Well, the pickup I had on my electric was bad but instead of just sending me a new pickup Rondo Music sent me a whole new assembly, pickguard 3 pickups, knobs, switch, everything assembled. So that made my life easier.
Well, I wanted to install a new pickguard and volume/tone knobs and pickup covers....here's where the horror comes in. I took apart the assembly in order to put it on the new pickguard so I did that. Stupid me, didn't check to make sure the holes lined up or where the wires were on the output jack. The holes didn't line up for the pickguard and I don't have a drill, and don't really want to drill, very bad experiences for me in that respect. So I thought okay, I'll just install the black pickup covers over the pickups and see how that looks.....the pickups were GLUED in to the white covers that came with the assembly, so I can't do that. Oh well, want a couple hot rails anyway, so maybe I'll do it later when I've got some cash. Well I put the assembly back together and fed the wires to where they needed to be and it worked out okay. After figuring which wire went where on the output jack, I had trouble soldering it in, then I figured out the trick is to tin the iron and do it that way, at least it worked for me. Success in that finally.
So I was able to install the gold knobs on the strat and put red strings on it, and that was about it after installing the new pickups. The experience was worth it I think though....I learned alot in this process. How to solder being the biggest thing. Plus I've never strung an electric guitar before. And adjusting pickup height was cool as well to figure out what kind of sound I wanted, or how hot I guess is the right term.
Wow this was long winded.
I'd post pictures of it but it pretty much looks the same LOL.
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
didn't happen without pics...... :evil: ..........
Joe, I know the horror and anxiety you felt. working with wires and hot solder and delicate guitar parts is a hairy deal.
being methodical helps calm the nerves. having some tools really helps. I think a drill and a good solder gun are two essentials for guitar mod work. pre drilling into the guitar body keeps those tiny screws from being stripped. now that is horror.
pics, yeah, let's see. :idea:
didn't happen without pics...... :evil: ..........
*snip snip*
pics, yeah, let's see. :idea:
yes yes yes yes yes yes YES YES YES!!!!
uh, what he said. yeah.
Congratulations.
Sounds very good - a successful first attempt, and like you said: valuable experience. :wink:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
didn't happen without pics...... :evil: ..........
LOL
Okay here are a couple pics
This is the original
This is the part where I freaked out cause it was too late to turn back
Here is the finished product
And here is the parts that were removed plus extras from the pickguard assembly that I did not use
So it basically looks the same, I just went through a whole bunch of steps to do make it that way LOL
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
Nice work Joe!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Looks like fun
Good job on your first mod.
But I gotta tell you, if it were me doing it, I don't think I would have used a video edit suite as my work shop :lol:
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
Looks good, but the manufacturer did not equip their harness with pot-to-pot grounds which is an extra good idea. Also, no shielding to keep out 60 cycle or other hum and interference.
P.S. A late idea: check your ground wire to the claw inside the tremolo cavity to see that everything's continuous, hooked up and tight. :D
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
with pics ...it happened. :D
I love the pic with the extra parts and the 'too late to turn back' pic.
nice job Joe. to silence a lap steel I made I soldered a ground between the pots (back to back).
But I gotta tell you, if it were me doing it, I don't think I would have used a video edit suite as my work shop :lol:
LOL
I work as an Operations Engineer at a TV Station so I wasn't at a video editing station. I was at the place that put all of our programming on air. :lol:
There was a wire that went to the back of the guitar that was soldered into it, was a ground wire I think, but I don't know what it grounded, it came from the tone knobs. The other ground came from the volume switch and went to the output
jack.
with pics ...it happened. :D
:lol:
As far as the shielding and such....I wouldn't expect too much, it was a $100 guitar, but it works well for me.
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
Good work Joe. 8)
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
I work as an Operations Engineer at a TV Station so I wasn't at a video editing station. I was at the place that put all of our programming on air. :lol:
Ahh, master control.
No wonder you had time to do it at work. :wink:
/former ENG camera, news editor and later station engineer
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
Congrats on your first mod. It's fun to change out or repair stuff yourself. I've got quite the little collection of leftover or unwanted parts myself. Save you some money to boot. I've only paid one to have them put in, and that was because Seymour Duncan was running some deal where you get whatever you want if you don't like them. The pro shop has to install them to qualify. $40 for two pickups and a set-up with new strings which I supplied. No way I could say no.
My big project yesterday was to shave the bottom side of the saddle on my Taylor 214 yesterday. It took many. many iterations ofmeasureing, loosening strings, take saddle out, grind/sand down the underside, put saddle back in, tighten and tune strings, measure, repeat as neccesary. And then when I got it all to spec, I put on a new set of strings. One problem. I went back to 12's from 11's. Had to do the process two more times. It might get a third one. It was dead-on specs. Well see how things feel this morning.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Ahh, master control.
No wonder you had time to do it at work. :wink:
LOL!
Yeah...only on Fridays though. We just cut more from our department so now generally I'm Master Control for a few hours, tape and ingesting our commericals for a few hours, and then I Technical Direct our Morning news....so Fridays are my favorite night since I can leave everything for other people :wink:
RParker, the fact that you are modifying a Taylor guitar terrifies me. I would take mine to a Taylor shop for sure....if I had one.
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
