Lifeson Axcess problem

[snapper1]

I recently purchased Al 183 new from a dealer. I've played it once plugged in to an amp (and amps) and noticed some problems.

 

 

1st. I read in another thread here about a little white bushing that is supposed to keep the metal screw from gouging the metal trem arm? Can others confirm that this is supposed to be there?

 

2nd. When running two cables, two amps, the mag side was fading in and out randomly and occasionally would spit all kinds of static and noise. Cables, amps, verified good. I know this is a problem with others and want to report it here. I'm not interested in a mod as I bought it because I like the way the design is supposed to work. It actually sounded really good for a couple seconds. I'm going to attempt to get it fixed. No authorized Gibson service centers near me. I'm afraid this is going to turn in to an unhappy Gibson purchase.

 

3rd. Where is the manual?? Can someone kindly give me an explanation of all the controls. I get the volume and tone, piezo, mag etc.. But what exactly is supposed to be going on with all the push pull pots?

[e.grijp]

I recently purchased Al 183 new from a dealer. I've played it once plugged in to an amp (and amps) and noticed some problems.

the guitar has too send back to you,r dealer and too a gibson repair center for fixing the problems ..there is no manual because the people who bought this guitar are mostly rush fans allready playing this music for along time and know how it,s work,s!! this is a typical alex lifeson guitar.....if you don,t play rush ,.buy another guitar .

 

1st. I read in another thread here about a little white bushing that is supposed to keep the metal screw from gouging the metal trem arm? Can others confirm that this is supposed to be there?

 

2nd. When running two cables, two amps, the mag side was fading in and out randomly and occasionally would spit all kinds of static and noise. Cables, amps, verified good. I know this is a problem with others and want to report it here. I'm not interested in a mod as I bought it because I like the way the design is supposed to work. It actually sounded really good for a couple seconds. I'm going to attempt to get it fixed. No authorized Gibson service centers near me. I'm afraid this is going to turn in to an unhappy Gibson purchase.

 

3rd. Where is the manual?? Can someone kindly give me an explanation of all the controls. I get the volume and tone, piezo, mag etc.. But what exactly is supposed to be going on with all the push pull pots?

[Rock2112]

First, sorry you're having problems expressed by others here and elsewhere. Absent the mod (I'm a happy customer on that one), your only real route is to send it to whatever service center is closest and let them take a stab at securing the wiring connections and improving the grounding. I think the factory specs for grounding are inadequate and are trouble waiting to happen. Or you can pay someone closer to you that you trust to do that work at risk of voiding your warranty.

 

As to the trem arm, my guitar did not come with the little white plastic buffer you'd mentioned, but at least one other person on these boards has reported getting one. I haven't had trouble with my trem arm scratching up without it, but who knows over time. I don't care much as the scratches, if they come (I haven't had a problem with that yet in months of use), would be "below the waterline" when the arm is in use. The arm moves smoothly when it is installed.

 

As to a manual, the answer is there is none (that I know of). It would have helped, for example, for Gibson to alert people to the fact that, when they plug into the Piezo jack alone, there will be no sound (a plug must also be in the mags jack) -- a characteristic that the mod has changed on mine. The push-pull pots on the volume controls for the mags are to shift the humbuckers from series to parallel mode -- the pickup is in parallel mode when the knob is up which gives more of a single coil type sound from the pickup. The push-pull on the Piezo volume kills the Piezo completely when it is pulled up. This was installed after owners complained of a miniscule but noticeable "bleed" of Piezo sound into the mag pickups when the Piezo was dialed to zero volume. Pulling the pot up kills that. The lone tone control effects both mag pickups (no effect on Piezo).

 

Good luck with getting your problems resolved. When this guitar works, it is amazing. Best playing guitar I have and a pretty one to boot. Unfortunately the blending feature was poorly implemented by Gibson and the wiring on these could be better coming out of the factory.

[zGrooveMeister]

I recently purchased Al 183 new from a dealer.

 

I returned my first AL SN154 to Gibson for replacement because of serious electronic issues (the replacement SN499 they sent me also suffers from electronic issues) only so see it listed for sale by Guitar Center less than 2 weeks later. They tried to fix AL154 multiple times but failed. Because of the fact that they could not fix it after multiple attempts and it all of the sudden magically reappeared on the market so quickly after I returned it, I strongly suspect they just shipped it out for resale without doing anything to it. Seeing as you just bought yours "new" and given its low serial number, you may be a victim of a return/resale. I would bring this possibility up with your dealer, because that's bullcrap.

[Rock2112]

I returned my first AL SN154 to Gibson for replacement because of serious electronic issues (the replacement SN499 they sent me also suffers from electronic issues) only so see it listed for sale by Guitar Center less than 2 weeks later. They tried to fix AL154 multiple times but failed. Because of the fact that they could not fix it after multiple attempts and it all of the sudden magically reappeared on the market so quickly after I returned it, I strongly suspect they just shipped it out for resale without doing anything to it. Seeing as you just bought yours "new" and given its low serial number, you may be a victim of a return/resale. I would bring this possibility up with your dealer, because that's bullcrap.

 

I second this. I initially purchased an AL with a lower number than my current one from a dealer. When I got it, there were clear signs that it had "made the rounds" once before I got it (pickup toggle switch screwed in, tags removed from headstock, packaging changes, and the fact that I thought it had come and gone and then returned on the dealer's website before I bought it). I returned it for various issues not having anything to do with the electronics (shipping it across country again), and it popped back up on the dealer's website almost immediately as a new, full-price item. With the return policies these days, and online purchasing, you need to be really careful that you are getting a truly new instrument these days and not someone else's reject. But putting a known defective instrument back on the shelf is egregious and I hope Gibson at least took a good-faith run at fixing the electronics before shipping AL154 back out. Otherwise, it's next owner will be using these posts as serious ammo down the line for a replacement or refund.

 

I am coming to the view that these guitars are simply electronically defective in their factory condition. Gibson already offered the "Piezo bleed" fix early and they're probably too far down the road and too distracted to offer an official re-work of the electronics for the 600 or so ALs out there now. Looking at eBay, the street price of these seems to have dropped by a few hundred. So, if you buy one, build into your budget a couple hundred to have the electronics re-worked or solidified, whether you go with the McDLT mod or not. They are awesome guitars when wired right.

[SolitaryPine]

I second this. I initially purchased an AL with a lower number than my current one from a dealer. When I got it, there were clear signs that it had "made the rounds" once before I got it (pickup toggle switch screwed in, tags removed from headstock, packaging changes, and the fact that I thought it had come and gone and then returned on the dealer's website before I bought it). I returned it for various issues not having anything to do with the electronics (shipping it across country again), and it popped back up on the dealer's website almost immediately as a new, full-price item. With the return policies these days, and online purchasing, you need to be really careful that you are getting a truly new instrument these days and not someone else's reject. But putting a known defective instrument back on the shelf is egregious and I hope Gibson at least took a good-faith run at fixing the electronics before shipping AL154 back out. Otherwise, it's next owner will be using these posts as serious ammo down the line for a replacement or refund.

 

I am coming to the view that these guitars are simply electronically defective in their factory condition. Gibson already offered the "Piezo bleed" fix early and they're probably too far down the road and too distracted to offer an official re-work of the electronics for the 600 or so ALs out there now. Looking at eBay, the street price of these seems to have dropped by a few hundred. So, if you buy one, build into your budget a couple hundred to have the electronics re-worked or solidified, whether you go with the McDLT mod or not. They are awesome guitars when wired right.

 

 

That's just f-ed up, and it makes me almost as sad as looking at the Firebird X.

 

That said, I would not go so far as to say they are all defective. I had a frayed wire that someone might argue was caused by something other than the factory (like, um, the purchaser, lol) but other than that I have had none of the volume drops, pops, or other sound related issues that others have complained about. So, I'm inclined to say that a number of them suffer from shoddy wiring workmanship, but I can't say all of them are bad since mine has been fine.

[Rock2112]

That's just f-ed up, and it makes me almost as sad as looking at the Firebird X.

 

That said, I would not go so far as to say they are all defective. I had a frayed wire that someone might argue was caused by something other than the factory (like, um, the purchaser, lol) but other than that I have had none of the volume drops, pops, or other sound related issues that others have complained about. So, I'm inclined to say that a number of them suffer from shoddy wiring workmanship, but I can't say all of them are bad since mine has been fine.

 

Fair enough. I guess what I'm just saying that the problems are prevalent enough that Gibson should take a bigger role in addressing them. That means their authorized techs should not be telling owners they're just hearing things that aren't there or implementing non-fixes that lead to repeat problems. And it means Gibson should offer to do the McDLT mod gratis for those who opt for it. With now hundreds of these guitars out there, I am sure these boards would be lit up with owners complaining if it was an across the board problem. But of those that do comment here, many of which commented when they were happy new owners, a high percentage have run into problems with the electronics. So, yes, I probably overstated it. But this issue could use more love from Gibson.

[LerxstLee]

Perhaps this would work well. Sounds like tonebone "radial engineering" came to the rescue.

Another $225.00 to the price of the guitar , and perhaps it will work correctly?

Has the great feature of the dragster.

Worth a shot for those who continue to talk about such a great expensive instrument that fails to deliver

as advertised. How many dead horses can you beat?

Here is the item with the description. Sounds like a winner to me if I had to deal with this instrument.

Hope it helps someone. Perhaps you won't have to "hack up your guitar" to get it to work properly?

I still think for the price, the guitar should work properly. Wait,we have been through that already,

and have considered the scource. Food for thought.

 

 

Radial Engineering Tonebone "PZ-DI" peizo and magnetic pickup selector / DI

 

 

Designed for guitars with magnetic and piezo pickups.

 

 

The Radial PZ-DI is a unique pedal designed to work with today's new breed of electric guitars and basses that employ both magnetic and piezo pickups. It allows the artist to quickly select between pickups using the onboard footswitches.

 

There are two channels: one for electric and one for piezo. The PZ-DI will accept either a stereo ¼" TRS or two mono ¼" connectors. The magnetic pickup channel is class-A buffered and equipped with Drag™ Control load correction for optimum signal transfer. This innovative feature allows the user to adjust the load on the pickup so that it sounds 'true-bypass' as if connected to an amp without the usual pops and noise associated with true-bypass pedals. The electric channel is equipped with its own stage amp output and on-off selector switch.

 

The piezo channel begins with three position high-pass (lo cut) and low-pass (hi-cut) filters to tame the often brittle tone that is associated with piezo transducers. For greater control, the piezo channel also features a dedicated effects loop to allow an EQ or reverb to be added without affecting the electric guitar signal path. Since many artists employ a dedicated acoustic amp on stage, the piezo channel has a separate stage amp output plus a balanced low-Z direct box output to feed the PA system. Each of these is equipped with a ground lift switch to help eliminate buzz and hum caused by ground loops. The XLR out is also equipped with a polarity reverse to help phase align the PA, monitors and on-stage sound.

 

Selecting channels is simply a matter of depressing the associated footswitch. Bright full-sized LEDs provide visual clarity under stage lights to show the selected channel. Even when off, the signal from both pickups are combined and sent to the tuner out for quiet on stage adjustments. The flexible design also allows it to be used as a simple on-stage instrument selector for those that want to switch between an electric guitar or bass and an acoustic or upright. Made 'Radial tough', the PZ-DI features 14 gauge steel construction for maximum durability and is finished in a rugged baked enamel finish. Powering comes from the included 15VDC supply.

 

The Radial PZ-DI is a compact pedal that delivers efficient control of your guitar and lets you quietly feed on your stage amps, tuner and the PA system at the same time.

 

 

Features

Designed for guitars with magnetic and piezo pickups

Footswitch control over pickups for onstage efficiency

Individual stage amplifier outputs for each pickup

Built in Radial direct box for piezo to feed sound system

Always 'on' buffered tuner output for quiet on-stage tuning

 

 

 

/cheers

[SolitaryPine]

Perhaps this would work well. Sounds like tonebone "radial engineering" came to the rescue.

Another $225.00 to the price of the guitar , and perhaps it will work correctly?

Has the great feature of the dragster.

Worth a shot for those who continue to talk about such a great expensive instrument that fails to deliver

as advertised. How many dead horses can you beat?

 

 

Looks like it might be a useful tool for some (doesn't do anything for my rig that it can't already do) but I'm not sure how this solves any of the problems that have been reported. In fact I don't think it would do a thing to rectify them.