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  • #1

    Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

    Heheh. yep, I'm happy, VERY happy. After a long time and enough money to buy a new guitar or two I've finally got my two number 1s where I want them to be (well, almost, more on this later)
    Here's how my beloved Strat was up till a couple of months ago...


    And here's how it is now:

    Pretty cool if I might say so myself.
    That's a Crazy 8 at the bridge, a DiMarzio Fast Track 1 at the neck (soon to go to the middle once I get the new neck pu) Schaller strap-locks, Sperzel Trim-Loks (which you can't see) and the amazing Wilkinson VSV400 which is the smoothest non-locking tremolo I've EVER tried and with the Sperzels, I only tune once when I change strings and that's about it

    Now, about that tone pot, well, I took those knobs from my Swing (more on this later) and while the volume pot caused me no trouble the tone for some reason wasn't as cooperative, 'till it broke clean
    But, I can still turn it with the pick plus I'm planning on getting it a new pickguard with two miniswitch holes where that one is (to tap the new SDUGF pickup when it gets in its' neck ) so no sweat
    Last edited by KeeperOS; 07-09-2008, 05:04 PM.
    Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
    I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
    Originally posted by That90'sGuy
    Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

    Now, are you ready for the real blow-out?
    Here's how my beautiful Swing EZ-10 was when I first got it a couple of months ago...:


    and here's how it is today:


    Where do I start?
    Basically the ONLY thing I kept that wasn't made of wood were the frets and the strap-buttons (which are amazingly good somehow...).
    Here's what's new:
    Neck pickup: Suhr Doug Aldrich
    Bridge pickup: Tom Anderson H3
    Hum-rings: Seymour Duncan Trembucker rings
    Push/Pull pots: 2x DiMarzio 500K - Audio taper
    3-Way: SwitchCraft Right Angle
    Output Jack: SwitchCraft locking
    Bridge: Gotoh Floyd Rose with OFR string lock screws (so as to avoid having to widen the route by 2-3mm for the Gotoh screws)
    Tuners: Sperzel Trim-Loks.
    Here's what I'm particularly proud about. Normally Sperzel doesn't make 6-inline tuners that are of equal height but my headstock was already angled. So, the devilish tech took a 3+3 set, opened the 3 that were reversed and re-reversed them!!! I particularly like those buttons, they look so badass

    The only thing that isn't there yet is the nut because the one that came stock with the Gotoh Floyd couldn't have been more wrong:
    Back-mount, 1-5/8 with narrow string spacing whereas my guitar has a surface mount, 1-11/16 with wide string spacing
    Still contemplating whether I'll just order the right nut or go for a non-locking graphite one...

    Also trying to figure out what to replace the black hum-rings with; creme is a good idea and also thinking of rosewood ones to give it a direct-mount appearance!!!
    Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
    I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
    Originally posted by That90'sGuy
    Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

      So, there you have it, a lot of thought, time and A LOT of money were invested in those two guitars but the theme from the very beginning was No Compromise, something that was particularly true for the Swing which I originally bought for a mere 300€ and ended up spending an additional 680€ (including the tech) for it but IMHO it was MORE than worth it!!!
      Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
      I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
      Originally posted by That90'sGuy
      Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

          Is that Swing Walnut stained mahogany?

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

            The back is a 5-piece Mahogany neck-thru (with maple stripes) and Mahogany wings.
            However it also has a 7mm thick Ebony top!!!

            I tell you, I can't get enough of it, can't figure out why nobody thought of that before...
            Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
            I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
            Originally posted by That90'sGuy
            Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

              Man, Im sorry I missed this before!! Very cool bro! Both are killer, but the Swing is definately an attention grabber.
              Very curious about the Aldrich neck pup.. Any idea how it compares to a duncan 59 neck or Alnico II pro neck or????
              Believe me when I say that some of the most amazing music in history was made on equipment that's not as good as what you own right now.

              Jol Dantzig

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                was it hard to retrofit the wilkinson??
                Believe me when I say that some of the most amazing music in history was made on equipment that's not as good as what you own right now.

                Jol Dantzig

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                  Originally posted by KeeperOS View Post
                  The back is a 5-piece Mahogany neck-thru (with maple stripes) and Mahogany wings.
                  However it also has a 7mm thick Ebony top!!!



                  I tell you, I can't get enough of it, can't figure out why nobody thought of that before...
                  ^ Thats got to be on the heavy side. Looks great, man its got to tend to be a bright sound. I woul d get a PatB-3 in there right away.
                  Heres my Walnut Guitar- "ol nutty". Its since been outfitted with a PAtB-3 bridge and a Cool rails neck, and Im going replace the YJM in the midle with an HS-3. Bridge has also been upgraded to the top of the line gold Wilkinson and I threw that piece of trash bridge in the photgraph away. Its Solid Walnut Warmoth body with a Solid Rosewood neck and Ziricote fingerboard.I'll use any excuse to show it off. I didnt assemble it , but whoever did did a perfect job, and its about my best playing Strat style guitar.;

                  Last edited by jerryjg; 08-26-2008, 05:18 PM.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                    Originally posted by BloodRose View Post
                    Man, Im sorry I missed this before!! Very cool bro! Both are killer, but the Swing is definately an attention grabber.
                    Very curious about the Aldrich neck pup.. Any idea how it compares to a duncan 59 neck or Alnico II pro neck or????
                    No, I'm afraid I never got to put a '59 in it and they didn't have a AIIP.
                    However I did compare it to the Pearly Gates. The Pearly gates sounded very good but BOOMY. In this guitar it was all lows, EVEN AT THE BRIDGE!
                    I think you already read my comparison to the Full Shred in that other thread.

                    The Aldrich Neck may very well be the Holy Grail of neck buckers in 24fretted guitars AFAIC.
                    The tone when in full (series) humbucking mode is, uninspiring when completely clean (not bad, just doesn't have sth to grab your attention really) but sounds SO D@MN good with just a hint of overdrive while in full dirt (haven't tried it yet in insane heaviness though mind you) is where it REALLY shines.

                    However, how it splits is it's hidden card.
                    When split to the screw coil it behaves as a TOTALLY different pickup.
                    It's like its' entire EQ is inverted into THE sweetest clean neck tone I've heard to date, ANYWHERE, EVER.

                    With this pickup you REALLY get the best of both worlds.
                    I sometimes catch myself wondering how the bridge model would fare in that regard, however the H3 also is an excellent splitter.

                    Originally posted by BloodRose View Post
                    was it hard to retrofit the wilkinson??
                    I would hardly even call it a retrofit really.
                    It could basically have been a drop-in replacement (barely).
                    Like you see in that photo all but the low E screw holes are oval which allows for several different screw spacings with no problem.

                    However my tech was a tad of a perfectionist (no complains from me though ) so he decided to re-measure the position so as to take into account the wider saddle/string spacing the Wilkinson has.
                    So, he filled that first screw hole (the one that's not oval) and re-drilled it to the new position.
                    All other screws however worked just fine from their original holes.
                    Last edited by KeeperOS; 08-26-2008, 05:46 PM.
                    Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
                    I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
                    Originally posted by That90'sGuy
                    Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?


                      OMG, this looks GORGEOUS!!!

                      In truth I originally wanted to put gold hardware in mine too.
                      However my tech had a Black Gotoh ready to go (whereas if I were to order the Gold it would had taken 2-3 months to get here, same as the Wilkinson did) plus A LOT of guys told me that the gold would wear off after a while so in the end I decided to put the black one.

                      I have since wondered how it'd look in gold although I DO like the black look as well...

                      Originally posted by jerryjg View Post
                      Thats got to be on the heavy side. Looks great, man its got to tend to be a bright sound. I woul d get a PatB-3 in there right away.
                      Nah, not really It's barely a tad heavier than my Strat but not nearly enough for me to notice it unless I'm A/B-ing between them.
                      But yeah, bright is what it is, and very articulate too.
                      I LOVE its' acoustic tone (otherwise I would have never taken such a chance with such a cheap guitar).

                      The neck pickup will stay there forever, it's a PERFECT match, when split it produces EXACTLY the clean neck pickup sound I always had in my head and when full, the dirty neck sound
                      The bridge pickup is an excellent match but I must admit that it's not perfect the way the neck pickups is. It is only JUST great .

                      Seriously, I must admit that after the complete fiasco with the Crazy 8 (it was the worst sounding pickup in that guitar from all the pickups I tried while I absolutely LOVE it in my Strat) I'm a tad skeptical about getting another PATB design pickup in there - not unless I can try it without having to buy it anyway...
                      Last edited by KeeperOS; 08-26-2008, 05:46 PM.
                      Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
                      I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
                      Originally posted by That90'sGuy
                      Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                        Originally posted by KeeperOS View Post

                        OMG, this looks GORGEOUS!!!

                        In truth I originally wanted to put gold hardware in mine too.

                        .
                        Heres a possible option for you, and what I did. I removed the black tuner buttons from my Sperzels and repaced them with Gold Sperzel tuner buttons sent to me by Sperzel. I also put Gold metal Knobs on oit and i just today ordered gold string trees. Im really adamant that guitars (mine anyhow) need string trees even with the staggered tuners( of course and angled headstock would be different).

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                          Actually, the things I'd like to try in its' bridge are the other two 8s (the Custom 8 and the Alternate 8) AND, try to put a A8 magnet in the H3.

                          The H3 is a ceramic pickup.
                          Unlike every single other ceramic I tried it isn't sterile or harsh.
                          It is organic but I still miss that AlNiCo flavor that my Crazy 8 has.

                          So I REALLY want to experiment with an AlNiCo magnet and a bobbin that better suits this guitar (which, the H3 does.)

                          Truth be told I'm half-way decided to put the A8 magnet in the current pickup.
                          All that's stopping me is that I want to do some more research first and maybe, try to combine this with other things I want to order from the States (no chance of finding this here...)
                          Last edited by KeeperOS; 08-26-2008, 05:54 PM.
                          Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
                          I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
                          Originally posted by That90'sGuy
                          Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                            Originally posted by jerryjg View Post
                            Heres a possible option for you, and what I did. I removed the black tuner buttons from my Sperzels and repaced them with Gold Sperzel tuner buttons sent to me by Sperzel. I also put Gold metal Knobs on oit and i just today ordered gold string trees. Im really adamant that guitars (mine anyhow) need string trees even with the staggered tuners( of course and angled headstock would be different).
                            Well, this headstock has a rather steep angle (not to mention, a locking nut ) so, no stringtrees there

                            I know I could easily change the knobs and tuner buttons but the tremolo will still be pitch black and then they will clash rather badly.
                            I was thinking of maybe mixing parts, putting gold saddles in the black trem for a gold/black look, but again, I don't want to be paying an arm and a leg for a simple aesthetics thing...
                            Originally posted by Blue_Fingers_Jay
                            I prefer cheaper guitars, nothing is as cool as a cheap guitar that sounds awesome.
                            Originally posted by That90'sGuy
                            Not all guitars are created equal, so make sure it sings and if it does, you'd be silly to pass it up.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Wanna see how my #1s turned into?

                              Originally posted by KeeperOS View Post
                              Well, this headstock has a rather steep angle (not to mention, a locking nut ) so, no stringtrees there

                              I know I could easily change the knobs and tuner buttons but the tremolo will still be pitch black and then they will clash rather badly.
                              I was thinking of maybe mixing parts, putting gold saddles in the black trem for a gold/black look, but again, I don't want to be paying an arm and a leg for a simple aesthetics thing...

                              why is the angled headstock required with the locking nut?

                              Comment

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