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Silver Cadet
ZR140
No. N/A YEAR: 1996 CONTACT: Carlos Lawless

Details & History

IBANEZ SILVER CADET

Body: Plywood
Neck: Skinny mapple
Fretboard: Rosewood
Pickups: H/S/S
Controls: 1 Volumen, 1 Tone and 5 position pickup selector
Nº Frets: 21
Bridge: Tremolo Vintage
Year: 96
Made in Korea

I bought this guitar in 1996 in a little guitarshop in Leganés (Madrid) so it must be made in this year. It cost 32.000 pts, 192€. It's a mix either Fender Stratocaster and GRX 40, all it is black, body and pickguard. The pickguard is GRX form and the body is like a strato. The controls position is like in GRX.

The bridge is like a tremolo vintage stratocaster but cheaper and not equal. Six screws fix it to the body. If you open it at back you can see that the tremolo system has 2 wharfs. You have put 3 more wharfs. The jack conector is like the stratocaster model. If you open the pickguard you can see that there is a bit hole where you can change to H/S/H with only change the pickguard. The neck body union is Bolt On.The tunnermachines (photo) are cheap and bad quality. I change them for others better. The sound isn't the best but I like it. For a plywood guitar it sound well but without some details. I think change the controls, the pickguard and put it a booster.

 

 

No. N/A YEAR: N/A CONTACT: David Gedrych

Details & History

Hey there!

This one was brought for me, from a music shop called "Music Börsten" in 95 - in Västerås, Sweden, it has no serial numbers or other markings on it at all apart from the headstock. I've made no adjustments to the guitar over the years I've owned it.

It has a volume and tone control, and a 5 position pickup switch, a whammy bar that I've never used. not much else to say about it really, it's a nice reliable guitar, it's never let me down!

I'm sorry the pictures are not that great, I had to use a terrible camera phone, maybe I'll treat myself to a digital camera for Christmas :D

Cheers!

David

 

 

No. N/A YEAR: N/A CONTACT: Jim T

Details & History

I'd like to register my Silver Cadet mainly because of it's mystique. In the summer of 1996 I was playing solo at a restaurant / bar when a man asked me if I wanted to buy a guitar. I said maybe but I'd like to see it. I followed him out to the parking lot and he opened the trunk and inside was this guitar with the plastic protection still on the pick guard. I said it looked like a cheap copy of a Fender and it was without a case. I think I offered him $75. He said, "Sold!" Of  course I would have liked to ask where it came from but I thought it better NOT to ask. I got the Silver Cadet home and I could see that the guitar had never been played. After playing it for several weeks I decided to tweak it out. I don't use a whammy bar and so I removed the back spring plate and realized that the guitar was so light because the body was made of lamented wood (plywood). I added three more springs to the tremelo system which pulled the b ridge all the way down and made it stationary. This made it impervious to tuning problems caused when I bend the strings. I also replaced the crappy tuners with Ping tuners which are inexpensive but are smooth and accurate. I also have replaced the pickup switch with a high quality 5 position switch to obtain the 1 & 2, 2 & 3 pickup combination sounds. The guitar jack was also replaced because the original did not securely grip the phone jack. The pickups are original. 2 single coil and a double coil in the bridge position. Everything else is original. The guitar has a serial number sticker on the body by the neck joint. The neck has a sticker which reads, "VZR-140/WH".

              I own a '71 Strat and three other copies and I have to say that this "little dog" is my favorite. The neck is super straight and slimmer than my Strat. The neck back has a light satin finish which reduces friction when moving your hand up and down the neck. The pickups sound great  and it's the only guitar I own which I string with .008's The reason being that I simulate pedal steel guitar riffs and use many double string bends.

             I've never heard of another Silver Cadet until I found your website. I'll take a guess and assume that this Silver Cadet was manufactured for sale in countries where most people can't afford better made guitars. Aside from the crappy hardware, which I replaced, this guitar plays really well and stays in tune. I've had many people approach me to ask about this "great sounding" guitar and I'm almost embarrassed to tell the truth.

                                       Sincerely,  Jim T

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