djhollowman

I think you're right! BTW: I remember reading an interview with Jacobs and he said this sig model was "inspired" by a photo he saw when he was young of Nikki Sixx weilding a (I think it was BC Rich) bass dripping with blood, looked like he'd just murdered someone with it! Wait, yeah it was a Rich, see: http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Artic...-blood_Full.jpg Ahhhh, the '80s......sigh.

You get toggle switches with built-in LEDs like so: http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ITAG=S...p;doy=31m1#spec Would that be suitable for this type of installation? I think I might br barking up the wrong tree here..........

Pete, you're right! The EMG89 is an active humbucker which you can coiltap to become an active single coil. I have one in one of my axes and it works very well. My comment about the 4 conductor wiring is regarding other EMG's eg. I have an EMG707 (single white sleeved cable, and single red power cable) an EMG81/7 (same arrangement), but also a pair of EMG707HZs. The HZ's are, or course, passive. It is THOSE which have the 4-conductor wiring I was remembering, Doh! However, I still think I remember reading (possibly even on EMGs website??) that even those passive EMG707HZs with 4 conductor wiring could NOT be coiltapped. I could be wrong of course! Maybe I should just try it and see what happens! By what you're saying (and it does make sense!) these isn't really much you can do to an active-equipped guitar to alter the tonal range. Pity. Good comment regarding the merits of having several guitars!!! Also good for tuning options! (Not only having different tunings eg. open chords, drop D, or whatever; but also for having SLIGHTLY sharper or flatter tunings when playing along to various CDs) DJ

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at by suggesting the cap on the vol pot. I believe few guitars leave the factory with one installed, and if you don't have one fitted then when you turn down the volume pot you usually get a thin weak sound you don't like. It's like it changes the sound rather than simply lessening the output volume...........if you see what I mean??? Also, it's frustrating that you can't coil-tap active EMG's, I mean they have 4 conductor wiring!! Why is this??? DJ

I'm interested in this idea too. Will you be having a little LED anywhere too? DJ

Going a little off-topic I realise, however: From your first photo, it could be the foreshortening effect of the camera lens but it doesn't appear that your pickups polepieces align nicely with your strings. Could it be that this DiMarzio is not F-spaced to match your trem? Or could be a neck pickup with polepieces closer together?? Just a thought. I recently bought an F-spaced DiMarzio Evo2 bridge pickup, and when I installed it into the intended guitar I had the same problem, I think mine's a neck not a bridge one.

If it's just a change of tone you're after, you could try experimenting with different values of capacitors on your tone pot. You can also put a capacitor on the volume pot to reduce treble bleed at low volumes, which would alter the tone a bit too. This would be a lot less drastic than replacing pickups, if it's only a subtle change you're looking for!

That sounds good! Thanks fellas! DJ

Hi all, I have some confusion over the neck I'm making, regarding the order in which to do things to get the best result. The neck is a 3-ply laminate of maple and bubinga, and has an ebony fingerboard. At the moment it is all raw wood. There is a mother of pearl inlay at the 12th fret position, and the frets are not yet fitted. I have Melvyn Hiscock's book, and a StewMac fretting book, and a Dan Erlewine book from which to draw inspiration. So, would the most sensible order be: 1: install frets 2: lacquer/oil neck (see separate question below) 3: level and crown frets? Also, regarding lacquering/oiling: is it normal to do this after fret installation? Won't the fets now have lacquer/oil on them? Should I even be lacquering/oiling the fingerboard? Is that simply a matter of personal preference? What about the inlay? Do I mask the fingerboard, and just finish the neck? Nngggg......I'm so confused!!! Really appreciate any help here!! Thanks DJ

Am I going insane, or is that a 23-fret neck?????? :D Maybe the double dot isn't on the 12th fret, but it looks like it is.......... I would hate having the vol pot in that position too. I think my hand would catch on the edge of the fingerboard when trying to turn the knob. Pity, cos I really like the overall look of the thing! DJ

That's exactly what I had in mind! I do not want "dead" spots in switch positions 2 and 4! And, yeah, a photo would be very useful, even a poor photo might be of some use?? Thanks! DJ

Belt sander?? DJ

What value of resistor(s) did you use? DJ

Hi, Is this what you need? http://www.westone.info/wiring/dynasty/index.html DJ

Thank you curtisa, this is indeed most helpful!! I feel I now understand what you're saying quite well. I've sourced diodes; the LEDs I've ordered come with resistors (if they're not suitable I now know what to do about it), and I understand the situation regarding the switch arrangement! The only trouble I'm having now is sourcing an appropriate switch with 3 poles - anyone have any suggestions? Could I "add" a pole by modifying a standard 3-way 2-pole switch??? I've found a 5-way 4-pole one here: http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/S...ver_Switch.html Ideally I'd prefer to keep a 3-way for ease of use, but if a 5-way proved to be the only way to incorporate enough poles in one switch then so be it, I guess! Any thoughts, anyone?? Thanks, DJ

Hey, that's fantastic, thank you! Wish I could read schematics! I need to know what IN4001 means - is that a diode? (Diode allows current in one direction only right??) I think I understand from your schematic that the orientation of each diode is critical here, esp. the ones on the centre contact of the switch......am I right? How do you determine the orientation of the diode, are they marked? And I need to know what 390 means, is it a resistor? What does the bit about the spare wafer on the switch mean exactly? Is a wafer a contact? And if so, why do I need a spare? Please elaborate! And please excuse my lack of knowledge!! Here is what the switch looks like: As you can see, it has 8 contacts. Greatly appreciate your help here! Thank you, DJ

Hi all! Happy New Year to one and all! OK, here's the situation: Recently upgraded the pickups in my 7-string to EMGs. The previous pickups had factory-installed micro toggle switches to coiltap each pickup. Since the EMGs are not tappable, I'm left with two holes in my guitar body. For the moment I've simply plugged them with small black round rubber grommets, which is OK but a far from elegant solution. I have no intention of having the guitar refinished BTW! Recently it occured to me that I could fill these two holes with a pair of LEDs. Fitting them will present no problems, however it's regarding the wiring of them that I have questions. I would ideally like them to act as "pickup selector indicators" if you like, ie each LED corresponds to a pickup which would be lit up when that pickup is in use. The guitar has humbuckers in both neck and bridge, and there are two LEDs planned. The guitar already has a 9v battery installed for the active EMGs, so that's power sorted! The problem I can't quite work out is how to wire the LEDs so that, when the 3-way switch is in the centre position (ie BOTH pickups are on) then BOTH LEDs are on. Really appreciate anything helpful! Thanks, DJ

Sweet!! My Westone Spectrum's frets look like that, and I was thinking I was gonna have to refret! Mine are so bad that I can't get it to play in tune properly at the first 3 or 4 frets. Maybe the nut needs work too, hmm... Anyway, good thing I just ordered a fretfile! Now I'll be able have a go at levelling and recrowning first, and if I stuff that up I can refret anyway. Result!

Yup, you can't really go wrong with an old Westone warhorse! And I certainly wouldn't part with mine for only $100, no way.... Dave Brock of Hawkwind played a Westone Spectrum too..........I know, I know, you're all going "WHO??"

Westone was an entry level line of guitars & basses through St. Louis Music (SLM) in the 80's & early 90's. They focused their attention on the young aspiring hair metal players, like myself. I'm guessing they were made in Asia, but I'm not sure. SLM also mady Alvarez, Alvarez/Yairi, and Crate amps. I seem to remember them having something else, but I'm not sure what. you thinking of Aria maybe? DJ

Although I certainly wouldn't argue the sense in your comments (and indeed, I quite agree with many - especially from a financial viewpoint!), I would like to make the following points for consideration: Westone guitars from the 1980's were mostly made at the reputable Matsumoku factory in Japan, and are well-crafted instruments actually!! Many are still quite sought-after even today. I have a Westone Spectrum LX from 1985, and in it's day it was a reasonably well-spec'd guitar. It has as standard: solid mahogany body, hard maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, graphite nut, metallic paintjob, coil-tap on both bridge and neck humbuckers, and a centre single coil pickup. It cost $575 in 1986, making it quite pricey I thought! Here's some info: http://www.westone.info/spectrumlx.html Now, I bought mine as beat-up banger in 1992 for £30 ($55-60US) tell me that ain't a bargain!!! I've spent some money on it over the years, maybe £100 in total, but it has given me years of rewarding service and I would never part with it! It badly needs a re-fret now though! I've replaced the pickups, nut, tuners, jack, pots and knobs - some for mechanical or cosmetic purposes, others just for fun! In the end, I have a perfectly serviceable, nicely spec'd instrument for very little money! The pickups would be very easy to replace/upgrade (although the original ones in mine were surprisingly good), but the bridge is another story altogether! The studs are not the same spacing as eg. a Floyd, making a straight swap-out impossible, so some thought would have to go into that. According to this page - http://www.westone.info/dynasty.html - your Dynasty will have a maple body. Me? I would go for it! Just an opinion, but that's why we're all here right? Good luck, and yeah I'm interested to see how you get on! DJ

Thanks for your comments fellas! Quick question: I'm in the UK-is titebond a water-based glue? I'm thinking it isn't.... This is my first attempt! To attach the fingerboard I used Evo Stick wood glue, which I believe to be a water-based PVA adhesive. Maybe next time I'll use epoxy?! I also don't fancy waiting over a year before doing anything more with the neck I'm making. (I'm only doing one guitar at a time. I can see why that's do-able if you're in small production runs!) So, lessons learned here so far: 1. carve neck shape before attaching fingerboard! 2. attach fingerboard with epoxy glue 3. consider dry storage period after attaching fingerboard How does that sound? Now in terms of what to do next - is sanding the fingerboard flat again THE way forward for this neck now? Thank you all, DJ

Hi all, Just a quick question regarding the very first neck I'm making. Here are the details: It's a 3-ply laminate of maple/bubinga/maple, with an ebony fingerboard, and it's coming along nicely. It has 24 frets, it's for a 7-string solid body electric guitar, and it has quite a flat radius (>16"??), and a one-way truss rod. After attaching the fingerboard I successfully levelled the 'board. (The 'board was bought pre-slotted and pre-radiused.) However, after shaping the underside of the neck I find the neck now has some undesirable backbow! It's not very much, less than 1mm, but it was not there before the neck shaping - I measured and measured so many times!! I seem to think this could be due to the removal of wood?? I have yet to fret the neck, so my question is: Do I need to "re-level" the neck again before attempting to install frets? (And I'm thinking "Yes, I do, of course, cos the fret levelling won't be able to make up for that much") And if this is necessary, do I do that by sanding the fingerboard flat again? Like, sand out the "centre-bulge"?? I'm assuming I can't "bend" the neck straight again???? I mean, I can't straighten it using the truss rod either, cos it will pull the neck into an even more severe backbow, won't it? I realise that when strung, there will be some pull from the strings in the direction which would help my situation, but I can't imagine it's clever to even attempt fret-levelling with the neck not entirely flat???? I can post photos if anyone feels it would help! Appreciate anything useful. Thanks, DJ

Hi, What about one of these babies??!!! DJ

Yeah, clamping was not as good as I would have liked! My own fault. You live and learn I guess!!! Not to worry, I've now flattened the 'board again with a long level sanding stick, and it has worked a treat! Now I'll leave it a few days to stabilize before checking that it's flat again. DJ