Do You Hot Rod Your Electrics?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by jricc

Very cool work on that Epi Rockabilly!
I had the same guitar that i added a single Dearmond to the neck position, vol control on the upper right bout and blended it with the crappy piezo. It was just ok, so i sold it. I think your idea of completely converting to an "electric" is a better idea. Well done!

I think I saw yours before I did mine which inspired me. I just hated the piezo.

I really wanted a bridge pickup though, so much so, that I recently bought a real vintage Epiphone, a 1951 Kent that was rebuilt by a very respectable luthier, Gary Zimkicki. https://zimnicki.com/

(refin, new tuners, planed fingerboard, new german silver frets, new pickguard)

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Being relatively newly back into electric some 5 years, I have have not done any modification to my two electric guitars. And so far have only ventured into changing the output tubes in my Supro
But I find the subject interesting and am impressed by the work being done by members here

Kev, I know you are a PRS fan so here's one that I worked one, a 1998 Custom 22. Me on the other hand, I've never had good luck with them, but I got this guitar in a trade in. It looked great, but it sounded TERRIBLE!!! I was just going to sell it, but, I loved the weight and the feel of the neck, so I went to work on it, and the transformation was incredible. The only thing holding this guitar back was the pickups. .

It originally came with Dragon pickups, which were WAY too hot for my style of playing, so I swapped he pickups for an unbelievably good sounding set of pickups made my WOLFETONE. The set is a Dr Vintage in the neck, and a Marshallhead in the bridge. And, I also swapped out those terrible designed first generation Phase I tuners with the same vintage Schaller tuners but with a more sensible locking mechanism. I really disliked changing strings with the original tuners...

Phase I tunerse....



Same exact tuning mechanism (both were made by Schaller), but more sensible lockers...



I did have to grind the edges off of the top tuners tuners to use the one PRS mounting hole (PRS did the same with his branded tuners)



Stock Dragon pickups....



And here's the new pickups after being installed...



clean tones...


dirty tones...

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

That's a sweet looking Jazzmaster Chickee.

Did that TonePros bridge fit right into the stock bridge thimbles from a rocking bridge, or did your guitar come with a tune-o-matic that you replaced with a higher quality one? And were you having problems with sympathetic vibrations? I've seen some serious Jazzmaster guys using the buzz-stop, but with my Halon hardware I haven't experienced any of those problems (I also shimmed my neck pocket to get more break angle on my bridge, so I think that may have helped)

Do prefer the 500K pots? I was thinking about going that way, but I decided I like the brightness that I get with the CTS 1 Meg pots (for when I'm playing through heavy overdrive or fuzz), although normally I have the tone pot turned down a bit for day to day playing. I can see why many people go to 500K, and I know some guys even like 250K.

When we were talking about the roller pots I said used CTS pots (not Switchcraft, and I changed the rollers and the bracket that holds the pots too). I used the same pots in both my Jaguar and Jazzmaster. I got my parts from https://darrenriley.com/

And Happy New Year to you and yours Frank!

Hey Rocky, the OEM bridge was pot metal with rattling springs, that’s why the TonePros TOM. Just a slight scrape to make the new thimbles fit. There is a 4degree shim in the neck to dial the action down to LesPaul level. The 500k pots were creamier with the LindyFralin single coils. The guitar had 1meg when new, but much to hot for my playing style. I’m medium grind with this guitar. The black strat with the Texas Specials in the opening post is the more modern, OD/Fuzz guitar. The trem you put in must be more substantial than the OEM unit. That’s why you don’t get all that vibe in the strings behind the bridge. I may look into that! You are absolutely correct, it was CTS rollers we were discussing about replacement in the rhythm circuit of the Jazzmaster. So much to do, so little time. Bahahaha. Stay well,
frank d.

And BTW, Thanks again for sharing that terrific work you do on your guitars to make them truly your own. That has always been my reasoning for doing this also.
fd

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

Hey Rocky, the OEM bridge was pot metal with rattling springs, that’s why the TonePros TOM. Just a slight scrape to make the new thimbles fit. There is a 4degree shim in the neck to dial the action down to LesPaul level. The 500meg pots were creamier with the LindyFralin single coils. The guitar had 1k when new, but much to hot for my playing style. I’m medium grind with this guitar. The black strat with the Texas Specials in the opening post is the more modern, OD/Fuzz guitar. The trem you put in must be more substantial than the OEM unit. That’s why you don’t get all that vibe in the strings behind the bridge. I may look into that! You are absolutely correct, it was CTS rollers we were discussing about replacement in the rhythm circuit of the Jazzmaster. So much to do, so little time. Bahahaha. Stay well,
frank d.

And BTW, Thanks again for sharing that terrific work you do on your guitars to make them truly your own. That has always been my reasoning for doing this also.
fd

I didn't know there were special thimbles made for Tuneamatic bridges. I learn something new every day! Can you point me to the ones you used? I may have to pass this info along to a friend. And yes, the stock bridges on many Jaguars are really low quality. The Halon hardware is exceptional, but very expensive. The bridge on mine is machined 7075 aluminum with MS58 brass saddles.

I don't think you meant a 4 degree shim, I think you meant a 0.25 , 0.5, or at most, a 1 degree shim to get the neck angle at 4 degrees On my newer Wildwood Edition Jaguar the body already had a angled neck pocket which made it much easier to set up the bridge.


Were your pickups hotter sounding with the 1M pots? Mine don't sound hotter, just brighter. BTW, I'm like you, I like medium grind or less. I''m not much of high gain player.

I'm looking forward to reading about any more mods you may do, this is a good thread!

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I didn't know there were special thimbles made for Tuneamatic bridges. I learn something new every day! Can you point me to the ones you used? I may have to pass this info along to a friend. And yes, the stock bridges on many Jaguars are really low quality. The Halon hardware is exceptional, but very expensive. The bridge on mine is machined 7075 aluminum with MS58 brass saddles.

I don't think you meant a 4 degree shim, I think you meant a 0.25 , 0.5, or at most, a 1 degree shim to get the neck angle at 4 degrees On my newer Wildwood Edition Jaguar the body already had a angled neck pocket which made it much easier to set up the bridge.


Were your pickups hotter sounding with the 1M pots? Mine don't sound hotter, just brighter. BTW, I'm like you, I like medium grind or less. I''m not much of high gain player.

I'm looking forward to reading about any more mods you may do, this is a good thread!

A 0.5degree shim, Dan. My mistake. The original p/u’s with the 1m pots were very hot by design. One of the biggest complaints of the Classic Player. The LF Noiseless we’re still silent but ice picky. I opted for the 500k to warm them up and smooth out the sound at higher gain settings(which aren’t very high to most, but to me it was too distorted.)
The thimbles depend what size screws the bridge uses. The original thimbles had tiny screws for the OEM bridge, and the TonePros are quite substantial in size. Photo to follow.
I had a feeling you would validate my thoughts on your replacement trem system. It just looks substantial, much more so than the Fender piece. Therefore, no vibration to the strings after the bridge.

[Chickee]

This is what’s on the Jazzmaster now. Pardon my pick dust! Bahahaha!

[Rudy4]

Sure.
Back when American Teles weren't particularly good instruments I purchased two MIM Teles and built new completely hollow bodies for them. One was blue-stained flame maple and the other was birdseye maple clear.

They also got pickup swaps (Texas Specials) 4 way switching, custom stainless bridge plates, custom stainless control plates so I could change control positions, recessed Dunlop straploks, and a few other details I don't remember.

I gave both of them away (good Karma...) when I stopped playing electric guitar and concentrated on acoustic.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I think I saw yours before I did mine which inspired me. I just hated the piezo.

I really wanted a bridge pickup though, so much so, that I recently bought a real vintage Epiphone, a 1951 Kent that was rebuilt by a very respectable luthier, Gary Zimkicki. https://zimnicki.com/

(refin, new tuners, planed fingerboard, new german silver frets, new pickguard)

This is sweet!

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Sure.
Back when American Teles weren't particularly good instruments I purchased two MIM Teles and built new completely hollow bodies for them. One was blue-stained flame maple and the other was birdseye maple clear.

They also got pickup swaps (Texas Specials) 4 way switching, custom stainless bridge plates, custom stainless control plates so I could change control positions, recessed Dunlop straploks, and a few other details I don't remember.

I gave both of them away (good Karma...) when I stopped playing electric guitar and concentrated on acoustic.

Nice work Rudy!

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Sure.
Back when American Teles weren't particularly good instruments I purchased two MIM Teles and built new completely hollow bodies for them. One was blue-stained flame maple and the other was birdseye maple clear.

They also got pickup swaps (Texas Specials) 4 way switching, custom stainless bridge plates, custom stainless control plates so I could change control positions, recessed Dunlop straploks, and a few other details I don't remember.

I gave both of them away (good Karma...) when I stopped playing electric guitar and concentrated on acoustic.

Hey Rudy, two very cool hot rods! The blue maple is killer!

[DBW]

No. I have an American Performer Strat in Lake Placid Blue. I got it as B stock. It had a chip in it so I bought a $15 tube of 57 Cadillac car paint and filled in the chip. Can't even tell where the chip was. My guitar instructor also helped me adjust the saddle and intonate. But no major mods.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Kev, I know you are a PRS fan so here's one that I worked one, a 1998 Custom 22. Me on the other hand, I've never had good luck with them, but I got this guitar in a trade in. It looked great, but it sounded TERRIBLE!!! I was just going to sell it, but, I loved the weight and the feel of the neck, so I went to work on it, and the transformation was incredible. The only thing holding this guitar back was the pickups. .

It originally came with Dragon pickups, which were WAY too hot for my style of playing, so I swapped he pickups for an unbelievably good sounding set of pickups made my WOLFETONE. The set is a Dr Vintage in the neck, and a Marshallhead in the bridge. And, I also swapped out those terrible designed first generation Phase I tuners with the same vintage Schaller tuners but with a more sensible locking mechanism. I really disliked changing strings with the original tuners...

Phase I tunerse....
Same exact tuning mechanism (both were made by Schaller), but more sensible lockers...
I did have to grind the edges off of the top tuners tuners to use the one PRS mounting hole (PRS did the same with his branded tuners)
Stock Dragon pickups....
And here's the new pickups after being installed...

clean tones...


dirty tones...

Very cool looks and sounds great
Interestingly enough I kinda fell into my PRS.
I had been haunting a number of stores ( back in the good ol' pre covid days) playing mostly Strats, Teles, and some LP 's thinking as I did (being a child of the 60s ) that I would be getting either a Fender or a Gibson .
On Black Friday at one independent store the owner suggest I try this PRS CE 24 he was putting on sale , I did, and that was that, I took it home and never looked back

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

This is what’s on the Jazzmaster now. Pardon my pick dust! Bahahaha!

That bridge on your Jazzmaster look very solid!!! So was the original bridge a cheaper tuneamatic style, or was it the traditional Jaguar rocking in the thimbles style? I've seen Classic Player's with both.

Your choice of the 500K pots sounds sensible to me. I typically experiment to find what works best, and to tell you the truth I may put 500ks in my Jazzmaster and leave the Jag with 1M.

I used a .5 shim in my Jag too! I used a .25 in my Jazzmaster, as I think the Japanese reissues have a slighter different neck pocket. But like you, I went with mine because it has a rosewood fingerboard.

Funny thing though, I thought I would prefer rosewood to the pau-ferro on my Jaguar, but I don't, the pau ferro board on my Jaguar is one of the best feeling fingerboards I've ever had on a Fender.

My Wildwood edition Jaguar has the most beautiful rosewood board, but unfortunately it has binding, which I'm not too big of a fan of on Fender. If the darn thing didn't sound so good, I'd swap it out for a non bound lacquer neck, but I'm afraid it will change the sound too much. It may sound like black magic to some people, but I think a good percentage of electric guitar tone comes from the neck.

Sometimes, because I'm a traditionalist at heart, I buy parts just because they were on the vintage models, but then I realize I should have given the new thing a chance. A perfect example of that is, the body of my Jaguar is poplar, which I always thought was a cheap guitar wood, but I've totally changed my mid about that, because I love it. If I build another Fender style guitar, I would put that wood at the top of my list! It would be a Tele with a nitro Fiesta Red poplar body, with a nitro finished maple neck with a Pau Ferro fingerboard, and I would use DeArmond pickups.

[Chickee]

It was the cheap pot metal type, Dan, with the soft springs wrapped around the adjustment screws with thin posts into the narrow sized thimbles. The springs rattled on the screws and the posts were much too delicate. This TonePros bridge is a perfect replacement for size and string spacing.
I cant wait to see this next build pf yours, when it happens. I must say though, with rosewood fretboards going the way of the dinosaur, I see myself leaning towards maple and ebony going forward. To each his/her own, i guess.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Chickee

It was the cheap pot metal type, Dan, with the soft springs wrapped around the adjustment screws with thin posts into the narrow sized thimbles. The springs rattled on the screws and the posts were much too delicate. This TonePros bridge is a perfect replacement for size and string spacing.
I cant wait to see this next build pf yours, when it happens. I must say though, with rosewood fretboards going the way of the dinosaur, I see myself leaning towards maple and ebony going forward. To each his/her own, i guess.

Was it a tunematic though" Or was it the standard Jaguar/Jazzmaster type like this...



As for the fingerboard thing

I love ebony too, and that's why I like the Pau Ferro, is has that type of tight grain and is extremely smooth to the touch. It's funny how Pau Ferro is getting such a bad name when the Fender Custom shop used it on one of my favorite guitars, the TELE Jr (and the Stevie Ray Vaughn Strat)! It used to be an upcharge, but a bunch of forum people in reacting to Fender using it, are slagging because they think it an inferior choice to rosewood. And like rosewood, you have to look for one with cool grain, and there's plenty out there. And Suhr likes to use it too.

I've never been a maple fan because of a bad experience with a 70's Tele with the finish gooped on I did built my Strat with a maple board for the tradition 50's tone though. It's the only one of my 50 or so guitars!!! The nitro on that Strat neck is much better applied than the gooped poly of that Tele! So I'm kinda coming back around on that.