Eleca Zebra Stripe
Sleeper Tier
$400.00
Eleca Zebra Stripe Strat-Style Guitar
Back From The Dead Guitars Sleeper Tier
Originally built as an Eleca Strat-style guitar, this instrument has been carefully rebuilt as a Back From The Dead Guitars Sleeper Tier guitar. While it retains the distinctive zebra stripe appearance that gives it its unmistakable personality, the instrument has undergone a comprehensive rebuild focused on improving reliability, performance, and long-term playability.
Rather than simply cleaning and reselling the guitar, this build received extensive electronics and hardware upgrades, followed by careful inspection, setup, adjustment, and testing. Every modification was personally completed, verified, and documented as part of the restoration process. A complete list of the work performed and upgrades included in this build can be found in the sections below.
Where practical, components were selected to improve long-term reliability, ease of maintenance, and consistent playing performance while preserving the instrument's unique character. The result is a guitar that combines the charm of a vintage import instrument with carefully chosen modern components intended for dependable everyday use.
This guitar has been professionally set up, inspected, and is ready to be played and enjoyed by its next owner.
25.5" Scale Length
42mm Nut Width
SSS Pickup Configuration
22 Frets
12 Fretboard Radius
Zebra Color of Body
7.1 lbs Weight
1.5 mm Action at 12th Fret
Right Handed
X Deep cleaning
X Electronics cleaned / tested
X Tuners Serviced
X Fretboard cleaned / hydrated
X Neck adjusted
X Intonation adjusted
X Setup complete
X Body buffed / polished
Alnico 5 Pickups ( 6.18 ohms neck, 6.41 ohms middle, 6.42 ohms bridge )
CTS Potentiometers A250K
Heavy Duty 5 way switch ( Kaish )
Switch Craft output jack
Gilmour Switch
Treble Bleed Circuit
.022 Capacitors on each tone pot
Cloth Wiring
Silver Soldered connections
Copper Foiled Body Cavity and Pickguard
Wilkinson Bridge M Series W0V01-10
Locking Tuners ( Guyker Professional ) 18:1 ratio
Bone Nut
Jescar Medium Jumbo Nickle Silver Frets
Mushroom style Strap Buttons
Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10 Gauge.
This guitar received a complete teardown and rebuild. The fretboard was sanded from 400 grit to 1000 grit before it was re-fretted and the edges rolled. The fretboard was rehydrated with lemon oil and the neck lightly sanded to produce a satin feel in the hand. The bone nut was cut and polished.
Won in a national auction in February 2024, this Eleca Zebra Stripe guitar arrived at the shop for evaluation. While its past history is unknown, it was found to be in playable condition and received a thorough cleaning before beginning its next chapter.
The guitar showed the honest wear of years of use and then sat quietly for what was likely a long period before finding its way to auction. Its original owner and history have been lost to time, leaving only the marks left behind by years of making music.
The following story is purely fictional and simply reflects the thoughts this guitar inspired during its restoration. Perhaps it was the first guitar of a father who spent years balancing family, work, and weekend gigs. Maybe it became the dependable instrument he reached for after long days, accumulating the small chips, scratches, and worn finish that only years of regular playing can create.
Whether that imagined story is close to the truth or not, one thing is certain: this guitar has been given a second chance. It now waits for a new player to create the next chapter of its history and carry it forward into new memories.
This guitar arrived at the shop in mid-February 2024 with the high E string missing.
During the initial functional inspection, the electronics operated correctly in all five pickup selector positions. The selector switch was fully functional, although its action was noticeably softer than preferred and lacked the crisp, positive engagement expected from a new switch, making it easy to move unintentionally between positions.
The bridge saddles remained in a staggered configuration, indicating the guitar had previously received an intonation setup before it was retired from regular use. Very little dust or debris was present around the bridge saddles or string trees, suggesting the instrument had been stored in relatively clean conditions. The guitar arrived without a tremolo arm, preventing testing of tuning stability while using the vibrato system.
The body finish remains in very good overall condition for its age. It displays several small paint chips along the body edges along with the typical light scratches and playing marks expected on both the front and back of an instrument that has seen years of regular use. The wear is consistent with honest use rather than neglect.
The neck was straight with only a slight amount of forward relief. No fret buzz was present on the five remaining strings. The rosewood fingerboard displayed heavy playing wear through approximately the 14th fret, indicating the instrument saw extensive use during its playing life. The fingerboard was slightly dry and benefited from conditioning. The frets showed normal playing wear, with the most noticeable wear occurring within the first three frets.
The nut appears to have been replaced at some point in the guitar's history. This is suggested by the slight fit mismatch on the low E side and a small nick in the fingerboard consistent with removal of the original nut. Although the nut slots show significant wear from years of playing, no open-string fret buzz was present during testing.
The tuning machines operated smoothly, held tuning well during string bends, and felt solid with no excessive play. Once removed, they were found to be stamped "JY 4," indicating manufacture by Jin Ho. If original to the guitar, they have performed exceptionally well over the years.
With the guitar fully disassembled, it became clear that the instrument had been carefully cared for throughout much of its life. The neck pocket was solid and secure. Typical finish stress lines were present around the neck pocket, but there was no indication that these extended into the wood.
An interesting detail was found beneath the control knobs. The original protective plastic film from the factory pickguard was still trapped beneath the volume and tone knobs, indicating they had likely never been removed. The remaining plastic contained very little accumulated dirt, further supporting the conclusion that the guitar had been routinely cleaned during its years of use.
After removing the pickguard, a slight difference in finish color was visible between the exposed body and the area protected beneath the guard. The mild yellowing is consistent with normal age and indirect sunlight exposure rather than prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.
The body is constructed of solid wood. The pickup and control cavities were unshielded but exceptionally clean for an instrument of this age.
The original ceramic pickups measured:
Neck: 5.6 kΩ
Middle: 5.5 kΩ
Bridge: 5.9 kΩ
The electronics consisted of a standard printed-circuit five-way selector switch, Alpha mini potentiometers, and a single capacitor shared by both tone controls.
Overall Assessment
This guitar presented as an extensively played but well-cared-for instrument. The wear found throughout the guitar is consistent with years of regular use rather than abuse or neglect. Structurally, the guitar arrived as an excellent candidate for restoration, requiring only routine maintenance and thoughtful upgrades to begin its next chapter.
This guitar shows honest signs of use accumulated over many years of regular playing. The body has several paint chips, primarily along the lower edge where it was likely set down on hard surfaces rather than stored exclusively on a guitar stand. There is also a small area of finish chipping on the upper rear horn. These imperfections are largely out of view when the guitar is seen from the front.
The finish has been carefully cleaned and polished to restore some of its original luster. It has not undergone an aggressive finish correction. As a result, light scratches, swirl marks, and normal playing wear remain visible under close inspection. These marks are considered part of the instrument's history rather than flaws to be hidden.
A new bone nut was installed during the restoration. It is mounted on a custom hardwood shim to achieve the proper playing geometry. The shim was intentionally left slightly lighter in color than the surrounding neck so that the restoration work remains visible for any future technician who may service or replace the nut.
The original volume and tone knobs, selector switch tip, and output jack plate were retained. These components were cleaned and polished before reassembly to preserve as much of the guitar's original character as practical. The control knobs display slight differences in color, likely the result of natural aging and years of uneven exposure to light. Likewise, the original jack plate shows normal cosmetic wear consistent with decades of use.
The guitar has been professionally set up to Back From the Dead Guitars' standard playing specification of approximately 1.5 mm string action at the 12th fret across all six strings. Intonation was adjusted under the environmental conditions present in the shop at the time of setup. As with any properly adjusted guitar, minor seasonal or climate-related adjustments may be required after shipment or relocation.
The Wilkinson tremolo bridge has been professionally adjusted to a traditional floating Stratocaster setup. It is configured to provide stable downward vibrato while allowing approximately a half-step of upward pitch movement. This setup reflects the traditional floating bridge design found on many Strat-style guitars and was chosen to balance tuning stability with expressive tremolo performance.
The guitar has been restrung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10–46 strings and is ready to be played upon arrival.
Rather than attempting to erase every sign of the guitar's past, this restoration was completed with the goal of preserving its character while returning it to reliable playing condition for many years to come.