I bought this guitar brand new in 1993. I've had it in various stages of assembly over the last couple of years, so yesterday I decided to install all of the new parts and get it working and all together. I've had the parts and new neck pickup sitting around for almost 2 years. It's the only guitar I own with a Floyd Rose Bridge. It may look a little strange, but it sounds really good and plays like a dream with an ease you don't always find in superstars, at least in my experience.
Here's a list of the new parts:
New jack
3 new 500k CTS pots (volume, tone, tone)
Orange Drop .022mf tone cap
New 5 way Switchcraft switch
SD Parallel Axis Stack for the neck position
Got the new pots, jack and switch all in without too much pain. I wish my solder joints were neater, but I don't use that skill very often. It's functional. The hardest thing about installing the neck pickup is, due to how this guitar is constructed, I have to take the springs off the Floyd and remove the claw to get the pickup in. That's why I put it off for so long, since it's a complete setup on the Floyd from scratch. Anyhow, it didn't take long for the actual install, which is nice. It's a very tight fit in this guitar, since the PA Stk is just slightly larger than a single coil. I slip one end in at a 45 degree angle and get the screw started, then a gentle tap on the other end using a screwdriver and mallet and it slips right in. No damage. Wire it up, easy peasy.
Reassemble the term claw and springs, put new strings on and start the process of getting the Floyd balanced, baseplate level with the top and staying in tune. This is the longest part for me since I don't have any other floating trems and I rarely dissemble the damn thing. I've learned a couple of tricks over the years that help, but I'm still not fast. Oh well.
So the guitar has an unusual pickup config, as you will see in the pic. It originally came with a triple bucker in the bridge (which was three single coil pickups wired together to work like a H/S/S setup, but you could get single coil sounds from the bridge position too. Honestly, it wasn't a good pickup and didn't sound great. No beef. I took it out years ago and have had a ton of humbucker in the bridge over the years and nothing sounded like I wanted it to. Finally some years ago.... the Original Parallel Axis TB. Wow, finally a great sound. So, now the pickups are:
Original Parallel Axis TB PATB-1 - Bridge
APS RWRP single (in what I call the middle position, but really the slot for the 3rd coil of the "triple bucker")
Parallel Axis Stk - in what we'll call the neck slot, but it's closer to a middle position actually
The guitar sounds great. The PA bridge is strong and crunchy with great warmth and clarity. I don't normally like such a hot bridge pickup, but this one is great. I do think I want to at least try the PATB-3, since it has a more PAF type sound, but output right around 10k I think. I do have to keep the PATB a bit lower so it's not too harsh or too hot, but I have it dialed in nicely. The APS sounds good combined with coils of the other two pickups. The PA Stk in the neck is a sleeper of a pickup and it sounds amazing. It's the best position honestly; clean or dirty. It's warm and sweet with nice clarity, chime and articulation. It sings under gain too. Just wow. Also, it's super light at just about 6.5lbs, maybe a tad more.
Anyhow, it's cloudy and rainy, so a lone indoor pic will have to do for now. Thanks for reading.
Here's a list of the new parts:
New jack
3 new 500k CTS pots (volume, tone, tone)
Orange Drop .022mf tone cap
New 5 way Switchcraft switch
SD Parallel Axis Stack for the neck position
Got the new pots, jack and switch all in without too much pain. I wish my solder joints were neater, but I don't use that skill very often. It's functional. The hardest thing about installing the neck pickup is, due to how this guitar is constructed, I have to take the springs off the Floyd and remove the claw to get the pickup in. That's why I put it off for so long, since it's a complete setup on the Floyd from scratch. Anyhow, it didn't take long for the actual install, which is nice. It's a very tight fit in this guitar, since the PA Stk is just slightly larger than a single coil. I slip one end in at a 45 degree angle and get the screw started, then a gentle tap on the other end using a screwdriver and mallet and it slips right in. No damage. Wire it up, easy peasy.
Reassemble the term claw and springs, put new strings on and start the process of getting the Floyd balanced, baseplate level with the top and staying in tune. This is the longest part for me since I don't have any other floating trems and I rarely dissemble the damn thing. I've learned a couple of tricks over the years that help, but I'm still not fast. Oh well.
So the guitar has an unusual pickup config, as you will see in the pic. It originally came with a triple bucker in the bridge (which was three single coil pickups wired together to work like a H/S/S setup, but you could get single coil sounds from the bridge position too. Honestly, it wasn't a good pickup and didn't sound great. No beef. I took it out years ago and have had a ton of humbucker in the bridge over the years and nothing sounded like I wanted it to. Finally some years ago.... the Original Parallel Axis TB. Wow, finally a great sound. So, now the pickups are:
Original Parallel Axis TB PATB-1 - Bridge
APS RWRP single (in what I call the middle position, but really the slot for the 3rd coil of the "triple bucker")
Parallel Axis Stk - in what we'll call the neck slot, but it's closer to a middle position actually
The guitar sounds great. The PA bridge is strong and crunchy with great warmth and clarity. I don't normally like such a hot bridge pickup, but this one is great. I do think I want to at least try the PATB-3, since it has a more PAF type sound, but output right around 10k I think. I do have to keep the PATB a bit lower so it's not too harsh or too hot, but I have it dialed in nicely. The APS sounds good combined with coils of the other two pickups. The PA Stk in the neck is a sleeper of a pickup and it sounds amazing. It's the best position honestly; clean or dirty. It's warm and sweet with nice clarity, chime and articulation. It sings under gain too. Just wow. Also, it's super light at just about 6.5lbs, maybe a tad more.
Anyhow, it's cloudy and rainy, so a lone indoor pic will have to do for now. Thanks for reading.
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