The Official Guitar Thread

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Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,163
32,743
Mustang project finally coming along now that I have all the parts. Had to get some Dremel router and sanding bits to make some cuts for the humbuckers. I got the plunge router attachment on sale for $24 and the thing works pretty well, even for free hand. Just finished up all the woodworking parts and cleaned the body up.

Next step, masking the guitar off to spray the cavity with shield paint. Not a huge concern with humbuckers from an RF perspective but it will allow me to run a strip of the paint up to match up with the ground tape on the pickguard to ground with pickup selector switch which is in an odd position (for a mustang) and came from the factory ungrounded.

Once that's done on to some quick soldering and should be good to go. I did end up picking up all new pots, switch and jack to get higher quality ones over the cheap Chinese versions that come stock. Also got some old fashioned braided gibson type wire and have some orange drop caps left so will be using one of those. Hopefully will sound good with basic circuit, but I have read I may have to add a treble bleed on the antiquities.
 

Melvin

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,399
1,168
A while back I got a Jazzmaster and pretty much immediately replaced the pickups with SD Antiquities, and the bridge and vibrato with Mastery.

I'm probably going to upgrade the nut next, because I'm pretty sure the stock plastic nut is almost entirely to blame for the guitar going slightly out of tune with vibrato usage. I've heard of people using a little bit of graphite, or Vaseline, or various brands of snake oil, but I'm skeptical and lazy and I'd prefer something more permanent. But this is my first guitar with a vibrato and I'm completely undecided about what material to use.

Anyone have any experiences good or bad using a vibrato with bone nuts or any of the more modern synthetic materials?
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,163
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I don't have any problems at all with good synthetic or bone nuts on my Strats. Did you change string size? Also on cheap plastic and bone you will want to use a nut lubricant in my experience, I just put a bit on each string change.

That said you may want to look at saddles and string tree(s) as well.
 

Melvin

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,399
1,168
I guess I forgot to mention I already replaced the string tree with a Mastery too. So those parts aren't an issue at all.

slide11.jpg


I hadn't considered the strings being an issue until now though, so thanks for that suggestion. What I've been using for the last few years are 10, 13, 18 (wound), 26, 36, 46. They're not especially heavy, but giving the stock nut a quick once-over with the right files to see if that makes a difference is something I'll definitely do before replacing it.

But yeah, I want to avoid lubricants if at all possible.
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,163
32,743
Ew wound third... hate my acoustic, I don't play it often so I go to try and bend and noooope guess little quarter bend then slide up...

If you want low maintenance nut on a floating trem without going LSR roller nut or locking style, I think your best bet is a Tusq. I've had really good experience with their products overall. I've used their nuts, saddles and string trees on various problem areas on guitars.

Speaking of that finished my remodel today. Learned a big lesson about how amazing and dangerous MG838 carbon conducting spray paint is. Normally shielding isn't a big deal but on the mustang the cavities are so tight that everything was getting shorted out until I fixed a few issues (3 eay switch was touching one side, one pot terminal was so close it touched, tip ring connector on jack needed to get bent in to not short).

However after wrestling with stupid issues and finally getting everything settled properly in the cavities, the guitar looks and sounds great. Since the neck was off for a little while I'm waiting tonight for a proper bow to return and then I'll do final adjustments on intonation and pickup height.

I will say I'm quite surprised at how my effects chain is handling these antiquity humbuckers differently. I realize they are lower output to a degree, but my compressor is completely gutless on them now compared to my other guitars. I'm going to have to check wiring or the comp. It's just a Boss CS 3 but I've almost never used it so odd that it seems like it's crapping out now.
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,163
32,743
So found a wiring issue - dumb cable again. I swear these 'forever' cables are the only ones that go bad on me. Also, got pickup height and intonation pretty good on it. Dear god the bridge antiquity is pure bliss, it's the highest definition balls on any pickup I've ever played. The neck is slightly less amazing but still very good. I think I have to play with the height a bit more on that one because it is rated at almost 15% less output than the bridge.

Anyway here is the original and the completed beast. I think it looks pretty damn tasteful with the covered buckers in there.

mustangoriginal.jpeg
mustangnew.png
 
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Zapatta

Krugman's Fax Machine
<Gold Donor>
76,234
396,412
That's tough. That's right under really good quality mid feature price range. I'd go with the LTD LP clone of the two options you listed.

For my money I might try and find a used PRS SE Custom 24. If you want to go more Fender route, try the Squier Classic Vibe series- they are really decent for the price but you will definitely need a full setup with one.

Been eyeing the Classic Vibe Tele. Ebay / Amazon were holding steady at $400, local is $445. today Amazon dropped to $380. How much of a set up is it gonna need is the China QC unreliable? full blown legit luthier fret dressed nine yards set up was quoted $65.
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,163
32,743
Been eyeing the Classic Vibe Tele. Ebay / Amazon were holding steady at $400, local is $445. today Amazon dropped to $380. How much of a set up is it gonna need is the China QC unreliable? full blown legit luthier fret dressed nine yards set up was quoted $65.

I mean it won't hurt. They're completely playable out of the box but realistically you will want at least a basic setup, so if you can adjust truss rod, string height and intonation on your own it's more than fine. You will probably want the frets dressed most likely. I've had some really good luck with Mexis lately on fretwork but they always skimp on the Chinese ones it just takes too much time to do frets correctly.

TBH $65 for a full setup including frets is a really good price. I hope you know the guy.

$380 isn't bad. If you wait for a really good sale weekend you might get them at $350.
 

Zapatta

Krugman's Fax Machine
<Gold Donor>
76,234
396,412
I mean it won't hurt. They're completely playable out of the box but realistically you will want at least a basic setup, so if you can adjust truss rod, string height and intonation on your own it's more than fine. You will probably want the frets dressed most likely. I've had some really good luck with Mexis lately on fretwork.

TBH $65 for a full setup including frets is a really good price. I hope you know the guy.

$380 isn't bad. If you wait for a really good sale weekend you might get them at $350.

Waiting on a price drop. Luthier is legit, not some backyard guy, does amp work too. Never met the guy but was referred to me. Curious what he would charge to add an effects loop in a orange micro terror. micro dark sounded like shit to me, but has a loop.
 

xKALECx

Golden Knight of the Realm
255
125
New Big Wreck is quite a bit off the beaten path, but still great nonetheless.

 
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