TehLesPaulZorz Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 yes, my Les Paul is going through a radical makeover tomorrow. I'll be swapping the pickups for the SH-1+SH-4 combo...which I am a bit scared about the JB, about its...er...hotness... but I got it for the Holidays with no receipt so I have to stick with it. I also probably will install a Bigsby B70. Any forewarning I should go by for either of these? First time modding a guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedgeSG Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I think most here will agree that a roller bridge and a Graphtec nut should be on your list with the Bigsby. Personally, I'd look into giving RS Guitarworks a call for wiring kit/electronics upgrade recommend- ation if you're gonna be into it that far anyway. Might as well get full benefit of the new pickups while you're at it. I've used their kits in a couple of G-400's with Burstbuckers and been very happy with the results. Good luck with your modifications I think you'll be surprised how much more tone will be on tap after a little tweaking! Wedgie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I used a roller bridge with a bone nut on my epi lp with bigs b 70. A couple of things I recommend. first, a hex head bolt.. that is a nut that has a head which is no bigger than the bushing hole and is like a truss rod in the hole. the reason is, I tried using wood dowels inside the bushing.. then screw the regular bolt into the bushing. this pushes the bushing out. But a bolt with a head no bigger than the bushing hole would mean just going to the hardware store, buying one long bolt.. and then screwing it in to push the bushing out. Then you can put a piece of dowel, round stick-sold at the hardware store, in the hole for a flat surface. I think you can figure out how to get it flat on top, right. don't glue it in, just make it somewhat tight. enough to stay. the bigs will cover 90% of the treble side hole.. and over 50% of the bass side bushing hole. For mine, I made a piece of half round, flat inner edge aluminum out of a doorsill piece I also got at the hardware store. alum. is toxic.. don't breathe the filing dust and use thin gloves. It will buff out and match the bigs just fine. looks like part of it. for the treble side, I used a piece of black guard material.. because it's such a tiny part alum. would have been very hard, and the whammy bar covers that anyway, so it matches nicely, too. Use masking tape on the top.. so the bigsby can be set up and fit correctly without scratching up your finish. the strap peg hole will not line up. the hinged part is difficult to get flat to the bottom edge of the guitar.. you may want to make a piece of guard material that fits like a shim. this will have no effect on tone but will let you get the screws in tight and the piece fitting tightly across the bottom. I have some guard material if you need it for that. In fact for two bucks I'll shape it and make it the right thickness for you, since I did it already and you may not have the stuff. plus shipping which is under a buck in the lower 48. You may want to fill the strap peg hole with a small piece of wood, then redrill for the bigs center hole. you'll want to drill your holes last and do the hinged piece first. once it's centered, with the tape still on.. the kite string lined up over the pups. you drill the holes, then remove the bigs, remove the tape, set the big carefully back on and tighten it down.. still using the kit string, loose at first, then tighter a bit as you get the screws partially in.. why partially.. last minute check will show you that you can tilt the bigs just a tad either way IF something goes slightly off in the process. then you're back to adjusting the hinged tail shim.. but you may NOT need that.. sometimes it will fit right on. going fast will screw you everytime. patience and care and you'll sail through. I used kite string.. hooked up to low e and high e tuners on each end, strung through the bigs at the low and across to the high e so that I could be sure of pup pole spacing. just tighten the kit string with the tuners to check. at last you drill your top holes when the bigs is setting straight.. the kite string goes over the pup pole right on.. mark your drill bit by wrapping masking tape around the bit at the lowest point.. so that when the tape goes into the hole, the masking tape will tell you, by sweeping away the wood dust on the top, that you are deep enough. that's all I can think of right this minute. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I have photos of the whole operation if you want them. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generation zero Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 For the pickups, I recommend adding at least one if not two push pull pots, and wire the pickups for coil splitting. That way you can use them as single coils or buckers... On mine, I used the push pulls for the volume knobs, so that pulling up either knob made the copresponding pickup a single coil. It's not a hard mod, schematics are available on SD's website, or they may even be in the box with the pups if I remember correctly. Basically you wire the two leads that get soldered to each other and taped off to the switch, so that when the switch is up the connection goes to ground, eliminating the second coil from the signal path. I'm probably going to do the same to my PRS copy when I get new pickups for it, I'll post detail pics when I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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