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Post by zontar on Jul 10, 2021 22:59:46 GMT
I have shared this before, and a full thread back on Axe Talk. But if we have this section, it deserves its own thread. As I mentioned elsewhere I have modded two guitars--this is one of them. It started life as a Matsumoku made Les Paul Custom copy--with a bolt on neck. Looking pretty much like this:  Over time I removed the pick guard (It was a cream that didn't match the other cream--but worse it blocked the woodgrain. I removed the pickup covers (at that time I thought it gave them a bit louder output-whether or not it really did is another discussion, but comments welcome) I also replaced the knobs with speed knobs--gold at first. Also the top strap knob went flying out of it just before I was about to play in a band in front of people for the first time--this was the screw coming out--strap locks would have done nothing. And later on I replaced the machine heads . First the low E one broke (Plastic casing)-and the string wouldn't stay in tune. I replaced that with a similar one. Later two more broke, and I replaced them all with metal cased tuners--that are still on there. Also the sticker on the headstock fell off along the way. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 10, 2021 23:40:23 GMT
It spent many years looking like this before I decided to really mod it beyond cosmetic changes, and machine head replacement.  So note some of the changes noted above-covers removed, gold speed knobs, no pickguard. It was in this state when I decided I wanted a guitar set up for open G & slide playing. So rather than buy a new one-(which I wasn't against, but my bank account was), I tried playing slide on this one. I decided with some mods it would work well. I had some parts from a previous project that never came about, and I decided what else I needed, and set out to acquire the parts. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 11, 2021 0:16:17 GMT
Feel free to comment or ask questions. So this post completes the mods--sort of. For these final steps I replaced the following parts: -A Tusq nut (the previous one was a plastic & worn out) -Black pickup rings (To go with a theme) -Black Switch tip (To go with a theme) -Metal jackplate (The old plastic one was cracked & so sometimes the cable/plug moved & made crackling noises.) -Black strap knobs (To go with a theme-and also they are larger than the ones it came with & the one I replaced.) -Black Speed Knobs (To go with a theme to replace the gold ones) -Two mini toggle switches for pickup switching options. And the main change the pickups: in the neck, a Seymour Duncan P-Rail-wired for P-90, rail or humbucker in the bridge, a Seymour Duncan JB-wired for series, parallel, split coil.  Back with tales of the pickups... |
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Post by zontar on Jul 11, 2021 0:55:05 GMT
The pickups that came in this guitar were not that good--I mean they did the job, but they didn't fit what I wanted, and they were becoming microphonic.
So I decided to swap them out.
My initial strategy was to try to keep the cost down.
Certainly when you mod a guitar you typically don't recover the cost of the parts if you later sell it.
That wasn't my concern, I planned to keep it.
If I did ever sell this I might just put the old pickups back in & sell the pickups separately.
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Post by zontar on Jul 11, 2021 1:09:59 GMT
No doubt some sharp eyes have noticed the colour of the JB pickup.  When I was seeking out pickups I was considering an off brand I had heard good things about. (I forget the brand.) I went to a store that carried those pickups to buy one of them. They didn't have the ones I was looking for, and offered to order them for me. While they were looking that up I noticed a Seymour Duncan JB that was dark pink. the price was about the same as the off brand pickups. So I asked bout it. It was new, it was accustom order, the customer who ordered it wound up not buying it. So they kept lowering the price. Nobody seems to want a pickup that colour--so I got a great price. I decided if I didn't like the look I could always get a cover for it. It was no-brainer. The P-Rail interested me when I first saw an ad for it. I tried some guitars with P-Rails & liked them--and thought it would suit my style--especially for slide. I got one at a different store for a good price. One thing about it as well, is I asked if there was a difference between he bridge & neck version. They said no they were wrong--so I have a bridge P-Rail int he neck position--and the Rail & P-90 sides are reversed from what a neck P-Rail will have. But it works for me. If I ever put a P-Rail in another guitar I will likely put a bridge one in the neck. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 11, 2021 1:20:08 GMT
One last post for now--but again--feel free to make comments or ask questions. I do have one last mod to do on this. I have bought a black bridge & tailpiece to put on this--to go with a theme. It's a matter of having a friend help out with cutting the bridge saddle slots, and intonation it with his Conn Strobo Tuner. It's been tough getting together with him one r the last year & a half (Covid of course--and other reasons too) And as a bonus--there's a look at the woodgrain on the back  |
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Post by johnreardon on Jul 11, 2021 7:29:19 GMT
Nice looking guitar. Never seen coloured pickups like that before
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2021 12:26:35 GMT
That guitar has a beautiful top on it. Love the color. Good luck with the tail piece and bridge mod, and thanks for posting your project.
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Post by zontar on Jul 12, 2021 5:57:24 GMT
Nice looking guitar. Never seen coloured pickups like that before Thanks. You can order customs coloured bobbins from some replacement pickup makers--such as Seymour Duncan. Some signature guitars have them as well--like some of Steve Vai's. I wasn't sure of the colour at first, but since I could also put a cover on it, I went with it, and I like it. It gives it a different look. So I'm not covering it up. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 12, 2021 6:07:05 GMT
That guitar has a beautiful top on it. Love the color. Good luck with the tail piece and bridge mod, and thanks for posting your project. Thanks. Hopefully with things opening up I will get the new bridge & tailpiece on soon. The top is a veneer--but yeah I like it a lot. It was one of the reasons I removed the pickguard--and the main reason it stayed off. In general my rule of thumb for pick guards on Les Paul & Les Paul type guitars is that if you can see the woodgrain, no pick guard. If it's solid colour and no grain--pickguard.  |
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Post by zontar on Jul 12, 2021 7:10:35 GMT
I also was gong to mention the strings.
Normally I've use 9-42.
Then I got an arch top where I use 10-52.
So when I decided to check out this guitar for slide I tried 10-46.
I liked that, but after the mods decided to try a heavier gauge--so I have 11-50 on it.
I didn't realize it at the time, but remembered later that I had used 11-50 on it before.
Back in the guitar's early days with me, when the strap knob & screw went flying (See above)-I was silently practicing chords and so I caught the neck & guitar--so no other damage to the body or neck--but two strings broke.
So my Dad offered to pick up some new strings--and he came home with two sets of 11-50s
At that time I was learning hammer ons & pull-offs--which weren't as easy that way.
But after learning that on the heavier strings when I switched back to 9-42s--they were quite easy.
After suffering for a bit I went & bought a single 9 and did a string change
I had the new 9 as the first string & simply moved each string tot h next lower one.
The low E 50 I later put on the Baux II --which maybe I need to repost some day.
But the guitar has come back to 11-50s
And now it's not a bad thing.
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Post by johnreardon on Jul 12, 2021 8:16:31 GMT
I also was gong to mention the strings. Normally I've use 9-42. Then I got an arch top where I use 10-52. So when I decided to check out this guitar for slide I tried 10-46. I liked that, but after the mods decided to try a heavier gauge--so I have 11-50 on it. I didn't realize it at the time, but remembered later that I had used 11-50 on it before. Back in the guitar's early days with me, when the strap knob & screw went flying (See above)-I was silently practicing chords and so I caught the neck & guitar--so no other damage to the body or neck--but two strings broke. So my Dad offered to pick up some new strings--and he came home with two sets of 11-50s At that time I was learning hammer ons & pull-offs--which weren't as easy that way. But after learning that on the heavier strings when I switched back to 9-42s--they were quite easy. After suffering for a bit I went & bought a single 9 and did a string change I had the new 9 as the first string & simply moved each string tot h next lower one. The low E 50 I later put on the Baux II --which maybe I need to repost some day. But the guitar has come back to 11-50s And now it's not a bad thing. And there's me the wimp, using 8s |
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Post by laristotle on Jul 12, 2021 10:09:11 GMT
And there's me the wimp, using 8s From the reverend Billy, who uses 7's; “When we started out, we thought the way to get a bluesy sound was to use the heaviest strings our fingers could possibly attempt to tame. But one afternoon backstage – it was early, early in the game; I was probably about 20, 21 – we had a spot on a blues show. BB King was part of the lineup. He spotted my guitar in the corner and said, ‘Let me have strum.’ He picked it up, played a few notes, looked at me kind of quizzically and said, ‘The strings are a little heavy, aren’t they?’ I said, ‘Well, BB, isn’t that the way to get [good bluesy tone]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll do you a favor. They’ve got a thing called light gauge – why are you working so hard?’ |
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Post by johnreardon on Jul 12, 2021 11:52:28 GMT
And there's me the wimp, using 8s From the reverend Billy, who uses 7's; “When we started out, we thought the way to get a bluesy sound was to use the heaviest strings our fingers could possibly attempt to tame. But one afternoon backstage – it was early, early in the game; I was probably about 20, 21 – we had a spot on a blues show. BB King was part of the lineup. He spotted my guitar in the corner and said, ‘Let me have strum.’ He picked it up, played a few notes, looked at me kind of quizzically and said, ‘The strings are a little heavy, aren’t they?’ I said, ‘Well, BB, isn’t that the way to get [good bluesy tone]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll do you a favor. They’ve got a thing called light gauge – why are you working so hard?’I used 10s since the 60s, then a few years ago I went down to 9.5s and eventually 9s. In the lockdown, I went down to 8s as my fingers weren't getting the practice. I also raised the action slightly. Vibrato is a lot better and I bend till the cows come home |
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Post by Die Bullen on Jul 12, 2021 21:57:24 GMT
And there's me the wimp, using 8s From the reverend Billy, who uses 7's; “When we started out, we thought the way to get a bluesy sound was to use the heaviest strings our fingers could possibly attempt to tame. But one afternoon backstage – it was early, early in the game; I was probably about 20, 21 – we had a spot on a blues show. BB King was part of the lineup. He spotted my guitar in the corner and said, ‘Let me have strum.’ He picked it up, played a few notes, looked at me kind of quizzically and said, ‘The strings are a little heavy, aren’t they?’ I said, ‘Well, BB, isn’t that the way to get [good bluesy tone]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll do you a favor. They’ve got a thing called light gauge – why are you working so hard?’7's? My goodness, I use 13's- almost double the thickness! But I don't use them to be macho. I like some serious tension and I am a rhythm player. I play pretty hard so 10s and 11's snap right and left on me. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 13, 2021 2:22:44 GMT
I also was gong to mention the strings. Normally I've use 9-42. Then I got an arch top where I use 10-52. So when I decided to check out this guitar for slide I tried 10-46. I liked that, but after the mods decided to try a heavier gauge--so I have 11-50 on it. I didn't realize it at the time, but remembered later that I had used 11-50 on it before. Back in the guitar's early days with me, when the strap knob & screw went flying (See above)-I was silently practicing chords and so I caught the neck & guitar--so no other damage to the body or neck--but two strings broke. So my Dad offered to pick up some new strings--and he came home with two sets of 11-50s At that time I was learning hammer ons & pull-offs--which weren't as easy that way. But after learning that on the heavier strings when I switched back to 9-42s--they were quite easy. After suffering for a bit I went & bought a single 9 and did a string change I had the new 9 as the first string & simply moved each string tot h next lower one. The low E 50 I later put on the Baux II --which maybe I need to repost some day. But the guitar has come back to 11-50s And now it's not a bad thing. And there's me the wimp, using 8s I've tried 8s They didn't work for me. But if that's what you like--go for it. |
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Post by zontar on Jul 13, 2021 2:24:44 GMT
All this reminds me, I need to go change some strings--not on the guitar above though.
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Post by Bill h on Jul 16, 2021 15:44:35 GMT
I don’t have a light touch on guitar strings, 8’s would not last long with me.
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Post by johnreardon on Jul 16, 2021 17:16:07 GMT
I don’t have a light touch on guitar strings, 8’s would not last long with me. I think you would be more likely to break thicker strings. I don’t break many strings, but they have always been 10s. Never broken 8s or 9s. Broke a couple of 9.5s. I suppose it depends whether you play mainly rhythm or lead. I use my fingers to play most of the time, with a light touch |
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Post by Die Bullen on Jul 16, 2021 18:16:52 GMT
I don’t have a light touch on guitar strings, 8’s would not last long with me. I think you would be more likely to break thicker strings. I don’t break many strings, but they have always been 10s. Never broken 8s or 9s. Broke a couple of 9.5s. I suppose it depends whether you play mainly rhythm or lead. I use my fingers to play most of the time, with a light touch I'm pretty sure I would destroy 8's, but as I said, I play rhythm and I am not a light player |
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Post by zontar on Jul 17, 2021 22:22:37 GMT
Well I find the 11s work better for slide for me.
But otherwise 9s or 10s-dependign on the guitar.
If I ever decided this guitar would not be my slide guitar (So if I got a different one, or I quit trying slide)-I would likely string this with 10-46.
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Post by markr on Jul 31, 2021 13:45:48 GMT
   This is my first guitar I bought in 79', it's a MIJ copy that has been modded over the years. It has PU's out of a Tokai and I think this is the third neck I just replaced. It needs a set up and I have run out of room on the low E for intonation, I have even flipped the saddle, it's close. Tuning heads have been replaced years ago with some decent MIJ heads. Somewhere along the line the PU have been wired backwards. I had lost track of it over time and my drummer buddy gave it back to me a couple years ago with some of it missing including the neck. I am grateful to him for that! i have been using EB Slinky 9's for the last 30 years and I am not changing. |
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Post by zontar on Aug 1, 2021 1:17:17 GMT
View AttachmentView AttachmentView AttachmentThis is my first guitar I bought in 79', it's a MIJ copy that has been modded over the years. It has PU's out of a Tokai and I think this is the third neck I just replaced. It needs a set up and I have run out of room on the low E for intonation, I have even flipped the saddle, it's close. Tuning heads have been replaced years ago with some decent MIJ heads. Somewhere along the line the PU have been wired backwards. I had lost track of it over time and my drummer buddy gave it back to me a couple years ago with some of it missing including the neck. I am grateful to him for that! i have been using EB Slinky 9's for the last 30 years and I am not changing. I remember seeing stuff online saying if you had a 70s made in Japan Les Paul with a bolt on neck it wasn't worth fixing up. I'm glad I didn't listen. Looks like you didn't listen either--and have been through some different stages with it. My experience definitely showed to me that while the other parts are important, the pickups are very, very important. |
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Post by markr on Aug 1, 2021 14:16:11 GMT
zontar I had to fix it, I worked a whole summer painting a warehouse and moving a hydraulic shop when I was 14 to buy it and a peavey amp.I lived in Departure Bay, Nanaimo, BC and all my buddies were hanging out at the beach chasing girls while I was working!
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Post by zontar on Aug 2, 2021 22:59:41 GMT
zontar I had to fix it, I worked a whole summer painting a warehouse and moving a hydraulic shop when I was 14 to buy it and a peavey amp.I lived in Departure Bay, Nanaimo, BC and all my buddies were hanging out at the beach chasing girls while I was working! Well I admire the dedication. My parents bought the LP copy & after I had other guitars I barely touched it--so modding it was a way of suing it & liking it. I wouldn't have got much in return if I sold it, & I know I wouldn't recoup the cost of the mods if I sold it now (Probably better off to put the original pickup in it, and sell it & then the pickups separately.) But it isn't about resale value for me. Now I have a guitar for slide & I play it again. But at one point I lent it out & didn't care if I got it back. But as for saving up for a guitar. I did that many years ago--and yesterday was the anniversary of the first electric guitar I bought with my own money. (A used Ibanez Iceman. the only mods I did to that one were replacing the knobs & strap knobs) |
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Post by markr on Aug 3, 2021 11:48:45 GMT
I had actually traded that guitar off with a broken neck 20 years ago or so when I lived in Prince George, BC. My drummer buddy always knew I had a fondness for it and gave it back to me a couple of years ago with a broken neck and a bunch of parts missing. Can you believe it, a drummer?lol
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Post by laristotle on Aug 3, 2021 12:23:11 GMT
Can you believe it, a drummer?lol A drummer, or more specific, a drum luthier(?), made my Ricky 4001 ish bass. It's #2 of five that he's built. |
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Post by markr on Aug 4, 2021 11:14:47 GMT
laristotle This drummer is a good guy, we have kept in touch for the last fifteen years even though we didn't live in the same province.Hell of a drummer as well!
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Post by zontar on Aug 7, 2021 7:30:57 GMT
laristotle This drummer is a good guy, we have kept in touch for the last fifteen years even though we didn't live in the same province.Hell of a drummer as well! I tend to get along with drummers... |
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Post by markr on Aug 10, 2021 3:03:18 GMT
laristotle This drummer is a good guy, we have kept in touch for the last fifteen years even though we didn't live in the same province.Hell of a drummer as well! I tend to get along with drummers... I have had my differences with drummers, it was a drunken drummer that kicked that guitar over in the first place that broke the the first neck. Wanker! The next drummer bought a brand new Tama kit with the best hardware and made 2 payments at a local store I did a lot of business with and fucked off after the second payment. Then there was 8 ball Daryl til the money ran out. I have also played with some great drummers and the fellow that that gave me the guitar back was one of them. |
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