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Just curious if there are any guidelines as to what is "restoration" and what is "salvaging old parts for a new use"?

For example, I picked up an old Martin-like parlor guitar at an estate sale. Nice BRW but has multiple cracks that need repair, top still mostly intact, no bridge (was a pin bridge), head stock broken off but screwed back on. Neck severely bowed. No position markers. Metal tail piece added for strings and a goofy floating bridge. It was strung up, so structurally it holds together, but it really should be reworked inside out.

So, if I salvage the BRW only for reuse, I would not call the resulting guitar a restoration. If I salvage most everything with necessary repairs, built a new bridge to the same footprint, but added bindings to the top and back (it was built without them), is this considered a restoration, or would the addition of bindings and perhaps other decorations disqualify the term "restoration"?

Just curious, no judgment.

I should imagine that "restoration" means specifically returning an item as nearly as possible to the identical state it was in when first made - materials, design, condition, etc.

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

FRETS.COM
HomeShopTech
FRETS.NET

I would agree with what Frank said. I tend to think of cars and restoration vs. hot rods; same idea.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Except most people think making a hot rod shiny and new is the same as restoring an old car.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

A Strad was made, and many years later, the neck was broken and replaced. Later on, the top also was badly damaged and replaced. Eventually, the back and sides were also replaced.

Is it a restoration?

Is it even still a Strad?

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I would say that all the repairs could have been restorations, but it seems unlikely to me that an instrument of that value could have been damaged to the extent that the original pieces could not be salvaged and repaired. If that was the case, and all the repairs retained as much of the original as possible, then yes it would still be a restoration. However, it would be a restoration using "reproduction" parts as opposed to "original" parts, to continue the automotive analogy, and I would hesitate to call anything that lacked any of the original parts a restoration.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I guess my analogy would be lost on them

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

If you're hoping for a singular answer to this question, you're set to be sorely disappointed. There's restoration to original "as new" appearance and structure. There's functional restoration with varying levels of emphasis or indifference to preserving original materials or workmanship. There's collectors' or museum restoration, with high priority on conservation of as much original material of the artifact as possible in aims of preservation.

It's not a word with a definition in this field, so much as it is a case by case decision based on careful weighing of goals and priorities. There are bound to be as many answers as there are instruments worthy of asking the question over.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Here is what "I" condsider as " MY " Guideline " Repair " Is as Minimal work as possible to get the unit back in playing condition and keep as much of the "age and patina " as possible .... " Restoration" Is bringing it back to as close to Orig. Condition and playability as possible ..... That having been said I wont do EITHER without the customers written consent and approval for what will be done

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