thedoctor

That pickup has a somewhat cool name and that is about it. If a SD Hotrail will span your seven string, I would go with one of them. Or a cool rail, your call. I put a JB on the bridge and a 2N on the neck of the first two 7-strings I made but I would REALLY like to try a rail on the next one. For the bridge position.

Rhoades, that was the longest post I have ever seen. Literally. Before the laughter from your post dies down, I must confess to useing RIT fabric dye mixed with boiling water, linseed oil and CRC Brakleen (triclorethane). RIT makes them some strong colors, in particular, their reds/crimsons.

I told some folk in a post about 4 months ago that the stuff they sell as nail polish remover is a WAY lame version of acetone. Got to be the problem, and, yes, you have to work fast. Look in your local phone directory for INDUSTRIAL GASES, MANUFACTURER. Call them (BOC maybe?) and find out if there is an acetylene filling plant near you. If so, get a GLASS jar, with lid, and a half-herd of Guiness and stop by. One of the filling team will be delighted to fill the jar with some 100% chem grade acetone in exchange for the libations. They have the best acetone going.

I built, or to be more correct, completed a thineline Tele about two years ago for a music store and I was never so glad to see a job leave as that one. It played well, sat agin the bod well and such but, with the slight carving on the top, it was NOT a Tele, in my old, humble opinion. An overall thinning would not offend me near what the top carve does. But, the belly carve. Hmmm...... Can't see it from the front... don't know, yet. Plus, I am JUST able to do a decent binding job. On a flat Tele. Carve the top and I am so outa there.

I just use the bridge ground as a consistent starting point. Gotta start somewhere. And the #10 brass washer can be screwed into the body. Just drill a hole in it around the rim for a #4 or #6 wood screw and bend the washer so you can have it stand away from the side while you solder. Some of the Japanese robotic systems have these cool little copper 8-pointed stars bolted all over the place to solder shieding to. If I ever scrap a Motoman I am going to tear them all out and save them. They would work perfect and they look cool.

OK, jm, I have to come clean. The other members didn't get the STD joke because they are either immune or sexless. Wes made me say that as he does almost everything else I ever put on this forum. The man is an animal. An ANIMAL,I SAY!!! I would tell you more about this bu........ahhhhhhhh......no, master, I haven't even......click....dialtone

I am with idch but the old concept of a belly contour or contoured front applies to guitars, OTHER THAN TELEs. The thin, wasplike waif of a Strat from a custom shop does something for me, but not enough to make it a design requirement. I really want to know if a belly contour on the back of a Tele is sacrelidge (spelling?) or just something to make it different. If I had a belly to speak of, I might realize it's practical applications but I always wonder about doing stuff to the side of the guitar nobody sees. I agree that it is almost a given to carve the back of a modern Strat.

Don't take that seriously, jm, I JUST COULD NOT RESIST!! The devil made me say that, and I don't mean Wes.

Sperzel is a lot more straightforward than a set of LSRs. Pick out the bushing you like and put it on kinda deal. Still, love/hate those tuners.

Good Lord, I swear you wrote you were almost finished DESTROYING your Hagstrom. I was going to ask the name of the people who pick up your garbage! I gots to get some computer glasses. OOPS, almost forgot to reply. I guess you are gonna forgoe the tuno and put in a through-the-back string ferrule and all thingie? If the new bridge is gonna cover the old tuno holes, once they are plugged, as previously suggested, I don't think you have anything else to worry about except making those dowel inserts strong and permanent. I just LOVE Hagstroms. Don't forgat to seal the ends of those new, glued-in dowels with some laquer or nail polish.

I cleaned out a long-closed music shop in KY and got a couple of new Wilkenson(?) WT-B pickups. StewMac still sells them but there is little info available from them. The manufacturer is not proud of them enough to give any specs. They don't test too hot, around 6.5k. Ain't a bunch of wire on em, either. All they will say is they are "Vintage 3-bar pickups wound to Fender specs." They don't cost much new but are they any good for, say, vintage Tele freaks? Maybe I should donate them to the forum. Maybe not.

I am interested in the outcome of this poll, as well, because my next project is a Tele complete redo and I am trying to decide how much to lighten and contour it. With that thought in mind, I shall not vote. Don't want to muddy the waters, so to speak. Ughh, even though I love Muddy Waters. Don't get me wrong! BTW I will NOT be using a pickgaurd. Hate em, hate em, hate em!

Ouch!! Worse-case scenerio. If you just have the one pickup and a single control cavity with a backplate, no pickgaurd, the cable going to the pickup HAS to be shieded cable, the backplate should be shielded and your output jack hole/cavity, depression should be lined with shielding tape or paint. There is no way to properly shield the PUP cable-route to the control cavity unless you use, like, some braided sleeving or something but the shielded PUP cable (which your pickup probly came with) is just fine for that. While you are running the ground to your bridge, you might want to try my preferred grounding method. I take all of the signal grounds and run the to the bridge ground, inside the control cavity. I do not solder ANYTHING to the case of the pots. It is easier if you have a rather large brass washer or such to attach all of these to but it sure makes em quiet and easy to work on. Even though you have a simple control setup, go ahead and spend an hour tape-shielding the control cavity. It's fun and makes a sizeable difference.

Well, at least we know HE won't catch it! Lord, forgive me! I couldn't resist!

I got a Makita palm sander about two years ago as a gift and thought it was kinda small and useless, although it came in a GREAT case. It is now my favorite power-sanding device. Gotta change paper a lot and it's slow but that is a perfect match to me. I go slow and go through a lot of paper.

Well, I must quite sheepishly add that I did NOT get the DeVille I thought I was getting. I got a WalMart seatcover for my pickup truck. I need to quit putting such faith in rumors. I can't say that I wasn't disappointed but, to be honest, I don't think my ratty old truck needed a seat cover.

Lord, I hope that is the last time I will ever have to say that, at least in so many words. My ID on the bottom of the forum stuff turned GREEN!! Is this in response to all the fine, creative ways I have plied members to send in support funds for this forum or do I need to go see a doctor? No, no, no, ANOTHER doctor! Roses are red Violets are blue I'm schizophrenic And so am I Do you have medical insurance or will you be paying cash?

You got the gig under your belt, survived, didn't suck and met a pretty nubile. What can I say???? You done good and will continue to do better!! I about fouled my apparell when I played my first union gig (1963) with a very minor band but I got through it and it just keeps getting easier. You know what? I met a pretty nubile on that first gig and one of us lost their virginity about a month later! Need I say, she was about ten years older than me. I was a VERY late bloomer and am still ugly as sin. Oh, I am VERY sorry. I didn't mean to get back on topic. My bad.

Well, with a little luck, he may not have gone too far. Did I mention that I HATE fret-dressing? The last thing you would see me using is a file of any type.

I am going to bump this because I have about two hours before I need to drive up to deliver to this dealer's store. It is a 135 vs. 137 issue. I have never touched a 137 but I lust after the 135. Please answer post-haste or I shall surely waste most-needed funds in vain, or not.

I am sorry, Wes. I could have SWORN it was you that had a sticky rod in an Ibanez. Lord, I hope I never have to say THAT again! I always try to steer people away from doing fretwork just because it is irreversible, know what I mean?

I hate Saga kits like I hate the gas station but I think the most simple approach to getting this intonation thing figured out (I didn't say fixed) is to do the old cardboard under the string at the nut deal and see if it is a nut problem. I do not know how people determine if their neck is "flat" enough to do a proper setup but when I am happy with a neck, the fretwork IS the next step. I HATE FRETWORK!!! I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT!!!!!!! I really hope your nut is cut too low. Do I know you well enough to say that?

I haven't been able to find the thread that had Wes's fix on it but I did find an obscure Ibanez repair site that said to take the strings off, loosen the trussrods to neutral and push the crap out of it in the direction of the offense. Sounds like some of them might have a trussrod binding problem. Old Framus guitars had the same thing cause they let glue and varnish get into the groove. Not to say getting into "the groove" is a bad thing, but it just don't work for truss rods on Framus........OK, what is the plural form of Framus? Framii? Framuses? Framuseses?

Lord, forgive me! I must be the Michael Jordan of forum posters! I shall try to adjust my input to those of you who know basketball! Optical pedal control is not only old tech but is is in revision because of it's shortcomings. I should have and shall in the future leave the improvements to the "pros".

I hate to make a simple question into a can of worms but, it matters a whole bunch what the body style is, what pickup(s) you are going to use and how carefully you intend to shield the control/pickup/wire route cavities. You would be best off answering these few questions and getting a definative answer rather than a generic one, no offense to the previous reply, but a little more info will get you a MUCH better answer. Please indulge an old man's quirks.