RaSTuS
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Posts posted by RaSTuS
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Yeah like the first one, with the brass top.
Following that link, they're very expensive and they only provide audio tapers, no linear tapers, modern wiring scheme used by Epi/Gibby and most other bucker equipped geets use audio tapers for tone and linear tapers for volume.
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Well, I've decided to buy each part individually. I make plenty of money for an assembled kit, but I really enjoy building this stuff. Actually, I can afford a Gibby '59RI, but for the sake of argument with my wife, I don't really NEED one, I just WANT one. (That's what she says) But maybe, someday, that day will come. Probably after my son graduates high school. Only 5 more years! Patience is a virtue!
I have 2 AllParts Vitamin Q caps (.047uf), 2 Mojo Vitamin T caps (.022uf), and 6 feet of vintage cloth covered wire with braided shielding on the way. Got it all off of ebay.
Which ever caps I don't use, I'm gonna try them in my Am. Dlx. Strat.
I haven't decided on the pots yet. I would like to get some with the values as close to each other as possible, and for them to be at least 500K. Like the ones from Matched Pots.com, and others that offer matched pots.
The rest of the stuff will be ordered from Guitar Nucleus, as stated in my opening post, with the exception of the knob puller. After looking at BCS's site, their instructions show a simple way to take knobs off with an old shirt. Here's the link: http://bcsguitars.co...e-Assembled.pdf, scroll down to figure 5 pics. Now that's cheap!
I'm gonna try this setup with my stock Epi pickups first. I haven't decided which pickups to get yet.
It's a very good idea to make your own, you'll understand the components and their purpose much better that way. What I do with my pots is buy them in batches of 6 or 12, then you can make up your own matched sets, and when you start on these wiring mods there's just not enough guitars to try and mod or upgrade, it's very addictive, so those other pots won't go to waste, also works out cheaper if you pay shipping too.
If your using CTS pots try and get the ones with the brass shaft housing, they're better than the pot metal shaft housing brethren IMO and only cost about a dollar more.
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Thanks, Ras. I just sent him an email. I'll post what his input is.
That link was meant for the guys who do this ID stuff, not for sending general inquiries to him, as mentioned he's mainly only involved in pre 1960 stuff anyway, not the models later than that.
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A quick shout out to the model ID gurus who inhabit this thread, member Paul Fox (pfox14) has an excellent site with a wealth of information on old Gibsons and Epiphones, mainly pre 1960 stuff but I'm sure you'll find something there interesting to peruse. He also does restorations, some of which have great progress photos, I found that very interesting, YMMV.
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Thanks, Rob. But lets not forget to give Jerrymac credit for his knowledge. He may be a quiet guy around here, but his knowledge is far greater than mine. I've learned a great deal from Jerry.
![[thumbup]](//content.invisioncic.com/p286412/emoticons/default_msp_thumbup.gif)
So I did, my bad, sorry Jerry.
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Reality is you really don't know what came from Japan if your only resources are online. As you stated many colors and configurations have come from Japan including bolt on neck LP copies. I have seen another LP-100 exactly like the one I have with the same Fuji-Gen serial number on the neck plate but in white.
Is my LP-100 made in Korea? If you are basing your answers to an online catalog and taking an educated guess then I still won't believe you so to me it's a definitely a MAYBE.
Are my American Fender Strat's and MIJ Fender Tele's worth more than my LP-100? YES, FACT
These people are trying to help you, not cool dissing them like that.
FWIW: RTH and Pete.R know more about Epi models and their origin than pretty much anyone who doesn't actually work for them.
EDIT: that EpiWiki you happened to quote in post #488 was actually created, written and is maintained by RTH.
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+1Clowns freak me out, too, since I was a kid. However, Rastus's clowns make it easy to find his posts.
I've learned to see them as just a big bar of color and don't focus on the faces.
<triple thumbs-up>
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geez Rastus, your clowns are starting to freak me out.
I'm amazed so many grown men are so worried by clowns, the checkout chicks at our local supermarket wear more make-up than many of those clowns, LOL.
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thank you so much for the advice all!
How did you get on, did you manage to adjust the saddles and fix the problem ???
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Guitar necks will vary from guitar to guitar, even from the same model line, built at the same factory on the same day.
Necks vary on Epi's and Gibsons. Some are thin and others are thick, even for the same model. Maybe they do that intentionally so everyone can choose what they want.
De ja vu all over again.
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Guitar necks will vary from guitar to guitar, even from the same model line, built at the same factory on the same day.
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That A and D saddle are far too high, the D in particular. To adjust the height on them you use the two allen screws either side of each string (there should have been a small allen key that came with the guitar), turn CCW to go down and CW to go up. What I do to adjust the height is adjust them down until the string just starts to buzz on the frets at normal picking force, then raise it until there's only the slightest hint of buzz when picking very hard, a bit harder than the hardest you would normally play.
- Before adjusting a saddle, make sure the corresponding string has been slackened, then re-tune and test, do this as many times as necessary until the proper height is achieved.
- You have to turn one screw each side of the string you're working on about half a turn at a time, then do the same for the screw on the other side of the string, it's important to try and keep the saddle reasonably level side to side (so that it's not tilting over), when you've finished adjusting a string you want the saddle to be fairly level (side to side, not back to front).
- Do each string in turn, starting at the low E (thickest) and working up to the high E (thinnest), it's no use just doing one or two, you want them all adjusted so they are just starting to buzz under heavy picking.
I'm terrible at describing things, so if any of the above makes no sense don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
I'll just repost the method because it got lost way up in the thread.
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Yeah, this Squier I got, I had to lower all the saddles (identical bridge to the Epi) taking care not to alter that arc I talked about. If you look at the picture of his, it's ALL out of kilter. StewMac sells a radius guage that's extremely helpful in situations like this, the radius for most Strat Trems is 12", although that's not the standard. You should ask the shop you bought the guitar at what the string radius is, or "eyeball" it like Rastus suggested. Take the guitar, and from the bridge, look down the neck, and see if the frets are curved (they probably are). When you adjust those saddles, you have to match that curve, if you don't, if the guitars even playable at all, it's gonna buzz everywhere. I'm not sure of the string height (action)...3/64???? Not sure there, but even if you get the radius right, you don't want the height too low, or it'll buzz. Lotta variables to consider...
But you don't need radius gauges or such to get the correct radius, if you adjust each string individually so that the distance above the fret is reasonably uniform, then that radius will be there automatically. The reasonably uniform height above the frets is achieved by adjusting each string so that is just buzzes when picked pretty hard (a little harder than the hardest you would normally play it), this method also takes into account the different amount that each string actually vibrates, the low E will be higher off the frets than the high E because it vibrates more. There's absolutely no eyeballing involved or radius gauge needed, it's all done by the strings themselves.
When I was talking of keeping the saddle level, I meant each individual saddle, not all of them as a whole.
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I'm tying to keep the explanation as simple to follow as I can, I'm trying not to confuse the issue with too much tech talk at this stage.
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Like a Strat Trem, there's a "radius" (a gentle arc of the string saddles) that needs to be adjusted. Your best bet is to either extensively research it before you mess with that...you don't want to alter the radius as it co-incides with the necks radius also, if you set them all straight, and the necks got that gentle arc I spoke of, you'll have problems all over the neck with buzzing strings. Be careful, that's a Strat type Trem, not a Tuneamatic.
Mat, if you use the method I mentioned the radius will be spot on when you're finished, you're using the frets to judge the height of each string. If you look at it now it has nothing like the radius of the fretboard translated to the saddles.
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If you use the method I described above you'll get a low action, about as low as you can get it, without getting into neck adjustment and fret levelling etc, which is.a far more advanced job.
Best off doing each string in turn, starting with the low E (the thickest string) and working your way through all of them in turn, and finishing on the top E (thinnest).
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That A and D saddle are far too high, the D in particular. To adjust the height on them you use the two allen screws either side of each string (there should have been a small allen key that came with the guitar), turn CCW to go down and CW to go up. What I do to adjust the height is adjust them down until the string just starts to buzz on the frets at normal picking force, then raise it until there's only the slightest hint of buzz when picking very hard, a bit harder than the hardest you would normally play.
- Before adjusting a saddle, make sure the corresponding string has been slackened, then re-tune and test, do this as many times as necessary until the proper height is achieved.
- You have to turn one screw each side of the string you're working on about half a turn at a time, then do the same for the screw on the other side of the string, it's important to try and keep the saddle reasonably level side to side (so that it's not tilting over), when you've finished adjusting a string you want the saddle to be fairly level (side to side, not back to front).
- Do each string in turn, starting at the low E (thickest) and working up to the high E (thinnest), it's no use just doing one or two, you want them all adjusted so they are just starting to buzz under heavy picking.
I'm terrible at describing things, so if any of the above makes no sense don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
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^^^^^^^^
I love that room Brian, and it's contents too of course, just awesome.
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Fixed mate.and I accidentally gave myself a negative rep, haha.
Welcome to the forums.
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Don't forget the Special II GT has a strat-style trem.
Du-oh, dumbarse me. Though the mention of the tune-o-matic is confusing, hopefully the OP will post some pics, which will clear things up.
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Welcome to the forums, great bunch around here, I hope you like the place.
When you say the lower E is sitting low, do you mean the thin or thick E, because lower means different things to different people. It'd be strange if the thicker E is low and the D is high as they're both on the bass side of the bridge, main thing I can think of off hand is that the D string isn't sitting in it's groove on the saddle properly, that may be worth checking. If possible could you post some pics of the bridge area.
Info on how to post pics, as well as most guitar repair/modification/maintenance advice can be found in the DIY thread pinned to the top of the Epi Lounge, thanks to animalfarm who compiled and maintains it.
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This thread has a beard, it's nearly 4 years old, and the OP hasn't posted at all in almost 18 months.
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+1Thats was one of the biggest reasons behind creating the wiki. There is an unprecedented amount of wrong info concerning a great deal of Epiphone guitars floating around the internet. Of course, the wiki doesnt always get it right, but I try to stay on top of it when new/correct info is presented to me. Most of these other sites just ride on the info they have and leave it at that.
And doing a great job of it Rob, thanks so much for your efforts.
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G'day Fatty, welcome to the forums.
Pickups, my preference would be HBs in the bridge and middle and a P-90 in the neck.
I'm reasonably sure that the rotary will fit, but not absolutely certain.
The B700 would be best, it's to do with the metals and the way they're cast, I can't remember the details, but the original is made better.
I would go for a Wilkinson roller bridge, they're built like a tank and are very well priced, I'd also get a Tusq XL nut, the less resistance the strings have the better they'll hold tune.
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Upgrade your Epiphone
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I always hit eBay and sort by lowest price, being a name brand means you have a pretty good idea you won't end up with crap, places like Music Parts Plus or Sinewave Music will usually have them for $4 or $5 each.
Willy's right into 50's wiring, with any luck he'll notice this and jump in (no pressure, LOL).