Scale Length: 25.5 inches

Nut Width: 42 mm

Nut Material: Bone

Pickup Configuration: SSS – Three Single-Coil Pickups

Pickup DC Resistance:

• Neck: 5.4 kΩ

• Middle: 5.7 kΩ

• Bridge: 6.7 kΩ

Number of Frets: 21

Fretboard Radius: 12 inches

Weight: 7.1 lbs

Finish / Color: Sunburst

Orientation: Right-Handed

String Action: 1.75 mm at the 12th fret

X   Deep Clean

X   Electronics Checked

X   Tuners Serviced

X   Fretboard Cleaned / Hydrated

X   Neck Adjusted

X   Setup Completed

X   Body Buffed / Polished 

Upgraded Components

• Tuning Machines: Gotoh SG381 Tuners – 16:1 Gear Ratio

• Nut: Hand-Shaped and Polished Bone Nut

• Frets: Jescar Medium Jumbo Nickel-Silver Frets

• Bridge: Wilkinson WOV01 Vintage Tremolo – 52.5 mm String Spacing, 36 mm Steel Block

• Pickups: Musiclily Pro ST-50S Staggered Alnico 5 Single-Coils

• Potentiometers: Three Alpha A250K Mini Pots

• Pickup Selector: CRL-Style 5-Way Switch

• Additional Switching: Gilmour-Style Switching Modification

• Volume Circuit: Treble Bleed Modification

• Tone Capacitors: Two 0.022 µF Capacitors

• Tone Configuration: Dedicated Bridge Tone Control; Shared Neck/Middle Tone Control

• Output Jack: Switchcraft

• Wiring: Cloth Push-Back Wire with Silver Solder

• Strap Buttons: Mushroom-Style

• Strings: Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010–.046

Body Restoration and Finish Preservation

The guitar underwent a comprehensive restoration beginning with a thorough cleaning of the original body using naphtha to remove accumulated dirt, oils, and residue.

The finish was then treated through multiple stages of paint correction and polishing using automotive-grade compounds and a dual-action polisher. The objective was to restore the clarity, gloss, and depth of the original clear coat while preserving the natural wear accumulated over years of playing.

Rather than attempting to erase every scratch or imperfection, the restoration was intended to improve the guitar's appearance without removing the character and history reflected in its original finish.

Neck Restoration and Fretwork

The back of the headstock was carefully reduced in thickness by approximately 1/4 inch to accommodate the installation of the upgraded Gotoh SG381 tuning machines.

The neck was progressively sanded using abrasives ranging from 220 to 1200 grit, producing a smooth, comfortable playing surface. It was then sealed using a custom blend of equal parts boiled linseed oil, clear shellac, and denatured alcohol.

The original plastic nut and factory frets were removed to allow for a complete fretboard restoration. The fretboard was progressively sanded from 220 through 1200 grit, and its edges were lightly rolled to provide a more comfortable feel when playing.

New Jescar Medium Jumbo Nickel-Silver Frets were installed, individually leveled as needed, crowned, and polished. The fret ends were carefully rounded and dressed for a smooth transition along the edges of the neck.

Following the fretwork, the fretboard was conditioned with lemon oil.

A new bone nut was individually shaped, fitted, and polished using abrasives up to 3500 grit. The string slots were initially prepared during installation, with final slot depths established after the neck and bridge adjustments were completed.

Electronics and Pickup Upgrades

The original pickups and electronics were replaced with a Musiclily Pro ST-50S Staggered Alnico 5 Single-Coil Pickup Set, three Alpha A250K mini potentiometers, and a CRL-style 5-way pickup selector switch.

The electronics were rewired using cloth push-back wire and silver solder.

A treble bleed circuit was installed on the volume control to help preserve high-frequency clarity as the volume is reduced.

Each tone potentiometer received its own 0.022 µF capacitor, with the controls configured as follows:

• Upper Tone Control: Dedicated to the bridge pickup.

• Lower Tone Control: Shared by the neck and middle pickups.

A Gilmour-style switching modification was added to expand the standard five pickup combinations to seven. The additional switching allows the player to select the neck and bridge pickups together or activate all three pickups simultaneously.

This provides greater tonal versatility while retaining the familiar operation of the traditional 5-way selector.

A Switchcraft output jack was installed, and the electronics grounding system was connected to the tremolo claw.

Bridge, Hardware, and Final Assembly

The original bridge was replaced with a Wilkinson WOV01 Vintage-Style Tremolo, featuring 52.5 mm string spacing and a 36 mm steel block.

Mushroom-style strap buttons were installed, and the restored neck was reattached to the body.

A new set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010–.046 strings was fitted, followed by a complete setup.

The neck relief was adjusted, and the tremolo was configured for downward-only operation, allowing the player to lower string pitch while maintaining a stable resting position.

String action was set to 1.75 mm at the 12th fret, and each bridge saddle was individually adjusted for intonation under the shop's environmental conditions.

Final Nut Adjustment and Playing Setup

Following the final neck relief, bridge, and string action adjustments, the bone nut slots were cut to their finished depths and carefully dressed to ensure proper string seating and smooth operation.

The completed instrument combines its original body and character with substantially upgraded hardware, electronics, fretwork, and playing surfaces.

The result is a fully reconditioned and upgraded guitar designed to provide improved playability, reliable operation, and expanded tonal flexibility while retaining the natural appearance and character of an instrument that has already experienced years of musical life.

Chasing the Sound That Was Never Quite Finished

An Imagined History of the Sunburst Mark II

This story is a work of creative fiction inspired by the guitar's visible wear, unusual modifications, and documented Goodwill auction history. The people, bands, relationships, and events described before its auction are imagined, not verified ownership history.

A Guitar That Was Never Meant to Stay Stock

Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, a young guitarist walked into a music shop looking for something he could afford to play hard. He wasn't shopping for a collectible or a guitar to hang on a wall. He wanted an instrument he could take to rehearsals, carry from club to club, and pull apart whenever a new idea struck him.

The sunburst Mark II had a familiar Strat-style shape, three single-coil pickups, and a comfortable neck. It was affordable, which mattered when gigs sometimes paid little more than gas money.

What he couldn't have known was that this guitar would become more than something he played. It would become the place where he chased the sound he kept hearing in his head.

The Music Was Never Loud Enough—or Quite Right

His band worked cramped bars, small clubs, and borrowed practice rooms. They loaded their own equipment and measured good nights by whether the crowd wanted one more song.

He learned every worn place on the neck and every useful pickup-switch position. He liked bright sounds that cut through a band, but wanted something thicker and stranger: notes that shimmered, growled, and seemed to contain more than one voice.

Other musicians bought another pedal. He reached for his tools. A soldering iron lived near his amplifier. If a sound refused to cooperate, he'd spend an evening adjusting the guitar and arrive at rehearsal with another experiment.

His Own Little Frankenstein

Like Eddie Van Halen's famous Frankenstein guitar, the Mark II became a proving ground for ideas he might later refine on other instruments.

In this imagined history, the Mark II served that purpose. Its owner tried unusual string arrangements, searching for the doubled shimmer of a twelve-string without giving up the feel of his familiar six-string body. At some point, the nut acquired extra slots. Whether every experiment worked hardly mattered; he kept the ones that brought him closer to the tone in his imagination.

The tremolo was another problem to solve. If the bridge moved when he didn't want it to, he would stop it from moving. A homemade wooden wedge was driven tightly into the rear cavity, shaped from a rough piece of softwood rather than a catalog part. It wasn't elegant. It didn't have to be. On a dark stage, nobody saw the back of the guitar. They heard whether it stayed in tune.

Electronics became part of the experiment, too. A large metal-frame five-way switch needed extra clearance, so wood was relieved beneath it. His goal wasn't a museum piece. He wanted the guitar to do what he needed tonight.

Every scratch and modification was another entry in a notebook he never wrote.

Years on the Road, Years in Other People's Homes

The band never became famous, but within its own circle it mattered. Familiar faces appeared at gigs, and other musicians shared amplifiers, ideas, and late-night conversations.

He traveled for work, crashed on friends' couches, and sometimes stayed with girlfriends. The Mark II accompanied him from rehearsal rooms to crowded clubs.

The sunburst finish accumulated scratches, but as long as the neck felt familiar and the guitar helped him find the next sound, it was doing its job.

Eventually he began looking for a different working instrument—one with a removable pickguard that made wiring experiments easier and offered more room for pickup combinations. The Mark II, his loyal testing platform, was taken apart for another round of changes.

The strings came off. Two bridge saddles were removed. Parts and plans waited for the next free evening.

But life kept moving, and that evening never arrived.

The Guitar Left Behind

A relationship ended. He packed the gear he was playing and moved on. The partly disassembled Mark II stayed behind, tucked out of the way.

Perhaps he thought he would return for it. Perhaps, with another guitar in his hands, he simply forgot.

Years passed. The guitar became one more forgotten object in a closet, and the man who once played it was no longer part of her life.

By 2025, when she prepared to move, the unfinished instrument surfaced again. There were no strings, two saddles were missing, and its condition made it hard to imagine anyone buying it as an ordinary used guitar. She had no current way to reach its former owner. Rather than throw it away, she donated it to Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette.

Whatever the owner had hoped to discover with the Mark II, his last experiment was still waiting inside it.

An Unexpected Auction — 2026

After months out of sight, the Mark II appeared in a Goodwill online auction in 2026.

It had missing strings, missing bridge hardware, and an unknown past. A casual buyer saw a parts project. A restorer might see an instrument full of unanswered questions.

In this imagined version, the charity expected little interest. Instead, a bidding contest pushed the price beyond expectations.

One of those bidders was Back From The Dead Guitars.

The auction closed. The Mark II had a new destination—and its story was no longer going to end in a closet.

The Evidence Left in the Wood

When the guitar reached the workshop, it was clear that this was not simply a neglected instrument waiting for a new set of strings. The nut had unusual additional slots. The tremolo had been immobilized with a tightly driven, handmade wood wedge. The electronics included an older, substantial five-way switch and metal Alpha potentiometers. A localized area beneath the switch appeared to have been relieved for clearance.

There were no strings, and two saddles were missing from the original bridge. The finish carried years of wear. Each finding raised another question: What kind of music had this guitar played? Which experiments had worked? Why had the last rebuild stopped before it was finished?

The answers were gone; the evidence remained.

Back From The Dead Guitars photographed the evidence and set about restoring the instrument. The original switch and potentiometers were saved for a future restoration. The headstock, neck, fretboard, hardware, and electronics received extensive attention. The guitar was rebuilt to play again rather than remain an unfinished experiment.

Another Musician, Another Sound

Maybe the guitarist never found his perfect tone. Or maybe he found it for a few minutes one night, with the right amplifier and the right song.

We will never know who actually owned this Mark II or why it was modified and eventually donated. The musician, band, relationship, and lost years described here are imagined. What is real is the guitar that arrived with those remarkable alterations—and the restoration that followed.

Its former life left questions in the wood. Its new life offers someone else the chance to make music with it.

Some guitars are remembered for the songs they played. Others are remembered for the sounds their owners never stopped trying to find.

Back From The Dead Guitars — giving each guitar a second chance with a new life.

Initial Intake and Assessment – June 2026

Arrival and First Impressions

The Sunburst Mark II arrived at Back From The Dead Guitars in late June 2026, during a busy period of guitar intake. As soon as it was unpacked, several unusual details made it stand out.

The guitar arrived with no strings, and two saddles were missing from its original tremolo bridge. Its plastic nut had several extra slots around the G, B, and high E string positions. These could have been intended for doubled strings or experiments with string spacing, although the missing strings made the original arrangement impossible to verify.

Despite the missing parts, the remaining bridge hardware was remarkably clean and bright. The body featured attractive wood grain, a tightly defined sunburst finish around the edges, and binding that complemented its appearance. It was clearly a guitar worth examining further.

Initial Electronics Testing

With no strings available for a playing test, I connected the guitar to an amplifier and tap-tested the pickups while moving through all five selector positions. Each pickup responded, and the switch operated correctly.

The selector felt unusually substantial, with a positive, audible click at every position. It felt more like a traditional mechanical switch than the smaller circuit-board-style units often found in inexpensive instruments.

The volume and tone controls also responded during testing. Although the guitar was incomplete, its original electronics were still functional.

Tuners, Neck, and Frets

I removed the neck and tuning machines for inspection. The tuners were clean and turned smoothly, without noticeable looseness or excessive play. Their mounting screws showed substantial tool marks, suggesting that they may have been removed and reinstalled on previous occasions.

After removing the tuners, I found discoloration beneath their mounting locations on the back of the headstock. Some corresponding staining appeared on the undersides of the tuners, though their visible chrome finish remained largely intact.

The cause was uncertain. Residual moisture or polishing compounds trapped beneath the tuner housings were possible explanations, but neither could be confirmed.

The first five frets showed noticeable string wear across all six string positions, suggesting substantial past playing time. The fretboard appeared somewhat dry but surprisingly clean, without the heavy grime buildup often seen on neglected guitars.

Homemade Tremolo Block

The rear tremolo cavity contained one of the most unusual findings: a tightly fitted, irregular wooden wedge positioned between the tremolo inertia block and the body cavity. It extended into the spring area rather than resembling a conventional rectangular spacer.

The wood appeared to be a roughly fashioned softwood offcut, possibly shaped and split to create its unusual profile. It was driven in so tightly that I had to loosen the screws joining the tremolo block and bridge plate before I could remove it.

No visible body damage was found after removal. The wedge appeared intended to restrict tremolo movement. It might have been associated with the altered nut or another tuning experiment, but its actual purpose remains unknown.

Original Electronics and Switch-Cavity Discovery

I removed the covers, disconnected the tremolo claw ground and output jack, and disassembled the pickups, controls, and selector switch.

The original electronics included Alpha miniature potentiometers—A500K for the tone controls and B500K for volume—and a large, open-frame mechanical five-way switch. The heavier metal construction resembled older switch designs found in some Japanese and Korean-made instruments, but I have not verified this switch's manufacturer or country of origin.

Its action remained crisp and positive, and the contact surfaces showed relatively little apparent wear. The solder connections did not show obvious evidence of repeated modification.

A particularly interesting detail was a recessed area of exposed wood beneath the switch. The surrounding cavity was coated with black body lacquer, not conductive shielding paint. The exposed wood suggested that material may have been removed to provide extra clearance for the large switch, possibly after the body was finished. Whether this was a factory adjustment or a later modification is unknown.

The original switch and Alpha pots were saved for possible use in a future restoration.

Body Cleaning and Cosmetic Inspection

With the remaining hardware, pickups, and strap buttons removed, I wiped down the body using naphtha. Surprisingly little dirt transferred to the cloth.

The guitar may have been cleaned before reaching auction or kept covered during storage, but no protective cover accompanied it. Its earlier storage conditions cannot be established.

The sunburst finish cleaned up well, revealing the wood grain and attractive edge shading. Scratches and signs of use remained, which I considered part of the guitar's history rather than defects to erase completely.

Intake Assessment and Restoration Decision

The Mark II was an unusual combination of incomplete hardware, clearly modified components, and original electronics that still worked. The extra nut slots, missing saddles, homemade tremolo wedge, and apparent clearance routing under the switch all suggested prior experimentation, although there is no way to confirm whether one owner performed every alteration.

Its body and neck offered a promising foundation. Because the nut required replacement and the frets showed wear, I decided not to stop at a basic repair.

Instead, the Mark II was selected for an extensive restoration and upgrade: new frets, a fitted bone nut, Gotoh tuners, upgraded pickups and electronics, a Wilkinson tremolo bridge, neck refinishing, and a complete setup.

The goal was to modernize its function and playability while retaining the character of its original sunburst body and the honest marks of its earlier life.

What arrived as an incomplete, heavily personalized guitar had the potential to become a distinctive instrument ready to play again.

Condition and Honest Disclosure

Overall Condition – Restored, Modified, and Visibly Used

This Mark II Sunburst (original model designation LK-15 DOS/BS) has undergone an extensive Back From The Dead Guitars Resurrection Tier rebuild. It retains its original body, neck, fretboard, and Sunburst finish, but it is not an all-original guitar or a cosmetically flawless restoration. Nearly all of its replaceable hardware, electronics, and playing components have been replaced.

The body, neck, and headstock show scratches, scuffs, dents, dings, and finish chips accumulated over years of use. The body was cleaned and polished in multiple stages to restore the gloss of the existing clear coat—not to erase its history. From a distance, the finish can appear nearly new. Under close inspection or angled lighting, the wear remains visible. Please review the photographs and expect signs of age throughout the instrument.

Original Components Retained

In addition to the original body, neck, fretboard, and finish, the following factory components remain installed:

• Neck plate and neck mounting screws

• Output jack plate

• Tremolo spring claw

• Electronics cavity covers

• Truss rod cover and its screws

• Volume and tone control knobs

• Pickup mounting screws

All other replaceable components were renewed as part of the restoration, including the tuning machines, nut, frets, pickups, potentiometers, selector switch, wiring, output jack, tremolo bridge, and strap buttons.

The removed original switch and potentiometers were retained separately for possible future restoration work and are not included with this guitar.

Headstock Thickness Modification and Original Label

Approximately 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) of material was removed from the back of the headstock. This permanent alteration was made to accommodate secure installation of the replacement Gotoh SG381 tuners.

After shaping, the headstock measures approximately 15.1 mm thick at the low-E tuner and 12 mm at the high-E tuner. These are the finished measurements, and the headstock is not uniformly thick.

During neck refinishing, the original MODEL LK-15 DOS/BS identification sticker was damaged by the finishing materials, leaving it unreadable.

A photograph showing the label before that damage is included in the listing gallery. The physical label has not been restored or replaced.

Neck Joint and Mounting Modification

The original neck plate and neck mounting screws were retained.

The screw holes through the body were drilled out to improve the fit and clamping of the neck-to-body joint during reassembly. This represents a permanent alteration to the original body rather than a factory-original feature.

The neck and body themselves remain original to the guitar.

Pickup Fitment and Gilmour Switch

The upgraded pickups are not identical in dimensions or mounting fit to the original factory pickups.

A hardwood shim is installed for the neck pickup to position it correctly in the original opening, aligning the pickup at approximately 90 degrees to the strings.

The shim can be seen during inspection and is an intentional part of the completed installation.

Because of this modified fitment, future pickup-height adjustments may require additional care and hands-on work, rather than a straightforward adjustment of the mounting screws. Buyers should understand that the replacement pickups are not a direct one-for-one factory fit.

The body was also drilled to install the additional Gilmour-style switch, providing expanded pickup combinations. This opening is a deliberate, permanent alteration to the instrument.

Restored Playing Components

The original plastic nut and frets were removed and replaced with a hand-shaped bone nut and new Jescar medium-jumbo nickel-silver frets.

The neck and fretboard were refinished and serviced, and the guitar received new Gotoh tuners, upgraded Alnico 5 pickups and electronics, and a Wilkinson tremolo bridge configured for downward-only operation.

These improvements were made to prepare the guitar for regular playing, not to reproduce its original factory specifications.

The restoration work and individual components are documented in the Upgrades and Modifications section.

Final Buyer Disclosure

This guitar is offered as an extensively restored and modified used instrument with visible cosmetic wear.

The most important points to understand before purchasing are:

• The original Sunburst finish, neck, and headstock retain scratches, dings, scuffs, and chips. Polishing restored shine but did not eliminate this wear.

• The back of the headstock was reduced by approximately 1/4 inch for the replacement tuners and now varies in thickness from approximately 15.1 mm to 12 mm at the stated tuner positions.

• The original LK-15 DOS/BS model sticker is no longer readable. A pre-restoration photograph documents it.

• The body screw holes at the neck joint were modified while retaining the original neck plate and mounting screws.

• The neck pickup uses a visible hardwood alignment shim, and future pickup-height adjustments may require additional work.

• An additional hole was drilled in the body for the Gilmour-style switch.

• Most original hardware and electronic components have been replaced, with only the original parts specifically identified above retained.

The Mark II is not represented as a collector-preserved, untouched, or like-new guitar. It is a working instrument whose history remains visible, substantially rebuilt and upgraded for its next owner.

At Back From The Dead Guitars, giving an instrument a second life does not mean erasing the first.