if this is a short scale or 3/4"? It kinda reminded me of my Duo Sonic scale wise.

Two photos I snapped: suedo nana head



dusty body with some player wear:

[Mcniggleston]

You won't see a dime of profit on that. It's not even worth your time and effort if you ask me, I ended up giving my buddy my old Memphis ('88 S3FT) because he needed a guitar. I got it dirt cheap and he likes it for what it is. If you buy it...you're going to literally have trouble getting rid of it.

[sixstring]

Nice!! One middle hum!!

[OokraMoO]

I wouldn't buy it. The paint is probably worth more than the guitar

[amerturk]

You'd be lucky to break even on that one....just sayin.

[da5hcharl]

wall hanger deluxe.

that's all it's good for.

[Heinz]

As a punk teenager, I'd have had a ball with that. Now, not so much. I wonder if a decent pickup would even sound right so far away from the bridge. Seems like it would be muddy no matter what you put in there.

Edit: are the pole pieces Allen screw or just hollow pins? If the former, wouldn't it be odd to find a Full Shred in there, LOL. Prolly not...

[KramerBassFan]

$99 Most likely isn't too far from what it cost back in the day.

And it has not kept its value.... IMHO your better off with one of Fenders lower end offerings by a S name for that kind of money.....

[Setzer]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Heinz, the poles are allen screws...it looks like a nice pickup from the top side. The more I think about it there might be something wrong with the tone pot. I could get some sound out of the pickup and the vol control did it's job but when turning down the tone the signal went completely quiet, or so soft that I could not hear it. I tested it with a Peavey Bandit with the volume and gains cranked on the drive side. Cable was good and the amp was good. Shop owner said he had $45 in it. Wonder if he even tested it? I bet not. I offered $40 and he came down to $50. It's just not worth it and I agree with you all. Now if it was $10 - $20 I'd snap it up. You know Eddie's commin' to town soon, I was just thinking, clean it, string it and list it on CL or eBay for a crazy price of $100-125.

[Mcniggleston]

, I was just thinking, clean it, string it and list it on CL or eBay for a crazy price of $100-125.

And in return you'll probably be laughed at, just ain't worth that. They're entry level guitars, those Korean ones at least. The MIJ Memphis guitars, on the other hand, are top notch Matsumoku products. Some also sell for $300+ but are worth that. There's a certain one on eBay at $140 with 5 hours left at the moment....that's a steal....check that out if anything.