1980s Lotus Mini-Strat Electric Guitar (Nashville Tuning)

I'm guesstimating that this Lotus kids' Strat-style guitar was built in the late '80s or early '90s. It looks like other ones I've seen that came out of Korea... so I'm surmising it's not the earlier Japanese variety. Like all of these kid-sized instruments, it's quirky but interesting. They're almost always incredibly disappointing for use by kids (the 1 5/8" nut width is still a little large for most kiddos who would fit this) and also very disappointing in standard EADGBE tuning due to extra-slack strings and a "fwoppy" sound with heavier strings.

So, I think they're best tuned-up with thinner gauges (e.g., like G-to-G or A-to-A, like a capo is permanently on the 3rd or 5th fret) or in alternate tunings. This one's strung-up in "Nashville" tuning where the EADG strings are a full octave up from normal. It turns a ho-hum toy into something useful to have around. I used this on every track of an instrumental album I just finished-up... serving as a chord-strummer or chimey, reverb-drenched texture in the background.

Strings are, roughly, something like 30w, 18, 14, 10, 16, 12 low to high. It's also fun to "double-high-E" it with a plain 12 up two octaves for the "lowest" E string slot rather than a 30w, though that requires a little adjustment to the saddles to play in-tune.

Repairs included: minor fret seating, restring, setup, cleaning.

Made by: Lotus
Made in: Korea?

Body wood: solid something-or-other
Bridge: Strat-style
Fretboard: rosewood
Neck wood: maple
Pickups: 3x Strat-style, ceramic magnets, very bright
Tone: bright, snappy, sizzly, jangly

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: custom (see above) Nashville set
Neck shape: medium C
Board radius: ~12"
Truss rod: adjustable
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium

Scale length: 19 1/8"
Nut width: 1 5/8"
String spacing at nut: 1 3/8"
String spacing at bridge: 2"
Body length: 14"
Body width: 10"
Body depth: 1 1/2"
Weight: 5 lb 8 oz

Condition notes: while it's all-original in equipment, the whammy bar is missing and I've cranked the whammy down to the "deck" so it acts like a hardtail. I also removed the tuner backplate covers as they just add weight and rattle. The hardware has all aged to a nice, homey look. The finish on the body, however, was originally black and that black peeks out anywhere on the body where the metallic-blue-purply-blue spraypaint coat has been rubbed or scratched-away. The original tuners are not the greatest but they get the job done. A nice set of Gotoh Kluson-style repros would be great on it, but they'd run about a third of the value of the instrument, so...

It comes with: an original black gigbag.