SwedishLuthier
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Posts posted by SwedishLuthier
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You can always try winding your own. That wouldn't be to hard. I'm planning an electric cello for a friend’s daughter, so I try it myself. I will make a pickup with different coils for each string, and adjustable pole pieces. I might be able to do it for you. PM me
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I run 1400 rpm (about 23 turns per second) on my winder and have only broke the wire a few times. Takes a few minutes to wind both coils on a humbucker. I made my winder out of a old sewing machine, the Jason Lolar style. I even hava a spring loaded wire tensioner that I got right of the old sewing mashine. The coils are a little loose wound, but I always pot them, so thats no problem.
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To answer your question:
Yes the rail pickup will work. It senses string vibration all along the rails length.
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Sand it down to fit your neck. A 44mm wide neck will (IMO) be too wide to be comfortable to play. I usualy go for a string-to-fretboard-edge-distanse of about 3 mm on the guitars that I make for myself, so you'll be fine with that.
A trick I've used for customers that like narrow necks, but get problems whith the E-string being pulled off, when playing solo, or open cords, is to to place the nut slightly offset, so that the distance from string to fret board edge is larger on the high E-string. You are more likely to pull the high E-string off the fret board than the low one.
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I have no room for a permanent spray boot in my shop. Its too small.
I use a "spray booth" made from an old kitchen cupboard. I fold it out for use. It wont keep dust out, but it minimise the dust from dry "overshoot" paint in the rest of the room. And if folds up/away in no time, to minimise set up time. I have had no problem with dust getting into the finish, as I clean out the shop before spraying.
At least it forces me to clean out the shop from time to time
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I think that Allparts at least USED to carry those things (www.allparts.com)
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I’m curious. On what are you basing this statement? Have you measured the distance between the nut and fret 12 and compared to the distance between fret 12 and bridge. If the fret 12 to bridge distance is shorter, or perfectly equal to the first measurement, then you are in trouble. Having that said, I really doubt that the quality control of Epiphone would miss THAT big fault. I think that the problem might be another.
If the problem is that the saddles in the bridge is adjusted as far back as they go, and your intonation on fret 12 is still sharp, it can be a completely different problem. You write that the guitar has a “nasty bow”. If this means that the string height is extremely high, that will also affect the intonation. Intonation is used to compensate for the extra tension on the strings caused by pressing it down to the frets, stretching the string slightly. Higher strings means that the saddles need to be adjusted further back. Very worn frets might also cause offsets in the tuning. A string is supposed to rest on the top of the fret. If the fret is worn fret the break off point is moved towards the bridge. This also means that the intonation will be off. If you still have the old strings on that guitar you will also have problems with intonation. We have several treads in here describing the problems with intonation a guitar with old strings on.
So, before you start to adjust intonation, you need to adjust the truss rod, adjust string height, level the frets, and put on new strings. There in NO WAY that you can intonate before you have done those things.
But if the length from fret 12 to the bridge is shorter than from the nut to fret 12 you have to move the bridge.
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Removing the fret board is a job that requires a lot of skills. You will most likely have to do a refinish after the switch, if not complete, so at least partial. Are you completely new to guitar building/tinkering? If so, I recommend getting a few book on guitar building. Melvin Hiscocks Make your own electric guitar is considered a very good book, and the one that got a lot of us started. This book will give you some ideas about the extent of this job.
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Most steel rulers are very staight, and will cost you less. I'e done coparising tests with my straight edge, and all of my steel rulers is good enought for using as straight edges.
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It seems like you have had a look at the tutorial on fretting. It leaves out the part about cutting fret slots and hammering in frets…
You need a saw with a blade that has the correct thickness. The thickness should correspond with the thickness of the tang of the frets. Use a calliper to measure the tang on your frets and if you find a saw with a blade that match you can use it.
When hammering the frets in, be careful and start at the edge of the fret board. Move on to the middle a little by little. And take a good advice. PRACTICE on some SCRAP before. It’s a quick job to take a piece of hardwood, cut a few slots and bang away…
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No need to Google anymore:
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I think I understand how that pickup is constructed. If your magnets are roughly the same size as the once in your pickup you can easily be added. If two magnets are placed side by side, they will form one uniform magnetic field. The only problem is that the magnets will try to repel each other (north pole should be placed against north pole, south against south). This can easily be fixed with a good strong not to thick double sided tape for testing. Later on you can use CA.
If you are unsure of how the pickup will sound after you add the magnets, you can always make a jig like this to test the sound. This is what I used to test the effect of steel inserts under a pickup, se this thread. If you use tape to attach the magnets you can make a before-and-after test very easy. Mount the rig on any guitar like this with double sided tape. Make sure to stay as far away from other pickups as possible so that their magnetic fields will affect your test object as little as possible.
M general idea is that by adding magnets you will get a higher output, mostly in the treble range. But please test it and report the result.
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I'm not familiar with the magnet structure of the Rics pickups. Are they like standard HBs? Any chance of posting a pic? It might be a little easier to guess the impact of added magnets.
If they have the same structure as a standard HB, an added magnet will increase the magnetic field. This will give a higher output with emphasis on treble.
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One possibility:
Using a heavy plank and some spacers on each end, placed at the fret board side, and a clamp on the middle, you might be able to force the neck into a slight back bow. If this works, you might be able to get enough grip on fresh threads.
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This is not an easy one! One thing you could do and the first thing I would try is the lowest viscosity CA. Use a pipette, and if you’re new to CA, practice or you will end up with a mess. Might even end up gluing yourself to the guitar…
From the pictures it looks like the longer crack is actually two. The first one ends at the fret and the second is slightly offset from the first one. Might just be the picture... If so, the problem is not so big. Fill the cracks with CA and scrape of the mess. I’ve done a similar thing. You should also try applying some pressure using claps to close the cracks, if possible. When already glued to the neck, it might not work, but do a dry test first. If I misread the picture and it is one straight crack, I’m not sure if I would use the above method. At least I would have to be sure that I was able to close the crack at least some with clamps, before having a go at it.
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I wind my own pickups, and I use http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_p...ckup_Tapes.html
to wrap single coils for protection.
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I really like StewMacs hot-rod because the dual action allowed me to install it upside-down so the slot for the adjusting nut didn't have to be so deep.
I've done the same thing, but I always forget that when adjusting, and starts turning the allen key the whrong way only to realise that I have to think the other way around after the first complete turn or so
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According to the pics in the link it is a neck with a fretboard extension, so it will work fine
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Im talking about up bow.
You actually NEED a little relief. If not, the strings will rattle against the frets like mad. How much relief you should have is a matter of personal taste and playing technique. Everything from 0.25 mm to almost 1 mm have worked fine for different customers. I have had customers demanding dead flat fret board (even after I have advised different) only to start complaining about rattling strings the moment they get the guitar back. So it’s back in to the shop and loosen the truss rod.
Conclusion: You need relief, but nobody but yourself can say how much.
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You should be able to shim the neck. It might be a thick one but it will work. You can even consider a tapered shim (wedge shaped). It might even be possible to adjust the saddles at the bridge. The picture doesn't show enough of the bridge to say for sure.
And another thing. DO NOT use that measurements from Warmoth and ASSUME that they are the same as the Carvin. If in any doubt, sent Carvin a mail and ask for the measurements.
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I use the Hot Rod from StewMac. Never had any problem with them.
Intonation Question
in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat
Posted
I just thought of something:
How are the saddles in the bridge shaped? Most Tune-o-matic style bridges have saddles that are reversible. The top of the saddle is angled forward or backwards. Is this the case with the bridge on this guitar? If so, and the saddles are pointing towards the neck it is possible to reverse them and by doing so get a little more adjustment in the bridge, maybe enough to get it to work.
Judging from your measurements (and the rest of your description) the bridge is probably a little offset. 4mm of backward travel in the saddles is a tad to little, and can give you this problem. There are a few more things that you can check before going any further with the new body. Not that I consider this guitar the Holy Grail, but I would love to be able to help save this old guitar…
When placing the bridge I usually start with the saddles somewhere between the middle and the most forward position. Then I place the bridge so that the saddles are at the theoretical correct position, i.e. the distance from fret 12 to the nut is equal to the distance from fret 12 to the saddles in the bridge.
Another thought:
Have you, using the StewMac calculator, checked the distance from the nut to the FIRST fret? If the nut is out of place (to far away, leaning away and so on) you can get the same problem. You tune up and compare to the note at fret 12 and it will be sharp.
One other thing that can cause this is if the slots in the nut are slightly rounded. If the strings doesn’t have a clean break off point in the nuts fret board edge they will vibrate with a length that is too long and…just look above.
A last suggestion:
If nothing else works, it is possible to move the neck slightly. Remove the neck, plug the holes and drill new ones that get the neck slightly further away. Cut a new pick guard to cover the gap. Not the world’s finest repair but it will work.