Willin

Hiya - I tried shielding my fender yngwie malmsteen signature strat as per the instructions at guitarnuts.com. The only problem is that after wire everything to spec, it is still not grounded! I am in the process of troubleshooting. One possible problem may be that my 5 way pickup selector is wired slightly differently than the schematic on guitarnuts. I wired the Stew Mac selector by following the instructions that came with it. I believe it is working correctly, but I was wondering if you all think that this would be a problem? Sorry I am very new to this so forgive my newbiness. Here is a quick drawing I made of how my selector is wired:

Since I have 18 gauge speaker wire that is braided can I just use that? Or is that a no-no?

Hey, guys! I am about to shield my strat as per the instructions at guitarnuts.com. The problem is that I bought solid core 20 gauge wire at radio shack yesterday and I think I may need braided wire instead? Will solid core do the trick as well or am I digging a hole for myself by using it? Also, I have 18 gauge braided audio cable and I was wondering if that would be a suitable alternative or should I take the trip back to radio shack to get some regular braided wire? Thanks a bunch for responses!

I just bought a 5 way pickup selector for my Fender Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat. I have never done electronics work with guitars so excuse me for my naivete. Is it difficult to change to a 5 way selector? Will I need additional wires to be able to do this? Do I need to purchase anything additional besides the new 5 way pickup switch? If anyone could give me information or tips on how to do this, I would appreciate it. A guide would serve me well, too. I tried searching for information, came up empty handed. It came with a wiring schematic, so do I only have to open my guitar and rewire it according to that schematic and i'm done?? Thanks!

Howdy - I just bought a new guitar off of eBay. Specifically, it's an Yngwie Malmsteen signature Fender Strat. It's a great guitar and I like it a lot, but I am having problems with it not being grounded correctly. When my hand is not touching the strings or bridge or tuning machines, etc, there is a significant buzzing noise. This is *especially* noticeable when my Ibanez TS-9 tubescreamer overdrive pedal is on. I only have a few days as a grace period before I can return this guitar. I also have never worked on a guitars electronics before. Lastly, I am going to be busy these next few days and won't have much time to mess around with the guitar and take it apart, so my main question is how likely is it that this problem can be easily repaired? I understand that I can search the forum and most likely find the solution to the problem, but that is not what I am asking for at this moment. I am more concerned about the signifigance of this problem and how easily it can be resolved. I don't want to be stuck with a lemon. So, is this *usually* an easily repairable problem? Thank you very much for responses.

Gordon Lightfoot is my cousin, in law, he married my cousin ← That's amazing! I wonder how many songs he has written about your cousin?!?!

Doh - I have a floyd rose licensed bridge on my guitar and I was about to replace the strings on it. I've never done this before so while I was researching the process I read that you can't use Ernie Ball Slinkys on floyd rose bridges. Now i'm wondering if I can use this set of 12 dollar Elixirs that I have already bought as well? Can I not use them because they have a coating on them? That would stink. Thanks a lot for any information! Oh and if anyone is wondering, I read that in this article: http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=103

One of the more beautiful songs i've ever heard: Paul Stookey - The Wedding Song

Hmmm, i'm going to add my NOVICE opinion. I am not a guitar specialist, but I *AM* an apprentice carpenter. I can tell you off the bat that in order to get a stuborn screw like that out, the experienced carpenters use some sort of special drill bit tool to bore into the middle of the screw, then they basically just yank it out. I am sorry that I can't explain further, but I haven't asked this question in about 2 years. I will ask again to try to get some more information for you. Willin

Keep in mind that I have never bound a guitar before, but I strongly suspect that sanding it would just ruin it.

Yes, get the baby taylor with a gig bag. You won't regret it. I love the premiere model Martins, but getting the backpacker is a *big* waste of money. You'll get sick of the thing after playing it a hand full of times. The neck is shaped oddly - like the fat end of a baseball bat. The thing quite literally sounds like a cigar box guitar and to add insult to injury - well... just look at it. Remember, this is all coming from someone who owns one, hahhaa. On the other hand, I also own a baby taylor which is a pleasure to play. Admittedly, I tend to stick to my full sized acoustics, but the taylor is till very nice. It looks like it was made on this planet, and due to some ingenious bracing it booms. Lastly, it's not too much bigger than the backpacker when you take into account case size and such. Trust us on this one and get a baby taylor.

Just watched this and it deserves a *bump*

I bought a backpacker about 5 years ago and I've maybe used it 5 times... Don't bother. It's so uncomfortable. If you want to get a travel guitar, I strongly suggest the Baby Taylor. They sound great for their size and they have a classy look. If you want to get a nice acoustic for around $300, I reccomend Ibanez's, Alvarez's, and I've *heard* great things about Seagulls. Pick what suits you best.

I vote green. It looks like a modest, classy version of a Gibson explorer. I can dig it.

So much controversy over such an inane point. I'm a complete newbie looking for some experienced advice on a painting method which I recently saw in a major guitar enthusiast publication. Anyway, thank you to those who added worthwhile information.