1978 Music Man Sabre II Electric Guitar

Ah, the late '70s! In guitar land, this meant black pickguards, heavier bodies, a plethora of active electronics, fastypants necks, and heavy-duty hardware. This has all of that and it's remarkably clean, too. Style-wise it continually flits between Strat, Mustang, and Tele Deluxe -- with an active preamp and extra switch goodies thrown-in to keep your ears searching for "that tone." That's another thing typical for the era -- makers building Chameleo-tars that can handle any number of situations.

Music Man instruments have the benefit of Leo Fender's guidance and the fit, finish, and build are all first-rate for a production solidbody -- as you might expect. Its sound is a bit more aggressive and rocky (though still clear-toned) than your average Fender, though the various switching lets you get into some more classic voices as well.

Work included: cleaning and a setup. The frets are nearly virgin and so didn't need a level/dress. Its neck is straight, the truss rod works, and it's playing on-the-dot with hair-over 1/16" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret, strung with 46w-9.

Scale length: 25 1/2"
Nut width: 1 5/8"
String spacing at nut: 1 3/8"
String spacing at saddle: 2 1/8"
Body length: 18 1/2"
Lower bout width: 13"
Upper bout width: 11"
Side depth: 1 5/8"
Neck profile: ~12" board, very slim-C rear
Weight: 9 lb, 9 oz
Body wood: ash
Neck wood: maple
Fretboard: maple (one-piece with neck)

Condition notes: it's 100% original and in great shape save one replaced height-adjustment-screw for the bridge pickup. The finish shows mild-to-medium weather-check/cracking on the body.

It comes with: an original hard case.

The 3-bolt neck has micro-tilt adjustment.

The backplate is for accessing the 9V battery compartment.