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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 11, 2018 15:33:27 GMT
I somehow had to restore a strange form of symmetry and got an SC-450 Plus. All is fine with it, I like the pick-ups a lot more than the Wilkinson I once had in an SC-Custom but I was annoyed at finding the middle position not working. No sound. Fiddling around with the switch and controls, I sporadically got something out of the bridge pick-up only when in the middle position, then from both, then from the neck pick-up then mostly nothing at all and I couldn't make sense of it until I realised that turning any of both volume controls to zero shuts the whole middle position down. Is this a feature? Is this how this system is supposed to work? I guess it makes sense. If you want to silence your guitar, you can do it with one knob only, but it got me in a worried then very puzzled situation.
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Sept 11, 2018 16:25:48 GMT
Traditional Gibson set-up I think. Quite non-intuitive.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 11, 2018 16:51:52 GMT
The guitar looks beautiful. A first glance reveals just one minor cosmetic flaw in a spot where no one ever looks. I would be perfectly happy if it weren't for the somewhat goofy looking disposition of the neck volume and tone controls, which are significantly higher over the body than their bridge counterparts: Pulling out the knobs, I see the shafts of the pots coming out at different lengths, which hints at a varying thickness of wood beneath them. I wonder if this can be remedied. Is this a possible adjustment? I guess I could loosen them and add washers in the cavity to the long ones to make them equal to the others. I'll have to look into this. Sure, people doing the assembly could have done that but I suppose this is a typical case of getting what I paid for and compensating with some of my own time. I really like the sound, by the way. This is so much better than the alleged "Wilkinson MWCHBA Alnico Vintage-Style" I had. There is clarity and attack here, I know I am picking strings, not playing a piano with mutes.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 11, 2018 17:00:05 GMT
Good for stutters but it's one of the reasons I never gel with Gibson style 4 knobs. Oh, it's a softened kill-switch! How cynical I had trouble with the dual volume of the SC-Custom already. I'm not worried, though, I know I'll get around to it. Slightly confusing or non-intuitive mechanisms are irritating at first, like moving into a new place, and I got somewhat angry at the user-interface of my Fender Mustang (the modelling amp, not the guitar), but once I find my ways to do things, all is forgiven. And I know this set-up is more flexible, richer in possibilities, so I'm willing to invest because it has its own logic.
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Post by Vincent on Sept 11, 2018 17:47:18 GMT
I somehow had to restore a strange form of symmetry and got an SC-450 Plus. All is fine with it, I like the pick-ups a lot more than the Wilkinson I once had in an SC-Custom but I was annoyed at finding the middle position not working. No sound. Fiddling around with the switch and controls, I sporadically got something out of the bridge pick-up only when in the middle position, then from both, then from the neck pick-up then mostly nothing at all and I couldn't make sense of it until I realised that turning any of both volume controls to zero shuts the whole middle position down. Is this a feature? Is this how this system is supposed to work? Yes this normal.
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Sept 11, 2018 19:30:36 GMT
As you stated the knob length problems* are easily solved by adding an extra washer or nut.
*(fnarr fnarr )
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 12, 2018 6:16:43 GMT
I have height problems The guitar came all set up and mostly fine but the action was 1,55 to 2,1 mm at the 12th fret, which I found a little high on the low side. I took it down and sure enough, the low E string got into some serious buzzing. I had to file the 10th and 12th fret, as well as a little of two more to get it clean. Only the low E string was affected, and the A string in one place, so I didn't even take them off, just loosened and pushed them aside. The action is now down to 1,25 to 1,60 mm. I did well to get cheap fret levelling tools (a fret rocker, a crowning file and a set of fretboard protections with a sanding file - all for some 8€). A little work on the critical spots makes a guitar much better.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 12, 2018 7:51:03 GMT
Someone came up with an interesting "improvement idea" with regards to the tuning pegs. They now have a lovely… milky military green tint, I suppose.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Sept 12, 2018 9:00:40 GMT
I have height problems The guitar came all set up and mostly fine but the action was 1,55 to 2,1 mm at the 12th fret, which I found a little high on the low side. I took it down and sure enough, the low E string got into some serious buzzing. I had to file the 10th and 12th fret, as well as a little of two more to get it clean. Only the low E string was affected, and the A string in one place, so I didn't even take them off, just loosened and pushed them aside. The action is now down to 1,25 to 1,60 mm. I did well to get cheap fret levelling tools (a fret rocker, a crowning file and a set of fretboard protections with a sanding file - all for some 8€). A little work on the critical spots makes a guitar much better. I've looked at those dollar crowning files on Aliexpress LeoThunder and always wondered if they were too coarse. Maybe they'd do more damage than good so I've always stuck with rolling a diamond nail file across frets. I'd love to see a picture of the edge of your file. It sounds like I may be wise to actually get one. Are you totally happy with it? Does it look as though it will last a while?
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Sept 12, 2018 9:05:12 GMT
Someone came up with an interesting "improvement idea" with regards to the tuning pegs. They now have a lovely… milky military green tint, I suppose. Yep, that's the famous 'mint green' that is really sort of correct. I've never really liked the plastics on a Les Paul. The tuner buttons and piece of single ply Caramac scratchplate always seemed cheaply at odds with the original Gibson aesthetic of carved tops, figured woods, MOP inlays and fancy bindery.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Sept 12, 2018 9:17:53 GMT
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 12, 2018 9:42:06 GMT
I've looked at those dollar crowning files on Aliexpress LeoThunder and always wondered if they were too coarse. Maybe they'd do more damage than good so I've always stuck with rolling a diamond nail file across frets. I'd love to see a picture of the edge of your file. It sounds like I may be wise to actually get one. Are you totally happy with it? Does it look as though it will last a while? Happy to oblige. I'm afraid my old phone cannot provide much resolution for this but it gives an idea. The file is definitely not too coarse. I had to insist to get where I wanted, stopping often to check the results with the fret rocker. I didn't count the backs and forths but they were in tens, not in units. It is not a very effective tool, which in this case is a good thing. The frets didn't even look like they needed polishing afterwards, although I did anyway. I used it on a 6th of a fret on the ST-62, a 6th of a fret on the R-458 and… quite a few more on the SC-450 (5 frets), but that's probably because I took the action further down. So I expect it to last me a lifetime. If I spent my days fixing other people's guitars, I suppose I'd need something else but for 4.29€, I would be perfectly fine buying another one sometime.
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 12, 2018 9:54:41 GMT
And yes, that pickguard looks tasty. I must be the only one who likes it. I've taken it off, put it back. I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll so a summer/winter swap.
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