Kimbara fresher straighter fs-1007 electric guitar with built in effects repair MF#82

repair of a rare electric kimbara (fresher straighter fs-1007) guitar with built in effects. circa 1978
turns out I just had to resolder some dry joints and replace the battery connector and though I am not a guitarist I somehow found this guitar quite interesting to work on.
* A special Thank you to all my supporters on patreon, this guitar was purchased with your donations.
/ markusfuller
*copyright notice - the music used in this video was a recording made by me and performed by me and was originally composed by Gustav Holst - the planets - Mercury suite. the original copyright of that piece has expired.. ** the later few notes on the guitar bears no copyright infringement as it was randomly made up on the spot. (I have to state this information for the rules and regulations of youtube copyright infringements).

[@markfoxwell79]

Nice video Marcus and great idea with the headphones on the pickups - I usually just touch the pickups with a screwdriver and listen for the 'pop' through the amp.

[@etparadox]

I've actually put modified earbuds under the pickguard of my guitar, next to the bridge and middle pickups, connected to an 1/8" jack near the controls. It's a cool way to incorporate extra sounds, especially running them through effects. I'll often use spoken word of some sort; things like old radio dramas, audio books, and the like. Used with time effects like reverse delay or with distortion you can get some wild sounds.

[@goblinEV]

Easy way to mess up your pickups. It turns them microphonic

[@etparadox]

@@goblinEV Not really. Microphonic pickups come from loose windings in the pickup coil, generally from low wire tension when the pickup was wound and/or insufficient potting of the coil. That lets the wires in the pickup physically vibrate against each other, turning physical vibration into electrical signal similarly to a microphone, hence the name. The headphone trick makes use of inductive coupling between the pickup coil and the headphone voice coil, the same way an audio transformer works, not by physically vibrating the pickup. Two totally different phenomenon though the result may seem similar at first glance.

[@themiddlecase]

As a guitarist, this is more up my alley - interesting find! I hope you do some examination of some guitar pedals before long - I'd love to see that!

[@markusfuller]

Hi Mike theres a couple on my desk that needs a little fix so I will get them done as soon as i can. many thanks

[@ThomasGrillo]

Thanks for sharing this. Brilliant stuff!

[@markusfuller]

really interesting guitar. thanks Thomas :-) . ps I have tried making the closed captions for this video. my first attempt.

[@gliocchiali6075]

That was really satisfying, thank you for cleaning and rebuilding that little piece of a jewel.

[@bradders56]

Excellent enjoyable video.Makes me consider building one.Regarding the battery connector we've all done that!

[@janrasmussen894]

this movie brought tears to my eyes, i had the same guitar fresher f 1007 sold it mid 1985

[@farsht_]

What an amazing guitar! What I wouldn't give to have a guitar like this, really awesome stuff. Thanks for the great video!

[@markusfuller]

Many Thanks

[@Rorrytherouter]

As always a great video cheers Mark.

[@marctronixx]

Lovely video per usual sir. the ipod/apple thingy was cool!

[@markusfuller]

Thanks Marc :-)

[@StevenMorris]

The earphones on the pickups is a cool trick! Also looking forward to your version of Planets! What a massive undertaking!

[@markusfuller]

ThankYou, I have been on the planets for a year already and only a third way through. I don't read music dots so its ears to keyboard only. but it helps me change things a little. many thanks

[@sinphonyh]

Nice video.... congrats. That looks like a solid instrument.

[@danallured5806]

ive just been given a couple of guitars and one is identical to that, its a "freshman straighter" guitar, from the 70s. plays beautiful and everything works 100 percent, ive fell in love with it!

[@markusfuller]

It will be the same guitar I think the proper brand is Freshner but it was rebranded under different names. Its ‘s a pretty good quality guitar.

[@danallured5806]

@@markusfuller I cant believe how smooth it plays, certainly a quality instrument, useable effects too.. im proper made up to be just given it by a complete stranger..

[@markusfuller]

Dan Allured they are very rare guitars. worth holding onto.

[@hafstrat]

Back in 1975 I saw an advertising for a white kimbara strat. Loved the look of it. Wanted one as I thought I'd never afford a fender strat. This one looks cool. Great contours and patina.

[@markusfuller]

Hello Howard. Its a nice sounding "fresher straighter FS-1007" its very heavy though.

[@awkwardtom]

another interesting video thanks, had to smile when you soldered the battery connector before feeding through the hole. Normally happens to me that when making cables and leaving the sleeve off Doh ! ; )

[@markusfuller]

yes after 50 years Im still making the same mistakes. one day I will learn

[@mikael5743]

Thank you Professor Mark

[@fordessexv6]

Great video Markus! Never seen one of these before, really interesting:)

[@markusfuller]

Hi I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978.

[@demoscenes]

Now, this was an excellent video. That guitar I have never seen before and the effects are really nice. It feels like the designer tried to do a bit of a "Hendrix" there, accordingly to the effects and the way they can be routed. It's actually pretty damned modern even today, to have like a patchbay for onboard effects. Thanks for pulling this one off! Keep up the good work, Markus :)

[@markusfuller]

ThankYou very much. I found there are actually 5 effects built in but you can only use 3 at a time. still I got some interesting sounds from it (after making the video )

[@demoscenes]

+markusfuller Perhaps some of the IC got a shower from that metaldust and/or some caps are worn out. Maybe the switches and pots are courrupted, aswell. I'd love to resolder that board to make it as new :-)

[@SuperGeorge2112]

good job Markus.

[@markusfuller]

Thank You George

[@tonybrachman5438]

Another Excellent repair video. Best on KZbin.

[@markusfuller]

Thanks Tony

[@TimeToRelax222]

finally new video.Thank you Markus :)

[@markusfuller]

sorry for the wait. work etc gets in the way. I need 9 days in my week.

[@TimeToRelax222]

+markusfuller Referring to your learning stuff videos,maybe you can consider make a video about reading schematics for beginners Regards from Poland

[@markusfuller]

Hi I will certainly look into that one day but have you seen the EEVblog. I think Dave Jones has some videos on that already.

[@TimeToRelax222]

+markusfuller He has a lot of videos,but i'll find maybe this one

[@markusfuller]

I have been thinking about how to go about making a video on this subject. I will certainly give it some thought.

[@doktoruzo]

Hi Markus I really enjoy your videos, very informative and well presented with a laugh or two along the way. May I enquire as to what equipment you use for filming....what camera and what editing software? Many thanks and keep them coming.

[@RonanCantwell]

Interesting 1980's guitar there and another good repair video. I'm surprised you threw out that battery though, it looked like it still had a bit of life left ;) The sustain/distortion works :) and it seems like the auto-wah is working too as you can hear it doing its thing at 16:34..... Who doesn't love a bit of auto-wah? Possibly the finest effect ever created. Keep up the good work.

[@markusfuller]

That battery was older than me :-) though maybe it had more life left in it than me LOL

[@McSynth]

Excellent vid. I wonder if the 'chrome bits' were ther remains of conductive paint, used in guitars to provide shielding ?

[@michaelbauers8800]

Doing stuff in the wrong order is a bad habit I have; it's sort of comforting to know I am not the only one, but I imagine Markus doesn't do it as often as I do :) I love Holst's The Planets, so if you ever do a video or something with that, be great to see it

[@markusfuller]

Hi Michael. I have 3 tracks almost completed at the moment for the planets suite. they took me almost a year to do. but I will complete it eventually. as for doing things in the wrong order I still solder jack plugs then realise the cover needs to go on the cable before you solder. Doh I just keep doing it

[@thcollegestudent]

Really interesting rebuild, hopefully someone out here on the Web can shed some light on the origins of that custom Axe.

[@markusfuller]

Hi I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978.

[@PorchBass]

Great work and video! Who knew so much spaghetti would be inside? Maybe the little toggles are phase switches or maybe they take the pickups to a series wiring, Nice guitar so much work to wire that up. A treat.

[@markusfuller]

Yes and it is Very heavy indeed. I found out its actually a " fresher straighter FS-1007" from 1978

[@garethbull2226]

As a guitar player I really liked this vid. Guitars with built in effects like this one are very uncommon.I thought using ear-bud headphones to get a signal into the pickups without restringing the guitar was very interesting, I've never seen that done before.

[@markusfuller]

Hi I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978.

[@garethbull2226]

@@markusfuller Hi Markus, I hope things are going ok for you at the moment. I was reminded of this vid after seeing another vid of someone modify a standard electric guitar by installing an effects pedal into the guitar. The other vid is a bit silly, but that was intentional. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXLJdYN_j71rm9E&t

[@hansanderson4921]

These were made by a factory in Nagano called Chushin Gakki. The Japanese industry was based on independent OEM manufacturers serving the sales and distribution companies that owned the brands. Some were Japanese, like Fresher (owned by distributor Kyowa), some international, like Kimbara, which was owned by UK distributor FCN. The Japanese manufacturers would put whatever decal the customer wanted on the headstock, so the same guitars turn up under numerous labels all over the world. The Fresher version was marketed quite aggressively in the US for a while in the late 70's, with James Brown's guitarist Jimmie Nolen as endorser. These are quite sought after these days and command quite high prices, especially with working electronics (which few have...). There are similar Les Paul copies around, as well as a rare and coveted Gibson Firebird version. Fun guitars, and really interesting to see the innards of one. Thanks!

[@markusfuller]

Thanks Hans, thats exactly what I love about youtube, somebody almost always comes along with additional information to add to the pool. Thank You very much. I still have mine though I never seem to play it. one day it may go to the sales.

[@hansanderson4921]

Had a quick look on Ebay and Reverb, none of these for sale right now. There's a Fresher FL-1005 Les Paul with effects being sold from Japan, though, for 1200 USD, plus your local VAT and customs duty... you might not be able to quit your day job after you sell it, but it's not garage sale money either. :-) I guess ppl like them for two reasons: they're fun oddballs and they're good, solid, playable guitars as well. I had a standard Fresher Strat copy for a while, it was actually excellent. I see them for sale online in Japan every now and then. I'm often tempted, not least to see the look on the face of my guitar fixer guy when I ask him to repair the electronics. :-)

[@markusfuller]

Hans Anderson Hi Hans. im no guitar player as many of listeners would agree but it sure does look pretty sitting in a room full of synthesizers and with all those controls it looks at home amongst them. I keep thinking about selling it off but something tells me to hold onto it especially as it has been refurbished by me i know it inside and out. maybe when times get tough (again) it would be something that could bring in the rent money for a little while.

[@hansanderson4921]

I'd say that you're probably a world-class authority on the electronics of these guitars by now. :-) I'll keep that in mind if I or some of the other Japanese guitar geeks I know picks one up and ends up scratching his head over the electronics. You might make a sideline out of repairing them. :-)

[@clydesight]

+marcusfuller I know nothing about guitars, but I really felt for you having to be so careful with the wonky wires! I run into this a LOT with the vintage tape recorders I restore. I think part of what you were dealing with was the result of corrosive gas that filled the chambers when the battery leaked so badly. I've seen battery leakage so bad that it ate the mechanical parts of a portable tape recorder! Good video, and please, please, please, make a video of your performance of the Holst! I love The Planets and your synth work in "Danse Macabre" was so exciting, I imagine your Holst would be through the roof! (notice how cleverly I avoided the cliché "out of this world"?.... oh, wait....)

[@markusfuller]

Im glad I took this project on. I never thought of the corrosive gas problem, Thanks a good point you made there.

[@clydesight]

I learned two things from working on vintage tape recorders -- that the geniuses (and they WERE geniuses - would love to have sat in on a design meeting) never took into account. 1) The plastic used for wire jackets is chemically incompatible with the polystyrene used in the common plastic cabinets and cases on transistor radios, tape recorders, record players, etc. This resulted in chemical burn tracks - as if someone laid a soldering iron on the plastic. We only see them today after YEARS of the machines sitting idle. Had they just been MOVED -- the burn would not occur. That burn also released a corrosive gas. If the machine was in a box, and the gas could not escape, it could cause component leads to corrode and solder joints to go "cold". I saw a sad unboxing video where a guy was so excited because he got an original 1968 Ampex cassette tape recorder in the box, never sold or even opened. He was so excited and opened it so carefully respecting the history of the thing. It was, of course, a complete train wreck and wouldn't work at all. 2) The engineers and designers were into planned obsolescence but often made better quality than they knew. They really did want people to buy a new "thing" every two years or so (so they could stay in business). Ironically, in many cases, their work was of such high quality (SONY had its golden era in 1968) that in cases where machines were used carefully and maintained (i.e. schools and libraries), they STILL work today - or can be restored.

[@markusfuller]

I totally understand and agree with every word.

[@buttbrowser]

I'm really gonna have to really study this a little more (patience with myself!!!) someday soon......I've owned a Fresher Electric much like this one same additional built in pickups & effects for about seven years now I had paid it off little by little on layaway at an old Salem pawn shop for $1000. It was actually the main thrust of which got me off the smokes once & for all so I'm plenty grateful for it. It's shaped like a Les Paul, & for about a year now it's ceased to play much at the very least because of failed schematics, a constant muffled sound if anything. I've tried sending it to some local guitar shops within local counties & also a little further out in Washington but so far no one has dared to touch it from the inside. No vacuuming, soldering or any surgery whatsoever. I really hope I'll be able to work on it & by some act of God miraculously it might one day be restored to how it once was at it's highest caliber. & I don't want to sell neither it's gotta be well kept it won't be stolen from out of my cold dead hands. I'll name him Outlaw!

[@markusfuller]

Christian Walz Hi Christian, I still have mine and thankfully it is still working even though I do not play it often (i’m a keyboard player but amateur guitarist). There has been many visitors that have seen it and it always opens conversations as to what it is and wow I have never seen one of those before. a few people have tried to buy it but I don’t want to let it go. I guess though if the right price was offered i would eventually sell it but what is the right price for such a rare instrument like this ?.

[@buttbrowser]

markusfuller I couldn't blame you one bit for not wanting to sell it, it's just too sentimental. Especially since you now know enough of how to fix it. You must have at least some sense of real genius in you! I wanna learn how to fix mine & yet I'm yet not sure how to even diagnose it...I'll watch your footage real closely & I'm sure to gain some good insights. Thanks for such an informative post.

[@scottmartinezguitarandbass]

FRESHER FS-1007 Some detailed pictures of the insides would be appreciated! Maybe even a schem. :)

[@user-ok1tt9dx5r]

I looked around the Internet, it seems that this guitar is very rare!

[@markusfuller]

Yes not too many of these around. Im not sure if I should ebay the guitar or keep hold of it as it plays quite nicely.

[@gabrielcaplan6887]

that was fun!

[@joacimwennerberg8310]

Thanks! Very interesting. :)

[@markusfuller]

Thanks Joacim

[@Itsa6stringthang]

I have this same guitar , the effects have a bit of a different set up though . It's one of my favorite ones as well . I haven't been able to track down a lot of info on it either . Now what is Kimbara ? Were they just an electronics manufacture or what ? I guess i was very lucky because everything works perfectly fine and the guitar is in fantastic condition to boot . thanks for the video man !

[@markusfuller]

Hi Travis I think this guitar was made for several companies and Kinbara had their logo placed on the headstock. I believe it is actually a Fresher straighter FS-1007 heres a link to the original brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/fresher/197x/en_06.html

[@daveogarf]

LOL! "Hoover up"! CUTE! In the States, those suspicious wires would be "sketchy" nowadays.

[@Michael_Smith-Red_No.5]

Nice trick with the iPhone earbuds! I used to do something similar with watches. Did you ever find out what that green crud around the old battery was? To me, it looked like that spongey gardening stuff.

[@markusfuller]

Hi Michael that was a very old dead sponge that had been destroyed by Alkaline from the battery. It just fell to pieces when i touched it.

[@Michael_Smith-Red_No.5]

Very old and dead, indeed. Thanks for the info, and I'm glad you got the thing working. I'm still very curious about those effects.

[@markusfuller]

the effects are quite good now I have managed to figure them out. there are actually 5 effects but you can only use 3 at a time.

[@marcbrasse747]

Another nice one for sure! Did you check everything out in the end or did you leave it as it is at the end of this video?

[@markusfuller]

Hello Marc. Yes its all working fine now as I decided to keep this one. Its from Japan made in 1978 and sounds pretty good. wish I could play better though.

[@marcbrasse747]

Hey, we can't all be Eddy Van Halen.

[@rot_studios]

Reminds me of the custom guitar i build with all sorts of FX and even a Monotron synth build in ;) Needless to say it was pretty damn heavy haha

[@markusfuller]

This is quite heavy. I own a Jaguar guitar which is heavy but this one beats it. I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978.

[@outaspaceman]

I vaguely remember these being advertised back in the day.

[@markusfuller]

I found them with help from other comments. they are called fresher straighter fs-1007 . interesting late 70s/80s guitar manufacturer

[@outaspaceman]

All's well that ends well.. I'm not really a guitar 'buff', but my understanding is Japanese "tribute' style guitars of this vintage tend to be highly sort after being somewhat superior in build quality than the originals of the period... got to be worth a tenner of anybodies brass.. ;-)

[@markusfuller]

Ooh Im sorry to say I paid more than a Tenner for this. £60 was the cost but I think it is worth every penny as I have been playing it today and it actually plays and sounds very nice. A bit heavy but the workmanship is good quality. Im pleased :-)

[@liliewood2587]

Hey mark We've been trying to find informarion about the cost of one of this and you're the only person we've found that actually has one Could you maybe give us a guidline for how much these exact guitars are worth?? Or anyone that knows

[@markusfuller]

Hi I really have no idea what they are worth, I have asked several guitar collectors and they cannot give a proper value as there are hardly any to compare. I was offered £350 but another guitar person says it should be worth twice that. I still have mine and do not know what to sell it for or even where would be a place to get an honest valuation. I would gladly sell mine for about £500 as I think they are so rare.

[@cogsinister100]

It seems to be working

[@markusfuller]

would be better in the hands of a guitarist though.

[@Loscha]

Oh, I loved seeing inside that rats nest! Thanks again for yet another awesome video. You do have an apostrophe wrong in your Patreon card at the end of the video - there's no apostrophe in your use of Videos. I do tinkering with guitar effects, I see in another comment you've got some that are awaiting repair? I'm looking forward to that!

[@markusfuller]

Hi Edward, Thankyou for pointing out the patreon problem. the 2 guitar pedals only need minor repair (i hope) but they are in the foreground of this video when i play at the end. one is the MXR microamp and the 2nd is the HolyGrail nano reverb unit. I will get onto them as soon as i can. many thanks from markus

[@Loscha]

An interesting juxtaposition. The Microamp is an opamp chip and supporting circuitry, around a dozen components. Electrosmash has the definitive writeup about it, which should aid you if you have any problems with it - www.electrosmash.com/mxr-microamp The Holy Grail is all DSP all the time, and has a very dense circuit board.

[@markusfuller]

Thanks for that information. I do not know a lot about them that why I have been holding off for a while and keep on moving them around the workroom. I will go and check the link out and try and make myself sound clever LOL

[@molitovv]

Hi Marcus, great job! On the off chance that you wish to sell it please let me know. Great videos btw!

[@markusfuller]

Hi Matt. Thankyou pleased you likes the video. I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978. Im not sure I want to sell it yet but will let you know if i do. I have the fender Jaguar and love it but I may just keep this as it sounds so interesting.

[@molitovv]

Haha, don't start collecting guitars! You'll end up like me! Keep up the good work, Matt.

[@frank1672]

Best guess 70's with that large headstock.

[@F0nkyNinja]

The auto-wah sounded cool. I could tell that was working. You should have strummed harder. ;)

[@markusfuller]

Hi I have been told it is a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978.

[@armitage4958]

would this be for sale?

[@markusfuller]

Daniel Armitage Hi Daniel, sorry but I really want to hold onto this guitar.

[@flyinUtah]

I want to play it

[@originalgrantbob]

This appears to be the same thing under the Tempest brand: guitarz.blogspot.com/2010/09/tempest-jap-strat-with-built-in-effects.html and a Fresher brochure: brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/fresher/197x/en_06.html

[@markusfuller]

Hi Grant. Yes I found that one.theres been a few interesting links on this guitar. Many thanks for this one.

[@zurdoremi]

somewhat similar to VOX effects built into their 1960's guitars.

[@illustriouschin]

Looks like HR Gieger made that.

[@markusfuller]

yes with slime dripping off it then suddenly it rips my face off :-)

[@MrGougi]

You really should lend your guitar to a musician to play it for the musical demos. The technical part is very interesting.

[@markusfuller]

I know I am not a guitarist. im more of a keyboard player. but I was mainly concentrating on the repair and electronics. sorry

[@bebenavole]

yeah please have someone do a thorough demo. id love to hear all the combinations

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

I think that Iseo Tomita (The Planets) beat you to it Markus.

[@markusfuller]

yes and rick wakeman

[@gazzar67]

For tuning, you could try out a tuner app for your phone, something like these thehub.musiciansfriend.com/ios-reviews/top-10-guitar-tuning-apps

[@markusfuller]

Hi Gazza67. I do have a tuner somewhere. I put it away a few years ago and cannot find it. but the Phone app is a good idea ThankYou

[@DanHowardMtl]

Marcus, I asked on reddit. www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/4qo1cf/kimbara_electric_guitar_with_built_in_effects/ I've seen a with couple similar effects - but haven't seen any manual for this.

[@markusfuller]

Thank Dan. I have been there and found a few links people have posted, very interesting its actually a (Fresher Straighter FS-1007) from 1978. . Thankyou very much for posting that information. from Markus

[@naoyukisasanami]

held breath if dead bugs'd come out

[@TheRealSasquatch]

I really think you should have reverse engineered this circuit - esp. for budding guitarists. Have you seen how much pedals cost !!!

[@youngalistairyou]

These guitars were produced in their thousands at the matsumoku factory in early 70s Japan along with westone,ibanez,Greco,washburn ect ect. And kimbara amoungst others would be sent to Leeds u.k. FCN with blank headstocks and then transfers put on them. All matsumoku guitars of that era had same backplate so easy to spot matsumoku guitars. Sold in many high street also bought by schools as they were very cheap electrics tend to fail very heavy chunky bodies and appalling tuners.

[@fatcuffy]

Absolute bollocks. The only thing you got right is the Matsumoku production. Check your facts before posting.

[@flyinUtah]

PS I thought your little song sounded good

[@niklaswallin9478]

can't belive someone still use a "flop-flop-sucker"..with todays relativly cheap machines.. ;-)