cliffenstein Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 When I bought this guitar a few months ago, I had lots of ideas on what I was gonna do with it. It's a very inexpensive guitar and, as such, I figured it a great opportunity to have fun putting some money into it and seeing just how great it could be. My other acoustics have old school plastic tuner buttons and so changing out the tuners was the first "upgrade" I was gonna see to. Others included getting poly applied to the neck (the idea of a poly body with a satin neck seemed a bit odd at first), getting the 3rd fret markers added, upgrading the nut and saddle to bone and getting a personalized truss rod cover. I got over the aesthetic detail issues I originally had with the tuners and lack of poly on the neck. I also didn't need to upgrade the nut and saddle once I found out that the factory installed ones were already high quality bone. (Perhaps Indonesia plant used leftover masterbilt parts?) I did, however, elect to get the missing 3rd fret markers added (fretboard and side). The end result isn't a perfect match as the new fretboard marker has more of a shimmer/shine to it, but it's dang close and I'm super glad I got it done. Additionally, I had the frets dressed and a proper set up done. To personalize my AJ, I got a custom truss rod cover that reads "JW" (my initials) courtesy of FretsOnTheNet.com...they do fantastic work at a reasonable price. I emailed them a tracing of my AJ truss rod cover and a week later an absolutely flawless custom replacement was on my guitar. Expenses as follows: 3rd fret markers added - $45 Fret dressing/set up - $60 Custom truss rod cover - $21 (with paypal fees and shipping included) The additional money spent was well worth it. My AJ plays and feels FAR better than its price class. Photos (pardon the mess): I replaced the strings tonight with a pack of Eric Schoenberg Soloist 80/20 strings I've had since last spring. After reading a ton of message board fodder about the superiority of 80/20s, the time had come for me to see and hear what all the hub bub was about. Thus far, I'm not really too impressed. I greatly prefer the look, feel and sound of my trusty D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze Lights. I'll switch back once these wear out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues2 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 That is a Cool looking guitar. Congratz.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Thanks for the link. Congrats, the guitar looks very nice..enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrasso Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Nice job. She looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 A beautiful, now custom, guitar! That fret marker looks fine. The third fret should be a little special. Nice bound neck. I can't quite tell, but it looks like the frets extend beyond the side a bit, or is that just in the photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Photo...the frets are perfect...there's not one bit of hangover. I agree about the 3rd fret marker being special. Glad you guys dig what I did. Feel free to snag my truss rod cover idea and make it your own. The guys at FretsOnTheNet are the real deal. I wholeheartedly recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Photo...the frets are perfect...there's not one bit of hangover. Good. It just looked weird. Feel free to snag my truss rod cover idea and make it your own. Not feeling the urge at the moment, but it'd be good to know if you're restricted to initials, or....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Not feeling the urge at the moment, but it'd be good to know if you're restricted to initials, or....? Nope...I just did that because the original truss rod cover said AJ. I kept it to JW so as to not take away from the guitar's intended design. You can make it say anything you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 I could not wait until the 80/20's died...I just couldn't take it. Tonight, my lovely wife brought me home a 3 pack of D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze Lights (12-53) and I took the 80/20's off and restrung it. All together now...aaaah...that's what a guitar sounds like! I can hear all the nuances and colors in my strumming and picking again. What a beautiful and inspiring sound. I'm SOOOOO happy to have this thing properly up and running now! NOTE: This post is not meant to offend anyone who prefers 80/20's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Feel free to snag my truss rod cover idea and make it your own. The guys at FretsOnTheNet are the real deal. I wholeheartedly recommend them. For decades now all of my gigging guitars have had rct truss rod covers or rct neck plates on the Fedners. Even better than the net guys, every town has a trophy shop. You take them a truss or plate and they put whatever font or size you want on it, usually 5 bux. But then, I haven't had one made in years, so maybe 10 bucks these days. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickthemiller Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I have two AJ220s. One is natural (Indonesia) and the other is sunburst (China). They both sound and play great. The natural one has a much deeper darker tone than the SB one, but I like both. The natural one has a slightly wider nut - only just, but it is noticeable. I changed the pick guard on the natural one for a J45 style teardrop and I remodeled the headstock to look more Gibson like. The SB one is all as it came off the production line apart from the silly stuck on E that always falls off! They really are great guitars and for the price (around £120 in the UK) they are terrific value for money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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