djhollowman Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Jack cavity made, old jack hole plugged, battery box position marked DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Before: After: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Bump! Right, I can call this one "done" now. Bridge posts fixed by installing mounting plate, as described earlier in this thread: (Ended up replacing the bridge as well!) Frets replaced, and fretwork and fingerboard finished: And some other views: Jack socket now moved to correct position. Well, that's my four-photos-per-post limit reached! I'm quite pleased with the end result. It looks better than it actually is, of course! But it does play well enough, thanks mainly to now having a properly-working and supported bridge. The pickups are average at best. There's a lot of (I'm not sure if the correct term is...) "microphonic" noise, is this due to the "swimming pool" rout for the pickups perhaps?? (It does have quite an acoustic sound when unplugged.) When using high gain, the whole guitar is quite touch-sensitive: you can hear your hand rubbing against any surface of it etc. I've never had this happen with my other axes, none of which have pickguards...hmmm. Even the crappy locking nut works surprisingly well! I've added a battery compartment rout on the rear, next to the jack cavity, cos at some point in the future I wanna try a sustainer pickup. I've made a little blanking plate for this rout from the leftover pickguard material I bought to make the trem spring cavity and jack cavity plates. Originally the guitar had a plain white "standard Strat" style trem cavity plate (complete with 6 string holes!) and it looked soooo cheap'n'nasty!! Incidentally, here's a good tip for a cheap but very effective make-over: simply replace all the visible screws if they're damaged or corroded. You'd be surprised how much difference it has made when viewed next to the fresh white paint! Anyway, it was good fun to work on, and I've gained more valuable experience. I especially enjoyed the refret and neck dressing parts. DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 That is a great recovery from an originally bad instrument....when are you out of the house this week? I only need five minutes as i'll probably raid your fridge too. A round of applause is definitely in your near future Mr Hollow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolanski Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 That is a great recovery from an originally bad instrument....when are you out of the house this week? I only need five minutes as i'll probably raid your fridge too. A round of applause is definitely in your near future Mr Hollow. I believe this makes three times that he has mentioned stealing your guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 That is a great recovery from an originally bad instrument....when are you out of the house this week? I only need five minutes as i'll probably raid your fridge too. A round of applause is definitely in your near future Mr Hollow. I believe this makes three times that he has mentioned stealing your guitar. I know! It's become something of a theme. At least I have my two ninja stealth assassins primed and ready! OK they're only 5 and 2 years old, but they should not be underestimated (or was it Dubya who said "misunderestimated"??) Anyway, thank you for the compliment Prostheta! (BTW you can have the sliced salami from the fridge...it stinks!) DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Does it hold a good stable tuning even with the trem in use? I think that would have to be the high water mark when it comes to making a Chinese Ibanez copy into a decent instrument. I think a pair of gold trem fulcrum height adjusty post things might be in your future also.</jedi mind tricksy> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Yeah, the tuning is relatively stable, in fact, surprisingly so given the fact that it's a cheapo Floyd copy. I'll be honest, it's not 100% every time, but it's really very good for what it is!! And yes, you're right about the posts - well spotted Obi-wan! The gold posts I got with the Floyd copy just don't fit as well as the ones I got with the repair bracket-thingy, so I went with the chrome ones "to maximise tuning stability" (bound to be copyrighted by Dan Erlewine or someone??) DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) Dan doesn't harp on about tuning stability any more - just coupling and Stewmac. <i just noticed the irony in that last statement> Edited March 23, 2009 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAI6 Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 You say that the pu's are very microphonic. Did you change them, or are these the original? If they're the original, the fact that they're even working is a wonder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Dan doesn't harp on about tuning stability any more - just coupling and Stewmac. <i just noticed the irony in that last statement> Arf (and indeed) arf!! You say that the pu's are very microphonic. Did you change them, or are these the original? If they're the original, the fact that they're even working is a wonder! Original. They work well enough. I'm not 100% sure that "microphonic" was the correct word I should have used - I don't want to lead you down the wrong path! What I'm finding is that they seem to pick up any subtle movements I make with my hands when using high gain settings on my amp. I have other guitars which have active EMGs and DiMarzio Evo 2s etc so I'm well used to decent high-gain pickups, but this is something different. It's more like it's amplifying the unwanted background noise rather than the string noise. Maybe I should try sheilding the pickup cavity - bound to help! D'oh! Should have done that already!! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 well that just looks amazing now! I really like how you moved the jack. I never thought about doing that. It gives me hope if i don't like the jack placement in any future builds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 well that just looks amazing now! I really like how you moved the jack. I never thought about doing that. It gives me hope if i don't like the jack placement in any future builds! Thanks, but I can only take credit for the execution, not the idea: it's where the jack normally is on a real Jem. It's just an aesthetic improvement I wanted to make for some added "authenticity". In practice, I'm finding it works well when you're plugging/unplugging cos you can see it more easily than an edge-mounted socket further around the body. However, if you want to set the guitar down on it's bottom edge whilst still plugged in, the position of the cable jack makes it a slight balancing problem!! Overall, I reckon I still prefer the good old fashioned jack point, coupled with an angled jack plug! Then you just loop the cable thru next to the strap button and you'll never do the old "stand-on-me-cable-and-wrench-it-out" dance!! Steve and his mad ideas, eh??? Whatever next? You watch, he'll be adding a seventh string or something equally daft! Tsk! Maybe even a swirly paint job like melting ice cream........ DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 I actually do the same thing with the angle jack lol. It works better when you loop it through the strap, because the cord follows the curvature of the body. its just better in every way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Right, well, just screened the cavities and underside of pickguard with aluminium tape - wow, much quieter!! What a difference a bit of screening seems to make! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikke Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Wants to hear what it sounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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