samgoody Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Hello from the Land of Sand (Saudi Arabia), I own a Stratocaster copy made by Epiphone, with serial number J00070124. The guitar was bought in Saudi Arabia in 2002. The plate at the back says it's made in Korea, but I have no idea what year it was made. I'm also not sure what the model name is (configuration is three single coil pickups, and a batwing headstock). In any case, I'm looking to turn it into a project guitar. The frets are all worn (most of the wear is between frets 5 and 8), and there are no luthiers where I live to do fret leveling/crowning, so I was thinking of replacing the entire neck with a new one that has better frets. I was wondering if a Stratocaster neck would fit my guitar. I'm also looking to turn it into a hardtail (as opposed to blocking the trem) as I really don't use the whammy bar on it, and would like the guitar to have more stable tuning. Is this easy to do? Any parts I could use for this? Any other ideas that would make the guitar hold a tune better would be very much appreciated. Finally, I hear a lot of 60Hz hum when the pickup selector is in positions 2 and 4, which I thought were hum canceling positions. What could be the problem here? I'd like to share the pictures of my guitar, but I'm not sure how to insert images in my post. Thanks. Edit: I uploaded a picture of it in my avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hi According to the guitar dater project your guitar was made in 2000 but factory is unknown. It looks from your avatar that your guitar has three single coils so I can't help with the model. There were two very similar guitars to yours which had humbuckers in the bridge position and they were the Fat-210 and Fat-310. With regard to whether a Strat neck will fit, the answer is possibly. It's going to depend on how close the measurements of your neck/neck pocket match up. It's quite possible you'd have to do a bit of work on the neck pocket. Try WD Music or one of the other on line guitar suppliers for measurements of their replacement necks. Remember though that they're not going to be cheap and may still require some minor fret levelling and maybe a nut fitted. Can't help with the trem to hardtail conversion. Strat type pickups can, I believe, be wired to be hum cancelling in positions 2 & 4 but they don't have to be. There are loads of Strat wiring diagrams on the web just check out a few against your own wiring. Go to this link for how to upload pix to this forum: http://forums.epiphone.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=8886 Finally I would say that unless you're really into doing the mods for fun you'd probably be better off getting another guitar closer to what you want. Necks ain't cheap and I should imagine that making a trem equipped guitar into a hardtail ain't gonna be a walk in the park for a beginner. Good luck anyway if you decide to go ahead. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicester35 Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 I reckon if you block the trem Clapton-style with a piece of wood, your tuning stability will be the same as if you were using a fixed bridge. Go to http://www.guitarrepairshop.com/repairtremeloblock.html for a description of how to do this properly. No idea about the neck issue. Is it a typical 4 bolt neck? Getting hold of a replacement Strat-style neck is no problem, the only issue is whether the heel on the new neck will fit your guitar. I suppose you could always take the existing neck off, measure the dimensions carefully, and check with parts companies that a replacement neck will fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samgoody Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 Jonny, leicester, thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just go with blocking the bridge, then. I haven't gotten round to measuring the dimensions of the neck heel or the neck pocket to see if a Strat neck will fit, but if I do I'll be sure to let you know. On the topic of 60Hz hum, I noticed that it quiets down a bit when I touch the strings or bridge. Could there be a problem with the wiring or electronics? As promised, some pics of my guitar: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 On the topic of 60Hz hum' date=' I noticed that it quiets down a bit when I touch the strings or bridge. Could there be a problem with the wiring or electronics?[/quote']You could check to see if the earth wire is connected to the bridge (in fact check all the earth wires). I don't know a whole lot about Strat type guitars but I seem to recall reading that a wire runs from one of the pots (or maybe the jack socket) to the trem block. Should be pretty easy to spot by removing the backplate beneath the trem. If you can reduce the hum by changing position in relation to the amp it may be that you need some shielding in there. I know it sounds like heresy on an Epiphone forum but I suspect that guys on a Fender forum will already have answers to your hum problem. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Your guitar is an S-310. The maple neck versions were called "customs", I believe. Not custom shop, though. As for the bridge, I hear of a lot of people wanting to block the trems. I'm not really sure why though. I have two strat guitars; one with a vintage trem and one with a two point fulcrum like yours. I dont use the tremolos ever, and I never have problems with them going out of tune or any other issues that may be trem related. I really dont understand the logic behind this desire. If its floating, just screw the bridge screws down to restrict the movement. Its not 100% on a two point fulcrum, but really, they arent a problem like Floyds can be. This actually works really well with a vintage tremolo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) I recently got a very similar Epiphone guitar but with a hockey stick headstock. It’s missing the tremolo arm and back spring cover, and the two mounting screws for the tremolo have been mauled and look stripped and rusty. Anyone know if an aftermarket tremolo and Fender spring cover will fit? Edited October 24, 2019 by Shannon Add pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dReit1 Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 @samgoody Welcome. to the group. Been a while since I saw one of those Epi strats but IIRC the Epiphone neck pocket is a little longer and a little wider than a Fender pocket. @Shannon. Also welcome to the forum. I don't believe Fender parts will fit that guitar. You might check with https://www.fretsonthenet.com/index.htm If he doesn't have them he might make them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) On 12/31/2009 at 3:11 AM, samgoody said: Hello from the Land of Sand (Saudi Arabia), I own a Stratocaster copy made by Epiphone, with serial number J00070124. The guitar was bought in Saudi Arabia in 2002. Looks like an S-310 see the Epi wiki According to guitarinsite's database Serial number: J00070124 Built: July 2000 (serial: 0124) Made by Terada Gakki Seisakusyo, Japan you may have some luck searching eBay for S-310 parts parts Edited October 26, 2019 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I can now confirm that a third party American Standard sized back plate is smaller than the mounting holes on the S310 and that there's no way to align it so that any 2 of 6 holes line up. I will have to get one made. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Epiphone Strats are made in Asia so their parts are metric.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 (edited) I would keep the trem and just try to replace the screws/studs. Finding a match is going to be a bit of a pain. They are out there, but not easy to find. Maybe find a donor guitar for parts. Also, as far as the serial is concerned, there are two J serials. Terada Japan and Jakarta Indonesia. Yours is Indonesian. Terada didn't make these guitars. Terada only made archtops and acoustics, and stopped production for Epiphone some time in the 1990s. Edited October 28, 2019 by RobinTheHood 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 On 10/28/2019 at 6:07 AM, RobinTheHood said: I would keep the trem and just try to replace the screws/studs. Finding a match is going to be a bit of a pain. They are out there, but not easy to find. Maybe find a donor guitar for parts. Also, as far as the serial is concerned, there are two J serials. Terada Japan and Jakarta Indonesia. Yours is Indonesian. Terada didn't make these guitars. Terada only made archtops and acoustics, and stopped production for Epiphone some time in the 1990s. I have checked with the previous owner, and he loaned it to a friend for a couple months. When he got it back, it went directly into storage still in the gig bag. We are thinking that while on loan, the S-310's tremolo was removed, a unit from somewhere else mounted, and the two point studs were machine-drilled and stripped out in the process. Supporting this theory, the Fender-sized back plate I tried to use rubs on the trem springs, which I didn't think was supposed to happen. The unit on the guitar is also missing some of the saddle height screws. Since I apparently need a 6 mm arm and a set of saddles, as well as new pivot screws, might consider getting a whole tremolo kit instead of ordering parts piecemeal. At laest then I know all the parts will work together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) Since Kramer is under the Gibson brand there may be some compatible parts for the S-XXX and T-XXX series..Gibson support may also be able to help at 1-800-4GIBSON... There may be several compatible aftermarket suppliers for Asian built Strats.. Like GuitarFetish Tremolos Hardware Pickguards Pre-Wired Pickguards Pickups Edited November 3, 2019 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Well, my measurements were off, and the tremolo I bought doesn't fit. I have also noticed a crack in the guitar near the lower ferrule. I can't seem to get the photos to load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 (edited) On 11/5/2019 at 6:33 AM, Shannon said: Well, my measurements were off, and the tremolo I bought doesn't fit. I have also noticed a crack in the guitar near the lower ferrule. I can't seem to get the photos to load. It sounds like someone was beating on the trem. These guitars are known for cracking near the bridge. I have a S310 like that too. I wicked a bunch of wood glue into the cracks. I also filled in the stud holes with sawdust and wood glue and put a 6 screw trem on it and screwed it all the way down. The trem doesn't work, but that's ok for me. I have other guitars with trems. This one is just a beater. Edited November 7, 2019 by RobinTheHood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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