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Post by himura844 on Oct 9, 2016 21:25:05 GMT
Helo, you've asked about some mods and let me tell you what I did to mine. You will have to excuse my writing, since english is not my first language. Upon its arrival the guitar was set well. There were some flaws on first inspeciton like tuner bushings sticking out and sting height over first fret was set way too high. I have also notised the saddle screws on the bridge were kindda loose and the retainer wires underneath were not of good quality. I could just imagine what a problem that could do to intonation stability. Other than that, the guitar is built very well and it sounded good straight out of the box, so I have decided not to return it but to change some crappy parts and make it better. My only guide was, not to spend too much money on a cheap guitar, and change only the parts I thought were neccessary to replace. So, the first thing was to replace the nut. I've used Graphtech XL (Graph Tech GT PQL 6060 L0 - TUSQ XL 1/4" Epiphone Slotted Nut) that I had spare from mods I have done previusly on my other guitars. It fitted nicely, very low at the first fret, but just about right. Second in line was the bridge. I've bought Gotoh GE103 B-T and it was a drop in replacement. I've replaced bushings too, with litterally no effort. I have also ordered Gotoh tailpiece, but later decided to install Faber TP-59NG, Vintage Spec ALU Stop Tailpiece, just because I liked the sound of it a bit more. I've used Gotoh studs for tailpiece though. Just a little extra for the eye, I have replaced switch plate plastic and a washer ring to look better to me. Got it really cheap from chinese online store. As you can see I also changed truss rod cover with rosewood one. I just didn't like the stock cover. I also did some fret levelling and I've polished the fretboard and aplied some fret doctor oil and now it plays beautifully with a nice low action. I will left the tuners stock for now because they work OK with TUSQ nut, and I didn't touch the pickups because I think they sound just fine for playing at home. First, I just try to focus on the acoustic sound of the instument and if I can get that right, then I will focus on electronic part of the guitar. For now I'm pleased with what this guitar turned out to be and I like how it sounds and plays. I recomend it for anyone who thinks about buying a bargain guitar for playing at home or as a backup axe for gigs. Just bare in mind that it comes with cheap chinese pot metal parts and they may not work or last long. Hope this helps someone. Exactly the type of answer I was looking for, the mods I have in mind are around the same line of thinking. Nut from graphtech, better bridge (did you have to file the string slots yourself?), Better tailpiece. As for the bushings, did you replace the one that has the ground wire soldered to it, or is that on the bridge ones? Also, would you be able to provide me with some links to the stuff you got? Mainly the washer for the switch and the hex nut you used for it? The tailpiece, nut and bridge should be easy to find. Much appreciated!
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Oct 10, 2016 7:17:31 GMT
Gotoh bridge comes pre-slotted. I did't have any need for deepen or widen the slots. Bushings, I've just simply replaced them. Old ones out and new ones in. I have forgot where exactly the wire is, but you can check youtube for that.
You can get Gotoh parts from a couple of US stores or find them on e-bay.
Hex and plastic for the switch I've found on AE. Just search, you'll find tons of it.
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Post by himura844 on Oct 10, 2016 13:15:32 GMT
Gotoh bridge comes pre-slotted. I did't have any need for deepen or widen the slots. Bushings, I've just simply replaced them. Old ones out and new ones in. I have forgot where exactly the wire is, but you can check youtube for that. You can get Gotoh parts from a couple of US stores or find them on e-bay. Hex and plastic for the switch I've found on AE. Just search, you'll find tons of it. The washer I found, but the hex nut in AE they have so many, I dont know which one will fit. As for the gotoh stuff, it's easy to find! I also considered leaving the pots but changing the capacitors... Good ones are really cheap, just need to be soldered. And speaking of soldering, you had to resolder the ground wire to the new bushing after all, correct?
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Oct 10, 2016 15:12:26 GMT
I haven't solder anything, just droped in new ones. I did like that on two guitars. I guess it just needs to be contact beetween two metals, but don't take my word for it.
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Post by himura844 on Oct 11, 2016 18:54:26 GMT
Fair enough, I just ask because normally a grounding wire goes to one of the bushings, either on bridge or tailpiece.
I guess I am convinced, just the bridge plus tailpiece becomes a bit of a price increase over the guitar itself
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Oct 13, 2016 7:25:45 GMT
Fair enough, I just ask because normally a grounding wire goes to one of the bushings, either on bridge or tailpiece. I guess I am convinced, just the bridge plus tailpiece becomes a bit of a price increase over the guitar itself Well, I think I didn't spend more than 60€ for bridge, tailpiece and nut alltogether. But I think this guitar is well worth it. You don't necessarilly need to change the tailpiece if you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with the stock one, it's just that different materials makes a little difference how the guitar sounds overall. I like to experiment with that on my guitars to find the best sounding combination of wood and hardware.
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Post by himura844 on Oct 13, 2016 7:32:04 GMT
Fair enough, I just ask because normally a grounding wire goes to one of the bushings, either on bridge or tailpiece. I guess I am convinced, just the bridge plus tailpiece becomes a bit of a price increase over the guitar itself Well, I think I didn't spend more than 60€ for bridge, tailpiece and nut alltogether. But I think this guitar is well worth it. You don't necessarilly need to change the tailpiece if you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with the stock one, it's just that different materials makes a little difference how the guitar sounds overall. I like to experiment with that on my guitars to find the best sounding combination of wood and hardware. I had a good combo of Graphtech bridge with gotoh aluminium tailpiece in an Epiphone before and loved it. But now all aluminium tailpieces are uber expensive everywhere... Not like before.
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Sept 28, 2017 17:31:07 GMT
I just did a quick mod. I got a little bored with the sound of my SC-450. I mean, I like the sound of neck pickup and bridge pickup, but together on middle position, there was not realy anything special soundvise going on. So I decided to do, what is called a Peter Green mod. I have taken out a neck pickup, rotate the magnet 180 degrees, and installed the pickup back and turned it arround. About 10 min of work. The sound on middle position is now that out of phase tone.
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Post by wirakocha on Sept 29, 2017 14:24:21 GMT
I have mine for 2 years and I just love it. replaced the Wilkinson pups immediately after testing the out-of-the-box sound and replaced the capacitors with PIO ones. discarded the default toggle switch plate and installed a Schaller Vintage copper. which I intend to replace with golden brass one and treat it to create a vivid green patina on it. I'm planing on replacing the truss rod cover as well at some point. besides that I Like it how it is. (Woosung alnico V in the neck and a Dimarzio Paf pro in the bridge)
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Sept 29, 2017 15:16:11 GMT
I would change the bridge too. Did different capacitators make any difference in sound? I'm thinking orange drops as my next upgrade.
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5 posts
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Post by wirakocha on Sept 29, 2017 18:11:22 GMT
well, since the capacitors that came with the guitar were .047 and I used .022... there's a difference. I just went with PIO instead of ceramic caps because they look cooler and why not. but to be honest I was blown away after replacing pickups, even if I knew what to expect with those pups.
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Post by ahk on Apr 17, 2018 19:42:29 GMT
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Apr 21, 2018 5:02:38 GMT
Gotoh fits just fine. It has quite a bit of tollerance.
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Post by ahk on Apr 24, 2018 9:53:57 GMT
Gotoh fits just fine. It has quite a bit of tollerance. That`s a mystery to me. I bought such a Gotoh bridge this week, and it`s definitly more than a bit of tollerance. So in my opinion. I will see, that i make a video to show the problem. By the way: the guitar scale is not absolute correct. The bridge should be mounted 2-3 mm more in Pickup direction.
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153 posts
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Post by r3v3nt0n on Apr 25, 2018 16:57:27 GMT
Have you measured the scale? If it's not right, chances are everything is a bit off. Is return an option?
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