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Some rewiring and general questions


Dougefresh91

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Yay! I got it fixed. It was the ground wires that were the problem, which doesn't surprise me. I ended up wiring the grounds like THIS link and it seems to have done the trick. I put the old strings back on just to test, and everything seems to be working. So, now I'll put the shiny new strings on and this will hopefully sound awesome. It feels really nice, I'll say that much.

 

bna.jpg

 

Thanks again to everyone that helped me. It was only difficult figuring out what went where, the rest was cake. Next time it will be a breeze. [biggrin][thumbup]

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Epi Strat Neck

Epi Strat Neck 2

This guitar does have a nice neck. It's really easy to play, and sounds pretty decent, too. I think it plays better than my Fender, but it doesn't sound better. The middle GFS pickup sounds the best. The other two make some funky metallic noises here and there. Mostly when it gets loud, I think. I can deal with it until I decide to upgrade the pickups. For about $150 total, with parts and shipping it's a win.

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Yay! I got it fixed. It was the ground wires that were the problem, which doesn't surprise me. I ended up wiring the grounds like THIS link and it seems to have done the trick. I put the old strings back on just to test, and everything seems to be working. So, now I'll put the shiny new strings on and this will hopefully sound awesome. It feels really nice, I'll say that much.

 

bna.jpg

 

Thanks again to everyone that helped me. It was only difficult figuring out what went where, the rest was cake. Next time it will be a breeze. [biggrin][thumbup]

 

Nicely done [thumbup]

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Gratz on that, you did good.

 

Might be fun to keep your eye out for used pups. You did the hard part, rewiring pups now to try out should be a breeze for you.

 

For me, on a strat, the middle pickup is the money pickup. Thats where it all happens. I't my favorite position. [biggrin]

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I noticed I've got an insane buzzing sound on the 10th fret of the d string. Nowhere else, I've checked up and down the fret board and its definitely just that one spot. What could that mean?

 

First, congrats on what seems to be a job that is turning out well!!!

 

As to the buzz....Remember... you have had the strings off the guitar for a while.

Let the neck settle for a day or so and then check the relief and string height.

If you still have a problem after that, we're still here.

 

Willy

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Thanks. It definitely turned out pretty well. I'm going to give it a few weeks, but I may just put a few more dollars into this guitar. I think I want to get a new pickguard and just have a master tone control because I keep hitting the volume knob while playing. Maybe I'll get used to it. It doesn't really happen on my Fender because of the Floyd Rose bridge; I end up resting my hand against the side of it.

 

But, yeah. I hope you're right about the buzzing. I read somewhere else that the fret could be a little high in that one spot, and to tap it with a hammer. Putting something over the fret board of course. I'm not going to do anything just yet though.

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Good job, Doug! Yeah, those necks are killer. With a lam body, you may not ever get the exact same tones like you would from a strat. The alder lam bodies on these are pretty bassy unplugged. But you just cant beat the neck, IMO. When I modded mine, I took out the HSS configuration and went with just a humbucker and a Vol. control. I got the GFS VEH because they said it is good for lam bodied guitars, tonewise. And it does sound really good plugged in.

 

The buzzing could be a high fret or a dead string as well as the neck needing to settle, like suggested. If you have to tap the fret down, use a small ball-peen hammer with some layers of tape (duct or masking) on the head for cushion. I like to use gaffers tape, personally. The tape will help keep you from denting the frets. If the fret isnt unseated, and just a little high, you can level it with a small file and extra-fine sandpaper.

 

Also, check to make sure all of the bridge saddle heights are right. The one saddle may be just a hair low. The bridge saddle heights, all together, should end up being the same radius as the fretboard.

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Thanks!

 

This is my first guitar that has all single coils, and I really like the clarity. Sounds really good with moderate distortion. My Epi SG now sounds really muddy in comparison, and the Fender HSS still sounds great, but it doesn't have the same clarity. Someone described it by saying it sounds like theres a blanket over the amp. Moreso with the Epi SG.

 

The bridge on the s-300 is crap. The saddles don't sit straight, and the strings rub against the little adjustment screws. Theres actually off center grooves worn in the metal saddles. Any idea what kind of bridge would replace this? That's probably the first thing I should fix. Plus the trem arm is mia.

 

I wanted to make sure I liked this guitar before I put more money into it, so I think it's safe to start shopping. :) Also any idea what the stock pups are? I.e. 6k, 6.5k, ect.

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Any aftermarket six-screw vintage tremolo should work. Just be sure to measure the depth of the tremolo block so that you dont get one that is too long and sticks out of the back of the guitar. Those grooves and whatnot may be a big contributing factor to the string buzz.

 

Not sure of the pickup outputs, but I know that the stock pickups are called Tech-II pickups. I think they were supposed to be a little hotter than typical strat pickups, which may explain the sound difference.

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That is a fine bridge, but I am not sure I would call it cheap. Reasonable, yes.

 

One thing to be aware of is that the screw placements are not the same for all strat style guitars, so not every bridge will easily fit.

 

If the saddles are something you want to replace, you could change those much cheaper, as well as getting another arm. They are both readily available, I think even at most fender dealers right behind the counter.

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Oh, thanks. I didn't think of that. My ruler isn't really made for measuring this kind of stuff, so maybe I should give them a call if I decide to order. Is there another reputable online store I could try that might be more affordable? I've ordered parts from StewMac once, but haven't really dealt with anywhere else yet. Other than GuitarFetish that is.

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The screws look to be about 7/16 apart from center. Idk how that relates to the specs they list. If I change just the saddles how do I know what's compatible? Maybe I should just call them.

 

Guess I'll have to learn to intonate if I do this huh.

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That is a fine bridge, but I am not sure I would call it cheap. Reasonable, yes.

 

One thing to be aware of is that the screw placements are not the same for all strat style guitars, so not every bridge will easily fit.

 

If the saddles are something you want to replace, you could change those much cheaper, as well as getting another arm. They are both readily available, I think even at most fender dealers right behind the counter.

 

The saddle width, shape and overall design varies between bridges as well. If the screw holes are different, chances are the saddles will be too. In my experience, its easier to measure the screw hole distance and replace the entire bridge, than it is to replace saddles on an odball sized bridge. There have been a couple members in the past that have replaced the vintage bridges on S-Series guitars with aftermarket bridges with no problems. I dont remember what bridges were bought where they were purchased from though.

 

Just be sure to measure in millimeters. I think that is where you are going to find the biggest difference...between metric and imperial. Also, measure from the center of one screw to the center of the next screw. That will give you the measurement that you need. Should be cake from there.

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My other two guitars don't have this style of bridge, so I'm not sure how firm the saddles are supposed to sit sans strings. There's a bunch of rust, or possibly just dirt as well. I don't know how to intonate, so I didn't want to mess with it at the time. These saddles wobble like crazy, and I actually ended up having to relive the string tension so that I could try to straighten them out. That was two nights ago. Currently a couple of the saddles have already started shifting back to their off-center positions. I think the strings want to settle back into those grooves. I actually put 10's on this guitar (regular slinky's) hoping it would cut back on some of the brightness that I assumed single coils produce. I want to try this on my Fender as well. But yeah, I'll take some pictures of the bridge when I get home from work and you guys can see what I mean.

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Are some of the grooves right next to the allen screws? Kinda looks like it.

 

You could always just take the whole bridge to a guitar store and get a new one...or saddles. Thats what I would do, mainly because I'm impatient, but also to make sure I get the right parts.

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Yeah, the grooves are off center, by the screws. The guitar still plays really nice but it needs some work. Not to keen on the pickups anymore either, though I'd still stick to single coils. The only git shop by me is SamAsh. I'll see what their prices look like.

 

I'm not sure what it is, but I find this guitar and my fender way easier to strum on. Maybe it's the longer scale?

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I'm not sure what it is, but I find this guitar and my fender way easier to strum on. Maybe it's the longer scale?

I'm the same Doug, I have short fingers and like the skinny necks strat style geets generally exhibit, scale length doesn't come into it for me.

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Yeah, the grooves are off center, by the screws. The guitar still plays really nice but it needs some work. Not to keen on the pickups anymore either, though I'd still stick to single coils. The only git shop by me is SamAsh. I'll see what their prices look like.

 

I'm not sure what it is, but I find this guitar and my fender way easier to strum on. Maybe it's the longer scale?

 

Yeah, its a Fender scale (25.5") neck, but fatter than a strat. I actually had a little difficulty adjusting to it from my SG. But I like it more now.

 

My S-500 was originally HSS, so I went with one humbucker to keep it simple. I already have 2 other SSS guitars. You could always order a pre-wired pickguard to keep it simple. Thats what I would do if I had to do it again.

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You could always order a pre-wired pickguard to keep it simple. Thats what I would do if I had to do it again.

+1

 

That's how I started getting into modding. I think F style guitars are ideal for learning how a guitar works, they are just so modular, you can virtually unscrew any part of it you want and mod or replace it, very, very clever design IMHO.

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