Migma 2000 Guitar East Germany GDR early 1960s

Welcome to another fine guitar from The Old Europe! Please make sure to read the entire description below carefully, and look at all the pictures.

General introduction and background:

Migma guitar, likely model “2000”, from the early 1960s. Migma was a distribution conglomerate of luthiers from the Markneukirchen-area (Vogtland, GDR, East Germany) which distributed musical instruments from various makers. It is unknown which of these luthiers made these very early solidbody guitars. The guitar features an early version of the typical Simeto-singlecoils which was used only briefly in the early 1960s.

As always, the instrument has been serviced completely and is ready to be played immediately.

Measurements, weight and other specs:

-Scale:  650 mm

-Nut: 43,5 mm

-Weight: 3,34 kg

-Pickups: Two Simeto singlecoils, controlled with the typical East German special tone switching circuit via a 4 way rotary switch: “Banjo mode” (thinned out) / Rhythm mode (volume poti is active) / Solo mode (goes directly to the output) / SH mode (muffled sound emulating a bass guitar). Other than that, there is a master volume which works on all positions, but not gradually on the solo mode, and the pickup mixer pot which allows to seamlessly blend the two pickups.

-Body: light weight, likely basswood solid wood

-Neck: very fat U-shaped, maybe maple with a rosewood fingerboard. The typical small GDR frets.

Condition:

-Body: Good condition with some scratches, dings and dongs.

-Neck: neck is straight, there is no trussrod, the frets are in good condition (8/10) with some areas of buzz. The frets have been sanded to smooth their edges and polished.

-Hardware: fully functional

-Electrics: fully functional

-Originality: all original. My guess is that the missing tremolo arm piece of the vibrato unit was intentional, as the neck angle actually doesn’t work with the tremolo being properly installed. The cover of the bridge section is missing. There are also no thumbwheels under the bridge, probably that is also intentional as the bridge would be too high with them installed.

Sound and Playability:

-Playability and string action: The playability is good if you know what you are up to and anticipate, even embrace it: A super girthy U shaped neck, and basically no means of adjusting string action or anything on the guitar. I think the guitar is best if you either play without bending in mind (I am quite sure it was never intended for that) or just pick arpeggios or strum chords (and I am also quite sure that that was what the guitar was ever intended for).  String action is at a decent 1,9 mm at the 12th fret.

-Sound: The pickups have a twangy low output, and you have to dial up your amp and work with the settings. But then it will deliver a lot of vintage charm – see the video for a sound demo!

Repairs, Service:

As always, the instrument has been serviced completely and is ready to be played immediately.

-Frets polished and fretboard oiled

-Electrics serviced

-Bridge / string action adjusted

-Fresh set of 10 gauge Pyramid nickel strings put on

-Ready to be played (just tune it up);

Auxiliary stuff:

-No case or gigbag included. It will be wrapped well, and put into a sturdy cardboard box with lots of filler material.

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PACKAGING: All guitars are shipped out in a sturdy cardboard box with lots of filler material. Please note that for the protection of the environment, I am reusing used packaging material whenever I can.

SHIPPING: Please check the shipping quotes in this offer. I ship with insurance, worldwide. Usually I am able to ship the item on the same day or next day of received payment. Please allow 1-2 days from pick up for delivery in Germany, and 1-2 weeks within the EU. US, Canadian and over overseas buyers:  My shipping quotes are very competitive, I can only do that by using DHL Premium. Please anticipate a shipping time of up to 8 weeks depending on your location. Tracking is provided immediately when shipped out within the system. Please refrain from giving a review before you have received the guitar.

AFTER DELIVERY: After receiving the item, please inspect the package for obvious damages and make photos if there are any. After unpacking, check the item immediately for damages or other undocumented flaws. I accept a 14 days return and will pay for shipping if the item is in a different condition than described upon arrival. Please note that I will only take the item back entirely, but not grant any reduction of price and generally only accept returns if the item was unaltered after arrival.

CITES protection: all of the items I sell have been legally imported to the EU before January 1st 2017 and are registered with the authorities in Hamburg, Germany (if applicable).

DATA protection: German financial regulations demand that I keep your address on file in an invoice. The only information that I store is what this platform provides me. Please understand that I cannot delete that information from my files. You may ask what kind of info I have stored from you any time.