Due to minor injuries (not mine) I will not be having my planned weekend of running around some woods with a rubber sword pretending to be an elf... so this weekend becomes Project Weekend! Yay!
I plan to have both the Swift LP and Columbus EB-3 in working order by Sunday night. Whether this actually happens probably depends on how hot the weather is, but I full intend to at least have a go at it.
Showing posts with label guitars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guitars. Show all posts
Friday, 30 September 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Swift Les Paul Copy - Bits n' Pieces
The new electronics for the Swift LP copy arrived this morning. I probably won't be able to actually install them until next week, but I'll list them here anyway.
I have bought, from Axes R Us, the following:
Basically the aim here is to replicate the actually not-too-bad sound of the original setup using better quality parts. I've also taken the decision to use a lower value cap for the neck tone control just to reduce the amount of mud a bit.
ETA: I've just taken measurement of the DC resistance of the stock pickups... the neck came in at 9.9Kohm and the bridge at 10.1Kohm. Not as much of a difference as expectations nor conventional wisdom demanded, but no biggie... I mean, twin P90s are often the same value the difference being made in how close they are to the strings.
I have bought, from Axes R Us, the following:
- 2x CTS 250K linear pots (tone)
- 2x CTS 250K logarithmic pots (volume)
- 1 .47uf Sprague "Orange Drop" capacitor for the bridge tone control
- 1 .33uf Sprague "Orange Drop" capacitor for the neck tone control
- 1 three-way toggle switch
- 1 mono jack socket
- Various bits of wire
Basically the aim here is to replicate the actually not-too-bad sound of the original setup using better quality parts. I've also taken the decision to use a lower value cap for the neck tone control just to reduce the amount of mud a bit.
ETA: I've just taken measurement of the DC resistance of the stock pickups... the neck came in at 9.9Kohm and the bridge at 10.1Kohm. Not as much of a difference as expectations nor conventional wisdom demanded, but no biggie... I mean, twin P90s are often the same value the difference being made in how close they are to the strings.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Swift Les Paul Copy - More Thoughts
The more I think about it the more I realise that I probably won't try to sell this guitar on.
This isn't because I think it's so awesome that I must must must keep it, but because I seriously doubt I'd be able to make back what I spent on the instrument and will spend on the new parts. I took a gamble on a cheap instrument made by a company I'd never heard of and really I lost, I know I can make this into a decent instrument but the flaws I cannot do anything about will always be apparent. I'll keep it as a backup instrument for the time being and maybe one day when I can get a decent Les Paul copy for my own use and am no longer concerned with making my money back on this one I'll stick it on eBay or something.
This isn't because I think it's so awesome that I must must must keep it, but because I seriously doubt I'd be able to make back what I spent on the instrument and will spend on the new parts. I took a gamble on a cheap instrument made by a company I'd never heard of and really I lost, I know I can make this into a decent instrument but the flaws I cannot do anything about will always be apparent. I'll keep it as a backup instrument for the time being and maybe one day when I can get a decent Les Paul copy for my own use and am no longer concerned with making my money back on this one I'll stick it on eBay or something.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Swift Les Paul Copy - Slight Change of Plan
Decided I'm not going to do a full refinish at this stage. Firstly it's not worth using decent nitro lacquer on this thing and I'm not forking out for a professional paint gun thing at this stage just because I cannot find polyurethane in spray cans.
This means I get to not only lower my budget by quite a substantial amount, but means I can spend more of said budget on getting the parts I want rather than the ones that are just cheapest.
This means I get to not only lower my budget by quite a substantial amount, but means I can spend more of said budget on getting the parts I want rather than the ones that are just cheapest.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Swift Les Paul Copy - In Bits
Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought.
The reasonably professionalish exterior hid some very shoddy workmanship (save the soldering which was actually pretty darn good). The screw holes for the neck are all over the place, the truss rod is very off centre and possibly at an angle too, the the top has been shaped over a central block rather than carved and capped meaning there's a lot of air between it and the main body block (I guess I could say it's semi-hollow if I sell it on!).
There's going to be a fair amount of filling and sanding and chiselling and hopefully not having to buy a new neck.
Oh, and it turns out it's loaded with 250k pots and .047uf caps... which might explain the unexpectedly meaty sound. I think I may stick some 300k pots in to bring up the brightness a teeny bit whilst still keeping that awesome bottom end.
The reasonably professionalish exterior hid some very shoddy workmanship (save the soldering which was actually pretty darn good). The screw holes for the neck are all over the place, the truss rod is very off centre and possibly at an angle too, the the top has been shaped over a central block rather than carved and capped meaning there's a lot of air between it and the main body block (I guess I could say it's semi-hollow if I sell it on!).
There's going to be a fair amount of filling and sanding and chiselling and hopefully not having to buy a new neck.
Oh, and it turns out it's loaded with 250k pots and .047uf caps... which might explain the unexpectedly meaty sound. I think I may stick some 300k pots in to bring up the brightness a teeny bit whilst still keeping that awesome bottom end.
Swift Les Paul Copy - What I'm Going To Do
Just a quick list of things I'm going to do with this guitar.
- Refinish body and headstock in black, if the neck is decent-looking wood I'll do it in a "vintage tint" clearcoat otherwise that'll be black too.
- Replace all electronics (except pickups as they're actually surprisingly good).
- File down rough fret ends.
- Adjust neck angle by adding a shim to the neck pocket.
- Add new scratchplate (previous owner removed the original at some point, it did not come with the guitar so is presumably lost).
Swift Les Paul Copy - First Photos
Thought I'd take some photos of the guitar before I dismantle it and start work.
As you can see it's not actually a bad looking instrument.
Of course it's a different story close up! Both pickups are set about a 1/32-1/16" too far towards the treble side of the guitar...
The binding on the neck could be a bit better, but I have to admit it is a nice touch on an instrument this cheap.
Obvious plywood is obvious...
Headstock and logo, the logo will be lost when I do the refin, the dodgy bits around the top are actually damage rather than poor workmanship.
The action was really high when I got it, the bridge is now as low as I can make it and the action is still a bit high, but only by 1/16", which is nowhere near as bad as it was!
Apparently whoever made it decided to put the selector switch upside down. No, it's not just that the switch ring is upside down, the whole switch is!
So there it is, the guitar as I bought it (almost, as mentioned before I lowered the action as much as I can). It's going to need a fair bit of work, but I don't think there's anything I can't manage.
As you can see it's not actually a bad looking instrument.
Of course it's a different story close up! Both pickups are set about a 1/32-1/16" too far towards the treble side of the guitar...
The binding on the neck could be a bit better, but I have to admit it is a nice touch on an instrument this cheap.
Obvious plywood is obvious...
Headstock and logo, the logo will be lost when I do the refin, the dodgy bits around the top are actually damage rather than poor workmanship.
The action was really high when I got it, the bridge is now as low as I can make it and the action is still a bit high, but only by 1/16", which is nowhere near as bad as it was!
Apparently whoever made it decided to put the selector switch upside down. No, it's not just that the switch ring is upside down, the whole switch is!
So there it is, the guitar as I bought it (almost, as mentioned before I lowered the action as much as I can). It's going to need a fair bit of work, but I don't think there's anything I can't manage.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Thoughts: Rickenfakers
I find it amusing and a little sad how worked up people get over "Rickenfakers" (copies of Rickenbacker guitars, particularly the basses).
There seems to be this notion that Rickenbackers are somehow sacred and "fake"* instruments which, to most people (including me), look perfectly fine are described as hideous and 'sacreligious'. Hell, I even saw one thread on a forum where someone described seeing what appeared to be a Rickenbacker in a shop only to find out it was a "fake" as an "emotional rollercoaster". I think someone needs to get out more. You never hear people going on about "hideous fake" Les Pauls. Nobody gets their knickers in a twist when they see a Stratocaster that turns out to be made by someone other than Fender.
Rickenbacker don't seem to have worked out that the reason why these "fakes" continue to exist is that their instruments look really cool but are far too expensive for most people to afford. I'd be prepared to bet folding money that if Rickenbacker introduced mass-produced budget versions of their instruments they'd make an absolute killing on them. I'd certainly buy one.
Hell, the Japanese companies that made the first Rickenfakers did so as a compliment! In Japan copying the work of another is seen as a mark of respect, not an attempt to rip off the original. If only the capitalist West realised that a bit more.
*This is one of the biggest issues I have with all this. To me it's only "fake" if it is being sold as genuine when it's not. These instruments aren't, most of them are quite unashamed of their non-genuineness.
There seems to be this notion that Rickenbackers are somehow sacred and "fake"* instruments which, to most people (including me), look perfectly fine are described as hideous and 'sacreligious'. Hell, I even saw one thread on a forum where someone described seeing what appeared to be a Rickenbacker in a shop only to find out it was a "fake" as an "emotional rollercoaster". I think someone needs to get out more. You never hear people going on about "hideous fake" Les Pauls. Nobody gets their knickers in a twist when they see a Stratocaster that turns out to be made by someone other than Fender.
Rickenbacker don't seem to have worked out that the reason why these "fakes" continue to exist is that their instruments look really cool but are far too expensive for most people to afford. I'd be prepared to bet folding money that if Rickenbacker introduced mass-produced budget versions of their instruments they'd make an absolute killing on them. I'd certainly buy one.
Hell, the Japanese companies that made the first Rickenfakers did so as a compliment! In Japan copying the work of another is seen as a mark of respect, not an attempt to rip off the original. If only the capitalist West realised that a bit more.
*This is one of the biggest issues I have with all this. To me it's only "fake" if it is being sold as genuine when it's not. These instruments aren't, most of them are quite unashamed of their non-genuineness.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
It Starts...
So here it is. A blog I'm intending will be used to mostly follow various guitar rebuilding projects; learning experiences, personal builds and possibly even stuff intended for resale. It will also contain thoughts on music (mostly doom and prog but I'll try to include other stuff as well) and the odd YouTube video of a band I like when no other content is forthcoming.
With any luck this will be at least a small success. :)
With any luck this will be at least a small success. :)
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