Prostheta Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 IIRC, aren't they based in Hull? That's where I hail from, and i'm nowhere near as nice. Great project! I've considered buying a ***tter off eBay myself to hotrod, but I get all hung up on the wood quality and all that because i'm too much of a snob, much to my loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 www.axesrus.com absolutely fantastic company, i've used them lots in the past and think they're great, lots of useful parts, NOS etc etc. They're in UK and offer free postage on everything in the UK It' run by a husband and wife Tony and Jacky. I got an Email from Tony apoligising and Very nice phone call from Jacky as mentioned above within 5 mins of mailing them initially. all sorted now. If that aint customer service... then what is axesrus are ok, some of their stuff seems a bit suspicious , ive bought pickups off them that have been in supposed a1 condition and when they arrive they appear to be rejects or damaged... i didnt bother contacting them, i couldnt be bothered with the hassle at the time, just felt a bit ripped off when they arrived, id rather pay a bit extra for new gear unless its somthing that cant be f'd up in any way. IIRC, aren't they based in Hull? That's where I hail from, and i'm nowhere near as nice. Great project! I've considered buying a ***tter off eBay myself to hotrod, but I get all hung up on the wood quality and all that because i'm too much of a snob, much to my loss. i fancied getting a stagg guitar (they have some sub £100 ones made of decent parts) and 'hot rodding' it, cheap project that seems simple to complete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Hmm, well.. my experience has been great with them, i wouldn't go anywhere else. In any case this is irrelevant to my thread so there :D I think the whole 'hot rodding' idea pretty much sums up this project, An tarted up old banger with a bit of punch at that! But it's also acting for me as quite a nice little re-introduction to guitar building for me... I'm already pretty handy with woodwork etc but the Electrics are something i never really looked with much detail, hence... i was no good with them. This guitar already had a half decent body etc and finish wasn't to scabby, it was the electrics that were criminal. So... with this in mind I decided that Building a loom up from scratch would be a good way to throw myself in at the deepend and learn. I have the old loom with all the components laid out infront of me, Next to that I will build an exact carbon copy of it but with a few differences: Firstly... My soldering is wayyy better than what it came with... so i can assure myself it's got good connections, The components I'm using are all brand new and much nicer quality, The wire i'm using is Wilkinson waxed cloth insulated hook-up wire... which looks the business and is nice and tidy, I've got rid of all the ground/earth loops Which I suspect was one of the main contributing factors to the massive hum i was getting also... there was loads of spare wire! I have so far cut A full metre of wire out of the guitar that was simply coiled up in there (there was literally 2 inch inbetween the pots and the wire connecting them together would be 7-8 inch long) I fancy doing a body build next. But for the time being... this is keeping me really entertained and that's what it's all about right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Totally. I'm considering sorting out the tuners on my son's Stagg flying V. Hell, he's a drummer so he can't tell the difference between a decent guitar and an *ummm* not-decent one. As long as it stay in tune, doesn't buzz and crackle, he won't notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 i dont like the axesrus website one bit, but this weekend i needed some random screws and parts and allparts were out of stock of almost all the items i needed. Axesrus got the order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 i dont like the axesrus website one bit, but this weekend i needed some random screws and parts and allparts were out of stock of almost all the items i needed. Axesrus got the order lol you could have some beautiful gold screws from me one careful owner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 I've bought a lot of parts from axesrus & have always been impressed by the service. My first order was for a set of MM motherbuckers, when they arrived they were obviously not the right pickups, only two wires & were used....sent them an email & got a call from Jackie explaining that her husband had just removed them from a Les Paul & left them to one side, she thought that they were the MightyMite's & sent them to me. She had already put the correct ones in the post, was extremely appologetic & wasn't bothered when or if I posted the others back (I did ) Terrible website & often wrong or misleading information when it somes to body woods but excellent customer service, cheap components (especially pickups) & free delivery for any size order. Always my first call for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 I've bought a lot of parts from axesrus & have always been impressed by the service. My first order was for a set of MM motherbuckers, when they arrived they were obviously not the right pickups, only two wires & were used....sent them an email & got a call from Jackie explaining that her husband had just removed them from a Les Paul & left them to one side, she thought that they were the MightyMite's & sent them to me. She had already put the correct ones in the post, was extremely appologetic & wasn't bothered when or if I posted the others back (I did ) Terrible website & often wrong or misleading information when it somes to body woods but excellent customer service, cheap components (especially pickups) & free delivery for any size order. Always my first call for parts. lol it seems everyone has similar problems to me (it seems everything i do has somthing go wrong). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 (edited) Right. BIG progress. My pots arrived today, so after a Dentists appointement, I got the soldering iron out.... I Built up My brand New wiring loom and installed a coil Cut circuit on the Quad rail H/bucker This is the first time i'd ever done something as adventurous with electronics... and.. well I'm over the moon with the results: there is only One component original to the old electrics and that's Rhythm/Treble switch... there was nothing wrong with it so didn't replace it just took it apart cleaned and lubed it. Anyway.... how's abouts this then: Then I shoehorned it all in after cutting the hole for the coil cut switch to poke through, and attatched the hardware.. i'm gonna leave the rhythm/treble ring off... i prefer it without. My new Vol/Tone Knobs look great: So here it is so far,.... all it needs now is strings and a spacer under the P-90: Sorry about pic quality. I tested it briefly (with My mobile phone against the pick-ups ) to make sure the circuits were all correct and I must say,... that P-90 is going to sound really smooth and creamy and the Quad rail Humbucker's really got some bite to it, of course i wont know the true nature of this guitar till it's strung. String guage wise.. i'm thinking 10-46s to start with... maybe 10-52s in the future. I'm so happy with this project so far. The new loom fired up first time and THERE IS NO HUM WHAT SO EVER FROM ANY OF THE PICKUPS IN ANY POSITION. so it goes to show what some correct sheilding, quality components and proper ground orientation can do! can't wait to string this up. Edited June 13, 2007 by retro_10s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Hey retro, Those knobs DO look good! Congrats on the successful wiring, too. A few questions: - how do you use a cell phone to test? I always just tap the polepieces with something metal, but you seemed to be saying that you could somehow 'hear' what the sound is going to be! I don't know enough about airborne signals to know how the cell interoperates with the pickups, but I'd sure like to know this tip for later! - You refer to the no hum being due partially to shielding, but I don't see "proper" shielding in the electronics cavity..? Are you absolutely positive the guitar is properly shielded? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 +1 on the cell test, man that would be easier Usually proper shielding is all sides right?, Including cavity covers that connect to an overhand of shielding from the cavity? Thats what I thought and did on my existing guitars, but don't know if that is proper way or not. Question regarding this, some types of shielding tape say that the adhesive doesn't mess things up and is conductive and you don't need to solder the pieces together, is that true and does doing that make a huge difference in it's shieldability(thats a word I'm adding to luthiery dictionary, lol)? I'll second Greg on those knobs, good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 (edited) I wouldn't recommend doing the cell phone test too much due to the phone possibly getting broken by electromagnetic waves... though I don't know if it's a possibility or not. I do the cell phone test by simply selecting your pick up... making your phone play a song or ringtone and then hover it over the pickup till you find the sweet spot. works a treat.. and amplifies your phone lol. polyphonic never sounded so good I haven't finished the sheilding on my guitar yet... but i'm questioning whether i'll need too.. I think I will just for good measure even though it's pretty silent now. I've done the sides so far. I thin most of my 'no hum' has come from my wiring skills... i'm not showing off, but it really is very good and tidy and all earthed correctly. With regards the conductive glue... I've heard this too... though though up a simple way to connect the edges. Using a staple gun (or similar thing) join the two pieces together then put a blob of solder on each area where the staple pierces the aluminium tape. cheers for the comments about the knobs... they are great. Edited June 13, 2007 by retro_10s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Well... all that's left now is to attatch the P-90 solidly and to string it up!!! pics to come next week and i'll get some sounds up too hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwood999 Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 I think supernova was right it is kinda like polishing a turd (cucumber size) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Fire extinguisher size, in fact. That said - it's now his baby and a decent one given a good setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 There's nothing enlightening or helpful in saying i'm polishing a turd, that's the whole idea of the project,... which I outline from the beginning, this IS a poor guitar and it WAS in a terrible state. I've now bought it up to date with a New Tom set up, a brand new wiring loom, with all new pickups and components.. The build quality of this guitar on the body itself was pretty poor but only in the cavities, The neck is pretty good, No worse than a £200 Epiphone LP SP neck IMO The 'Does wood really matter to tone, given the huge selection of pickup types and variables?' Argument has been debated over and over again and i do not wish to re-open it in my thread, but i will however say this. I agree that Good pieces of wood will lend a certain character to the guitars sound i.e. sustain, warmth, clarity. However where would we be without pickups, and you've seen how easy it is to change the sound of the guitar simply through the pickup selction. I have a Danelectro Pro56, that's made of glorified MDF, sound great.. sustains forever and does all the jangly stuff. My good friend routed his for a humbucker on the bridge, lowered the action... now it's a shredder, Still the same wood, completely different sound (and rather good i must say!!) My point is, The Guitar is still Plywood with a very thin Maple top, If this wood is so unresponsive and useless, then the original unpleasing sound, was all down to the pickups and electrics. But these have all just been replaced. So i imagine, so has the crap sound. Also you've gotta remember that guitars have to be played in, just like a cricket bat or baseball bat. That said - it's now his baby and a decent one given a good setup. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I think hotted up pawnshop prize is a better term. I have never done this type of project but I think its been a fun exercise something I would definitely consider doing. Taking expensive guitars into pubs and clubs and out on the road can be kinda narky when a cymbal falls over and slices a chunk out of your vintage axe. If you have something that didn't cost several appendages but plays and sounds great and it gets a ding, no biggy. I like the look of this guitar now, I think it would look better with speed knobs but thats just my opinion. I would like to see a shot of the headstock and the tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Cell phone test is interesting. Hadn't occured to me. I always just use a tuning fork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Also you've gotta remember that guitars have to be played in, just like a cricket bat or baseball bat. Playing in makes a huge difference on acoustics, maybe some difference on solid wood electrics - but i think you might be waiting a long time for playing in to make a plwood guitar sound better, although i suppose its true that the neck will start feeling more comfy as the fretboard edges wear down slightly - but i reckon most of us will be rolling our fretboard edges to speed up that process by now anyway. I think its a fun project, and hopefully you will learn something about guitars that will help you out on future projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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